The Daily

Once primarily limited to severely disabled people, autism began to be viewed as a spectrum that included children and adults far less impaired. Along the way, the disorder also became an identity, embraced by college graduates and even by some of the world’s most successful people, like Elon Musk and Bill Gates. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called the steep rise in autism cases “an epidemic.” He blames theories of causality that mainstream scientists reject — like vaccines and, more recently, Tylenol — and even instructed the C.D.C. to abandon its longstanding position that vaccines do not cause autism. Today, Azeen Ghorayshi explains what’s really driving the increase in diagnoses.

“Wicked” was one of the biggest movies of 2024. It was culturally ubiquitous, a box office smash and an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. Now, a year later, “Wicked: For Good” arrives in theaters to finish the tale of the complicated friendship between Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Can “Wicked: For Good” be the sensation that its predecessor was? Will it inject new life into a movie business that has suffered a historically bad business year? Will it satisfy the legions of “Wicked” fans who have been waiting to see their favorite musical brought to the big screen? Gilbert Cruz is joined by Kyle Buchanan, a pop culture reporter for The New York Times who profiled the stars of “Wicked,” and Madison Malone Kircher, a reporter for the Styles desk and affirmed “Wicked” fanatic, to discuss what “Wicked: For Good” means for the movies.

The writer and YouTube star on trying to get back to the experiences that make us feel alive.

Since starting his second term, President Trump has thrown the full weight of the federal government behind the denying the idea of transgender identity, and pushing to prevent trans minors from getting gender-affirming medical care. Two parents of a trans child discuss facing the scramble of supporting their child, and their fears of becoming targets of the government.

After years of soaring optimism and colossal investment, Wall Street has begun to seriously question whether the frenzy for A.I. is justified. Cade Metz, who covers technology for The New York Times, explains why Silicon Valley companies believe so fervently in A.I. and why they’re willing to take enormous risks to deliver on its promise.