The Daily

Today, Maggie Jones explores the overlooked topic of geriatric sex. Profiling older couples for whom it is still important, she considers the obstacles and joys of having sex over the age of 70, and the way society has begun to talk more openly about it in recent years.

As bodies change, Jones writes, good sex in old age often requires reimagining and expanding: a conscious inclusion of more touching, kissing, erotic massage, oral sex and sex toys. Along with pleasure, other benefits are linked to sex: a stronger immune system, improved cognitive function, cardiovascular health in women and lower odds of prostate cancer, along with improved sleep, stress reduction and a cultivation of emotional intimacy.

The subset of older people who are having lots of sex well into their 80s could help shape those conversations and policies, while doctors can also do their part by attending to individuals’ physiological impediments to sex. Many sex experts expect more open conversations and policies related to their senior sex lives in the years to come.

This story was written by Maggie Jones and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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During the pandemic, the price of beef shot up. Wholesale beef prices increased more than 40 percent — more than 70 percent for certain cuts of steak. 

The conventional wisdom was that price increases simply reflected the chaos that the coronavirus had caused in the supply chain. But there’s evidence that they were in fact a reflection of a more fundamental change in the meatpacking business.

We speak to ranchers about the consolidation of the industry and explore what it can show us about a transformation in the American economy — one much bigger than beef. 

Guest: Peter S. Goodman, a global economics correspondent for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Despite record beef prices, ranchers aren’t cashing in — the result of years of consolidation. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

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

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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On Wednesday, it was revealed that Justice Stephen Breyer, the senior member of the Supreme Court’s liberal wing, will retire from the bench. 

Democrats, and many on the left, will have breathed a sigh of relief. His decision has given President Biden the chance to nominate a successor while Democrats control the Senate. 

We take a look at the legacy of Justice Breyer’s time on the court, why he chose to retire now and how President Biden might decide on his successor. 

Guest: Adam Liptak, a Supreme Court reporter for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Justice Breyer has announced that he will retire from the Supreme Court bench upon the confirmation of his successor.
• President Joe Biden and his legal team have spent a year preparing for this moment: the chance to make good on his pledge to name the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

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

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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It appears that the United States may be at a turning point in the pandemic. The contagiousness of the Omicron variant has many people resigned to the fact that they probably will be infected; this variant is, relative to its predecessors and in most cases, milder; and there is universal vaccine access for those old enough to receive a shot. 

So, The Times commissioned a poll of 4,400 Americans to discover how they are thinking about the pandemic and gauge how, and when, we might pivot to living with the virus. 

We explore the results of this poll — and the divides in opinion by age, vaccination status and politics. 

Guest: David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• The two Covid Americas: You can read David Leonhardt’s analysis of a poll about attitudes toward the pandemic here. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

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

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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When allegations first emerged in November about parties held at 10 Downing Street, the residence and offices of the British prime minister, during a strict Covid lockdown, Prime Minister Boris Johnson waved them away. 

Yet in the weeks since, the scandal has only grown, with public outrage building as more instances and details of lockdown parties at Downing Street have emerged.

Some voters in Britain have long been willing to overlook the foibles of Mr. Johnson’s character, but this is a scandal that poses an existential threat to his leadership. 

Guest: Mark Landler, the London bureau chief for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Boris Johnson’s future is in doubt after two humiliating apologies about parties while the country was under Covid restrictions. Here’s a guide to how he could be forced out, or fight on.
• Mr. Johnson, long famed for brushing off accusations of distortion or outright lying that seemed to only bolster his image as an incorrigible scamp, suddenly faces potential political death over the very charge to which he had seemed immune.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

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

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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This episode contains strong language. 

Marieke Vervoort was a champion Paralympic athlete from Belgium. In 2016, Vervoort, who had a progressive disease, announced her retirement from professional sports and spoke of her desire to undergo euthanasia.

Today, we hear Vervoort’s story from Lynsey Addario, a photojournalist who documented the end of her life.

“In most of my experiences covering Iraq and Afghanistan and Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur, I’m photographing people who are trying not to die,” Lynsey said. “Marieke was the first person I had really met who wanted to die.”

Guest: Lynsey Addario, a photojournalist who spent three years with Marieke Vervoort.

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Background reading: 

• Knowing she had the legal right to die helped Marieke Vervoort live her life. It propelled her to medals at the Paralympics. But she could never get away from the pain.
• Lynsey Addario spent nearly three years photographing Vervoort as she prepared to die by choice. It became one of the most emotional assignments — and friendships — of her life.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

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

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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What is “disgust”? Molly Young, a journalist with The New York Times, considers the evolutionary and social uses of this “universal aspect of life” to identify the impact of disgust in its physical, psychological and linguistic manifestations.

Young explains the different forms of disgust, analyzing how the reactions they elicit play out in the body and mind, and why it is in many ways cultural. She explains how disgust shapes our behavior, technology, relationships and even political leanings. It’s behind everyday purity rites; the reason we use toilet paper, wash our hands and hold cutlery; it has shadowed the rules that have governed emotion in every culture throughout time.

Charles Darwin, the scholar William Ian Miller, the research psychologist Paul Rozin and the philosopher Aurel Kolnai, among the many others who felt compelled, Young explained, to investigate this most primal emotion.

This story was written by Molly Young and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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Novak Djokovic, the world No. 1 player in men’s tennis, had a lot at stake going into this year’s Australian Open. A win there would have made him the most decorated male tennis player in history. 

But he arrived in the country without having had a Covid-19 vaccination, flying in the face of Australia’s rules, and after a court battle he was ultimately deported.

In Australia, the “Djokovic affair” has become about a lot more than athletes and vaccines — it has prompted conversations about the country’s aggressive border policy, isolationism and treatment of migrants. 

Guest: Damien Cave, the Australia bureau chief for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Prime Minister Scott Morrison latched on to the Djokovic case. But with an election looming, it’s not clear that it was a political winner.
• Novak Djokovic lost his bid to stay in Australia to a government determined to make him a symbol of unvaccinated celebrity entitlement; to an immigration law that gives godlike authority to border enforcement; and to a public outcry, in a nation of rule followers.

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

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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Microsoft announced this week that it was acquiring Activision Blizzard, the maker of video games such as Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in a deal valued at nearly $70 billion.

Microsoft, the owner of Xbox, said the acquisition was a step toward gaining a foothold in the metaverse.

But what exactly is the metaverse? And why are some of the biggest companies in the world spending billions of dollars to get involved?

Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Does the metaverse even exist? Here’s what you need to know.
• Video games are not merely entertainment anymore. They have become weapons that today’s technology titans wield to try to shape our future.
• The deal for Activision Blizzard would be Microsoft’s biggest ever, and one that places a major bet that people will be spending more and more time in the digital world.

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

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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It’s a big week in the Senate for voting rights. Democrats have two bills that include measures to bolster and protect elections.

But the bills are almost certain to fail.

Why has it proved almost impossible to pass legislation so integral to the agenda of President Biden and the Democrats?

Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national political reporter for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Here’s what to know about voting rights and the battle over elections.
• Democrats’ bid to force through a bill intended to offset state voting restrictions appeared destined to fall to a Republican filibuster.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

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

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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