The Daily

Pop culture has not been kind to the Neanderthal. In books, movies and even TV commercials, the species is portrayed as rough and mindless, a brutish type that was rightly supplanted by our Homo sapiens ancestors.
But even 40,000 years after the last Neanderthals walked the earth, we continue to make discoveries that challenge that portrayal. New research suggests Neanderthals might have been less primitive — and a lot more like modern humans — than we might have thought.
The Times science reporters Carl Zimmer and Franz Lidz discuss recent discoveries about Neanderthals, and what those discoveries can tell us about the origins of humanity.
 
On Today’s Episode:
Carl Zimmer writes the Origins column and covers news about science for The Times.
Franz Lidz writes about archaeology for The Times.
 
Background Reading:
The Year in Neanderthals
Morning Person? You Might Have Neanderthal Genes to Thank.
What Makes Your Brain Different From a Neanderthal’s?
The Neanderthal Inside Us
 
Photo: Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

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The “Hamnet” director on trying to overcome her deepest fears — and open her heart.
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Three years after his appointment as special counsel, Jack Smith finally delivered the legal argument against President Trump on Thursday that he was never allowed to make in court.
Glenn Thrush, who reports on the Justice Department, explains what Mr. Smith told Congress and why his message is likely to make him Mr. Trump’s next target.
Guest: Glenn Thrush, who reports on the Justice Department for The New York Times.
Background reading: 
In his testimony, Jack Smith defended the decision to prosecute Mr. Trump.
Here are four takeaways from what he said to a House committee.
Photo: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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.

President Trump has been raising tensions around the world for weeks by claiming that he would stop at nothing in his quest to seize Greenland from Denmark.
But on Wednesday, he appeared to back down, announcing that he’d reached the framework of an agreement with NATO over Greenland’s future.
Mark Landler, the London bureau chief, explains the ups and downs of Mr. Trump’s Greenland gambit, and why it may signal the beginning of a new world order.
Guest: Mark Landler, the London bureau chief of The New York Times, working with a team of correspondents to cover the United Kingdom.
Background reading: 
Mr. Trump said he had a framework for a Greenland deal as NATO mulled the idea of U.S. sovereignty over bases.
For decades, leaders have gathered in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss a shared economic and political future. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump turned the forum into a bracing clash between his worldview and theirs.
Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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.

For weeks, protests around Minneapolis have caught nationwide attention as the city shows open defiance to a federal immigration crackdown.
But behind the scenes, a quieter organized resistance has taken shape.
Anna Foley and Michael Simon Johnson, producers for “The “Daily,” go on the ground in Minneapolis to capture that effort, and Charles Homans, a New York Times reporter, explains why the city has become ground zero in the fight over the government’s deportation strategy.
Guest: Charles Homans, a reporter for The New York Times and The Times Magazine, covering national politics.
Background reading: 
In Minneapolis, an intense cat-and-mouse game is putting enraged residents face to face with heavily armed federal agents.
President Trump’s fight with Minnesota is about more than immigration.
Photo: Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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.