The Tragic Death and Enduring Legacy of Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner, the classic film director, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were killed on Sunday at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged the couple’s son, Nick, with first-degree murder.Julia Jacobs, an arts and culture reporter for The New York Times, explains what we have learned about the deaths, and Wesley Morris, a critic at The Times, discusses why many of Rob Reiner’s films are so beloved.Guest:Julia Jacobs, who reports on culture and the arts for The New York Times.Wesley Morris, a critic at The New York Times who writes about art and popular culture.Background reading: Rob Reiner, the actor who went on to direct classic films, died at 78.Nick Reiner was formally charged on Tuesday with murdering his parents.Photo: Universal/Getty ImagesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Warning: This episode contains strong language.Palantir, a data analysis and technology company, has secured federal contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars during President Trump’s second presidency, including to develop software to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement deport people.Michael Steinberger, who spent six years interviewing Palantir’s chief executive, Alex Karp, for the book “The Philosopher in the Valley,” explains how Mr. Karp went from a self-described lifelong Democrat to a champion of Mr. Trump, and the impact this transformation could have on American democracy.Guest: Michael Steinberger, a contributing writer to The New York Times.Background reading: Listen to an interview with Mr. Karp from the DealBook Summit this month.In May, the Trump administration tapped Palantir to compile data on Americans.Here is Mr. Steinberger’s book, which this episode is based on.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

A New York Times review of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s actions on immigration showed that decisions he and his closest advisers made created an opening for a more aggressive Trump administration agenda.Christopher Flavelle, who interviewed more than 30 former Biden administration officials who worked on immigration and border policy, explains how Mr. Biden fumbled the immigration issue, and what the Democratic Party can learn from his missteps.Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: How Mr. Biden ignored warnings and lost Americans’ faith in immigration.Read four takeaways from The Times’s reporting on Mr. Biden’s immigration record.Photo: Paul Ratje for The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

As 2025 comes to an end, The Sunday Special is looking back on the year in culture.This week, we’re listening to the songs and albums that defined the year, for better or worse. Gilbert Cruz is joined by Caryn Ganz and Lindsay Zoladz from The Times’s pop music desk to discuss some of the biggest and best releases of 2025.Albums and songs mentioned in this episode:Bad Bunny, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”Lady Gaga, “Mayhem”Justin Bieber, “Daisies”Chappell Roan, “The Giver” and “The Subway”Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild”Doechii, “Alligator Bites Never Heal”Taylor Swift, “The Life of a Showgirl”Morgan Wallen, “I’m the Problem”Ghost, “Skeletá”Dijon, “Baby”Geese, “Getting Killed”Water From Your Eyes, “It’s a Beautiful Place”PinkPantheress, “Fancy That”Lily Allen, “Tennis”Ella Langley, “Choosin’ Texas”Sleigh Bells, “Bunky Becky Birthday Boy”Hayley Williams, “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party”Turnstile, “Never Enough”On Today’s EpisodeCaryn Ganz is the pop music editor at The Times.Lindsay Zoladz is a pop music critic at The Times and the writer of The Amplifier newsletter.Additional ReadingBest Albums of 2025Best Songs of 2025 Photo Illustration by The New York Times; From left, Angela Weiss/AFP — Getty Images (Lady Gaga); OK McCausland for The New York Times (Geese); Erika Santelices/Reuters (Bad Bunny); Helle Arensbak/AFP -- Getty Images, via Ritzau Scanpix (PinkPantheress) Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

The current and former lawmakers get candid about bipartisan politics, party leadership and the state of the Senate.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected] our show on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheInterviewPodcastFor transcripts and more, visit: nytimes.com/theinterview Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

President Trump has overseen an aggressive foreign policy, including harsh words about Europe and a lethal military campaign in the Caribbean.Last week, the White House unveiled its new national security strategy, which made Mr. Trump’s true goals clear and alarmed countries around the world.David E. Sanger, who covers the White House and national security for The New York Times, explains what the strategy is and how it may change America’s global relationships for good.Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Trump’s security strategy focuses on profit, not on spreading democracy.The policy document formalizes Mr. Trump’s long-held contempt for Europe’s leaders.Photo: Ricardo Arduengo/ReutersFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

In the year since President Trump roared back to power, one of the most surprising story lines of his second term has been a series of public ruptures between him and the movement he created.Robert Draper, who covers domestic politics for The New York Times, discusses the growing tensions inside the MAGA movement and what they tell us about what the American right might look like in a post-Trump world.Guest: Robert Draper, who covers domestic politics.Background reading: After an interview with a white nationalist, Tucker Carlson has continued to fracture the right.Marjorie Taylor Greene strove both to be the ultimate Trump warrior and to be taken seriously. She wound up in political exile.Nick Fuentes is a white nationalist problem for the right.Photo: Doug Mills/The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

The Supreme Court’s liberal minority has voted, over and over again, to oppose the court’s conservative majority in what might look like a united front of resistance. But behind the scenes, there are growing tensions between those liberal justices over the best way to mitigate the rightward lurch of the court.Jodi Kantor, who uncovered the story, explains what she found.Guest: Jodi Kantor, a New York Times reporter whose job is to carefully uncover secrets and illuminate how power operates.Background reading: Read about the debate dividing the Supreme Court’s liberal justices.Photo: Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States, via Associated PressFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Netflix announced plans on Friday to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business, in a deal that would send shock waves through Hollywood.On Monday, Paramount made a hostile bid for the studio, arguing that the Netflix deal would be “anti-competitive.”The Times journalists Nicole Sperling, Kyle Buchanan and Lauren Hirsch discuss what it all means for the future of TV and film.Guest:Nicole Sperling, a New York Times reporter in Los Angeles who covers Hollywood and the streaming revolution.Kyle Buchanan, a pop culture reporter and the awards-season columnist for The New York Times.Lauren Hirsch, a New York Times reporter who covers the biggest stories on Wall Street, including mergers and acquisitions.Background reading: Netflix planned to buy Warner Bros. Discovery in $83 billion deal to create a streaming giant.Paramount made a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.Photo: Aleksey Kondratyev for The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Warning: This episode mentions suicide.In March, the U.S. government sent more than 200 Venezuelan men to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Over four months, the men said they endured physical, mental and sexual abuse.Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief at The New York Times, interviewed 40 of these prisoners. She explains what she found out about this part of President Trump’s program of mass deportation.Guest: Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief for The New York Times, based in Bogotá, Colombia.Background reading: “You are all terrorists”: four months in a Salvadoran prison.Photo: Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.