The State of the Union; Goodbye to Mountains of Trash Bags; Assessing Where Israel Went Wrong in Gaza; High School Admissions Calls

On today's show:

• Tyler Pager, Washington Post White House reporter, offers analysis of President Biden's State of the Union address, amid high election year stakes.

• Earlier this month, all businesses in the city had to change how they put trash out to be collected -- from plastic bags piled up on the street to inside containers with a tight lid. Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation, reports on how the change is going, and what might come next in the city's battle with its considerable rat population.

• Israel has killed at least 30,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since launching its retaliatory war after the devastating October 7th attack. Zach Beauchamp, senior correspondent at Vox, argues that the war in Gaza has become an "era-defining catastrophe" and explains where Israel went wrong in its approach to the war.

• On Thursday, eighth graders bound for New York City public high schools received their admission offers. Listeners call in to debrief.

Transcripts are posted to each segment as they become available.