Song playlists at presidential campaign rallies can be about more than music — they can reflect a candidate’s values, political platform, identity and target audience. We examine the role of these playlists in the 2020 campaign. Guest: Astead W. Herndon, who covers national politics for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 

Background reading:The Times analyzed playlists used by nine Democratic candidates and President Trump to see how they help set the tone for each campaign. Turn your sound on.

What the 2020 Campaign Sounds Like

This is what the news should sound like. The biggest stories of our time, told by the best journalists in the world. Hosted by Michael Barbaro and Sabrina Tavernise. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, ready by 6 a.m.

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A Times investigation shows how the country’s biggest technology companies, as they raced to build powerful new artificial intelligence systems, bent and broke the rules from the start.

Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The Times, explains what he uncovered.

Guest: Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The New York Times.

A.I.’s Original Sin

Overnight on Saturday, Iran launched its first direct attack on Israeli soil, shooting hundreds of missiles and drones at multiple targets.

Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The Times, explains what happened and considers whether a broader war is brewing in the Middle East.

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

Iran’s Unprecedented Attack on Israel

At the center of the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Manhattan is the accusation that Trump took part in a scheme to turn The National Enquirer and its sister publications into an arm of his 2016 presidential campaign. The documents detailed three “hush money” payments made to a series of individuals to guarantee their silence about potentially damaging stories in the months before the election. Because this was done with the goal of helping his election chances, the case implied, these payments amounted to a form of illegal, undisclosed campaign spending. And because Trump created paperwork to make the payments seem like regular legal expenses, that amounted to a criminal effort at a coverup, argued Alvin Bragg, the district attorney of Manhattan. Trump has denied the charges against him.

For Lachlan Cartwright, reading the indictment was like stepping through the looking glass, because it described a three-year period in his own professional life, one that he has come to deeply regret. Now, as a former president faces a criminal trial for the first time in American history, Cartwright is forced to grapple with what really happened at The Enquirer in those years — and whether and how he can ever set things right.

The Sunday Read: ‘What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise’

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence.

A massive scam targeting older Americans who own timeshare properties has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars sent to Mexico.

Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The Times, tells the story of a victim who lost everything, and of the criminal group making the scam calls — Jalisco New Generation, one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.

Guest: Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The New York Times based in Mexico City.

How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam

For former President Donald J. Trump, 2024 was supposed to be dominated by criminal trials. Instead, he’s found ways to delay almost all of them.

Alan Feuer, who covers the criminal cases against Mr. Trump for The Times, explains how he did it.

Guest: Alan Feuer, who covers extremism and political violence for The New York Times.

What the 2020 Campaign Sounds Like

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