The Daily

This week, we interviewed two people with leading roles in the rapidly escalating conflict between the Trump administration and American higher education. 

Today, we speak with the president of Princeton University, Christopher L. Eisgruber, about the institution’s path forward in the face of drastic funding cuts, and his vow to protect academic freedom at all costs. 

You can find our conversation with Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who helped inspire Trump’s wide-ranging crackdown on higher education, here.

Guest: Christopher L. Eisgruber, the president of Princeton University.

Background reading: 

• President Trump paused dozens of federal grants to Princeton.
• Mr. Trump’s orders threaten the financial foundations of higher education, but few universities have protested openly.

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

Photo: Christopher Goodney/Bloomburg

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 Monday, global stocks whipsawed over President Trump’s tariffs, a bear market briefly became official in the United States and tit-for-tat retaliation with China intensified.

As trillions of dollars in corporate value evaporates and Mr. Trump’s support in the business world is cracking, even Republican members of Congress are debating whether to take away the president’s power to wage a trade war.

Andrew Ross Sorkin, who covers business and policy, and Jonathan Swan, who covers the White House, talk through the tumultuous past few days on the stock market.

Guest:

• Andrew Ross Sorkin, a columnist and the founder and editor-at-large of DealBook, which publishes the flagship business and policy newsletter of The New York Times.
• Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• DealBook: Does Mr. Trump Have an “Off Ramp”?
• What is a bear market? Are we in one?
• China says it will “fight to the end” after Mr. Trump threatens more tariffs.

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

Photo: Timothy A. Clary/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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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Over the past few weeks, President Trump has used executive orders to wage war on law firms, specifically targeting those whose lawyers have investigated or sued him, or represented his enemies in court.

Michael Barbaro speaks to Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who chose to quit after his firm, Skadden, negotiated a deal to placate the president.

Guest: Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who left his firm after they negotiated a deal with Mr. Trump.

Background reading: 

• Read about how, Paul Weiss, a major democratic law firm, ended up bowing to Mr. Trump.
• Ever since the elite law firms Skadden and Paul Weiss reached deals with the Trump administration, top partners have closed ranks in support of the agreements.

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

Photo: John Taggart for The New York Times

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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“The force of his will is the thing I remember about him,” says Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who wrote a profile of Val Kilmer for The New York Times Magazine in May 2020. “He was sure he was going to come back to his exact former self. ”

The two met for an interview just as a lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic seemed all but certain to happen.

Mr. Kilmer, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and had undergone a tracheotomy, was still performing. Mr. Brodesser-Akner credits him with providing “the first whiff of overarching hope and positivity that I’d witnessed in I couldn’t remember how many months.”

“What does somebody do when the thing that they are known for, which is being a superhero, which is being an action hero, which is being handsome, which is being this sort of picture of good health and vigor, what do you do next?” she said. “And a lot of people, they fade away. But that’s not how it went for Val. ”

Mr. Kilmer, who played classic roles such as Batman and Iceman in “Top Gun,” died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 65.

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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The reverberations from President Trump’s new global tariffs have rocked financial markets and world capitals. American stocks have plunged, and foreign leaders have issued forceful condemnations.

The Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Peter Goodman, Natalie Kitroeff and Jeanna Smialek sit down to try to make sense of Mr. Trump’s strategy and its consequences.

Guest:

• Peter S. Goodman, who covers the global economy for The New York Times.
• Natalie Kitroeff, the Mexico City bureau chief for The New York Times.
• Jeanna Smialek, the Brussels bureau chief for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Read about how Mr. Trump’s one-for-one tariff plan threatens the global economy.
• The trade war set off “max pessimism” in the global markets.
• The tariffs have widened the chasm between allies and Washington.

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

Photo: Scott McIntyre for The New York Times

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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In a history-making day of tariffs, President Trump imposed charges of at least 10 percent on nearly all of America’s trading partners.

Ana Swanson, who covers trade for The Times, discusses who will be affected most and looks at how the levies effectively ended one era of global trade and began a new one.

Guest: Ana Swanson, who covers trade and international economics for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The tariffs are likely to ripple through the global economy, driving up prices for American consumers and manufacturers while inciting retaliation from other nations.
• Mr. Trump says global trade is unfair. Does he have a point?
• Read about how the tariff rates are calculated.

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

Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times

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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A few days ago, one of the most ubiquitous live shows in the country, Shen Yun, began its latest run at Lincoln Center, drawing thousands of people to a performance that is colorful, acrobatic and — according to many of its performers — shockingly abusive.

Nicole Hong, one of the reporters behind a New York Times investigation of Shen Yun, discusses what that reporting has revealed about the secretive enterprise.

Guest: Nicole Hong, an investigative reporter for The New York Times focusing on New York and its surrounding regions.

Background reading: 

• An ex-dancer accused Shen Yun of forced labor and trafficking in a lawsuit.
• Here are five takeaways from The Times’s coverage of Shen Yun.

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

Photo: The New York Times

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 paper, the election in Wisconsin on Tuesday is about who should control the state’s highest court. In reality, it has become a referendum on Elon Musk, his agenda in Washington and his willingness to flood American politics with his money.

Reid J. Epstein, who has been covering this campaign for The Times, explains why it has become the local election that everyone is watching.

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

Background reading: 

• Tuesday’s election will reveal what’s more powerful: Elon Musk’s millions, or liberal anger at him.
• Mr. Musk and Tesla have a legal bone to pick with Wisconsin.
• The billionaire has returned to his Trump playbook in the race.

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

Photo: Jim Vondruska for The New York Times

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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Immigration arrests are taking place at universities across the country. The story of three Columbia students helps explain what’s happening, and why.

Hamed Aleaziz, who covers immigration policy, lays out what their cases reveal about the latest immigration crackdown — and about this administration’s views on free speech.

Guest: Hamed Aleaziz, who covers the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy in the United States for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• A Columbia student hunted by ICE has sued to prevent deportation.
• How a Columbia student fled to Canada after ICE came looking for her.
• What we know about the detentions of student protesters.

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

Photo: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

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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