Brittney Griner, the American W.N.B.A. star who has been detained in Russia since February, recently sent a letter to President Biden. “I’m terrified I might be here forever,” she wrote.

The White House vowed to use “every tool” to bring Ms. Griner back to the United States, but organizing her release is a tricky proposition, complicated not least by Washington’s break with Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

Guest: Michael Crowley, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.

How Brittney Griner Became a Political Pawn

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This month, customers of FTX — Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange, which collapsed in 2022 — were told that they would get their money back, with interest.

David Yaffe-Bellany, our technology reporter, explains what was behind this change in fortune and what it says about the improbable resurgence of crypto. 

Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter for The New York Times, covering the crypto industry from San Francisco.

The Crypto Comeback

The first generation to be fully reliant on 401(k) plans is now starting to retire. As that happens, it is becoming clear just how broken the system is. Michael Steinberger, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, explains.

Was the 401(k) a Mistake?

Have you heard the song “Brett Martin, You a Nice Man, Yes”?

Probably not. On Spotify, “Brett Martin, You a Nice Man, Yes” has not yet accumulated enough streams to even register a tally. Even Brett Martin, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and the titular Nice Man, didn’t hear the 1 minute 14 second song until last summer, a full 11 years after it was uploaded by an artist credited as Papa Razzi and the Photogs.

When Martin stumbled on “Brett Martin, You a Nice Man, Yes,” he naturally assumed it was about a different, more famous Brett Martin: perhaps Brett Martin, the left-handed reliever who until recently played for the Texas Rangers; or Brett Martin, the legendary Australian squash player; or even Clara Brett Martin, the Canadian who in 1897 became the British Empire’s first female lawyer. Only when the singer began referencing details of stories that he made for public radio’s “This American Life” almost 20 years ago did he realize the song was actually about him. The song ended, “I really like you/Will you be my friend?/Will you call me on the phone?” Then it gave a phone number, with a New Hampshire area code.

So, he called.

The Sunday Read: ‘Why Did This Guy Put a Song About Me on Spotify?’

The scientist talks to David Marchese about how to overcome the “soft” climate denial that keeps us buying junk.

'The Interview': Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Has an Antidote to Our Climate Delusions

This episode contains explicit language.

Over recent months, protests over the war in Gaza have rocked college campuses across the United States.

 As students graduate and go home for the summer, three joined “The Daily” to discuss why they got involved, what they wanted to say and how they ended up facing off against each other.

How Brittney Griner Became a Political Pawn

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