The Recount Daily Pod

By iHeartPodcasts and The Recount

What's The Recount Daily Pod about?

Just like The Recount is the can’t-miss news source on Twitter, The Recount Daily Pod is the morning news source you’ll want to plug into every day. Hosted by journalist Reena Ninan, each episode breaks down important information in politics, tech, business and culture. Ninan interviews journalists who break news and give listeners the crucial context necessary to understand why these stories are important.

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The Recount Daily Pod episodes:

11.02.2021
Cokie Roberts, Pioneer Among Women in News
The journalist Cokie Roberts left behind a tremendous legacy when she passed away in 2019. Her late husband Steven Roberts, who is also a journalist, grieved and honored her in his own way — by reporting on Cokie's life and...
11.01.2021
A Crisis of Violence: Homicides Spike in Georgia Prisons
Severe staff shortages at Georgia prisons have contributed to a huge spike in violence, including at least 44 likely homicides since last year. In September, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into the violence and possible constitutional violations by...
10.28.2021
Anxious About Climate Change? You're Not Alone
Climate envoy John Kerry described it as “the last best chance the world has" — this weekend world leaders and thousands of negotiators, journalists, and activists converge on Glasgow for COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In the...
10.27.2021
Polarization Can't Last Forever, Says George Will
George Will was the first political columnist to call for President Richard Nixon’s impeachment, and he's lent a leading conservative voice to the Washington Post and other publications ever since. Most recently, he’s out with a collection of his work...
10.26.2021
Andrew Yang Wants to Change How We Vote
Andrew Yang drew attention to universal basic income as a Democratic candidate in the 2020 presidential election, and earlier this year in his run for mayor of New York City. Since then, he’s announced he’s leaving the Democratic Party to...
10.25.2021
Can America's Student Loan Debts Just Get Canceled?
More than 40 million Americans are in debt for getting an education. The federal government holds $1.6 trillion in student loan debts, a sum roughly on par with Canada’s GDP. President Biden has canceled billions of dollars of debt, but plenty more remains....
10.21.2021
The Rise and Fall of Alleged Pyramid Scheme LuLaRoe
In 2013, Mark and DeAnne Stidham founded LuLaRoe, a multi-level marketing firm that still sells women's clothing today. Pushing a feminist image, the company claims to give women the opportunity to become independent retailers. But it's faced plenty of lawsuits,...
10.20.2021
Could The Pandemic’s End Be Upon Us?
Nearly two years into the pandemic, the U.S. is seeing a sustained drop in new COVID cases. And recent forecast models by researchers advising the CDC suggest we could see a steady decline in cases throughout the winter and into spring,...
10.19.2021
Is Recycling a Thing of the Past?
Surprise: very little of the plastic you dutifully put in your recycling bin ends up actually being used again. The costs to successful recycling are prohibitive. And even then, recycling is a market with fewer and fewer buyers. So how...
10.18.2021
How Can the U.S. Help Haiti?
A presidential assassination, a devastating earthquake and criminal gangs engaging in mass kidnappings. The problems plaguing Haiti today are many — and they’re often misunderstood. How can the U.S. and the international community help bring stability and economic renewal to the country? Garry Pierre-Pierre,...
10.14.2021
Is Miss America Still Relevant?
The iconic Miss America pageant turned 100 this year, having crowned dozens of women who proudly went on to represent the institution across the U.S. But the contest was not without its controversies, including years of forcing women to walk...
10.13.2021
Medical Racism: A Pandemic That Urgently Needs Care
The pandemic has exposed glaring inequalities in the healthcare industry. From access to medicine and providers to a lack of trust between doctors and patients, COVID revealed that systemic racism has a dramatic impact on the health and well-being of...
10.12.2021
Closing Gitmo: Will President Biden Succeed?
The infamous prison camp at the US Navy Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was opened in early 2002 to house alleged terrorists the U.S. apprehended in Afghanistan. The camp became notorious as a symbol of U.S. human rights abuses. President...
10.11.2021
Indigenous Peoples vs. Big Oil
Line 3, a once-decommissioned oil pipeline, was put into operation again earlier this month. The $4 billion dollar project, announced in 2014, met with fierce opposition from both environmentalists and Indigenous American tribes. Now, it's transporting over 600,000 barrels of...
10.07.2021
Facebook is Harming Our Kids: Where Do We Draw the Line?
Facebook was all over the news this week for good reason: They knew they were harming our kids and they did it anyway. An explosive series published by The Wall Street Journal last week revealed the extent to which Facebook...
10.06.2021
US-China Relations: Where Are We Headed?
One of the few Trump administration policies that President Joe Biden has kept in place is a tough approach toward China. For one, Trump's tariffs are still in place. But China's recent military demonstrations against Taiwan haven't helped ease tensions....
10.05.2021
How Can We Keep Our Children Safe From Guns?
Gun violence has risen to alarming new heights in recent years, becoming the leading cause of death for children since 2018. What can we do to keep our children safe? Nicole Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise,...
10.04.2021
Making Sense of America's Deep Divisions
When New Yorker Staff Writer Evan Osnos, a veteran foreign correspondent, returned to the U.S. in 2013 he found a country that was unrecognizable from the one he'd left 11 years earlier. Suddenly, it was a place with deep political...
09.30.2021
Will the Future of Space Travel Look Like Air Travel Today?
On September 15th, the first all-civilian spaceflight took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The commercial mission run by SpaceX successfully reached orbit and splashed down in the Atlantic three days later. Could the future of spaceflight be within reach for...
09.29.2021
Reining in Big Tech: Has the Time Come for More Regulation?
Big Tech wields enormous power in today's global economy, from driving advances in technology to influencing our political and cultural conversations. Should that power be more tightly regulated and if so, how? Cat Zakrzewski, technology policy reporter at The Washington...
09.28.2021
Racial Tensions in Southlake: The Conversations We Need
In 2018, a video filmed at Carroll High School in Southlake, TX went viral. In it, several teenagers from the affluent, mostly white, suburban town were chanting the n-word. NBC's hosts of the podcast "Southlake," Antonia Hylton and Mike Hixenbaugh,...
09.27.2021
COVID and Kids: Can They Ever Recover?
While the pandemic has been difficult for all of us, the impact has been especially hard on K-12 students. Most fell behind in math and reading. Many suffered the consequences of limited socialization. Kids experienced severe emotional and psychological stress....
09.23.2021
Will the Toxic Gaming Culture Change?
After a two-year investigation by California's Division of Fair Employment and Housing, the state agency filed suit against Activision Blizzard for sexual discrimination and sexual harassment. The bombshell lawsuit is forcing a reckoning in the gaming industry. Will it succeed...
09.22.2021
Retirement at 50?
Retirement is a huge milestone — a time to put down your career and enter your sunset years. For older generations, the magic number for retirement is 65. But for younger people, the goal is 50. Can they succeed? Bobbi...
09.21.2021
Using DNA Science to Level the Playing Field for Kids
The vast majority of Americans believe that every child should be given an equal opportunity to succeed, in school and life. Yet, according to our guest, American psychologist and behavior geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden, DNA itself gives some kids a...
09.20.2021
Climate Change Reality Sinks In: Are We Prepared?
When it comes to climate change, the U.S. has experienced a summer like none before. Fires raged in the west. Massive flooding washed away homes, cars and lives. Hurricanes left devastation and destruction in their wake. Are we prepared for...
09.17.2021
Home Alone: Pandemic Pets Cope With Separation Anxiety
For many, September has marked a return to a new sort of normal. Workers are starting to head back to the office and the majority of kids are back in school. That leaves many pets now facing a stark new...
09.16.2021
The World of Cults: A Deep Dive
Americans' fascination with cults has been piqued in recent years by a deluge of podcasts and documentaries about the phenomenon. But what exactly is a cult? How do they recruit their members? And why are people so attracted to them?...
09.15.2021
Ten Killed in Afghanistan: Was it ISIS-K or Innocents?
On August 29th, as the deadline for the U.S. to complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan approached, the U.S. military carried out a deadly drone strike in Kabul. While the Pentagon claims it hit ISIS-K, a New York Times reporter investigated...
09.14.2021
Afghan Refugees: A Humanitarian Crisis
The Taliban's rapid takeover of power in Afghanistan precipitated an exodus like none ever before. It was the largest airlift evacuation in U.S. history with many tens of thousands of refugees now facing an uncertain future. What are the biggest...
09.13.2021
Biden's Ambitious Agenda: NYT's Nicholas Kristof Weighs In
New York Times Columnist and thought leader Nicholas Kristof has been writing about poverty, education, women's rights and immigration for 20 years. President Joe Biden promises to advance an agenda that many progressives like Nick hold dear. Can he succeed?...
09.09.2021
Rep. Charlie Crist on Florida's War Against COVID
Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) is on the political frontlines of the US fight against COVID, a battle that is playing out in media across the nation. Crist joins us to talk about how his state is faring against the virus,...
09.08.2021
Are UFOs real?
In 2017, a bombshell report surfaced that the Department of Defense was funding a secret $22 million program for investigating UFOs. Are UFOs real and what does the government know about them? A new docuseries on Showtime called "UFO" delves...
09.07.2021
COVID and Kids: Should We Mandate Vaccines?
Amid a surge in coronavirus cases nationally, children are, or will soon be, largely back to in-person education. The issue of vaccinating them has risen to the forefront of the debate on how to keep both them and us safe....
09.02.2021
In the Age of Remote Work, Tech Workers Relocate
When the pandemic forced technology workers across the US to work from home, many reconsidered their location options. Some moved to cheaper cities, others to be near family. What does this mean for the tech industry and how will it...
09.01.2021
Coping with Stress and Trauma
Stress and trauma are normal parts of life that only rarely get the level of attention they deserve. The past 18 months have given us all experience with the former, some of us with the latter as well. How we...
08.31.2021
The Theranos Trial
Back in 2015, Elizabeth Holmes was a media darling, a tech startup figure who was the world's youngest self-made billionaire. Her company Theranos promised to revolutionize the blood testing business. Turns out, it was a lot more hype than reality....
08.30.2021
Lies and Deceit: How Social Media Fuels Misinformation
Whether it's about US elections or COVID vaccines, misinformation continues to spread like wildfire on social media with very real and, in some cases, dire consequences. But some people are more vulnerable than others. Why? And what can be done...
08.26.2021
The Future for the Women and Girls of Afghanistan
The issue of how the Taliban intends to treat women and girls under its rule has garnered international attention and scrutiny. A generation of women and girls have grown up with liberties and rights unimaginable under the previous Taliban regime....
08.25.2021
One Man's Vision for a Trump-less Future Republican Party
While there is little disagreement among political pundits that Trump is still the leader of the Republican party, some party stalwarts see a different path forward. In "Two Roads Diverged," former South Carolina Congressman and Governor Mark Sanford lays out...
08.24.2021
PTSD and Moral Injury: The Legacy of Our Forever Wars
"The Line" is a podcast about the war crimes case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher. More broadly, it's also about the Forever Wars and what they've done to the hearts and minds of those we've sent to fight them. Documentarian...
08.23.2021
Higher Education post-COVID with Scott Galloway
Seventeen plus months in, the global pandemic continues to upend institutions of learning, including higher education. With many schools cancelling in-person classes some students were stuck going to college from their high school bedrooms. That made many rethink the value...
08.19.2021
Liberal Democracy Under Attack From Within
Deep divisions in American politics and culture are everywhere these days, from Congress to state capitals, from school boards to city councils. But are these divisions threatening the very survival of our liberal democracy? And if so, what can be...
08.18.2021
The Future of Abortion Rights
More abortion restrictions were passed by state legislatures in 2021 than in any other year in history. Meanwhile, a now firmly conservative U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear a landmark case challenging Roe v. Wade this fall. What does...
08.17.2021
Police Reform and Mental Health
George Floyd's murder and the groundswell of protests that followed have led communities across the US to question the purpose and role of police in society. Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, Co-Founder and CEO of the Center for Policing Equity and...
08.16.2021
Taking Stock of America's War in Afghanistan
With the Taliban now firmly in control of the Afghan capital Kabul, it's impossible not to look at America's longest-running war and not ask: Was it all worth it? In today's daily deep dive, we re-air a recent interview with...
08.12.2021
The Cult of NXIVM
While the religious activities of cults are protected in the US by the First Amendment, the leader of secretive sex cult NXIVM committed crimes when he exploited and manipulated its adherents. What is it about cults that some find so...
08.11.2021
Behind the Scenes in the Jeffrey Epstein Story
The shadowy world of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who hung himself in his jail cell two years ago, was in many ways guarded by his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Veteran journalist Vicky Ward, host of the new podcast...
08.10.2021
Kamala Harris in the Media
Vice President Kamala Harris has blazed an unconventional and remarkable path in politics. First woman Vice President. First Black Vice President. First South Asian Vice President. Will the media ever give her a fair shake? Jen Palmieri, former White House...
08.09.2021
The Cyber Threat Landscape
Cybercrime, ransomware and brute force attacks - each has risen dramatically over the past year and a half, threatening both individuals and critical infrastructure around the world. Who are these attackers, what is the US doing about it and what...

What's The Recount Daily Pod about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Recount Daily Pod episodes:

Cokie Roberts, Pioneer Among Women in News

A Crisis of Violence: Homicides Spike in Georgia Prisons

Anxious About Climate Change? You're Not Alone

Polarization Can't Last Forever, Says George Will

Andrew Yang Wants to Change How We Vote

Can America's Student Loan Debts Just Get Canceled?

The Rise and Fall of Alleged Pyramid Scheme LuLaRoe

Could The Pandemic’s End Be Upon Us?

Is Recycling a Thing of the Past?

How Can the U.S. Help Haiti?

Is Miss America Still Relevant?

Medical Racism: A Pandemic That Urgently Needs Care

Closing Gitmo: Will President Biden Succeed?

Indigenous Peoples vs. Big Oil

Facebook is Harming Our Kids: Where Do We Draw the Line?

US-China Relations: Where Are We Headed?

How Can We Keep Our Children Safe From Guns?

Making Sense of America's Deep Divisions

Will the Future of Space Travel Look Like Air Travel Today?

Reining in Big Tech: Has the Time Come for More Regulation?

Racial Tensions in Southlake: The Conversations We Need

COVID and Kids: Can They Ever Recover?

Will the Toxic Gaming Culture Change?

Retirement at 50?

Using DNA Science to Level the Playing Field for Kids

Climate Change Reality Sinks In: Are We Prepared?

Home Alone: Pandemic Pets Cope With Separation Anxiety

The World of Cults: A Deep Dive

Ten Killed in Afghanistan: Was it ISIS-K or Innocents?

Afghan Refugees: A Humanitarian Crisis

Biden's Ambitious Agenda: NYT's Nicholas Kristof Weighs In

Rep. Charlie Crist on Florida's War Against COVID

Are UFOs real?

COVID and Kids: Should We Mandate Vaccines?

In the Age of Remote Work, Tech Workers Relocate

Coping with Stress and Trauma

The Theranos Trial

Lies and Deceit: How Social Media Fuels Misinformation

The Future for the Women and Girls of Afghanistan

One Man's Vision for a Trump-less Future Republican Party

PTSD and Moral Injury: The Legacy of Our Forever Wars

Higher Education post-COVID with Scott Galloway

Liberal Democracy Under Attack From Within

The Future of Abortion Rights

Police Reform and Mental Health

Taking Stock of America's War in Afghanistan

The Cult of NXIVM

Behind the Scenes in the Jeffrey Epstein Story

Kamala Harris in the Media

The Cyber Threat Landscape