The Daily Folgen

Federal prosecutors are asking a court to throw out their own criminal case against the former national security adviser Michael Flynn. We look at what led to that decision. Guest: Mark Mazzetti, a Washington investigative correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Attorney General William Barr’s extraordinary decision to drop the criminal case against Mr. Flynn shocked legal experts, won President Trump’s praise and prompted a career prosecutor to quit the caseThe federal judge overseeing the case has appointed a hard-charging former prosecutor and judge to oppose the Justice Department’s efforts. The dropped charges against Mr. Flynn granted him another turnabout in a life filled with them. 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.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court debated the nature of presidential power in two sets of cases regarding demands for President Trump’s personal records: one about his taxes, the other about claims that during his campaign he paid to silence women with whom he previously had affairs. This is what a constitutional clash on a conference call sounded like. Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Based on the court’s questions, our reporter thinks the two sets of cases may well be decided in different ways. Here are the full arguments, if you want to listen in.Aimee Stephens, the transgender plaintiff in another Supreme Court case who we spoke with on the show in November, has died of complications related to kidney failure. She was 59. 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 Italy, France and Spain entered national lockdowns, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was still shaking hands with coronavirus patients in hospitals, and then joking about it on national television. Then he was hospitalized with the virus — and by the time he returned, both his attitude and his approach to the crisis were transformed. Today, we explore why the country that was most skeptical of the virus may be the slowest to reopen. Guest: Mark Landler, the London bureau chief of The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Mr. Johnson announced a cautious plan for reopening over the weekend, including a new 14-day quarantine for foreign arrivals.While the British government frequently says it’s “guided by the science” in managing the crisis, the membership of its scientific advisory group, SAGE, has been a secret. 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.