A Failed Execution and the Future of the Death Penalty

October 8, 2026 · 31 min

Christa Pike survived two doses of a lethal injection drug last week during a botched execution in Tennessee.

Pamela Colloff, who writes for The New York Times Magazine, discusses the waning public support for the death penalty and why despite it some states are doubling down.

Guest: Pamela Colloff, a reporter at ProPublica and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine.

Background reading:

Pamela Colloff, a reporter at ProPublica and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine.

Photo: George Walker IV/Associated Press

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.

Apple Podcasts The Daily website Episode page

The New York Times · © 2020-2021 THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY; The New York Times encourages the use of RSS feeds for personal use in a news reader or as part of a non-commercial blog, subject to your agreement to our Terms of Service.