The Daily Folgen

A year after police used a genetic database to help identify a suspect in the Golden State Killer case, the same technique has been used to arrest dozens of people. Now, for the first time, one of those cases is headed to trial. In Part 1 of a two-part series, we look at the tool that is transforming law enforcement and testing the limits of privacy. Guests: Heather Murphy, a New York Times reporter, spoke with Curtis Rogers, a creator of the genealogy website GEDMatch; Peter Headley, a detective with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department; and Barbara Rae-Venter, a genetic genealogist. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.Background reading:Using a technique that relies on DNA submitted to online genealogy sites, investigators have solved dozens of violent crimes. But some question the ethics and legality of the technique.GEDMatch, a free site that began as a side project, has upended how investigators across the country are approaching cold cases.Read about how genetic sleuthing through GEDMatch helped a woman who had been kidnapped as a child recover her identity. 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, Spotify and Amazon Music. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Robert Grant developed a treatment — a daily pill known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP — that could stop the AIDS crisis. We look at why that hasn’t happened. Guests: Dr. Grant, who has been working on H.I.V. treatment and prevention for over 30 years, and Donald G. McNeil Jr., a science and health reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Gilead Sciences, the maker of Truvada, the only drug approved to prevent H.I.V. infection, will donate enough of the drug to supply 200,000 patients, but critics questioned the company’s motives.The high cost of drugs remains a major obstacle to ending the AIDS epidemic.Here’s more information about PrEP from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. 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, Spotify and Amazon Music. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A criminal group has held computer systems for the city of Baltimore hostage for nearly a month — paralyzing everything from email to the real estate market to the payment of water bills. But what residents don’t know is that a major component of the malware used to shut down the system was developed nearby by a federal government agency. Guest: Scott Shane, who covers national security and the U.S. intelligence community for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading:People involved in the investigation say the N.S.A. tool, EternalBlue, was found in Baltimore’s network by four contractors hired to restore computer services. The N.S.A. says that’s not the case. Cybercriminals have been targeting other vulnerable American towns and cities, from Pennsylvania to Texas, in ways that could disrupt local governments for months. 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, Spotify and Amazon Music. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.