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A Dog's Journey

Where to watch.

Rent A Dog's Journey on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

A Dog's Journey is as sentimental as one might expect, but even cynical viewers may find their ability to resist shedding a tear stretched to the puppermost limit.

Audience Reviews

Cast & crew.

Gail Mancuso

Kathryn Prescott

Betty Gilpin

Dennis Quaid

Marg Helgenberger

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Movies in theaters, movie news & guides, this movie is featured in the following articles., critics reviews.

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, a dog's journey.

Now streaming on:

Is “A Dog’s Journey” one of the sweetest canine films out there, or one of the meanest? While I generally favor the latter reading, the gentle sniffling mixed with occasional awws and chuckles that broke out during my screening suggests the majority of the audiences will understandably lean otherwise, as they did with the film’s 2017 predecessor, “A Dog’s Purpose.” In theory, this unconditional affection seems mighty unjust for a shameless family franchise that kills an average of four to five dogs per movie, sometimes, in unspeakably wretched fashions—seriously, where is John Wick when you need him? And yet, as visually uninspired and ideologically conservative as it may be, there seems to be something beguiling about the series that keeps one (including myself, admittedly) on a short leash. Turns out, very few are immune to the sneaky suggestion that certain dogs and humans are meant for each other for life.   

This is indeed the philosophy behind TV veteran Gail Mancuso ’s “A Dog’s Journey,” which follows in the paw prints of its Lasse Hallström-directed ancestor with its assembly line of doggie fatalities. (Every dog-loving cinephile’s most cherished website “DoesTheDogDie.com” must be having a field trip with these films.) And before you cry out “spoiler alert,” know that spelling out the mounting corpses of our four-legged furry pals in these tearjerkers is not exactly a wrongdoing. Adapted from W. Bruce Cameron’s best-selling novels, the pair of syrupy films follows a Buddhist philosophy, imagining a world in which a dog’s spirit reincarnates in the body of a new adorable puppy (somehow, voiced by Josh Gad even when it’s a female) and pursues its original human to eternity.

“Journey” picks up where “Purpose” had left off, dropping us on a tranquil Midwestern farm ran by the impossibly wholesome couple Ethan ( Dennis Quaid ) and his wife Hannah ( Marg Helgenberger ). Their carefree “Boss Dog” Bailey, a handsome Great Pyrenees Bernese Mountain Dog, runs around the picturesque fields and happily chases his own tail, while keeping a watchful eye on Ethan and Hannah’s baby granddaughter CJ (affably played by Abby Ryder and Kathryn Presscott in later ages), parented by the couple’s heavy-drinking widowed daughter-in-law Gloria ( Betty Gilpin ). Bailey exits the picture soon enough—poor Boss Dog has a cancerous lump—but returns promptly in the body of Molly the mischievous Beagle, reuniting with the 11-year-old CJ to keep a promise he’s made to Ethan. Now living away from her grandparents with the negligent Gloria, CJ finds the kind of comfort and support every child needs in Molly.

Our determined pooch returns again and again as Bailey drops dead in a continuous loop: once, as the African Boerboel Big Dog living on a roadside convenience store (or, “a house made of snacks,” as he calls it), and then as the snippy Terrier Max. Meanwhile, CJ goes through her own transformation and finds herself in the unforgiving streets of New York City as a budding musician with a severe case of stage fright. A series of mean boyfriends—one, a dangerous stalker responsible for Molly’s horrific death—doesn’t help with her insecurity, until she stumbles upon her beloved childhood friend Trent ( Henry Lau ) and falls in love. (Guess what wet-nosed character masterminds the reunion with a paw shake and tail wag?)

Rest assured, there is sufficient amount of cuteness to go around in “Journey,” complete with dutiful canine humor around pooping, face licking, and the perpetual pursuit of food. But while the film engages with the sadness and despair of certain life crises head-on—an unexpected case of terminal illness is especially well-conceived in that regard—it strangely falls short of treating others with the empathy and seriousness they deserve. Written by Cameron, Maya Forbes , Cathryn Michon and Wallace Wolodarsky , the story is outright hostile to Gloria, a paper-thin character whose mourning and alcoholism receives a cruel one-dimensional treatment. A gold-digging ex-girlfriend of Trent suffers in the hands of a similar caricaturized vision. And yet, no one comes to a film like this, where the world is divided into absolute goods and evils, for nuance or subtlety. If you can look behind the flat visuals and prescriptive pleasantries of “Journey,” you might just get on board with its compelling-enough tale of lost souls, found and lifted up by their forever-loyal pooches. On this earth and beyond.

Tomris Laffly

Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), she regularly contributes to  RogerEbert.com , Variety and Time Out New York, with bylines in Filmmaker Magazine, Film Journal International, Vulture, The Playlist and The Wrap, among other outlets.

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Film credits.

A Dog's Journey (2019)

Rated PG for thematic content, some peril and rude humor.

120 minutes

Dennis Quaid as Ethan

Betty Gilpin as Gloria

Josh Gad as Bailey (voice)

Abby Ryder Fortson as Young CJ

Marg Helgenberger as Hannah

Kathryn Prescott as CJ

Ian Chen as Young Trent

Daniela Barbosa as Liesl

Jake Manley as Shane

• Gail Mancuso

Writer (book)

• W. Bruce Cameron
• Maya Forbes
• Cathryn Michon
• Wallace Wolodarsky

Cinematographer

• Rogier Stoffers
• Robert Komatsu

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A Dog's Journey

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Meet the dog thespians of 'A Dog's Journey,' a mutt method-acting masterclass

Spoiler alert! What follows reveals key plot points in "A Dog's Journey," though not the ending. You might want to see the movie before reading.

The pooch ensemble in "A Dog's Journey" (in theaters Friday) has serious acting chops.

These skills are required in the saga, a continuation of 2017's "A Dog's Purpose," which follows the spirit of Bailey as he's reincarnated into pup after pup (all voiced by Josh Gad ) before eventually passing to heaven.

The circle of life requires the full spectrum of canine emotion – from cuddly to consequential. Director Gail Mancuso, who has five dogs of her own, pulls Oscar-worthy performances from her canine thespians in a movie where there's a pooch in every scene.

For your consideration, we present the leading contenders:

Buddy brought the beautiful heartbreak early.

Boss dog Buddy (a Great Pyrenees/Bernese Mountain dog mix) was played by three lookalike dogs, but mainly Odin, the film's primary star. 

Odin was tasked with dying in the lap of Buddy's beloved owner Ethan (Dennis Quaid), which happens early in the film. It was already a Kleenex moment before Odin lifted his head for a final, soulful look into Quaid's eyes and faded. "That look was pure magic," Mancuso says. "That moment resonated with me, as I have experienced my own dog looking at me during our goodbye. It's a special bond."

'A Dog's Way Home':  How Shelby went from junkyard stray to Hollywood star

Molly was more than adorable energy.

The energetic Molly, who steps in to support the movie's human heroine CJ when her mom moves her away, was played by two Beagliers (a beagle crossed with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel). Lead dog Lemy showed parkour skills, bounding through backyard obstacles (down stairs, over a gate) to jump into young CJ's arms (played by Abby Ryder Fortson). "And then started licking my face all over," Fortson says.

But Lemy had to get tough later and "bite" the leg of the film's villain (Jake Manley). Dog trainer Bonnie Judd first taught Lemy to tug with a toy, then placed a pouch of meat in Manley's pant leg. "It's kind of like a pinata," Judd says. "The more they go at it, the more they get."

Firefighter says goodbye to rescue dog in viral post: Dog owners can relate because pets are family

Parting is such sweet sorrow for Big Dog.

Big Dog, played by an African Boerboel named Phil, has a small role, portraying a chance meeting with his spiritual owner CJ, now an adult played by Kathryn Prescott, in a roadside store. Phil hit his marks, and gave a hearty paw-shake. But the soulful-eyed dog hit dramatic paydirt when he bid farewell forever to CJ.

"When he's saying goodbye as he's leaving, it's so sad that it made me cry," Prescott says.

Related: The 25 most heroic dogs in America

Buddy and an adorable toddler make giddy magic.

Emma Volk was 2 when she shot her screen debut as Buddy's kid friend (and Ethan's granddaughter) in "A Dog's Journey." But her giggling chemistry with Odin's Buddy is magic, with dog and toddler clearly happy together in a way that goes beyond acting. "Emma just really loved the big brute, and it looks natural," Judd says.

Max's exit scene was tough even for the dog actor.

Rescue dog Max, CJ's adulthood dog, was played by four Biewer terriers. Belle, the character's primary actor, was so invested in her death scene, she had trouble letting Prescott's CJ tearfully sing to her.

"The first time, Belle really wanted to kiss her tears away, but after that she kept her head down and closed her eyes each time," Judd says. "It's a tough scene for any dog but Belle was still a super-hyper puppy. Yet she did exactly as I asked over and over again. On each cut, she would quickly kiss CJ and play."

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100 Best Dog Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer

Dogs: Man’s best friend, movie’s most endangered hero. Seriously, how many times have we gone into a dog movie hoping we didn’t just get suckered into another one where the dog dies in the end? But some of those movies make up the classics. And some of those movies where the dog lives happily after ever, with a nice house and a bowl of kibble and a robust 401k, are also classics. And some dog movies ain’t so classic, but people love ’em anyways, so we’re including those, and all the other good boys and girls of canine cinema for our guide to the 80 Best Dog Movies, ranked by Tomatometer!

First, we’ve retrieved all the golden films of yesteryear, like Old Yeller , Lassie , and The Incredible Journey . Then we rescued those nearly forgotten from the kennels of history, including Wendy and Lucy , Sounder , and Megan Leavey . After that, we introduced them to the tearjerkers of today, such as Hachi: A Dog’s Tale and Marley and Me .

Because dogs can take on new dimensions of ferocity and cuteness in animation, there’s plenty to see here in this list. Take the Disney classics ( The Fox and the Hound , Bolt ). Add a little stop-motion ( Isle of Dogs , Frankenweenie ). And, of course, bring along the ones that can solve mysteries (Scooby-Doo), hold a job (Wallace, he of Gromit), and pilot their house ( Snoopy, Come Home ).

The latest additions include Channing Tatum’s Dog , documentary Pick of the Litter , and Arthur the King , based on the 2017 bestseller Arthur: The Dog who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home . We’ve also included Rotten movies that fans have embraced, like Clifford the Big Red Dog , A Dog’s Purpose , Balto . Now, time to let all of them off the leash for the Best Dog Movies, ranked by Tomatometer!

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) 98%

Pick of the Litter (2018) 97%

Heart of a Dog (2015) 96%

Best in Show (2000) 93%

Lassie (2005) 93%

Lady and the Tramp (1955) 93%

Togo (2019) 92%

Isle of Dogs (2018) 90%

Bolt (2008) 90%

My Dog Tulip (2009) 90%

Frankenweenie (2012) 88%

White God (2014) 87%

As Good as It Gets (1997) 86%

Wendy and Lucy (2008) 86%

Megan Leavey (2017) 86%

Alpha (2018) 80%

Wiener-Dog (2016) 74%

Eight Below (2006) 73%

The Secret Life of Pets (2016) 70%

Old Yeller (1957) 100%

Red Dog: True Blue (2016) 100%

White Dog (1982) 94%

Lassie Come Home (1943) 94%

Snoopy, Come Home (1972) 93%

Sounder (1972) 91%

Baxter (1989) 90%

The Incredible Journey (1963) 89%

Lassie (1994) 88%

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) 88%

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) 87%

Oddball (2015) 87%

Benji (1974) 86%

Red Dog (2011) 84%

White Fang (2018) 80%

The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1986) 80%

Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000) 80%

A Boy and His Dog (1975) 78%

The Fox and the Hound (1981) 75%

My Dog Skip (2000) 73%

Shiloh (1997) 73%

DC League of Super-Pets (2022) 72%

White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994) 71%

Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season (1999) 70%

The Shaggy Dog (1959) 70%

Think Like a Dog (2020) 70%

I Am Legend (2007) 68%

Lady and the Tramp (2019) 67%

White Fang (1991) 67%

Iron Will (1994) 67%

The Plague Dogs (1982) 67%

101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2003) 67%

Arthur the King (2024) 69%

Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) 64%

The Call of the Wild (2020) 63%

Marley & Me (2008) 63%

Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995) 63%

Dog Days (2018) 62%

The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) 60%

Benji (2018) 60%

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001) 60%

A Dog's Way Home (2019) 59%

Cujo (1983) 59%

Balto (1995) 56%

Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996) 56%

Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) 55%

Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004) 55%

Benji the Hunted (1987) 55%

Strays (2023) 53%

Cats & Dogs (2001) 53%

Oliver & Company (1988) 53%

A Dog's Journey (2019) 52%

Turner & Hooch (1989) 52%

The Shaggy D.A. (1976) 50%

Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999) 50%

Air Bud (1997) 48%

Hotel for Dogs (2009) 46%

Rock Dog (2016) 46%

The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019) 45%

Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (2001) 45%

All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989) 44%

Dog Gone (2023) 41%

Saving Shiloh (2006) 41%

Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) 40%

Zeus and Roxanne (1997) 40%

The Stray (2017) 40%

101 Dalmatians (1996) 39%

Must Love Dogs (2005) 37%

Max (2015) 37%

Firehouse Dog (2007) 37%

Patrick the pug (2018) 37%.

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) 36%

A Dog's Purpose (2017) 34%

Benji: Off the Leash! (2004) 33%

Scooby-Doo (2002) 32%

Beethoven (1992) 31%

Fluke (1995) 31%

K-9 (1989) 30%

The Shaggy Dog (2006) 26%

Snow Dogs (2002) 26%

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A dog's journey, common sense media reviewers.

Sequel is as sentimental and emotional as the first film.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Strong messages about the life-changing bond, unco

Ethan and Hannah continue to be wonderful role mod

A dog dies on different occasions. In one particul

A married couple embraces, dances, briefly kisses.

Infrequent language includes a few uses of "idiot,

Recognizable brands include Dodge, MacBook, iPhone

Quite a bit of drinking by Gloria, who's nearly al

Parents need to know that A Dog's Journey is the sequel to 2017's sentimental A Dog's Purpose , both of which are based on W. Bruce Cameron's best-selling books about a dog (voiced by Josh Gad) that's reincarnated again and again with the purpose of finding a specific human to protect and love. This…

Positive Messages

Strong messages about the life-changing bond, unconditional love, and connection between dogs and their humans. Promotes idea that people aren't meant to go through life alone, that they're happier and more fulfilled with both human partners and animal companions. Clear themes of empathy, perseverance.

Positive Role Models

Ethan and Hannah continue to be wonderful role models: kind, helpful, disciplined, loving. They take good care of Bailey and CJ. The dog always believes his/her purpose is to defend, protect, and love his/her human companions, nevers stops looking for or protecting his/her human. CJ is lonely and sad at times but loves her dog and her best friend, Trent, who's supportive, generous, encouraging. Gloria is an alcoholic and neglectful mother but eventually takes responsibility, asks for forgiveness.

Violence & Scariness

A dog dies on different occasions. In one particularly painful scene, Bailey dies in Ethan's arms receiving a euthanizing shot. Another version of Bailey dies in an accident, others die of old age. An abusive boyfriend purposely crashes into his ex-girlfriend's car. Another boyfriend is verbally demeaning, grabs his girlfriend. An older adult dies surrounded by people (and pet) he loves. An alcoholic mom is neglectful, leaving her daughter alone a lot of nights. A girl is frightened of a storm, upset that her mother isn't around.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A married couple embraces, dances, briefly kisses. Teens make out in a car. From dog's perspective, a young couple "licks each other's faces" -- like Ethan and Hannah used to when they were younger. At one point, the dog narrates, "They look like they want to lick each other."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Infrequent language includes a few uses of "idiot," "dumb," and "stupid." A mom hurls the word "chubby" like an insult. "Oh my God" as an exclamation.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Recognizable brands include Dodge, MacBook, iPhone, Slim Jim, Cheetos, Whole Foods, Ford, and Jeep.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Quite a bit of drinking by Gloria, who's nearly always shown with a glass of wine or a cocktail in her hand. She's clearly an alcoholic and is often drunk. Shane is obviously a drug dealer -- he exchanges cash for small packets at a party. Minor character smokes cigarettes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that A Dog's Journey is the sequel to 2017's sentimental A Dog's Purpose , both of which are based on W. Bruce Cameron's best-selling books about a dog (voiced by Josh Gad ) that's reincarnated again and again with the purpose of finding a specific human to protect and love. This time around, Ethan ( Dennis Quaid ) encourages his beloved dying dog to return to find his granddaughter. There's less violence in this one, but there's still an alcoholic, neglectful parent (this time a mother) and an abusive boyfriend who literally crashes into his ex-girlfriend on purpose. Another boyfriend is verbally demeaning and grabs his girlfriend; a minor character smokes. And, yes, the central dog dies -- four times, to be exact, due to sickness, old age, and accidents. But couples don't do much more than hug and kiss, and language is tame ("idiot," "stupid"). As in the first movie, there are clear messages about empathy and companionship, as well as the power of having a pet with whom humans share unconditional love. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (20)
• Kids say (17)

Based on 20 parent reviews

Interesting discussions about this film

Amazing....but made me sob, what's the story.

A DOG'S JOURNEY -- the sequel to 2017's A Dog's Purpose -- is, like the first film, an adaptation of W. Bruce Cameron's best-selling books about a special canine whose memories are reincarnated into a new dog each time it dies. As the sequel begins, Ethan ( Dennis Quaid ), his wife, Hannah ( Marg Helgenberger ), and their beloved dog, Bailey (voiced by Josh Gad ), are living on their Michigan farm and taking care of Hannah's toddler granddaughter, CJ, and widowed daughter-in-law, Gloria ( Betty Gilpin ), after the death of her son. When Gloria, who's angry and neglectful in her grief, takes CJ away to Chicago, Hannah and Ethan are distraught. Right before Bailey eventually dies, Ethan asks him to come back for CJ. And that's what happens: The dog returns as Molly, a puppy that 11-year-old CJ ( Abby Ryder Fortson ) adopts, while her best friend, Trent ( Ian Chen ), adopts Molly's brother Rocky. Years later, CJ (now Kathryn Prescott ) continues to be "Bailey's" purpose, even after more dog deaths and CJ's move to New York City to pursue a music career.

Is It Any Good?

Emotional and syrupy sweet, this sentimental sequel is a tribute to the enduring bond between dogs and their human best friends. Veteran TV director Gail Mancuso continues Lasse Hallstrom 's poignant touch with the story, which switches from focusing on Ethan to CJ. The CJ storyline is less violent than younger Ethan's, but it's still filled with heartbreak, a parent's substance abuse, sadness, and loneliness (save for lifelong friend Trent).

Gilpin is well cast as a selfish, disinterested mother who cares more about warning her daughter about the dangers of getting "chubby" than actually parenting her. Prescott is believable as a vulnerable, unfulfilled young woman whose greatest comfort has always come from her dog. And Henry Lau is almost too good to be true as the earnest adult version of Trent. Gad's voice is eager and steadfast as the various incarnations of Bailey, and, unlike in the first film, A Dog's Journey , audiences stay with the same family of dog owners throughout the story (with the exception of one quick detour). This movie definitely and effectively pulls at the heartstrings, so pet lovers in particular should expect tears to flow at the many tender moments between CJ and Ethan and their dogs. There's even a subplot about one of the dogs being able to detect cancer by scent, an ability a later dog can also display -- with life-saving results. For dog fans, this is a movie that affirms the kinship between humans and dogs; for others, it's a treacly sweet take on some serious issues.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violent/upsetting scenes in A Dog's Journey. Why do you think they were included? Can a movie have violent parts and still be family friendly?

What do the human characters learn from their dog? How does the story promote empathy ? How does Bailey's journey, lifetime after lifetime, exemplify perseverance ? Why are those important character strengths ?

How does the movie portray drinking ? Are there realistic consequences? Why is that important?

How does the movie address grief, especially in relation to losing a pet? Have you ever had to deal with that? What made you feel better?

What do you think about CJ and Trent's friendship? How is their relationship different from the other romantic relationships depicted in the movie? What's the message about friends who become more?

Movie Details

• In theaters : May 17, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : August 20, 2019
• Cast : Dennis Quaid , Josh Gad , Betty Gilpin
• Director : Gail Mancuso
• Inclusion Information : Middle Eastern/North African actors, Female actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Cats, Dogs, and Mice , Friendship
• Character Strengths : Empathy , Perseverance
• Run time : 108 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : thematic content, some peril and rude humor
• Last updated : February 18, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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A dog's purpose collection.

A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.

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Deleted Scene: A Song for Molly

Everyone's best friend, working with dogs, deleted and extended scenes, deleted scene: it's gonna work, deleted scene: you can stay here, deleted scene: just do the laundry, deleted scene: let's get started, deleted scene: gloria looks at henry's things, deleted scene: this place is huge, deleted scene: t's really happening, deleted scene: i've loved you forever, featurettes, a dog's sequel, a healing journey, scoring the journey, theatrical trailer, additional info.

• Genre : Comedy, Drama, Family
• Release Date : May 17, 2019
• Languages : English, Spanish
• Captions : English, Spanish
• Audio Format : 5.1

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A Dog's Journey / A Dog's Purpose 2-Movie Collection [DVD]

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A Dog's Purpose

Based on the beloved bestselling novel by W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose, from director Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, Dear John, The Hundred-Foot Journey), shares the soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog (voiced by Josh Gad) who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love.

A Dog's Journey

Some friendships transcend lifetimes. Picking up where A Dog's Purpose left off, Ethan's (Dennis Quaid) beloved dog Bailey (voiced again by Josh Gad) finds a new destiny: Protect Ethan's granddaughter CJ (Kathryn Prescott) at any cost. Bailey's adventure through multiple lives is filled with love, friendship and devotion as he and CJ experience joy and heartbreak, music and laughter, and a few really good belly rubs.

More to love from the A Dog's Purpose series:

Product Description

A Dog's Journey: Picking up where A Dog's Purpose left off, Ethan's (Dennis Quaid) beloved dog Bailey (voiced again by Josh Gad) finds a new destiny: Protect Ethan's granddaughter CJ (Kathryn Prescott) at any cost. Bailey's adventure through multiple lives is filled with love, friendship and devotion as he and CJ experience joy and heartbreak, music and laughter, and a few really good belly rubs. A Dog's Purpose: Based on the beloved bestselling novel by W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose, from director Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, Dear John, The Hundred-Foot Journey), shares the soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog (voiced by Josh Gad) who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love.

Product details

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.39:1, 2.40:1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.4 ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ Various
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, NTSC
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 3 hours and 29 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 24, 2019
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Various
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ Spanish, French
• Language ‏ : ‎ Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07TQYRTFR
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• #85 in Kids & Family DVDs
• #108 in Comedy (Movies & TV)
• #140 in Drama DVDs

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A Dog's Purpose Collection

A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.

• Number of Movies: 2
• Revenue: $283,871,079

Featured Cast

Dogs: Bailey / Buddy / Tino / Ellie (voice), Bailey / Molly / Big Dog / Max (voice)

Marg Helgenberger

Hannah Montgomery

Betty Gilpin

Gloria Mitchell

Britt Robertson

Teen Hannah

Dennis Quaid

Adult Ethan, Ethan Montgomery

Kathryn Prescott

Clarity June "CJ" Mitchell

Peggy Lipton

Adult Hannah

Juliet Rylance

Elizabeth - Ethan's Mom

Jim - Ethan's Dad

Abby Ryder Fortson

Featured Crew

Wallace Wolodarsky

Maya Forbes

W. Bruce Cameron

Cathryn Michon

Lasse Hallström

Audrey Wells

Gail Mancuso

A Dog's Purpose

A Dog's Journey

A dog finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he meets.

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The 50 movies every dog lover needs to see at least once

Posted: April 18, 2024 | Last updated: April 20, 2024

Best dog movies of all time

If there's one animal nearest and dearest to the collective heart of mankind, it's the canine, which has been a staple in cinema for more than a century. In fact, the trend dates all the way back to 1905, when a male collie named Blair starred in the British short film, "Rescued by Rover." True to its name, the film follows Rover as he helps in the recovery of a kidnapped baby. Good boy, Rover!

On the heels of Blair came a female collie named Jean, widely considered to be the first true canine movie star. A number of famous dogs would emerge in Jean's wake, including Rin Tin Tin, who was popular enough to have a book written about him decades after he passed away. Of course, it's the films and franchises themselves that truly endure and continue to enrapture new generations. After all, a movie like "Old Yeller" might seem dated in terms of style, but emotionally speaking, it's as poignant now as ever.

All this talk of dogs in film might lead one to wonder: what are the most popular dog movies of all time? Like a well-trained canine, Stacker is here to heed the call. Stacker compiled data from  Rotten Tomatoes on all dog movies and ranked the top 50 according to the Tomatometer, with the freshest movie sitting at #1. To qualify, the film had to have canines that were prominently featured characters, if not the focus of the film. Ties were broken by number of critic reviews and further ties broken by audience score. Data is current up through Jan. 31, 2021.

Without further ado, here are the best dog movies of all time.

#50. Cujo (1983)

- Director: Lewis Teague - Tomatometer: 63% - Audience score: 45%

Based on a horror novel by Stephen King, this 1983 film centers on a dog named Cujo, who turns deadly after contracting rabies. Playing the title role were at least five separate canines, while a mechanical dog was employed for certain scenes . Despite the film crew's precautions, one of the dogs accidentally bit a stunt-woman during filming.

#49. Dog Days (2018)

- Director: Ken Marino - Tomatometer: 63% - Audience score: 76%

Five interconnected stories see humans brought together by their canine companions in modern-day Los Angeles in this rom-com. The canine cast features a pug, a pit bull mix, and a Chihuahua, while the human cast is equally impressive with Nina Dobrev, Vanessa Hudgens, and Finn Wolfhard.

#48. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

- Director: Lasse Hallström - Tomatometer: 64% - Audience score: 84%

Richard Gere stars alongside a faithful Akita dog in "Hachi: A Dog's Tale," based on the true story of a famously loyal canine. In the film, Gere plays a college professor who takes home an abandoned dog, naming it Hachiko. After failing to find the dog's original owner, the professor adopts Hachi for good. Before this 2009 version, there was a similar 1987 Japanese movie called "Hachi-ko."

#47. White Fang (1991)

- Director: Randal Kleiser - Tomatometer: 65% - Audience score: 63%

One among many big-screen adaptations of Jack London's famous novel published in 1906, this 1991 version stars Ethan Hawke as a Yukon gold hunter named Jack. The prospector and the wolf-dog, White Fang, forge a bond after a string of unfortunate events befalls them both. The dog, Jed, also played one of the dogs in John Carpenter's "The Thing."

#46. Lady and the Tramp (2019)

- Director: Charlie Bean - Tomatometer: 65% - Audience score: 51%

After Disney's string of box office successes turning '90s animated hits into live-action remakes, "Lady and the Tramp" is the latest, but certainly not the last, classic film to be updated. The remake uses real, adorable dogs to portray Lady, the classy cocker spaniel, and Tramp, the goofball mutt with schnauzer leanings, training them to look longing at each other and move food around plates, then relying on computer animation to blend the dogs with the film's reality. The film received mixed reviews and, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was not released in theaters, but instead became the first Disney remake to go directly to its streaming platform, Disney+.

#45. 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2002)

- Director: Jim Kammerud - Tomatometer: 67% - Audience score: 41%

While the original "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" eventually spawned a live-action remake, a sequel to the remake, and a future spinoff—"Cruella," an origin story with Emma Stone playing the fur-obsessed villain, was delayed due to COVID-19 but may stream in 2021 on Disney+—the first time Disney revisited the "Dalmatians" in animation was later, in 2002. "101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure" picks up one year after the events of the original movie, and centers on the adventures of Patch, one of the puppies, who dreams of bigger things than life on the Dalmatian ranch. Cruella de Vil once more seeks to turn the family into a coat.

#44. The Shaggy Dog (1959)

- Director: Charles Barton - Tomatometer: 68% - Audience score: 48%

In this black-and-white Disney film, a teenage boy has a strange problem on his hands: He occasionally turns into a sheepdog. It's the result of a powerful curse, which can only be broken by a feat of bravery. In the meantime, the transformations seem to occur at the most inopportune of moments.

#43. I Am Legend (2007)

- Director: Francis Lawrence - Tomatometer: 68% - Audience score: 68%

This post-apocalyptic film based on the 1954 book of the same name stars Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville. His faithful canine companion Sam, played by two German shepherds named Abbey and Kona, remains his character's only connection to life before a deadly virus brought about the downfall of humanity. Will Smith was so smitten with his co-star Abbey that he asked her trainer if he could keep her but was turned down.

#42. Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season (1999)

- Director: Sandy Tung - Tomatometer: 70% - Audience score: 62%

In this follow-up to the original, Shiloh's abusive owner is upset that the dog is with his new owner, Marty. Based on the popular book series, the film features Frannie the dog who also played Shiloh in the first film. The third and final Shiloh film, "Saving Shiloh," was released in 2006.

#41. The Fox and the Hound (1981)

- Director: Ted Berman - Tomatometer: 70% - Audience score: 78%

Representing the first Disney movie to feature animation from artists Tim Burton and Brad Bird , "The Fox and the Hound" starts out innocently enough, but grows into something far more dramatic. The film opens by depicting the carefree childhood friendship between its two main characters. However, as the characters grow older, they grow further apart and eventually find out that they're supposed to be enemies.

#40. White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994)

- Director: Ken Olin - Tomatometer: 71% - Audience score: 47%

In this sequel to the 1991 original, White Fang helps an ancient Alaskan tribe. Fang is played by Jed, a wolf malamute hybrid who died in 1995 at the age of 18. The film marked Ken Olin's feature film directorial debut.

#39. Eight Below (2006)

- Director: Frank Marshall - Tomatometer: 72% - Audience score: 79%

In this gripping tale of survival, two Antarctic explorers are forced to leave their sled dogs behind after a brutal snowstorm. As the dogs search for scraps in the wilderness, their trainer (Paul Walker) goes to extremes in order to rescue them. The movie is based on a previous Japanese film, which was based on a true story .

#38. The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

- Director: Chris Renaud - Tomatometer: 72% - Audience score: 62%

In the spirit of movies like "Toy Story," this 2016 animated comedy shows audiences what pets are up to when the owners aren't paying attention. At the heart of the film is a terrier named Max (voiced by Louis C.K.), who takes an immediate dislike to the slobbery stray dog his owner brings home. Max must put his domestic problems on hold, however, when he discovers that an evil bunny has assembled a vengeful army of lost pets.

#37. Shiloh (1996)

- Director: Dale Rosenbloom - Tomatometer: 73% - Audience score: 64%

This 1996 family drama spawned two sequels. The film takes place in the American south and centers on a young boy who must save a beagle named Shiloh from an abusive owner. Both the movie and the book were reportedly inspired by true events.

#36. My Dog Skip (2000)

- Director: Jay Russell - Tomatometer: 73% - Audience score: 68%

Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Willie Morris, this film takes place in 1940s Mississippi and stars Frankie Muniz as young Willie. In the film, Willie suffers from extreme shyness and struggles to connect with others. That all changes when he's given a puppy named Skip, whose outgoing personality proves to be contagious.

#35. Wiener-Dog (2016)

- Director: Todd Solondz - Tomatometer: 74% - Audience score: 41%

Few (if any) contemporary directors are more subversive than Todd Solondz, which makes 2016's "Wiener-Dog" an acquired taste, to put it mildly. The film centers on the adventures of its title character, an unassuming daschund who gets passed around from owner to owner. Needless to say, this one is not for the faint of heart, or even the average dog lover.

#34. A Boy and His Dog (1975)

- Director: L.Q. Jones - Tomatometer: 76% - Audience score: 63%

Despite the rather mundane title, 1975's "A Boy and His Dog" is an edgy, sci-fi film that takes place in an apocalyptic wasteland, and depicts the adventures of a young man (Don Johnson) and his telepathic canine. Together, the two friends scavenge for food and wander into an underground society, where carnal desire and deadly deception await.

#33. Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)

- Director: Jim Stenstrum - Tomatometer: 80% - Audience score: 58%

Scooby and the gang face alien invaders in this direct-to-video release. The film is based on the Saturday morning cartoon, which was created by Hanna-Barbera in 1969 and has been a mainstay ever since. Scooby, whose full name is Scoobert, is a Great Dane.

#32. The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1986)

- Director: Masanori Hata - Tomatometer: 80% - Audience score: 74%

This feature film has become a classic and focuses on the adventures of a cat and dog, Milo and Otis, respectively. The two grow up on a farm together and get separated, spurring them to find each other in the often scary and dangerous wilderness. The film has been plagued with allegations of animal cruelty.

#31. White Fang (2018)

- Director: Alexandre Espigares - Tomatometer: 80% - Audience score: 74%

Variety reviewer Guy Lodge called Oscar-winning director and animator Alexandre Espigares' film a " ravishingly designed new take on the old Jack London chestnut ." The movie features animation with a textured, oil-painting style, winning over animation enthusiasts. Paul Giamatti and Nick Offerman both make voice appearances at the beginning of the film. 

#30. Alpha (2018)

- Director: Albert Hughes - Tomatometer: 80% - Audience score: 71%

Set 20,000 years ago during prehistoric times, this film focuses on the relationship of a boy struggling to survive in the wilderness after being injured and a wolf abandoned by his pack. The wolves in the film were a combination of CGI, real wolves, and wolf hybrids. The film depicts the first canine-human bond.

#29. Baxter (1990)

- Director: Jérôme Boivin - Tomatometer: 83% - Audience score: 84%

This dark French film features a bull terrier who finds that he is unhappy with his boring elderly companion. In a search for the perfect owner, Baxter becomes dangerous and demented. Based on the 1977 American novel, "Hell Hound," the story is told from the dog's perspective in voice-over narration.

#28. Red Dog (2011)

- Director: Kriv Stenders - Tomatometer: 83% - Audience score: 80%

This tale of an affable red dog who brings people together while searching the Australian outback for his owner is based on a true story . Koko, who played Red Dog in the film, won Best Dog in a Foreign Film at the 2012 Golden Collar Awards.

#27. As Good As It Gets (1997)

- Director: James L. Brooks - Tomatometer: 85% - Audience score: 86%

This Oscar-nominated film stars Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt and features Jill the dog as Verdell. Melvin, a persnickety curmudgeon finds himself caring for Verdell when his gay artist neighbor is attacked and hospitalized. Jill the dog bunked with Nicholson at his Hollywood home during shooting.

#26. Wendy and Lucy (2008)

- Director: Kelly Reichardt - Tomatometer: 85% - Audience score: 67%

A young woman, played by Michelle Williams, travels to Alaska to find work in her beat-up car along with her faithful companion, Lucy. When she gets caught stealing, she loses Lucy and must search for the dog. Director Kelly Reichardt used her own pet for the part of Lucy.

#25. Benji (2018)

- Director: Joe Camp - Tomatometer: 86% - Audience score: 55%

Not to be confused with the 2018 remake, 1974's "Benji" introduced audiences to a heroic dog who helps save two kidnapped children. To say the movie was popular would be an understatement, as it not only launched a number of film sequels and TV specials, but a short-lived TV series and video game as well. Benji was also the subject of two separate documentaries.

#24. Oddball (2015)

- Director: Stuart McDonald - Tomatometer: 87% - Audience score: 62%

This Australian family film features a Maremma sheepdog named Oddball who helps protect a penguin sanctuary from nasty foxes. Based on a true story , the real-life Oddball only spent a few weeks on the island guarding penguins but was the impetus for a penguin-protection program using other Maremma sheepdogs.

#23. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)

- Director: Duwayne Dunham - Tomatometer: 87% - Audience score: 71%

When remaking 1963's "The Incredible Journey," Disney decided to give the animals their own voices. Furthermore, "Homeward Bound" takes place in California, whereas the original film took place in Canada. Nevertheless, the initial premise remains intact: A trio of pets travel across hostile lands to reconnect with their owners, overcoming all odds.

#22. Megan Leavey (2017)

- Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite - Tomatometer: 87% - Audience score: 82%

Based on a true story , this 2017 film centers on a marine named Megan Leavey and her dog, Rex, who forge an unforgettable bond during the Iraq War. Megan and Rex's partnership is threatened when a deadly explosion tears them apart. After receiving a Purple Heart and being honorably discharged, Megan goes to great lengths to reunite with her dog.

#21. Frankenweenie (2012)

- Director: Tim Burton - Tomatometer: 87% - Audience score: 70%

Filmmaker Tim Burton remakes one of his own short films with 2012's "Frankenweenie," this time using stop-motion animation. The movie also pays tribute to the story of "Frankenstein," substituting a dog for the monster. This was the first stop-motion animated feature to be converted to 3D .

#20. Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)

- Director: Jim Stenstrum - Tomatometer: 88% - Audience score: 78%

The Mystery Gang has parted ways since the days of their popular TV series. This sets the stage for a reunion on Moonscar Island, which is rumored to be haunted by a pirate ghost. As the gang investigates, they start to wonder if maybe this time the supernatural threat is real.

#19. Lassie (1994)

- Director: Daniel Petrie - Tomatometer: 88% - Audience score: 56%

After Lassie's owner dies in a truck accident, a family of city dwellers who've relocated to the country adopts her. The ever-loyal Lassie shows them the lay of the land and helps them to adjust to country living. "Lassie" marked the feature film debut of actor Michelle Williams.

#18. White God (2015)

- Director: Kornél Mundruczó - Tomatometer: 88% - Audience score: 71%

Mixed-breed dogs revolt against their human tormentors in this dramatic tale of a girl, Lili, and her dog, Hagen. After Hagen is set free in the streets because he is a mixed breed, the film's perspective shifts from the girl's to the dog's. The more than 200 dogs featured in the film were from local shelters.

#17. The Incredible Journey (1963)

- Director: Fletcher Markle - Tomatometer: 89% - Audience score: 77%

Before the remake and its sequel, there was this original 1963 classic. It tells the story of two dogs and a cat who lose their owners while on vacation, then make the arduous journey home. While the animals' respective thoughts aren't vocalized in this version, actor Rex Allen did provide voice-over narration.

#16. Sounder (1972)

- Director: Martin Ritt - Tomatometer: 89% - Audience score: 77%

Based on the 1969 young adult novel by William H. Armstrong, the film tells of an African American sharecropper family in the 1930s. After the father is arrested for stealing to feed his family, his son tries to find him at a prison camp. Accompanying him is the loyal family hound, Sounder.

#15. Bolt (2008)

- Director: Chris Williams - Tomatometer: 89% - Audience score: 74%

In this animated film from Disney, a canine TV star named Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) thinks that the storylines from his show are real and that he possesses the same superpowers as his fictional counterpart. In the wake of a cliffhanger episode, Bolt escapes from the studio and wanders off to save his co-star, Penny, from a threat that doesn't actually exist. Along the way, he makes some friends and soon discovers that he does not in fact have any superpowers.

#14. My Dog Tulip (2010)

- Director: Paul Fierlinger - Tomatometer: 90% - Audience score: 69%

This animated tale from the U.K. focuses on the friendship that blossoms between a man and the German shepherd he rescues. Based on a book of the same name that documents author J.R. Ackerley's real-life relationship with his dog, Tulip, the cast includes the voices of Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, and Isabella Rossellini.

#13. Isle of Dogs (2018)

- Director: Wes Anderson - Tomatometer: 90% - Audience score: 87%

Legendary auteur Wes Anderson wrote and directed this stop-motion animation film, which takes place during a dog flu outbreak in Japan. In response to the pandemic, all dogs are sent to Trash Island. Consequently, a young boy journeys to the island to reunite with his beloved canine, Spots. Loosely inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki , the film features voice contributions from Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Bryan Cranston and Edward Norton, among others.

#12. White Dog (1982)

- Director: Samuel Fuller - Tomatometer: 92% - Audience score: 73%

Exploring racial themes by way of a relatively sordid premise, 1982's "White Dog" centers on a vicious German shepherd that's been trained by racists to attack Black people. It's ultimately up to a black dog trainer named Keys (Paul Winfield) to deprogram the murderous canine. The film is based on a fictionalized memoir of the same name.

#11. Togo (2019)

- Director: Ericson Core - Tomatometer: 92% - Audience score: 95%

Willem Dafoe stars in this Disney film about Togo, a heroic sled dog, and the 1925 serum run. Based on a true story, the film drew praise for both its human and canine stars. Time magazine voted Togo "The Most Heroic Animal of All Time" in 2011.

#10. Snoopy, Come Home (1972)

- Director: Bill Melendez - Tomatometer: 93% - Audience score: 84%

In this Peanuts classic that focuses on Charlie Brown's dog, Snoopy, the gang all try to figure out where Snoopy has gone. They discover he went with Woodstock to find his former owner, who is in the hospital, and reached out to him in a letter. The film documents Snoopy's journey across the country and all the times he encounters "No Dogs Allowed" signs.

#9. Lady and the Tramp (1955)

- Director: Clyde Geronimi - Tomatometer: 93% - Audience score: 80%

Brimming with iconic scenes involving Siamese cats and spaghetti kisses, Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" centers on the budding romance between a spoiled cocker spaniel and a streetwise mutt. The story spent years in development before finally arriving on the big screen , getting saved from the chopping block at one point by Walt Disney's own brother, Roy. Nowadays, the movie endures as a true animated classic.

#8. Lassie (2005)

- Director: Charles Sturridge - Tomatometer: 93% - Audience score: 64%

A family loses Lassie to a duke after they find they must sell her. The duke moves hundreds of miles away with Lassie, who must escape and find a way back to her family. The British film continues with the tradition of all the Lassie films that preceded it by featuring a direct descendent of the original collie to play the loyal canine on-screen, Pal.

#7. Lassie Come Home (1943)

- Director: Fred M. Wilcox - Tomatometer: 94% - Audience score: 76%

Hollywood's most celebrated dog-based franchise kicked off in 1943 with "Lassie Come Home," in which the beloved collie travels great distances to reunite with her family. Even though Lassie was supposed to be female, she was played by a male stunt dog named Pal . Needless to say, the film spawned an enduring array of sequels, radio specials, and TV movies.

#6. Best in Show (2000)

- Director: Christopher Guest - Tomatometer: 94% - Audience score: 89%

Mockumentary legend Christopher Guest turns his satirical eye toward dog shows in this 2000 comedy. Arguably true to life, the film follows a number of quirky dog owners as they prepare for a national competition, and maintain borderline unhealthy relationships with their respective pets. To prepare for the film, Guest and producer Karen Murphy visited the Westminster Dog Show , and even sent the principal cast members to a dog handler for training.

#5. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

- Director: Steve Box - Tomatometer: 95% - Audience score: 79%

When the annual vegetable growing contest is threatened, Wallace and his canine companion, Gromit, decide to solve the mystery behind what's been going on in the gardens of their English village. This animated feature boasts a distinguished cast of voices including Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter.

#4. Heart of a Dog (2015)

- Director: Laurie Anderson - Tomatometer: 96% - Audience score: 64%

This film from media artist Laurie Anderson tells about the life and loss of her beloved terrier, Lolabelle. Anderson was the wife of musician Lou Reed until his death in 2013, and some of his music even appears in the film. In a review for The Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgenstern notes , "A dog is at the heart of this film, but there's room for all manner of extraordinary insights about finding love and giving love, being canine and being human."

#3. Umberto D (1955)

- Director: Vittorio De Sica - Tomatometer: 97% - Audience score: 93%

A lonely, elderly man attempts to live on his government pension while caring for his beloved dog. He eventually loses his apartment and his dog, who is thrown into the pound. This Italian film is believed to have been a favorite of legendary film director Ingmar Bergman.

#2. 101 Dalmatians (1961)

- Director: Wolfgang Reitherman - Tomatometer: 98% - Audience score: 76%

The 17th animated film from Walt Disney Studios is all about Dalmatians...101 of them to be exact. That's how many puppies Cruella De Vil needs to make her new fur coat. Getting in Cruella's way are a Dalmatian couple and their human owners. Making a few cameos are characters from another dog-centric Disney film , "Lady and the Tramp."

#1. Old Yeller (1957)

- Director: Robert Stevenson - Tomatometer: 100% - Audience score: 79%

One of the most iconic dog movies of all time, "Old Yeller" follows a young boy as he begrudgingly adopts a stray mutt that wanders onto the family property. Together, the two undergo a series of adventures, and soon enough, they've developed a profound connection. It all culminates with an ending that's as impactful now as it was more than six decades ago.

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The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial

Here’s what has happened so far in the unprecedented proceedings against a former u.s. president..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

It’s the first day of the Trump trial and just walking out the door in my house. It’s a beautiful day, 6:11 AM. The thing that keeps running through my head is it’s kind of amazing that hundreds of jurors are going to show up at the Manhattan courthouse. And some of them are going to know what they’re there for — probably talking to their friends, their relatives about it.

Some of them are going to learn this morning talking to other jurors in line, asking what all the fuss is about. But I really do imagine that there’s going to be at least one potential juror who, headphones on, getting into court. Here they’re going to be there for the first criminal trial of Donald J. Trump. And just, I mean, how would you react?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.” Today, what it’s been like inside the lower Manhattan courtroom, where political and legal history are being made? My colleague, Jonah Bromwich, on the opening days of the first criminal trial of a US President. It’s Thursday, April 18.

Is that his mic? Hi, there.

Hello. How are you?

I’m doing good.

OK. Thank you for coming in, Jonah —

Thank you for having me.

— in the middle of a trial. Can you just explain why you’re able to even be here?

Sure. So we happen to be off on Wednesdays during trial, so.

We being not “The New York Times,” but the courts.

That’s right.

Which is why we’re taping with you. And because we now have two full court days of this history-making trial now under our belts. And the thing about this trial that’s so interesting is that there are no cameras in the courtroom for the wider world.

There’s no audio recordings. So all we really have is and your eyes and your notebook, maybe your laptop. And so we’re hoping you can reconstruct for us the scene of the first two days of this trial and really the highlights.

Yeah, I’d be happy to. So on Monday morning, I left the subway. It’s before 7:00 AM. The sun is just rising over these grandiose court buildings in lower Manhattan.

I’m about to turn left onto Center Street. I’m right in front of the big municipal building.

And I turn onto Center Street. That’s where the courthouses are.

I’m crossing.

And I expected to see a big crowd. And it was even bigger than I had anticipated.

Here we go. Here we go. Here we go. Now, I finally see the crowd.

You have camera banks. You have reporters. You have the beginnings of what will eventually become a protest. And you have this most New York thing, which is just a big crowd of people.

[CHUCKLES]: Who just know something is going on.

That’s right. And what they know is going on is, of course, the first trial of an American president.

All right, I’m passing the camera, folks. Camera, camera, camera, camera. Here we go.

Let’s start with Sharon Crowley live outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

I want to get right to ABC’S Aaron Katersky who’s outside of the courthouse.

Robert Costa is following it outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan. Bob, I saw the satellite trucks lined up all in a row. Good morning.

Talk to us how we got here exactly.

So this is the case that was brought by the Manhattan district attorney. So prosecutors have accused Donald Trump of covering up the actions of his former fixer, Michael Cohen, after Cohen paid hush money to Stormy Daniels. Stormy Daniels had a story about having had sex with Donald Trump, which Trump has always denied.

Cohen paid her money, and then Trump reimbursed Cohen. And prosecutors say that Trump essentially defrauded the American people because he hid this information that could have been very important for the election from those people when he reimbursed Cohen.

Right. And as I remember it, he also misrepresented what that reimbursement was. Claimed it was a legal fee when, in fact, it was just reimbursing Michael Cohen for a hush money payment.

Exactly, yeah. He definitely didn’t say reimbursement for hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. It’s a cover up case. It’s a case about hiding information you don’t want people to see.

Right. And of course, the context of all this is that it is in the middle of a presidential election. It’s 2016. Trump wants to keep this secret, prosecutors allege, so that the American public doesn’t know about it and potentially hold it against him.

Right. And prosecutors are telling a story about election interference. They’re saying that Trump interfered with an election. And Trump himself is also using the phrase “election interference.” But he’s painting the trial itself as election interference as he now runs again in 2024.

Fascinating.

And because we’re in Manhattan, and because the jury pool is going to be largely Democratic, and the judge is a Democrat, and the district attorney is a Democrat, Trump keeps claiming he cannot get a fair shake. This is democrat central. And in democrat central, Trump doesn’t have a chance.

OK. So, what happens once you actually enter the courthouse?

Outside, there’s all this fanfare. But inside, it’s a little bit business as usual. So I go up to the 15th floor, and I walk into the courtroom, and I sit down, and it’s the same old courtroom. And we’re sitting and waiting for the former president.

Around 9:30, Trump walks in. He looks thin. He looks a little tired, kind of slumping forward, as if to say with his body like let’s get this over with. Here we go.

The judge walks in a little bit after that. And we think we’re all set for the trial to start, but that’s not what happens here. And in fact, there are a series of legal arguments about what the trial is going to look like and what evidence is going to be allowed in.

So, for example, prosecutors ask that they be allowed to admit into evidence headlines from “The National Enquirer” that were attacks on Trump’s 2016 opponents — on Ted Cruz, on Marco Rubio, on Ben Carson.

Because prosecutors are in some sense putting Trump’s 2016 campaign on trial. These headlines are a big part of that because what prosecutors say they show is that Trump had this ongoing deal with “The National Enquirer.” And the publisher would promote him, and it would publish damaging stories about his opponents. And then crucially, it would protect Trump from negative stories. And that’s exactly what prosecutors say happened with Stormy Daniels. That “The National Enquirer” tipped Cohen off about Stormy Daniels trying to sell her story of having had sex with Donald Trump, which he denies. And that led to the hush money payment to her. So what prosecutors are doing overall with these headlines is establishing a pattern of conduct. And that conduct, they say, was an attempt to influence the election in Trump’s favor.

And the judge agrees. He’s going to admit this evidence. And this is a pretty big win for the prosecution. But even though they win that one, they’re not winning everything.

They lose some important arguments here. One of them was that after the Access Hollywood tape came out, there were allegations of sexual assault against Donald Trump. And you know this, Michael, because you reported two of them — two of the three in question at this very trial.

Prosecutors had hoped to talk about those during trial in front of the jury to show the jurors that the Trump campaign was really, really focused on pushing back against bad press in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump seemed to describe sexual assault. That was a big problem for the campaign. Campaign did everything it could to push back, including against these allegations that surfaced in the wake of the tape.

But the judge, saying that the allegations are hearsay — that they’re based on the women’s stories — says absolutely not. That is incredibly prejudicial to the defendant.

Interesting.

And that Donald Trump would actually not get a fair trial were those allegations to be mentioned. And so he will not let those in. The jurors will not hear about them.

So this is a setback, of course, for the prosecution, a victory for Trump’s legal team.

It’s a setback. And it also just shows you how these pre-trial motions shape the context of the trial. Think of the trial as a venue like a theater or an athletic contest of some sort. And these pre-trial motions are about what gets led into the arena and what stays out. The sexual assault allegations — out. “The National Enquirer” headlines — in.

OK. And how is Trump sitting there at the defense table reacting to these pre-trial motion rulings from the judge?

Well, as I’ve just said, this is very important stuff for his trial.

Right. Hugely important.

But it’s all happening in legal language, and I’m decoding it for you. But if you were sitting there listening to it, you might get a little lost, and you might get a little bored. And Trump, who is not involved in these arguments, seems to fall asleep.

Seems to fall asleep — you’re seeing this with your own eyes.

What we’re seeing, overall, including our colleague, Maggie Haberman, who’s in the overflow room and has a direct view of Trump’s face — I’m sitting behind him in the courtroom, so I can’t see his face that well.

You guys are double teaming this.

That’s right. I’m sitting behind him, but Maggie is sitting in front of him. And what she sees is not only that his eyes are closed. That wouldn’t get you to he is asleep.

And we have to be really careful about reporting that he’s asleep, even if it seems like a frivolous thing. But what happens is that his head is dropping down to his chest, and then it’s snapping back up. So you’ve seen that, when a student —

I’ve done that.

(CHUCKLES) Yeah. We all kind of know that feeling of snapping awake suddenly. And we see the head motion, and it happens several times.

Lawyers kind of bothering him, not quite shaking him, but certainly trying to get his attention. And that head snapping motion, we felt confident enough to report that Trump fell asleep.

During his own criminal trial’s opening day.

Does someone eventually wake him up?

He wakes up. He wakes up. And in fact, in the afternoon, he’s much more animated. It’s almost as if he wants to be seen being very much awake.

Right. So once these pre-trial motions are ruled on and Trump is snapped back to attention, what happens?

Well, what happens in the courtroom is that the trial begins. The first trial of an American president is now in session. And what marks that beginning is jurors walking into the room one by one — many of them kind of craning their necks over at Donald Trump, giggling, raising their eyebrows at each other, filing into the room, and being sworn in by the judge. And that swearing in marks the official beginning of the trial.

The beginning is jury selection, and it’s often overlooked. It’s not dramatized in our kind of courtroom dramas in the same way. But it’s so important. It’s one of the most important parts of the case. Because whoever sits on the jury, these are the 12 people who are going to decide whether Trump is guilty or whether Trump is innocent.

So how does jury selection actually look and feel and go?

So, jury selection is a winnowing process. And in order to do that, you have to have these people go through a bunch of different hurdles. So the first hurdle is, after the judge describes the case, he asks the group — and there are just short of 100 of them — whether they can be fair and impartial. And says that if they can’t, they should leave. And more than half the group is instantly gone.

So after we do this big mass excusal, we’re left with the smaller group. And so now, jurors are getting called in smaller groups to the jury box. And what they’re going to do there is they’re going to answer this questionnaire.

And this part of the process is really conducted by the judge. The lawyers are involved. They’re listening, but they’re not yet asking questions of the jurors themselves.

And what’s on the questionnaire?

Well, it’s 42 questions. And the questions include, their education, their professional histories, their hobbies, what they like to do whether you’re a member of QAnon or Antifa.

Whether you’re far left or far right.

That’s right. Whether you’ve read “The Art of the Deal,” Trump’s book, which some prospective jurors had.

Right. It was a bestseller in its time.

That’s right. And some of it can be answered in yes/no questions, but some of it can be answered more at length. So some of the prospective jurors are going very, very fast. Yes, no, no, no, yes.

Right. Because this is an oral questionnaire.

That’s right. But some of them are taking their time. They’re expanding on their hobbies. So the potential juror in seat 3, for example, is talking about her hobbies. And she says some running, hiking. And then she said, I like to go to the club, and it got a huge laugh. And you get that kind of thing in jury selection, which is one of the reasons it’s so fun. It’s the height of normality in this situation that is anything but normal.

Right. The most banal answer possible delivered in front of the former president And current Republican nominee for president.

Well, that’s one of the fascinating parts about all this, right? is that they’re answering in front of Trump. And they’re answering questions about Trump in front of Trump. He doesn’t react all that much. But whenever someone says they’ve read “The Art of the Deal —” and there are a few of those — he kind of nods appreciatively, smiles. He likes that. It’s very clear. But because there are so many questions, this is taking forever, especially when people are choosing to answer and elaborate and digress.

This is when you fall asleep.

This Is. When I would have fallen asleep if I were a normal person.

And by the end of the day. Where does jury selection stand?

Well, the questionnaire is another device for shrinking that jury pool. And so the questionnaire has almost these little obstacles or roadblocks, including, in fact, a question that jurors have seen before — whether they would have any problem being fair and impartial?

Hmm. And they ask it again.

They’re asked it again. And they’re asked in this more individualized way. The judge is questioning them. They’re responding.

So, remember that woman who said she liked to go to the club got a big laugh. She reaches question 34. And question 34 reads, “Do you have any strong opinions or firmly-held beliefs about former President Donald Trump or the fact that he is a current candidate for president that would interfere with your ability to be a fair and impartial juror?” She said, yes, she does have an opinion that would prevent her from being fair and impartial. And she, too, is excused.

So that’s how it works. People answer the questionnaire, and they get excused in that way, or they have a scheduling conflict once they reach the jury box. And so to answer your question, Michael. At the end of day one, given all these problems with the questionnaire and the length of time it’s taken to respond to and people getting dismissed based on their answers, there is not a single juror seated for this trial.

And it’s starting to look like this is going to be a really hard case for which to find an impartial jury.

That’s the feeling in the room, yeah.

We’ll be right back.

So Jonah, let’s turn to day 2. What does jury selection look like on Tuesday?

So when the day begins, it looks almost exactly like it looked when the day ended on Monday. We’re still with the questionnaire, getting some interesting answers. But even though it feels like we’re going slow, we are going.

And so we’ve gone from about 100 people to now there’s about 24 the room there’s 18 the jury box. And by the time we hit lunch, all those people have answered all those questions, and we are ready for the next step in the process.

Voir dire. And what it is the heart of jury selection. This is the point where the lawyers themselves finally get to interview the jurors. And we get so much information from this moment because the lawyers ask questions based on what they want out of the jurors.

So the prosecution is asking all these different kinds of questions. The first round of wajir is done by a guy named Joshua Steinglass, a very experienced trial lawyer with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. And he’s providing all these hypotheticals. I’ll give you one example because I found this one really, really interesting. He provides a hypothetical about a man who wants his wife killed and essentially hires a hitman to do it. And what he asked the jurors is, if that case were before you, would you be able to see that the man who hired the hitman was a part of this crime?

And of course, what he’s really getting at is, can you accept that even though Michael Cohen, Trump’s fixer, made this payment, Trump is the guy who hired him to do it?

That’s right. If there are other people involved, will jurors still be able to see Donald Trump’s hands behind it all?

Fascinating. And what were some of the responses?

People mostly said, yes, we accept that. So that’s how the prosecution did it.

But the defense had a totally different method of voir dire. They were very focused on their client and people’s opinions about their client.

So what kind of questions do we get from them?

So the lawyer, Todd Blanche, is asking people, what do you make of President Trump? What do you think of President Trump?

And what are some of the responses to that?

Well, there’s this incredible exchange with one of the jurors who absolutely refuses to give his opinion of Donald Trump. They go back and forth and back and forth. And the juror keeps insisting you don’t need to know my opinion of him. All you need to know is that I’m going to be fair and impartial, like I said. And Blanch pushes, and the guy pushes back. And the only way the guy budges is he finally kind of confesses almost at the end that, yes, I am a Democrat, and that’s all we get.

And what ends up happening to this potential juror?

Believe it or not, he got dismissed.

[LAUGHS]: I can believe it. And of course, it’s worth saying that this guy and everybody else is being asked that question just feet from Trump himself.

That’s right. And you might think you were going to get a really kind of spicy, like, popcorn emoji-type exchange from that. But because these are now jurors who have said they can be fair and impartial, who, to some extent, want to be on this jury or at least wouldn’t mind being on this jury, they’re being very restrained.

Mostly, what they are emphasizing — much like that guy just described dis — is that they can be fair. They can be impartial. There’s one woman who gives this really remarkable answer.

She says, I thought about this last night. I stayed up all night. I couldn’t sleep, thinking about whether I could be fair. It’s really important to me, and I can.

What ends up happening to that particular juror?

She’s also dismissed. And she’s dismissed without any reason at all. The defense decides it doesn’t like her. It doesn’t want her on the jury. And they have a certain number of chances to just get rid of jurors — no questions asked.

Other jurors are getting dismissed for cause — I’m doing air quotes with my hands — which means that the lawyers have argued they actually revealed themselves through their answers or through old social media posts, which are brought up in the courtroom, to be either non-credible, meaning they’ve said they can be fair and they can’t, or somehow too biased to be on the jury.

Wait, can I just dial into that for a second? Are lawyers researching the jurors in real time going online and saying — I’m making this up — but Jonah Bromwich is a potential juror, and I’m going to go off into my little corner of the courtroom and Google everything you’ve ever said? Is that what’s happening in the room?

Yeah, there’s a whole profession dedicated to that. It’s called jury consultant, and they’re very good at finding information on people in a hurry. And it certainly looked as if they were in play.

Did a social media post end up getting anybody kicked off this jury?

Yes, there were posts from 2016 era internet. You’ll remember that time as a very heated one on the internet, Facebook memes are a big thing. And so there’s all kinds of lock him up type memes and rhetoric. And some of the potential jurors here have used those. And those jurors are dismissed for a reason.

So we have these two types of dismissals, right? We have these peremptory dismissals — no reason at all given. And we have for cause dismissals.

And the process is called jury selection. But you don’t actually get selected for a jury. The thing is to make it through all these obstacles.

You’re left over.

Right. And so when certain jurors are not dismissed, and they’ve made it through all these stages, by the end of the day, we have gone from zero juror seated to seven jurors who will be participating in Donald Trump’s trial.

Got it. And without going through all seven, just give us a little bit of a sketch of who so far is on this jury. What stands out?

Well, not that much stands out. So we’ve got four men. We’ve got three women. One lives on the Upper East Side. One lives in Chelsea. Obviously, they’re from all over Manhattan.

They have these kind of very normal hobbies like spending time with family and friends. They have somewhat anonymous jobs. We’ve got two lawyers. We’ve got someone who’s worked in sales.

So there’s not that much identifying information. And that’s not an accident . One of the things that often happens with jury selection, whether it be for Donald Trump or for anyone else, is the most interesting jurors — the jurors that kind of catch your attention during the process — they get picked off because they are being so interesting that they interest one or the other side in a negative way. And soon they’re excused. So most of the jurors who are actually seated —

Are not memorable.

Are not that memorable, save one particular juror.

OK. All right, I’ll bite. What do I need to know about that one particular juror?

So let me tell you about a prospective juror who we knew as 374, who will now be juror number five. She’s a middle school teacher from Harlem. And she said that she has friends who have really strong opinions about Trump, but she herself does not. And she insisted several times, I am not a political person.

And then she said this thing that made me quite surprised that the prosecution was fine with having her on the jury. She said, quote, “President Trump speaks his mind, and I’d rather that than someone who’s in office who you don’t know what they’re thinking.”

Hmm. So she expressed approval of President Trump.

Yeah, it was mild approval. But the thing is, especially for the defense in this trial, all you need is one juror. One juror can tie up deliberations in knots, and you can end with a hung jury. And this is actually something that I saw firsthand. In 2019, I was the foreperson on a jury.

How you like that?

Yeah. And the trial was really complicated, but I had thought while we were doing the trial, oh, this is going to be a really easy decision. I thought the defendant in that case was guilty. So we get into deliberations, but there’s this one juror who keeps gumming up the works every time we seem to be making progress, getting a conversation started.

This juror proverbially throws up his hands and says, I am not convicting. This man is innocent. And we talked and we talked. And as the foreperson, I was trying to use all my skills to mediate.

But any time we made any progress, this guy would blow it up. And long story short, hung jury — big victory for the defense lawyer. And we come out of the room. And she points at this juror. The guy —

The defense lawyer.

The defense lawyer points at this juror who blew everything up. And she said, I knew it. I knew I had my guy.

OK. I don’t want to read too much into what you said about that one juror. But should I read between the lines to think that if there’s a hung jury, you wonder if it might be that juror?

That’s what everyone in the courtroom is wondering not just about this juror, but about every single person who was selected. Is this the person who swings the case for me? Is this the person who swings the case against me?

These juries are so complex. It’s 12 people who don’t know each other at the start of the trial and, by the end of the trial, have seen each other every morning and are experiencing the same things, but are not allowed to have talked about the case until deliberations start. In that moment when deliberations start —

You’re going to learn a whole lot about each other.

That’s right. There’s this alchemical moment where suddenly, it all matters. Every personality selected matters. And that’s why jury selection is so important. And that’s why these last two days are actually one of the most important parts of this trial.

OK. So by my math, this trial will require five more jurors to get to 12. I know also they’re going to need to be alternates. But from what you’re saying what looked like a really uphill battle to get an impartial jury or a jury that said it could be impartial — and Trump was very doubtful one could be found — has turned out to not be so hard to find.

That’s right. And in fact, we went from thinking, oh, boy, this is going awfully slowly, to the judge himself saying we could be doing opening arguments as soon as Monday morning. And I think that highlights something that’s really fascinating both about this trial and about the jury selection process overall.

One of the things that lawyers have been arguing about is whether or not it’s important to figure out what jurors’ opinions about Donald Trump are. And the prosecution and, I think, the judge have really said, no, that’s not the key issue here. The key issue is not whether or not people have opinions about Donald Trump.

Right. Who doesn’t have an opinion about Donald Trump?

Exactly. They’re going to. Automatically, they’re going to. The question is whether or not they can be fair and impartial. And the seven people we already have seated, and presumably the five people that we’re going to get over the next few days and however many alternates — we expect six — are all going to have answered that question, not I hate Trump; I love Trump, but I can weigh in on the former president’s innocence or guilt, and I can do it as fairly as humanly possible.

Now, Trump is not happy about this. He said after court yesterday, quote, We have a highly conflicted judge, and he’s rushing this trial.” And I think that he is going to see these beats of the system the criminal justice system as it works on him as he is experiencing it as unfair. That is typically how he talks about it and how he views it.

But what he’s getting is what defendants get. This is the system in New York, in the United States. This is its answer to how do you pick a fair jury? Well, you ask people can you be fair? And you put them through this process, and the outcome is 12 people.

And so I think we’re going to see this over and over again in this trial. We’re going to see Trump experience the criminal justice system.

And its routines.

Yeah, openings, witnesses, evidence, closings. He’s going to go through all of it. And I think, at every turn, it makes sense to expect him to say, well, this is not fair. Well, the judge is doing something wrong. Well, the prosecutors are doing something wrong. Well, the jury is doing something wrong.

But at the end of the day, he’s going to be a defendant, and he’s going to sit, mostly silently if his lawyers can make him do that, and watch this process play itself out. So the system is going to try and treat him like any other defendant, even though, of course —

— he’s not. And he is going to fight back like no other defendant would, like no other defendant could. And that tension, him pushing against the criminal justice system as it strives to treat him, as it would anyone else, is going to be a defining quality of this trial.

Well, Jonah, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Of course. Thanks so much for having me. [MUSIC PLAYING]

PS, have you ever fallen asleep in a trial?

I have not.

[CHUCKLES]:

Here’s what else you need to know today.

It’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act. We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible and in a way that, as I said —

During a visit to Jerusalem on Wednesday, Britain’s foreign Secretary left little doubt that Israel would retaliate against Iran for last weekend’s aerial attack, despite pressure from the United States and Britain to stand down. The question now is what form that retaliation will take? “The Times” reports that Israel is weighing several options, including a direct strike on Iran, a cyber attack, or targeted assassinations. And —

Look, history judges us for what we do. This is a critical time right now, critical time on the world stage.

In a plan that could threaten his job, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson will put a series of foreign aid bills up for a vote this weekend. The bills, especially for aid to Ukraine, are strongly opposed by far-right House Republicans, at least two of whom have threatened to try to oust Johnson over the plan.

I can make a selfish decision and do something that’s different, but I’m doing here what I believe to be the right thing. I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important. I really do. I really — [MUSIC PLAYING]

Today’s episode was produced by Rikki Novetsky, Will Reid, Lynsea Garrison, and Rob Zubko. It was edited by Paige Cowett, contains original music by Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly Lake.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

• April 19, 2024   •   30:42 The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness
• April 18, 2024   •   30:07 The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial
• April 17, 2024   •   24:52 Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?
• April 16, 2024   •   29:29 A.I.’s Original Sin
• April 15, 2024   •   24:07 Iran’s Unprecedented Attack on Israel
• April 14, 2024   •   46:17 The Sunday Read: ‘What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise’
• April 12, 2024   •   34:23 How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam
• April 11, 2024   •   28:39 The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics
• April 10, 2024   •   22:49 Trump’s Abortion Dilemma
• April 9, 2024   •   30:48 How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall
• April 8, 2024   •   30:28 The Eclipse Chaser
• April 7, 2024 The Sunday Read: ‘What Deathbed Visions Teach Us About Living’

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Jonah E. Bromwich

Produced by Rikki Novetsky ,  Will Reid ,  Lynsea Garrison and Rob Szypko

Edited by Paige Cowett

Original music by Dan Powell ,  Marion Lozano and Elisheba Ittoop

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

Political and legal history are being made in a Lower Manhattan courtroom as Donald J. Trump becomes the first former U.S. president to undergo a criminal trial.

Jonah Bromwich, who covers criminal justice in New York, explains what happened during the opening days of the trial, which is tied to Mr. Trump’s role in a hush-money payment to a porn star.

On today’s episode

Jonah E. Bromwich , who covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times.

Background reading

Here’s a recap of the courtroom proceedings so far.

Mr. Trump’s trial enters its third day with seven jurors chosen.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state criminal courts in Manhattan. More about Jonah E. Bromwich

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Military dog handler rates 8 military dog scenes in movies and TV

Terry Adams Jr., a former US Army working dog handler, rates eight military dogs in movies and television shows for realism. 

Adams breaks down various breeds of military working dogs, particularly the Belgian Malinois, in the search-and-apprehension scenes in "SEAL Team" S1E7 and E14, the explosive-detection dog in "Megan Leavey," and the guard dogs in "John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum," with Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry. He looks at working dogs outside of the military, such as the narcotics-detection dog in "Breaking Bad" S4E12, starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul; and the German shepherd in "I Am Legend," who protects her owner — played by Will Smith — at all costs. He also explains the safety protocols and realities of dog handling during warfare, such as detecting weapons and explosives in "Max," and "NCIS" S10E18, and the realities of post-traumatic stress disorder among retired military working dogs in "Dog," starring Channing Tatum. 

Adams has six years of experience as a military working dog handler for the US Army, as well as 10 years of experience handling and training civilian dogs. He had three military combat deployments, all in Afghanistan. He is the founder and head trainer of Tactical K9, a facility for training civilian and military dogs. 

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