A Vulnerable China Comes to the Table

Over the weekend, top negotiators from the U.S. and China met for the first time since President Trump rapidly escalated a trade war between the world’s two economic superpowers.Keith Bradsher, the Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times, discusses the pressures facing China, as it came to the negotiating table and why it so badly needs a deal.Guest: Keith Bradsher, the Beijing bureau chief for The New York TimesBackground reading: The U.S. said ‘substantial progress’ had been made in trade talks with China.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Photo: Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

For eight years running, Finland has been rated the happiest country in the world by a peculiar United Nations-backed project called the World Happiness Report, started in 2012. Soon after Finland shot to the top of the list, its government set up a “happiness tourism” initiative, which now offers itineraries highlighting the cultural elements that ostensibly contribute to its status: foraging, fresh air, trees, lakes, sustainably produced meals and, perhaps above all else, saunas.Instead of adhering to one of these optimal itineraries or visiting Finland at the rosiest time of year (any time except the dead of winter), Molly Young arrived with few plans at all during one of the bleakest months. Would the happiest country on earth still be so mirthful at its gloomiest? Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The Bumble CEO has returned to run the struggling company she founded, and says she has a plan for getting Gen Z back. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The world’s 1.4 billion Catholics have a new pope, and for the first time, he is from America.Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief of The New York Times, introduces us to Pope Leo XIV.Guest: Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief of The New York TimesBackground reading: Who is Pope Leo XIV?The first American pope took a global route to the role.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Photo: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Jeanna Smialek, who covers the U.S. economy for The Times, will be 33 in a few weeks; she is part of a cohort born in 1990 and 1991 that makes up the peak of America’s population.At every life stage, that microgeneration has stretched a system that was often too small to accommodate it, leaving its members — so-called peak millennials — with outsize economic power but also a fight to get ahead.Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a U.S. economy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: When millennials gripe that they get blamed for everything, the accusers might actually be onto something.Millennials have the children, but boomers have the houses.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.