The Daily

Europe’s vaccination process was expected to be well-orchestrated and efficient. So far, it’s been neither. Sabrina Tavernise, a national correspondent for The Times, spoke with our colleague Matina Stevis-Gridneff about Europe’s problems and why things could get worse before they get better.

Guest: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Brussels correspondent for The New York Times, covering the European Union.

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Background reading:

• A cascade of small decisions has led to increasingly long delays in the European Union’s inoculation efforts. While Washington went into business with the drug companies, Brussels took a conservative, budget-conscious approach that left the open market largely untouched. And it has paid for it.
• Falling behind the pace of vaccine rollouts in countries like Britain, the United States and Israel, Europe is now tightening export rules in a bid to speed up its inoculation campaign and stem political criticism.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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Japan is the “grayest” nation in the world. Close to 30 percent of the population is over 65. The reason is its low birthrate, which has caused the population to contract since 2007.

With the birthrate in the United States also dropping, what are the implications of a shrinking population, and what lessons can be learned from Japan?

Guest: Motoko Rich, the Tokyo bureau chief for The New York Times.

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Background reading:

• The contracting population in Japan poses a serious threat to the country’s economic vitality and the security of its social safety net.
• As Japan’s population shrinks and ages, rural areas are emptying out. In one childless village, two dozen adults compensate for the absence with the company of hundreds of giant handmade dolls.
• The birthrate in the United States declined for the sixth straight year in 2020 and has fallen by about 19 percent since its recent peak in 2007.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

In their first and possibly only presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris dominated and enraged former President Donald J. Trump.

Jonathan Swan, who covers politics and the Trump campaign for The Times, explains how a night that could have been about Ms. Harris’s record instead became about Mr. Trump’s temperament.

Guest: Jonathan Swan, a political correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading:

• Read The Times’s live coverage of the debate as it happened.
• Who won? Here’s a sampling of the reaction.
• And here’s a fact-check on Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

Universities across the United States have long prided themselves on bridging the differences between their students. How the coronavirus has instead reinforced inequalities that campus life can hide. Guest: Nicholas Casey, a national politics reporter at The New York Times, who spoke to faculty and students at Haverford College, a liberal arts school near Philadelphia. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:

• When the students were sleeping in the same dorms and eating the same dining hall food, the disparities in their backgrounds weren’t as clear as they are over video chat. Here’s a peek inside two students’ vastly different worlds.

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Throughout the pandemic, businesses of all sizes have faced delays, product shortages and rising costs linked to disruptions in the global supply chain. Consumers have been confronted with an experience rare in modern times: no stock available, and no idea when it will come in.

Our correspondent, Peter Goodman, went to one of the largest ports in the United States to witness the crisis up close. In this episode, he explains why this economic havoc might not be temporary — and could require a substantial refashioning of the world’s shipping infrastructure.

Guest: Peter Goodman, a global economics correspondent for The New York Times.

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Background reading:

• An enduring traffic jam at the Port of Savannah reveals why the chaos in global shipping is likely to persist.
• This week, President Biden announced that major ports and companies, including Walmart, UPS and FedEx, would expand their working hours as his administration struggles to relieve growing backlogs in the global supply chains.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.