The Daily Folgen

Few leaders have had as profound an effect on their time as Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who died this week at 91.It was not Mr. Gorbachev’s intention to liquidate the Soviet empire when he came to power in 1985. But after little more than six tumultuous years, he had lifted the Iron Curtain and presided over the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, ending the Cold War.Guest: Serge Schmemann, a member of The New York Times’s editorial board.Background reading: Adopting principles of glasnost and perestroika, Mr. Gorbachev weighed the legacy of seven decades of Communist rule and set a new course, decisively altering the political climate of the world.With the war in Ukraine, Russia’s current leader, Vladimir V. Putin, is trying to unravel Mr. Gorbachev’s legacy.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.

This episode contains detailed descriptions of a mass shooting that some listeners may find disturbing.A trial is underway in Parkland, Fla., to determine the fate of the gunman who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.The trial is expected to last for months, forcing people in Parkland to relive the pain of a day they have spent years trying to put behind them.We look back at conversations with some of the survivors of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.Guest: Jack Healy, a national correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The rare trial of a gunman in a mass shooting has underscored how massacres shatter families and communities over time.As weeks of painful testimony and videos unfold to determine whether the Parkland gunman will face the death penalty, students who spoke out about gun violence have encouraged engagement and changed the national debate.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.

This episode contains discussions about suicide, self-harm and mental health issues.In decades past, the public health risks teenagers in the United States faced were different. They were externalized risks that were happening in the physical world.Now, a new set of risks has emerged.In 2019, 13 percent of adolescents reported having a major depressive episode, a 60 percent increase from 2007. And suicide rates, which had been stable from 2000 to 2007 among this group, leaped nearly 60 percent by 2018.We explore why this mental health crisis has become so widespread, and why many people have been unprepared to handle it.Guest: Matt Richtel, a correspondent based in San Francisco for The New York Times.Background reading: Depression, self-harm and suicide are rising among American adolescents. The coronavirus pandemic intensified the decline in mental health among teenagers but predated it.Increasingly, anxious and depressed teens are using multiple, powerful psychiatric drugs, many of them untested in adolescents or for use in tandem.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.