The Daily

It was an overcast Monday afternoon in late April, and Michael Oher, the former football player whose high school years were dramatized in the movie “The Blind Side,” was driving Michael Sokolove on a tour through a forlorn-looking stretch of Memphis and past some of the landmarks of his childhood.

In the movie, Oher moves into the home of the wealthy white couple Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy. They take him shopping for clothes, help him obtain a driver’s license, buy him a pickup truck and arrange for tutoring that helps improve his grades and makes him eligible to play college football. In real life, Oher went on to play eight seasons as a starting offensive tackle in the N.F.L. and won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens.

Now, Oher is suing the Tuohys, claiming that they have exploited him by using his name, image and likeness to promote speaking engagements that have earned them roughly $8 million over the last two decades — and by repeatedly saying that they adopted him when they never did.

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With Election Day fast approaching, polls show the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump to be the closest in a generation.

The Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman and Nate Cohn break down the state of the race and discuss the last-minute strategies that might tip the scales.

Guest: 

• Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.
• Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The New York Times.
• Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The state of the race: a calm week and perhaps the clearest picture yet.
• Scenes of workers on strike, hurricane devastation in the Southeast and missiles over Israel pose tests for Ms. Harris.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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Israel’s series of military successes against its longtime adversary Hezbollah had raised the question of whether the militant group’s backer, Iran, would retaliate. On Tuesday, that question was answered, when Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel.

Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times, and Farnaz Fassihi, The Times’s United Nations bureau chief, discuss how they see events developing from here.

Guest: 

• Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.
• Farnaz Fassihi, the United Nations bureau chief for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Fiery balls of light could be seen falling from the sky over Jerusalem and loud explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv and other areas as Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.
• After the missile attack, Israel may be more prepared to risk war with Iran.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

Just three weeks after Kamala Harris and Donald J. Trump engaged in a fiery and often hostile presidential debate, their running mates, Tim Walz and JD Vance, met for their own face-off — and struck a very different chord.

Reid J. Epstein, a politics reporter for The Times, explains why this debate was so different and what it could mean for the race.

Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a politics reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Read coverage of the debate.
• Analysis: Mr. Vance strained to sell a softer image of Mr. Trump.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

Warning: This episode contains strong language and descriptions of death.

Over the past few days, Hurricane Helene has left a trail of devastation, killing more than 100 people, driving thousands from their homes and leaving millions without power.

Judson Jones, a meteorologist and weather reporter for The Times, and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, a Times national reporter, discuss the toll left by the deadly storm.

Guest: 

• Judson Jones, a meteorologist and reporter for The New York Times.
• Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, a national reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Hurricane Helene spawned flash floods and landslides as it barreled north after devastating parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast.
• In less than a day, Helene transformed from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 4. Read about how that happened so quickly.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

As wars in Ukraine and the Middle East deepen, the U.S. presidential campaign is raising a crucial question: Whose idea of American foreign policy will the world get next?

Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The Times, walks us through the plans put forward by Kamala Harris and by Donald J. Trump.

Guest: Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Ms. Harris met with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, signaling that the White House was preparing her to take over a thorny diplomatic relationship.
• Mr. Zelensky also met with Mr. Trump as concerns mount in Kyiv that a second Trump administration could spell the end of American support against Russia.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

In “The Deserter,” Sarah A. Topol reports the story of Ivan, a captain in the Russian Army who fought in Ukraine and then ultimately fled the war and his country with his wife, Anna. Topol spoke to 18 deserters while reporting in eight countries across four continents over the last year and a half; their experiences helped paint a vivid picture of the Russian war operation and its corruption, chaos and brutality.

Narrated by Liev Schreiber.

“The Deserter” is a five-part special series in collaboration with The New York Times Magazine.

All five parts of this audio feature can be found here or by searching for “The Deserter” on the NYT Audio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

The text version of the story can be found here.
 

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

In “The Deserter,” Sarah A. Topol reports the story of Ivan, a captain in the Russian Army who fought in Ukraine and then ultimately fled the war and his country with his wife, Anna. Topol spoke to 18 deserters while reporting in eight countries across four continents over the last year and a half; their experiences helped paint a vivid picture of the Russian war operation and its corruption, chaos and brutality.

Narrated by Liev Schreiber.

“The Deserter” is a five-part special series in collaboration with The New York Times Magazine.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.