The Daily

Almost from the moment that he was appointed to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt has been cast by environmentalists as an ideologue on a mission to destroy the very agency he runs. But Mr. Pruitt, who built a career suing to block environmental rules, sees it differently. Guests: Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Coral Davenport, who covers energy and environmental policy for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Republicans insist that their push to release a secret memo that is said to question the conduct of the F.B.I. and the Justice Department in the early stages of the Russia investigation is not an attempt to undermine the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller. But whatever their intentions, the possible fallout from the memo’s release has everything to do with Mr. Mueller. Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, who has been covering the Russia investigation for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

In his first State of the Union address, President Trump left behind divisive rhetoric and called for one American family. But hidden in his many stories of everyday American heroes was a deeply nationalist message. Guest: Mark Landler, a White House correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

The U.S. government announced this month that it would withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Pakistan. In the weeks since, Afghanistan has experienced one of the most violent and deadly periods in its 16-year war. How are the two connected? Guest: Mujib Mashal, a New York Times correspondent in Afghanistan, who describes the sense of terror in Kabul. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

As the Trump administration clamps down on immigration, some asylum seekers are fleeing to Canada. But is it the promised land they had hoped for? Guest: Dan Bilefsky, a New York Times reporter in Canada. Thank you to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for their interviews with migrants crossing the border. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

The New York Times is reporting that President Trump tried to order the firing of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, but ultimately backed down when his own lawyer threatened to quit. And Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, talks about trying to hammer out a compromise on immigration policy. He has described dealing with the White House as “like negotiating with Jell-O.” Guests: Michael S. Schmidt, who covers national security for The Times; Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Dr. Lawrence G. Nassar was lauded as the go-to doctor for the United States’ best gymnasts. After he pleaded guilty to multiple sex crimes, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina cleared her docket to give each of his accusers a chance to speak at the sentencing hearing. More than 150 women, including several Olympians, confronted Dr. Nassar in the courtroom and spoke of their abuse over seven days. It was an extraordinary use of the courtroom — and a new way of thinking about justice. Guests: Emily Bazelon, who covers legal issues for The New York Times Magazine; Makayla Thrush, a former gymnast, spoke to Sabrina Tavernise, a Times reporter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Tonya Harding had talent, but the world of figure skating wanted nothing to do with her. She was called “white trash.” And when Nancy Kerrigan was bashed in the knee just before the 1994 Winter Olympics, Ms. Harding became a villain. Now, 24 years later, her narrative is being revisited — and she is back in the spotlight. Guest: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who interviewed Tonya Harding (now Tonya Price) for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

President Trump’s plan to build a “big, beautiful wall” between the United States and Mexico has become the ultimate symbol of a hard-line immigration policy. So why, as Congress voted to end a government shutdown and take up the issue of immigration, have Democrats suggested that they would agree to fund the wall if Republicans protect the Dreamers?Guest: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, a White House correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Democrats forced the federal government to shut down by saying there could be no budget deal without a deal on the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Republicans have refused to end the shutdown by saying there can be no DACA deal without a budget deal. There’s been a lot of finger-pointing between the two parties, and the future of young undocumented immigrants hangs in the balance. Guest: Thomas Kaplan, a New York Times reporter who covers Congress. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

The only Democrat in the room when President Trump railed against African immigrants as coming from “shithole countries” tells his side of the story. The ensuing fight over immigration has put the government on the verge of a shutdown. If that happens, whose fault would it be? Guests: Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, who spoke to Carl Hulse, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times, about the meetings with President Trump; Jonathan Weisman, the deputy Washington editor for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

America’s addiction crisis has become a lucrative business, and fortunes have been made in the growing rehab industry. But the death of a patient in California has raised questions about how to treat people who want to get clean, and what it means to profit from the health crisis. Guest: Michael Corkery, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on border walls turned into a fight over the language President Trump used to describe Haiti and some African countries. Why does it matter so much to members of Congress? Also, Stephen Bannon is the first member of Mr. Trump’s inner circle to receive a grand jury subpoena in the Russia investigation. Guests: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, a White House correspondent for The New York Times; Michael S. Schmidt, an investigative reporter for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

As South Korea prepares to host the Winter Olympics, it has been eager to get the North to participate. What is Seoul afraid will happen if it won’t? And, for 38 minutes on Saturday morning, people in Hawaii believed that a missile was headed for the state. Guest: Susan Chira, a Times journalist who covered Asia in the 1980s, when South Korea hosted the Olympic Games for the first time; voice mail messages from people who received a false alert about an incoming missile attack in Hawaii. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

President Trump has demanded to know why the United States should welcome immigrants from “shithole countries.” His words have alarmed lawmakers and threatened an immigration deal. But they have also raised a question about a certain American ideal: Who should be let in? Guest: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, who covers the White House for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

When President Trump announced that he would end the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, he gave Congress six months to make it law. Otherwise, many undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children could be deported. As the clock counts down, why is the president making the program his problem once again?Guest: Michael D. Shear, a White House correspondent for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

George Papadopoulos drew worldwide attention when he was identified as the low-ranking foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign who got in over his head with Russia and inadvertently set off the Mueller investigation. But another foreign policy adviser, Carter Page, also drew the attention of the F.B.I.: Why did his story end so differently? Guest: Jason Zengerle, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.To take our audience survey, visit nytimes.com/podcasts and look for the "take our listener survey" button.

In 2001, the United States granted Temporary Protected Status to people from El Salvador, after two deadly earthquakes ravaged their country. Nearly 20 years later, that protection seemed to be permanent. And then he Trump administration announced that the rights would end. Guest: Azam Ahmed, the New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Five days after the release of the tell-all book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” President Trump defended his mental health, calling himself a “very stable genius.” And Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s former chief strategist, backed away from calling Donald Trump Jr. “treasonous.” Why did a publication with little new reporting in it cause such a big stir? Guests: Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The New York Times; Jeremy W. Peters, a Times journalist who has reported on Mr. Bannon for years. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

After eight days, the largest protests in Iran in years appear to be winding down, calmed, at least in part, by the government. But a closer look at what ignited the outrage in the first place suggests that the country’s president may have lit the match. Guest: Thomas Erdbrink, the Tehran bureau chief for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.