The Daily Folgen

This episode contains strong language.In March, Daniel Prude was exhibiting signs of a mental health crisis. His brother called an ambulance in the hopes that Mr. Prude would be hospitalized, but he was sent back home after three hours without a diagnosis.Later, when Mr. Prude ran out of the house barely clothed into the Rochester night, his brother, Joe Prude, again called on the authorities for help, but this time it was to the police.After a struggle with officers, Daniel Prude suffered cardiac distress. It would be days before Joe Prude was able to visit him in the hospital — permitted only so he could decide whether to take his brother off life support — and months before the family would find out what had happened when he was apprehended.Today, we hear from Joe Prude about that night and examine the actions taken by the police during his brother’s arrest, including the official narrative that emerged after his death.Guest: Sarah Maslin Nir, a reporter for The New York Times, who spoke to Daniel Prude’s brother, Joe Prude.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: In the minutes after Mr. Prude’s heart briefly stopped during a struggle with officers, an unofficial police narrative took hold: He had suffered a drug overdose. But the release of body camera footage complicated that version of events.The Monroe County medical examiner ruled Mr. Prude’s death a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.” Seven Rochester police officers have now been suspended. 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.

Three months into Broadway’s shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, Michael Paulson, a theater reporter for The New York Times, got a call from a theater in western Massachusetts — they planned to put on “Godspell,” a well-loved and much-performed musical from 1971, in the summer.Today, we explore how, in the face of huge complications and potentially crushing risks, a regional production attempted to bring theater back to life.Guest: Michael Paulson, a theater reporter for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: Masks, partitions and a contactless crucifixion — the Berkshire Theater Group’s production of Godspell, labeled one of the “huggiest musicals ever created,” is also a kind of public health experiment. 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 strong language.Jimmy Lai was born in mainland China but made his fortune in Hong Kong, starting as a sweatshop worker and becoming a clothing tycoon. After the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, he turned his attention to the media, launching publications critical of China’s Communist Party.“I believe in the media,” he told Austin Ramzy, a Hong Kong reporter for The New York Times. “By delivering information, you’re actually delivering freedom.”In August, he was arrested under Hong Kong’s new Beijing-sponsored national security law.Today, we talk to Mr. Lai about his life, his arrest and campaigning for democracy in the face of China’s growing power.Guests: Austin Ramzy and Tiffany May, who cover Hong Kong for The Times, spoke with Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy media tycoon and founder of Apple Daily.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: In August, Mr. Lai, his two sons and four executives from Apple Daily were arrested under the new national security law. The publication was a target and a test case for the government’s authority over the media. 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.