An Expert on Conflict Says Your Relationships Are Doomed Without It

Jesse and Emily Cole created theSavannah Bananaswith a simple mission in mind: to make baseball as entertaining as possible. They introduced some innovations to America’s pastime, including twerking umpires, stilt-walking pitchers and TikTok-ready choreographed dance numbers. They tinkered with the rules of baseball, making a game that was shorter and faster, with plenty of opportunities for fan engagement. The result? A sports sensation. In the 10 years since its founding, the team has become one of the most popular sports organizations in the world, reaching tens of millions of fans online, with a waiting list of millions of others hoping to see a game in person. For many, the Bananas are the ultimate sports success story, one that shows a path forward for teams and leagues concerned about fan retention in an era of shortened attention spans and endless entertainment options. But others take a less rosy view of the Bananas and their hyper-energetic brand of baseball, seeing them as an existential threat to a game that fans have loved for more than a hundred years. On today’s show, host Natalie Kitroeff talks with Jonathan Abrams, a Times reporter who covers culture news, about the Bananas phenomenon, and then heads to a Banana Ball game to see things for herself.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been sold for a record $12.5 billion, the latest sign that huge pools of institutional money are flooding into professional sports.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been replacing top-ranking U.S. military officers with those who, many argue, show more loyalty to Hegseth and his ideas than to the military itself.

The recurring climate phenomenon is poised this year to enter a new phase known as a super El Niño, exacerbating the effects of climate change.

Families of soldiers aboard the aircraft carrier — deployed in the Middle East without a break for 270 days — have raised the alarm.