A five-part series on the rise of nationalism in Europe

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Friday, June 7, 2019

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From left to right: Producers Clare Toeniskoetter and Lynsea Garrison and reporter Katrin Bennhold interview a Yellow Vest protester in Reims, France. Andrew Testa for The New York Times

Michael Barbaro

The Daily will sound different next week. Here's a guide.

What: A five-part series on Europe

We're relocating to Europe to tell the story of rising populism and nationalism. Since the end of World War II, the disparate nations of Europe have undertaken an ambitious plan to stitch themselves together into a single entity: the European Union, a beacon of open borders and liberal democracy. But over the past few years, that project has become imperiled by nationalist movements across the continent and a profound set of doubts about whether the E.U. is in the best interest of working people from Britain to Poland. We'll explore the forces behind that doubt, and the risk these movements pose to the E.U. and its values.

Who: Katrin Bennhold, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter

Katrin, the Berlin bureau chief for The Times, will be your host. Throughout the series, she'll draw on her years of reporting across Europe and on her deep understanding of Germany, the economic and moral heart of the E.U., and a country confronting its own powerful currents of nationalism. For nine days, Katrin traveled across Europe with Clare and Lynsea, "Daily" producers who have a wealth of experience telling international stories and a sleepless appetite for adventure.

Where: Germany, Poland, Italy, France

The story of Europe and its 28 countries is sprawling. We narrowed it down to four countries where we think the story can be best understood right now. It was not an easy decision.

When: June 10-14

The series will run from Monday to Friday. We think this is an urgent, important and compelling story, and we want to tell it in an unbroken series of episodes that build upon each other. The usual headlines at the end of the show will disappear.

This is an experiment, and we're eager to hear your feedback. So tune in and let us know what you think.

Talk to Michael on Twitter: @mikiebarb.

Why we told the story of Rachel Held Evans

The writer Rachel Held Evans, who challenged traditional authority structures in conservative Christianity. Daniel Evans

Producer Luke Vander Ploeg has been following the story of Rachel Held Evans, a writer who became an influential figure in the evangelical community, for years. He told us about his thinking behind Monday's episode:

"I first encountered the work of Rachel Held Evans in college.

"I went to Wheaton, a hyper-conservative evangelical college. Drinking wasn't allowed, and if you had someone of the opposite sex in your dorm room, the door better have been cracked open. There were rules on the books explicitly forbidding same-sex relationships. The student body was predominantly white, deeply religious and pretty on board with the school's mission. But, as in any community, there were misfits.

"I got to see firsthand how those students flocked to Rachel — Christians who were questioning their faith, their sexuality, their place in evangelicalism. They were looking for someone committed to both Christianity and questioning. Rachel became their theological companion, a friend for the journey.

"I was about a month into my new job at 'The Daily' when she passed away. At first, I didn't think it was something we would cover. Rachel wasn't a former president or stateswoman; she was a young writer with a niche following.

"So I was surprised when Andy Mills, my fellow producer, brought her up in our morning meeting. As we talked, we quickly realized that Rachel's story was one we wanted to tell. Because it wasn't just the story of one person.

"Rachel's significance went far beyond her particular corner of the internet. She was at the center of a movement that's grappling with the future of an entire religion — a religion full of believers wrestling with where they fit in a rapidly changing culture. Evangelicalism and Christianity in general are often treated as a monolithic block. Rachel's life forces us to confront a more nuanced reality. There's a whole new version of a Christian community gathering at the margins."

What we're listening to

Who: Stella Tan, news assistant for the audio team

What: "Bear Brook," a podcast from New Hampshire Public Radio

Heather Murphy shared her reporting on the revolutionary possibilities of genetic genealogy for our series this week. (And for DNA enthusiasts who can't get enough, read more of her work here, here and here.) If you're as awed and, frankly, freaked out by the power of this new forensic technique as I am, check out "Bear Brook," which is a fascinating approach to the subject. It starts with a grim scene: two blue barrels tucked away near a New Hampshire state park. In them, four bodies, left there for decades. The story of these victims eventually dovetails with the case of Lisa Jensen, which we talk about in Part 1 of our series, and which ultimately showed investigators just what genetic genealogy could do.

As the troubling details in "Bear Brook" unfold, what caught me off guard was how gentle and pared-down the storytelling was. The host, Jason Moon, presents his reporting with care, and doesn't lose sight of the people at the center of the story — not only the victims and killers, but also the genealogists (often self-taught) who become crucial to solving these decades-old mysteries. And you'd think that simplicity would be impossible in a narrative that involves multiple cold cases and intricate stuff about chromosomes. But somehow, all the elements of the podcast — the intersection of storylines, the choice of music — work together to make a fantastically complicated story feel graceful and humane. Even if you're not a true-crime person, you might find something here.