Dear Colleagues,  

We hope that you’ve had a wonderful start to your spring and have been able to enjoy the glimpses into warm weather ahead!  

As we’re appreciating this transition, we’d like to give you a rundown of what we’ve been up to these past few weeks.  

“The Daily” Welcomes New Team Members  

Our team continues to expand and we’re lucky to welcome five new, talented members to our team this year. 

Lexie Diao has joined as senior editor, coming to The Times from The Washington Post. Diao was one of the founding producers of “Post Reports,” and led the coordination for coverage around the world. From Kabul to Kyiv, Diao has noteworthy experience in the world of audio journalism and international reporting.  

Mary Wilson joins the team as a producer, previously working at Slate Magazine. During her time there, she successfully launched “What Next with Mary Harris,” and produced “The Gist with Mike Pesca.” Her portfolio includes work as a public radio reporter in Pennsylvania and she is a proud alumna of WFUV in the Bronx.  

Next, Alex Stern joins us as a producer, having previously worked on CNN Audio. Stern produced the first season of “Tug of War,” a podcast dedicated to power struggles across the globe. Her career originated at NPR member station WHYY, where she helped make the award-winning daily news podcast, “The Why.” 

Shannon Lin joined the team as a producer. Lin formerly worked for the Los Angeles Times, where she helped to launch the flagship news podcast, “The Time: Essential news from the LA Times,” along with a range of other podcast series. Prior to that, she worked as a breaking news reporter and producer for KQED in San Francisco.   

Most recently, Devon Taylor was welcomed to the team as a senior editor. Devon previously worked as a supervising editor at Gimlet, where she went on to develop, edit and lead shows like Every Little Thing, Crime Show, Without Fail and Stolen, which won a DuPont award and was named one of the best podcasts of 2022. Before joining the world of audio, Devon was a writer and editor for multiple publications, including The Guardian and The Atlantic. 

We’re delighted to have these phenomenal additions to our team.  

A Year of Covering Ukraine  

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, “The Daily” has focused much of its reporting on the war and its harrowing consequences. On February 24th, “The Daily” dedicated the episode to the one-year anniversary and the stories of Ukrainians whose lives are forever changed. 

The episode begins with the voice of Ihor Lutsenko, a reconnaissance specialist in the Ukrainian Army who is currently on a base close to the front lines. After experiencing many losses, he explains that he now makes a conscious effort to not befriend his fellow soldiers as a protective measure from grief.  

Host Sabrina Tavernise has recorded conversations with several others affected by the violence. She spoke with Maxim Usoltsev, a lawyer who joined the Ukrainian Army in April of last year. During their conversation, he recalled believing that the war would be over as quickly as it started. After experiencing seemingly unending combat, he is now doubtful it will be over anytime soon.  

We also heard from Ira Tsybukh, a paramedic on the front lines. Ira, only 24 years old, has lost 16 of her friends and mourns the loss of her youth and a simpler life before the war. Lastly, we heard an account from Olga Birzul, who moved to Vienna with her 9 year old daughter to escape the conflict. She shares the story of meeting her husband when they were 23, and their strong bond over cinema. Before the war, Olga worked as a film curator and Vitya worked as a film editor. He died from a missile attack two days before their 17th anniversary on January 1st. After this extraordinary loss, she said that she will never be able to celebrate the new year again.  

Breaking Down the Banking Crisis  

“The Daily” has continued its legacy of breaking down complex news through narratives, and its coverage of the Silicon Valley banking crisis is no exception.  

Since the news broke on March 10th, “The Daily” has dedicated three episodes to the details and nuances of the crisis. In the first episode, we heard from NYT Correspondent Emily Flitter, a banking reporter during the 2008 financial crisis. Flitter examines the origin of the bank and what went wrong during the first 72 hours of the collapse. In another episode, Flitter joined Barbaro again to look at the spreading fallout and the government’s response to subsequent failures. In the most recent episode, NYT Correspondent David Enrich examined the role that Barney Frank’s legislation from his time in congress played in the origin of the crisis.  

Until next time,  

“The Daily” Team