A Bit of Relief: Alone Together

President Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week set off a furious discussion among Democratic officials, donors and strategists about whether and how to replace him as the party’s nominee.

Peter Baker, who is the chief White House correspondent for The Times, takes us inside those discussions and Biden’s effort to shut them down.

Guest: Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• President Biden’s allies can no longer wave away concerns about his capacity after his unsteady performance at Thursday’s debate.
• Mr. Biden’s family is urging him to keep fighting.

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

In a broken world, what can we gain by looking another animal in the eye? "Animal" is a six-part, round-the-world journey in search of an answer. In Episode 5, the writer Sam Anderson travels to an obscure memorial in rural Japan: the statue of the last Japanese wolf.

For photos and videos of Sam's journey to Japan, visit nytimes.com/animal. 

In the first debate of the 2024 race, President Biden hoped to make the case that Donald J. Trump was unfit to return to the White House. Instead, Mr. Biden’s weak performance deepened doubts about his own fitness for the job.

Astead W. Herndon, who covers politics for The Times, explains what happened.

Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter for The New York Times and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up.”

Background reading: 

• President Biden’s shaky, halting debate performance has Democrats talking about replacing him on the ticket.
• Here are six takeaways from 2024’s first presidential debate.

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

A new doping scandal is rocking the world of competitive swimming, as the Paris Olympics approach. These allegations are raising questions about fairness in the sport and whether the results at the summer games can be trusted.

Michael S. Schmidt, one of the reporters who broke the story, explains the controversy and what it reveals about the struggle to police doping in sports.

Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Chinese swimmers twice tested positive for drugs. They kept on swimming.
• U.S. swimming stars assailed the World Anti-Doping Agency ahead of the Olympics.

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

The far right in France had a big win this month, crushing the party of President Emmanuel Macron in elections for the European Parliament. But the results did not affect France’s government at home — until Mr. Macron changed that.

Roger Cohen, the Paris bureau chief for The Times, discusses the huge political gamble Mr. Macron has taken, which has brought the far right closer than ever to gaining real power in France.

Guest: Roger Cohen, the Paris bureau chief for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Battered by the far right in voting for the European Parliament, Emmanuel Macron called for new elections in France.
• The president has challenged voters to test the sincerity of their support for the far right. Were the French letting off steam in the European elections, or did they really mean it?

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

A powerful group supporting Israel is trying to defeat sitting members of Congress who have criticized the country’s deadly war against Hamas.

Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York politics for The Times, explains why it appears that strategy may work in today’s Democratic primary in New York.

Guest: Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York politics and government for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The American Israel Public Affairs Committee unleashed a record $14.5 million bid to defeat Representative Jamaal Bowman, a critic of Israel.
• What to know about Mr. Bowman’s bitter Democratic primary race.

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

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of injuries.

Myanmar is home to one of the deadliest, most intractable civil wars on the planet. But something new is happening. Unusual numbers of young people from the cities, including students, poets and baristas, have joined the country’s rebel militias. And this coalition is making startling gains against the country’s military dictatorship.

Hannah Beech, who covers stories across Asia for The Times, discusses this surprising resistance movement.

Guest: Hannah Beech, a Bangkok-based reporter for The New York Times, focusing on investigative and in-depth stories in Asia.

Background reading: 

• Rebel fighters have handed Myanmar’s army defeat after defeat, for the first time raising the possibility that the military junta could be at risk of collapse.
• What’s happening in Myanmar’s civil war?

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

In a broken world, what can we gain by looking another animal in the eye? "Animal" is a six-part, round-the-world journey in search of an answer. In Episode 4, the writer Sam Anderson soothes his anxiety by visiting a convention center in Ohio.

For photos and videos of Sam's adventure with manatees, visit nytimes.com/animal.

Ryan Fehr's work focuses on building more positive organizations - organizations that leverage things like gratitude, compassion, and forgiveness to make work more fulfilling and enjoyable. In this conversation we talk about his research into gratitude, how and why you might want to work to increase your gratitude through interventions like journaling, the gratitude letter and acts of appreciation. We also talk about the relationship between gratitude and stress and gratitude and mindfulness.

Ryan also introduced me to the idea of designing a gratitude "boot camp" which comes from a leading researcher on the subject, Robert Emmons.  Both Ryan and I talked about keeping Thank You notes we've received as well as emails in place where they can be easily referenced when you need a little pick-me-up. The episode is full of great ideas for boosting your own gratitude and introducing more gratitude into your organization.

A great resource to learn more about gratitude is Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley. Their website provides detailed instructions for many of the practices Ryan and I discussed like the gratitude letter and gratitude journaling. You can learn more on their website or podcast, The Science of Happiness.

Books:

• Gratitude Works, by Robert Emmons, you can also read more from Emmons on The Greater Good Science Center. 
• The Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, by Gary Chapman and Paul White