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Oct 2
21m 54s

The Fight at the Center of the Governmen...

The New York Times
About this episode

As the U.S. government shutdown enters its second day, Democrats are trying to underline that the growing political fight is all about the rising cost of health care.

The New York Times journalists Margot Sanger-Katz and Shane Goldmacher explain why the Democrats are betting on this strategy and who is to blame for the impasse.

Guest:

  • Margot Sanger-Katz, a reporter for The New York Times who covers health care policy and government spending.
  • Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

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 and Spotify. 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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