Over the weekend, months of tension in the Texas Legislature came to a head. A group of Democratic lawmakers got up and left the building before a vote — an act of resistance amid the most conservative Texas legislative session in recent memory. 

The population of Texas is becoming less old, less white and less Republican, so why is its Legislature moving further right?

Guest: Manny Fernandez, the Los Angeles bureau chief for The New York Times. He spent more than nine years covering Texas as the Houston bureau chief.

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Background reading: 

• The recent session that pushed Texas further to the right, at a time when it seemed least likely to do so — as the state becomes younger, less white and less Republican.
• After Democrats killed a bill to restrict voting in the state, Republicans pledged to pass it in a special legislative session. A new fight looms. 

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Representing a vanishing brand of Democratic politics that makes his vote anything but predictable, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has become the make-or-break legislator of the Biden era.

We explore how and why Mr. Manchin’s vote has become so powerful.

Guest: Jonathan Martin, a national political correspondent for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• In Washington, policy revolves around Joe Manchin. Read Jonathan Martin’s exploration of why the senator likes it that way. 

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This episode includes disturbing language including racial slurs.

In the early 20th century, Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was an epicenter of Black economic influence in the United States. However, in the early hours of June 1, 1921, a white mob — sanctioned by the Tulsa police — swept through the community burning and looting homes and businesses, and killing residents.

A century later, the question before Congress, the courts and the United States as a whole is: What would justice look like?

Guest: Brent Staples, a member of the New York Times editorial board.

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Background reading: 

• A century ago, a prosperous Black neighborhood in Tulsa perished at the hands of a white mob. Here is what the massacre destroyed.
• The three known survivors, who were all children in 1921, offered their firsthand accounts of the race massacre at a hearing in Washington last month.
• A centennial commission that raised $30 million for a history exhibit center has said the government should be responsible for repaying survivors and their descendants.

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This episode contains strong language. 

The mysterious story of a German soldier, a faked Syrian identity and a loaded gun in an airport bathroom cracks the door open to a network of far-right extremists inside the German military and the police. They are preparing for the day democracy collapses — a day they call Day X. But just how dangerous are they?

See all episodes of Day X at 

nytimes.com/dayx

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Last week, when the pilots on a commercial flight headed for Lithuania told passengers they were about to make an unexpected landing in the Belarusian capital of Minsk many were confused — except Roman Protasevich.

The 26-year-old dissident journalist and one Belarus’s biggest enemies sensed what was about to happen.

How and why did Belarus force down the plane and arrest Mr. Protasevich? And what comes next? 

Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• The forced landing of a commercial flight on Sunday has put Belarus and its authoritarian leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko, in a new global spotlight. Here’s what you need to know.
• Disgusted by the brutality of Mr. Lukashenko, Mr. Protasevich bravely embarked at 16 on a life in opposition.

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After 11 days of fighting over the skies of Israel and Gaza, a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel was announced last week.

The conflict wrought devastation in Gaza. Yet Hamas’s leaders took to television and declared victory.

We look at where the organization comes from and their objectives to understand why it has, for decades, engaged in battles it knows it can’t win.

Guest: Ben Hubbard, the Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• After the cease-fire, in addition to relief, some Gaza residents felt a sense of déjà vu, having survived several recent wars with Israel. After each war, it takes years for Gaza to recover.
• Israel’s military said its airstrikes killed dozens of senior Hamas operatives and destroyed critical military infrastructure. But victory is hard to measure.

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When Brandi Levy was 14, she posted an expletive-filled video to Snapchat, expressing her dismay at not making the varsity cheerleading squad. It got her suspended from cheerleading entirely for a year.

Can a public school deal with off-campus speech in this way without infringing the First Amendment? The Supreme Court will decide.

Guest: Adam Liptak, a reporter covering the United States Supreme Court for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• In a lively Supreme Court argument, the justices struggled to determine how the First Amendment applies to public schools’ power to punish students for social media posts and other off-campus speech.

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It had long appeared that the National Rifle Association was impervious to anything or anyone.

Now, an investigation into financial misconduct accusations led by the New York attorney general’s office imperils the very existence of America’s most powerful gun rights group.

We look at how a plan to circumvent this investigation through a bankruptcy filing backfired.

Guest: Danny Hakim, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• The N.R.A. filed for bankruptcy this year to beat regulatory action in New York, but a judge rejected the strategy.
• How an internal power struggle, a New York State investigation and accusations of fraud and betrayal on all sides left Mr. LaPierre reeling.

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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In the summer of 1856, workers quarrying limestone in a valley outside Düsseldorf, Germany, found an odd looking skull. It was elongated and almost chinless.

William King, a British geologist, suspected that this was not merely the remains of an atypical human, but belonged to a typical member of an alternate humanity. He named the species Homo neanderthalensis: Neanderthal man.

Guided by racism and phrenology, he deemed the species brutish, with a “moral ‘darkness.’” It was a label that stuck.

Recently, however, after we’d snickered over their skulls for so long, it became clear we had made presumptions. Neanderthals weren’t the slow-witted louts we’d imagined them to be.

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

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When our friends at This American Life made an episode called ... wait for it! ... “The Daily,” we knew we wanted to share it with you. It’s about life’s daily practices, and what you learn from doing a thing every day. Wait for the end. There’s a little surprise. 

And if you want to hear more episodes of This American Life, you can find the show wherever you listen to podcasts.

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