legal strategy

To win a conviction against former President Donald J. Trump for trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election, Jack Smith, the special counsel, is applying laws in ways that have never been used before.

Charlie Savage, a Washington correspondent for The Times, explains Mr. Smith’s approach and previews Mr. Trump’s likely response.

Guest: Charlie Savage, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• By layering varied charges atop the same facts, while sidestepping a free-speech question, the special counsel has structured the election indictment to reduce risk.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

After Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, a group of conservative lawyers embarked on what would become a decades-long mission to reverse the ruling.

One of those lawyers, James Bopp, explains how they succeeded and what comes next.

Guest: James Bopp, general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee. 

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Background reading: 

• Reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision reflected a polarized nation: jubilation and relief on one side, outrage and grief on the other. Both sides quickly pivoted to the fights ahead.
• Reversing the ruling in Roe v. Wade, far from settling the matter, has instead kindled court and political battles across the states that are likely to go on for years.

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

The idea that a person who can't understand the crime they've committed is wrong lets them off the hook from culpability for their actions is a longstanding pillar of Western criminal law. Learn about some of the prominent and overlooked cases where the accused has plead insanity in this episode of Stuff You Should Know.

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