The Daily

If you dine out regularly, you might have noticed some changes in restaurants over the past few years. Perhaps you’ve found yourself ordering at a counter, scanning a QR code to see the menu, or eating … a lot more soft serve.
These changes aren’t just trends. Brett Anderson, a New York Times food reporter, says they are restaurant owners’ desperate attempts to stay afloat in an industry in crisis. According to a report from the National Restaurant Association, 42 percent of restaurant owners said they weren’t profitable in 2025. Many of them were at serious risk of closing.
In this episode of “The Sunday Daily,” Brett talks with our host Michael Barbaro about the economic realities that are forcing businesses to rethink the entire concept of a restaurant, including a radical experiment at one Minneapolis diner that stopped charging for food entirely.
On Today’s Episode:
Brett Anderson, a reporter for the Food section of The New York Times.
Background Reading:
This Restaurant Stopped Charging for Food. And Profits Are Up.
The Restaurant List 2026
Photo credit: Caroline Yang for The New York Times.

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The comedian and filmmaker on what real friendship looks like, what keeps him up at night and his new movie, "Misty Green."
Thoughts? Email us at theinterview@nytimes.com
Watch our show on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheInterviewPodcast
For transcripts and more, visit: nytimes.com/theinterview

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, Spotify and Amazon Music. 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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An alleged campus sexual assault at Cornell University has gripped the country and ignited a national debate over consent.
Debra Kamin, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, explains what we know about what happened.
Guest: Debra Kamin, an investigative reporter for the The New York Times.
Background reading:
Documents reviewed by The Times reveal how a Cornell student went from shame to action.
A Cornell police report omitted the student’s claim that she was raped.
Photo: Heather Ainsworth 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, Spotify and Amazon Music. 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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In the five years since student athletes have been allowed to earn money, college sports have become a chaotic and murky marketplace where players can move from team to team chasing a payday.
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic explains why, this week, Washington decided to step in.
Guest: Stewart Mandel, the editor in chief of college football for The Athletic and a host of its college football podcast “The Audible.”
Background reading:
The Protect College Sports Act wants to fix college sports. Here’s what it actually targets.
Does your college football roster cost $8 million or $50 million? Read The Athletic’s report on 68 teams.
Here’s how the football programs blow past limits on what they can pay players.
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, Spotify and Amazon Music. 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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A little over a decade ago, after hackers broke into the U.S. government and stole the personnel records of millions of federal workers, officials vowed that it would never happen again. Something similar recently did — to the F.B.I.
Dustin Volz, who covers cybersecurity for The New York Times, tells the story of the attack, the group behind it and what could happen to the stolen data.
Guest: Dustin Volz, a cybersecurity and intelligence reporter for The New York Times.
Background reading:
The hackers said they had stolen thousands of sensitive F.B.I. personnel records.
The embarrassing breach at the F.B.I. has fueled fears of harm to its employees.
Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Associated Press

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, Spotify and Amazon Music. 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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