The Daily

Lise Davidsen is one of the greatest opera singers of our time — a soprano with a voice so rare, critics reach back a century for comparison. This spring, she has been starring in a sold-out new production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” at the Metropolitan Opera. But she’s also at a crossroads: Her first performance as “Isolde” on the Met stage came just nine months after giving birth to twins.

Today on The Sunday Daily, Natalie Kitroeff talks with the Times writer Zachary Woolfe about his recent conversation with Davidsen, and the unexpected emotional weight she felt while returning to the stage as a new mother. They discuss how a production centered on birth, death and renewal gave Davidsen a way to work through this seismic shift in her life, all while tackling the role of a lifetime.

On Today’s Episode:

Zachary Woolfe is a writer and editor for The New York Times.

Background Reading:

With Twin Babies, the Opera Star Lise Davidsen Wonders What Comes Next

The Met Opera’s Desperate Hunt for Money

Photo credit: Amir Hamja for The New York Times

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Did President Trump fall for the myth of surgical warfare? Gen. Stanley McChrystal joins the columnist David French, both veterans of the Iraq War, to discuss what may have been overlooked in the planning of Operation Epic Fury. McChrystal, who retired from the Army in 2010, argues that the United States often overestimates the decisive power of aerial bombing while underestimating the weight of historical grievance. And the general weighs in on the current culture of bravado coming from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

This conversation was recorded on Friday, March 20. 

Thoughts? Questions? Email us at [email protected]

This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur and Victoria Chamberlin. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Mixing by Isaac Jones and Pat McCusker. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair, Mary Marge Locker and Michelle Harris. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The deputy director of Opinion Shows is Alison Bruzek. The director of Opinion Shows is Annie-Rose Strasser.

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.

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President Trump announced that he would be replacing Pam Bondi as attorney general on Thursday.

Tyler Pager, who broke the story of her removal, discusses how she fell out of favor with the president.

Guest: Tyler Pager, a White House correspondent for The New York Times covering President Trump and his administration.

Background reading: 

Mr. Trump fired Ms. Bondi through a social media post on Thursday.

Missteps on the Epstein files had put her job in jeopardy.

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.

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The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday morning over President Trump’s efforts to limit birthright citizenship. In a historic first, the president himself showed up to the hearing.

Ann E. Marimow, who covers the Supreme Court, took us inside the room. 

Guest: Ann E. Marimow covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times from Washington.

Background reading: 

Here are five takeaways from the birthright citizenship argument.

Mr. Trump attended the Supreme Court oral arguments, then left an hour in.

Photo: Anna Rose Layden 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.

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Today, NASA is set to send four astronauts on a trip around the moon and back. If the mission succeeds, a return of astronauts to the moon’s surface could follow.

Kenneth Chang, who covers science, explains why the United States wants to go back to the moon. 

Guest: Kenneth Chang, a science reporter at The New York Times who writes about NASA and the solar system.

Background reading: 

What to know about NASA’s Artemis II moon mission.

For a member of the crew, the journey to the moon is “starting to feel real.”

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/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.

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