The Sunday Read: ‘How Cheerleading Became So Acrobatic, Dangerous and Popular’

Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and death.On Wednesday afternoon, a guilty verdict was reached in the death of the Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. A 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela was convicted.Rick Rojas, the Atlanta bureau chief for The Times, discusses the case, and how it became a flashpoint in the national debate over border security.Guest: Rick Rojas, the Atlanta bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Ms. Riley, 22, was attacked in February while running on a trail on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Her killer was sentenced to life in prison.Lawmakers in Georgia approved tougher rules on immigration after the killing.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.

For decades, breast augmentations have been one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries in the United States. But in recent years, a new trend has emerged: the breast reduction.Lisa Miller, who covers personal and cultural approaches to health for The Times, discusses why the procedure has become so common.Guest: Lisa Miller, a domestic correspondent for the Well section of The New York Times.Background reading: Are women asserting their independence or capitulating to yet another impossible standard of beauty?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.

Warning: this episode contains strong language.For the past two weeks, Lynsea Garrison of “The Daily” has been talking to people who were part of a movement, known as the resistance, that opposed Donald Trump’s first term as president.With Mr. Trump preparing to again retake the White House, she asked those past protesters how they might react this time.Background reading: Was Mr. Trump’s election a setback for women? Even women do not agree.Nonprofits have vowed a new resistance. Will donors pay up?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.

Nationwide, just over a million children, mostly girls, participate in cheer each year (some estimates are even higher), more than the number who play softball or lacrosse. And almost every part of that world is dominated by a single company: Varsity Spirit.It’s hard to cheer at the youth, high school or collegiate level without putting money in the company’s pocket. Varsity operates summer camps where children learn to do stunts and perform; it hosts events where they compete; it sells pompoms they shake and uniforms they wear on the sidelines of high school and college football games.Varsity’s market power has made the cheer world a paranoid place. In the reporting for this article, dozens of people spoke about the company in conspiratorial tones better suited to a spy thriller. 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.

Dr. Ellen Wiebe has performed hundreds of medical aid in dying (or MAID) procedures and is one of Canada’s most prominent advocates for the practice. David Marchese had questions — medical, legal and philosophical — about when it makes sense for doctors to help people to die, and also about how MAID might shape our thinking on what, exactly, constitutes a good death.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.