Concerned about the effect on diversity, many colleges have stopped requiring standardized tests. New research suggests that might be a mistake.

David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The Times, discusses the future of SATs and why colleges remain reluctant to bring them back.

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

Background reading: 

• The misguided war on the SAT
• From Opinion: Can the meritocracy survive without the SAT?

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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At the Iowa Republican caucuses on Monday night, Donald J. Trump secured a runaway victory. The only real drama was the fight for second place.

Reid Epstein, who covers politics for The Times, takes us inside one of the caucuses, and Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter, walks us through the final results.

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

Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• A letdown for Ron DeSantis: His campaign is running low on cash and faces tough tests ahead.
• Why coming in second can be a win in early-state contests.
• Here are five takeaways from Trump’s crushing victory.

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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Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, the N.F.L.’s defending champions, is a very loud place. During a 2014 game, a sound meter captured a decibel reading equivalent to a jet’s taking off, earning a Guinness World Record for “Loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium.”

Around 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7, Brian Melillo, an audio engineer for NBC Sports’ flagship N.F.L. telecast, “Sunday Night Football,” arrived at Arrowhead to prepare for that evening’s game against the Detroit Lions. It was a big occasion: the annual season opener, the N.F.L. Kickoff game, traditionally hosted by the winner of last season’s Super Bowl. There would be speeches, fireworks, a military flyover, the unfurling of a championship banner. A crowd of more than 73,000 was expected. “Arrowhead is a pretty rowdy setting,” Melillo said. “It can present some problems.”

Broadcasting a football game on live television is one of the most complex technical and logistical challenges in entertainment. Jody Rosen went behind the scenes of the mammoth broadcast production.

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On Monday, Iowa holds the first contest in the Republican presidential nominating process and nobody will have more on the line than Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor staked his candidacy on a victory in Iowa, a victory that now seems increasingly remote.

Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The Times, and the Daily producers Rob Szypko and Carlos Prieto explain what Mr. DeSantis’s challenge has looked like on the ground in Iowa.

Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• A weak night for Donald Trump? A Ron DeSantis flop? Gaming out Iowa.
• From December: Mr. Trump was gaining in Iowa polling, and Mr. DeSantis was holding off Nikki Haley for a distant second.

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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A recent string of attacks across the Middle East has raised concerns that the war between Hamas and Israel is spreading, and might put pressure on other countries like Iran and the United States to get more involved.

Eric Schmitt, who covers national security for The Times, discusses the risk that the conflict is becoming an even wider war, and explains the efforts underway to prevent that.

Guest: Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Attacks have heightened fears of a wider war for the Middle East and U.S.
• After a Red Sea barrage by the Houthis, a militant group in Yemen, the U.S. and its allies are considering how to retaliate.

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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Donald Trump has consistently argued that as a former president, he is immune from being charged with a crime for things he did while he was in office.

Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains what happened when Trump’s lawyers made that case in federal court, whether the claim has any chance of being accepted — and why Trump may win something valuable either way.

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

Background reading: 

• Trump’s immunity claim in court.
• Analysis: Trump says his acquittal by the Senate in his second impeachment trial makes him immune from prosecution.

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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Across the United States, hundreds of towns and cities are trying to get guns off the streets by turning them over to businesses that offer to destroy them.

But a New York Times investigation found that something very different is happening.

Mike McIntire, an investigative reporter at The Times, explains the unintended consequences of efforts by local officials to rid their communities of guns.

Guest: Mike McIntire, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The guns were said to be destroyed. Instead, they were reborn.
• Gun control, explained.

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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Tonight, millions of Americans are expected to tune in to watch one of the biggest sports events of the year, college football’s national championship game. On the field, the game will be determined by the skill of the players and coaches, but behind the scenes, secretive groups of donors are wielding enormous influence over what fans will see.

David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The Times, discusses the shadowy industry upending college football, and how it has brought amateur athletics even closer to the world of professional sports.

Guest: David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The best teams that money could buy.
• A shift that allows booster groups to employ student athletes has upended the economics of college football and other sports while giving many donors a tax break.

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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Fifty years ago, eight Americans set off for South America to climb Aconcagua, one of the world’s mightiest mountains. Things quickly went wrong. Two climbers died. Their bodies were left behind.

Here is what was certain: A woman from Denver, maybe the most accomplished climber in the group, had last been seen alive on the glacier. A man from Texas, part of the recent Apollo missions to the moon, lay frozen nearby.

There were contradictory statements from survivors and a hasty departure. There was a judge who demanded an investigation into possible foul play. There were three years of summit-scratching searches to find and retrieve the bodies.

Now, decades later, a camera belonging to one of the deceased climbers has emerged from a receding glacier near the summit and one of mountaineering’s most enduring mysteries has been given air and light.

This story was 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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In a landmark ruling last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of precedent and banned the use of affirmative action in college admissions.

The decision eliminated the most powerful tool for ensuring diversity on America’s college campuses and forced college admission officers and high school seniors to figure out what the college admissions process should look like when race cannot be taken into account.

Jessica Cheung, a producer on “The Daily,” explains how, over the past year, both students and college officials have tried to navigate the new rules.

Guest: Jessica Cheung, a producer on “The Daily” for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The first high-school seniors to apply to college since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision have had to sort through a morass of conflicting guidance.
• From June: The Supreme Court rejected affirmative action programs at Harvard and U.N.C.

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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