Apple vs. Facebook

Recently, Apple released a seemingly innocuous software update: a new privacy feature that would explicitly ask iPhone users whether an app should be allowed to track them across other apps and sites. For Facebook, however, this feature is anything but innocuous — it strikes at the heart of the company’s business model.The dispute represents a further deterioration in the frosty relations between the two companies. What’s at the heart of this conflict, and why have the stakes become so high for both sides? Guest: Mike Isaac, a technology correspondent for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The chief executives of Facebook and Apple have opposing visions for the future of the internet. Their differences have recently escalated.With Apple’s latest mobile software update, we can decide whether apps monitor and share our activities with others. Here’s what to know.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Rural Tennessee’s Vaccine Hesitators

Vaccine hesitancy is a major reason that many experts now fear the United States will struggle to attain herd immunity against the coronavirus.And while many initially hesitant demographics have become more open to vaccinations, one group is shifting much less: white Republican evangelical Christians, who tend to live in rural communities.Here’s what that looks like in Greeneville, Tenn.Guest: Jan Hoffman, a reporter covering behavioral health and health law for The New York Times.  Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Reluctance to get vaccinated is widespread in white, Republican communities like this one in Appalachia. But it’s far more complicated than just a partisan divide. Read Jan’s reporting here. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

From The Sunday Read Archive: ‘The Accusation’

In this episode of The Sunday Read, we revisit a story from our archives.When the university told one woman about the sexual-harassment complaints against her wife, they knew they weren’t true. But they had no idea how strange the truth really was.This story was written by Sarah Viren and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The Sunday Read: ‘He Wants to Save Classics From Whiteness. Can the Field Survive?’

For years, Dan-el Padilla Peralta, a Dominican-born teacher of classics at Princeton, has spoken openly about the harm caused by the discipline’s practitioners in the two millenniums since antiquity — the classical justifications of slavery, race science, colonialism, Nazism and other 20th-century fascisms.He believes that classics is so entangled with white supremacy as to be inseparable from it.Today on The Sunday Read, how Dr. Padilla is trying to change the way the subject is taught.This story was written by Rachel Poser and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Introducing: ‘The Improvement Association,’ From the Makers of Serial

For at least a decade, allegations of cheating have swirled around elections in rural Bladen County, N.C. Some people point fingers at a Black advocacy group, the Bladen County Improvement Association, accusing it of bullying voters, tampering with ballots and stealing votes outright. These allegations have never been substantiated, but they persist. The reporter Zoe Chace went to Bladen County to investigate what’s really going on. From the makers of Serial and The New York Times, this five-part audio series about allegations of election fraud -- and the powerful forces that fuel them -- is out now. Binge the whole series, and find out more here: https://nytimes.com/improvementassociation

The Sunday Read: ‘The “Herald Square Bomber” Who Wasn’t’

In summer 2003, Shahawar Matin Siraj, then 21, met Osama Eldawoody, a nuclear engineer twice his age. To Mr. Siraj’s delight they struck up an unlikely friendship — never before had someone this sophisticated taken him so seriously.At the older man’s encouragement, Mr. Siraj became entangled in a plot to place a bomb in Herald Square subway station. He would later want out of the plan, but it was too late: Mr. Eldawoody, it turned out, was one of thousands of informants recruited by the police and the F.B.I. after the Sept. 11 attacks.Today on The Sunday Read, did the U.S. government’s network of informants create plots where none existed?This story was written by Rozina Ali and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

The Super League That Wasn’t

This episode contains strong language. On Sunday, 12 elite soccer teams in Europe announced the formation of a super league. The plan was backed by vast amounts of money, but it flew in the face of an idea central to soccer’s identity: You have to earn your place.Fans reacted with blind fury and protest. Players and managers spoke out. Figures like Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and Prince William expressed disapproval. Within 48 hours, the idea was dead.Amid the rubble, a question was left: What does the future hold for the world’s biggest sport?Guest: Rory Smith, chief soccer correspondent for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Frantic phone calls, clandestine meetings and high-stakes threats: The inside story of how a billion-dollar European super league was born, scorned and swept away in less than a week.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.