The Daily · 2026-11-01
Want to Enjoy Music More? Go For a Run.
This is Wakewire's analysis, based on the recording and the passages quoted here. Tone and candor labels are our read, not a finding about anyone's motive. Our standards
- Source
- The Daily · Episode page
- Released
- 2026-11-01
- We read it
- 2026-11-01
- Recording
- Recording has gaps
- Read confidence
- low
- Review
- Passed automatic checks
What the episode covered
Rachel Abrams framed Ben Ratliff’s claim as running can make people better listeners, then Ratliff built a New York City Marathon playlist around boroughs, pace and texture. The register is mixed, with polished host copy and ads around a more specific, reflective guest, while the supplied transcript cuts off before the conversation finishes. Watch whether a full transcript or episode page supplies the missing mechanism and complete song list.
Our summary, written from the transcript. Not the speakers' words.
The episode, in order
01Runner vox pops in Central Park
The segment establishes the ordinary view that music helps running feel easier or more enjoyable.
02Ratliff’s music criticism origin story
The episode grounds his listening advice in a long professional history with live music and criticism.
03A shift away from performance reviewing
That career turn helps explain why the conversation moves from criticism as a job to listening as a personal practice.
04Music as something changed by running
This is the episode’s central inversion, moving from music as exercise aid to running as a way of hearing.
05New York City Marathon playlist
The playlist turns the thesis into a concrete guided listening exercise, even though the supplied transcript ends before the discussion concludes.
Sponsors named in this episode
| Sponsor stated | Where, claim and disclosure |
|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve |
|
| The Times |
|
| The New York Times |
|
No sponsor named doesn't mean no ads. Each row was taken from the ad break as it was read on air. The verbatim passage behind every row is checked against the transcript character for character. Short excerpts appear below.
Roles and stated affiliations
Stated affiliation. Debra Kamien: New York Times investigative reporter appearing in a subscription promotion that describes reporting practices.
Wakewire's read of interests
- Rachel Abrams: Host of the episode, framing the conversation for The Daily and moving between narration, interview and ad-adjacent subscription copy.
- Lena Richards: Producer gathering runner responses that set up the episode’s contrast between ordinary running music use and Ratliff’s approach.
- Ben Ratliff: Former New York Times music critic and author of “Run the Song,” the book named as the reason for the conversation.
- Carolyn Ryan: Managing Editor of The New York Times appearing in a promotion for free election coverage in the app.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve advertisement: Commercial segment promoting card rewards, dining points and reservation access.
Recording limits
- The supplied transcript has apparent mid-sentence cuts after “Why did you think you were going to get closer? I” and at the ending after “and”.
Claims that need more support
- Rachel Abrams said that most runners told the show music takes the edge off, but the supplied transcript does not give a count or denominator.
Claims made on air that the episode itself did not back up.
Questions the conversation didn't reach
- The supplied transcript raises how running makes someone a better listener, but it does not reach a concrete explanation beyond examples of songs matched to running and place.
Topics the episode did not address. This does not mean anyone avoided them.
Are you from this show? You can ask for a correction, reply, or ask us to stop coverage on the rights page.
The read
This excerpt is less a workout advice segment than a guided listening essay. Abrams sets up the common use of music as a running aid, then Ratliff reverses it by treating running as a way to hear music differently. The strongest signal is concrete and candid when Ratliff talks through songs, places and bodily pacing, while the ads and host setup are more polished. Because the supplied transcript cuts off, the episode’s promised explanation of becoming a better listener is only partly visible here.
This read assumes: The supplied transcript is only a partial basis for the episode because it cuts off mid-thought. The commercial segments are identified from promotional copy present in the transcript, not from outside knowledge. No outside facts about the episode, the book or the sponsors are used.
Every opinion labeled as one. This is Wakewire's analysis of the recording, not a finding about anyone's motive.
What was said
Runner vox pops in Central Park
Producer Lena Richards asked runners what they were listening to, and the answers ranged from Tony Bennett and Norah Jones to Radiohead, Bad Religion, Jimmy Eat World and Eric Thomas.
Ratliff’s music criticism origin story
Ratliff said a Miles Davis performance as a teenager led him to write, and later he became a professional critic, including at The New York Times.
A shift away from performance reviewing
Ratliff said fewer opportunities to review performances at The Times left him wondering what came next.
Music as something changed by running
Abrams said Ratliff “runs to make the music better, not the other way around,” and connected that discovery to his book “Run the Song.”
New York City Marathon playlist
Ratliff chose songs for the marathon route by linking sounds, borough histories and running states, including repetition, moderation, energy and glamour.
Our paraphrase, not the speakers' words.
The passages we relied on
"But Ben Ratliff, a former New York Times music critic and author, thinks of running to music completely differently. He runs to make the music better, not the other way around. And the fact that he could do that was…"
"There's rewarding, and then there's remarkably rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Like"
"Hey everyone, it's Rachel. If you are not yet a Times subscriber,"
"There's rewarding, and then there's remarkably rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Like"
"I'm Debra Kamien. I'm an investigative reporter for The New York Times."
"There's rewarding, and then there's remarkably rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Like"
Short excerpts, credited to the show, at most 40 words each and 150 per episode. We do not publish transcripts. We link to the episode so you can hear it from the show itself.
What to watch for
- A complete transcript restores the cut off answer after “Why did you think you were going to get closer? I” and the final sentence after “Larry Levan who presided over this great disco in the 70s and”. (When the full transcript or audio is available.)
- An episode page or companion page lists the marathon songs Ratliff names, including the Manhattan selection that is cut off in the supplied transcript. (After publication of episode materials.)
- The book or a full interview gives a concrete account of how running changes listening, beyond pairing specific songs with boroughs, repetition and pace. (When the book or full interview is checked.)
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