The economy is one of the most important issues for voters in the midterm elections. President Trump has been trying to persuade Americans that they are wrong to be frustrated about the cost of living.

Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The New York Times, explains what the latest economic data actually says.

Guest: Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading:

• Three charts that explain the economy as voters head to the polls.
• Higher energy prices lift U.S. inflation ahead of the midterms.

Photo: Yuki Iwamura/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.

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James Talarico is asking Texas to do something it hasn’t done in nearly 40 years: Elect a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. It won’t be easy. It will take a vast coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans in a bright red state that President Trump won by about 14 percentage points in 2024 — and where Republicans have plowed hundreds of millions of dollars into beating Talarico. And yet, poll after poll shows that Talarico could pull it off and defeat his Republican rival, Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and a Trump ally.

On Monday, nearly two weeks before Election Day, Michael Barbaro spoke with Talarico about the kind of race he’s running, why it has succeeded so far in appealing to Republicans and what he wants Democrats to do if they flip control of the Senate on Nov. 3.

Guest: James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas.

Background reading:

• Top Democrats, who have long been hesitant to spend money in Texas, have started to back Mr. Talarico.

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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President Trump said he was making an energy deal with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and waiving new sanctions on Moscow. Now, he’s feuding with Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Russia is taking advantage of the moment by relentlessly striking Kyiv, killing civilians and cutting off power for more than a million people.

Constant Méheut, who is covering the war for The New York Times, explains why Mr. Putin appears so confident that Russia can bomb Ukraine into submission.

Guest: Constant Méheut, a correspondent covering the war in Ukraine for The New York Times.

Background reading:

• Analysis: Why Russia sees a window to bomb Ukraine into submission.
• Mr. Zelensky says Mr. Trump risks a “historic mistake” if he backs Russia.

Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka/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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