The Opinions

The Iran war isn’t going well for President Trump. The midterms are approaching. What’s a desperate president to do? Turn to Communism. This week the Opinion national politics correspondent Michelle Cottle speaks to the columnists Jamelle Bouie and David French on how conservatives — especially Trump — are using Red Scare tactics to their advantage against the Democrats. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Pat McCusker. Video editing by Kristen Williamson. The postproduction manager is Mike Puretz. Orig...

Data shows that Gen Z is in a sex recession. Technology, #MeToo and a growing emphasis on platonic relationships are reshaping how many people think about sex. As anxiety grows over falling birthrates and changing behaviors, Nadja Spiegelman, a Times Opinion culture editor, speaks with the journalists and researchers Carter Sherman and Christine Emba about why this shift might not be such a bad thing. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin, Alison Bruzek and Annie Galvin. Mixing by Caro...

This week, “The Opinions” politics round table wrestles with the art of political compromise. Did Lindsey Graham ingratiate himself with Donald Trump to protect Ukraine — and was it worth it? Should the Senate confirm Todd Blanche to safeguard the attorney general’s office against someone like Matt Gaetz? Should Democratic leadership compromise with progressive insurgents within the party? The Opinion columnist Bret Stephens discusses these questions with the contributors Robert Siegel and Molly Jong-Fast. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. It was edited by Alison Bruze...

Seventy-one percent of Americans say they don’t want an A.I. data center built close to where they live. Why? In this conversation, the Opinion writer David Wallace-Wells and the contributing writer Robinson Meyer parse the backlash and explore whether the Democratic Party can capitalize on it in the years to come. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. It was edited by Alison Bruzek. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Isaac Jones. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker and Kelsey Lannin. Audience strategy by Sha...

The word of the week for politics is “humiliation.” At least according to the Opinion contributing writer David Wallace-Wells, who joins the Opinion columnist David French and the national politics writer Michelle Cottle on “The Opinions.” This week the trio takes a look at how humiliation factors into President Trump’s failed cease-fire with Iran and the demise of Graham Platner’s candidacy. And, with Mitch McConnell in the hospital for several weeks, they debate how much privacy we owe our public servants. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by...

Despite all its problems, the U.S. economy is actually outperforming its competitors, China and the European Union, two Opinion contributing writers argue in this episode. Natasha Sarin, an economist and law professor, and Dan Wang, an expert on China and manufacturing, are friends in addition to colleagues, and while they often disagree on America’s economic outlook, they reach the same conclusion: The United States remains in a stronger position than many people realize. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. It was edited by Kaa...

As America’s 250th birthday approaches, we wanted to revisit this conversation with the Harvard historian Jill Lepore. Lepore worries that Americans have become too passive, waiting for change to happen to them rather than shaping it themselves. She is on a mission to revive what has become a lost art in American politics: amending the Constitution. In this conversation with David Leonhardt, an editorial director for New York Times Opinion, Lepore argues that demonizing Donald Trump inevitably backfires on the left and says that turning the page on the Trump era will require not just hope, bu...

As America heads toward its 250th anniversary, many of its citizens and residents are not feeling particularly celebratory. This week on “The Opinions,” the national politics writer Michelle Cottle and the columnists David French and Jamelle Bouie discuss what it means to mark the nation’s anniversary at a moment of deep division. Plus: The latest from the Reflecting Pool waters, and the three writers share their own patriotic recommendations for the week ahead. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. It was edited by Kaari Pitk...

The divide between Iran and America is, the Opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman argues, ultimately about the difference between “Kushnerism” (named for the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner) and “Khomeiniism” (named for the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran). In conversation with the Opinion editor Dan Wakin, Friedman explains what he means and discusses what he sees as President Trump’s recent string of failures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In JD Vance’s second memoir, “Communion,” the vice president reveals himself to be a deeply anxious person searching for certainty, the Opinion national politics correspondent Michelle Cottle argues. In this conversation with the contributor E.J. Dionne Jr. and the columnist Carlos Lozada, the three discuss the ways in which Vance is courting potential constituencies and positioning himself as the next Republican presidential nominee. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does it say about President Trump — and America — that the soon-to-be octogenarian plans to celebrate his 80th birthday with a series of U.F.C. matches on the White House lawn? On “The Opinions,” the Times contributor Robert Siegel and fellow contributors E.J. Dionne Jr. and Peter Wehner debate this form of “human cockfighting,” and take stock of the state of the nation ahead of America’s 250th birthday. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Jillian Weinberger...

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and A.I. company, is about to go public at a record-breaking $1.77 trillion. This summer, Anthropic and Open A.I. will follow suit, also with sky-high valuations. Are they worth it? The Opinion writer David Wallace-Wells and the contributing writer Natasha Sarin, an economist and law professor, tackle that question and discuss what these I.P.O.s mean for the American economy in the near future and beyond. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft claiming copyright infringement. The companies have denied those claims.) Thoughts? Email us...

On Tuesday, Graham Platner could become the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine. That has many in his party worried. This week on “The Opinions,” the political writer Michelle Cottle and the columnists David French and Jamelle Bouie discuss the controversial Platner, what his rise can tell us about the role of morality and authenticity in American politics today and how President Trump’s terrible poll numbers are motivating some in Congress to start pushing back. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. It was edited by Kaari P...

The American dream is dying — or dead — and many Americans, especially young people, are struggling to imagine what comes next. Between political instability, wars, inflation and artificial intelligence disrupting the job market, there’s a lot that is uncertain about the future. In this episode, the Times Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman speaks with the Opinion columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom and the New York magazine writer Brock Colyar about the grief, paralysis and loss of agency shaping this political moment — and whether there’s a path forward. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of...

This week, the YOLO Republican caucus takes center stage — YOLO, of course, standing for “you only live once.” On “The Opinions,” the Times contributor Robert Siegel argues that senators like Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy, freed from certain electoral pressures, can now vote in accordance with their principles rather than whatever President Trump dictates. He is joined by the Times contributor E.J. Dionne Jr. and the Bulwark editor Mona Charen to discuss the caucus’s newest member, John Cornyn, who was recently defeated in Texas, and what Cornyn’s loss signals about MAGA’s grip on the Republican P...

Young men are in crisis. While the left tells men to stay in their lane, members of the manosphere and the far right are welcoming them with open arms. In a conversation about masculinity in a post-#MeToo world, the Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman talks to the authors Ruth Whippman and Frederick Joseph about what a healthier version of manhood could look like — and how we can get there. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Jasmine Romero...

President Trump’s proposed political slush fund is getting pushback — including from his own party. This week on “The Opinions,” the national politics writer Michelle Cottle and the columnists Jamelle Bouie and David French discuss how the president’s “reparations for rioters” settlement fund may be his biggest miscalculation yet ahead of the November midterms. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Pat McCusker. Video editing by Julian Hackney. The postproduction manager is Mike Puretz. Original music by Pat McCusker. F...

Is the MAHA movement’s political influence waning? On “The Opinions,” the Times Opinion science editor Alexandra Sifferlin, the columnist and sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom and the Opinion science writer David Wallace-Wells explored this question in a live event at the Brooklyn Public Library. They discussed the impact of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure as secretary of health and human services and what a counternarrative to MAHA should look like. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Pat McCus...

Silicon Valley wants to be the best tastemaker in town. Artificial intelligence is changing how we decide what to wear and read and how we interact with pop culture. The Times Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman talks to the New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka and the journalist and critic Sophie Haigney about the rise of “taste slop” and what happens to culture if the internet collapses into just a few chatbots that serve us everything. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishkaha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari...

The Supreme Court’s recent decision on the Voting Rights Act has supercharged a redistricting frenzy in states across the country. The Times Opinion contributors Robert Siegel and E.J. Dionne and the SCOTUSblog editor Sarah Isgur discuss the ruling’s implications for future elections. Ms. Isgur makes the case that voters are over reality TV politics and warns Democrats against embracing Trump-style candidates. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger with help from Derek Arthur. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Pat McCusker...