Many economists and politicians are alarmed that Americans, like others around the world, are having fewer kids. But, apart from wanting a growing labor force, is this really a problem? Opinions columnists Shadi Hamid and Heather Long talk with Style columnist Monica Hesse about what’s really behind the baby bust and whether we just need to prepare for a lower fertility future. Read more from our columnists about this topic in the Washington Post: Editorial board: A reader quiz on world bi...
Sep 17, 2024•29 min
Did the debate cause a vibe shift? Columnists Charles Lane, Megan McArdle, Dana Milbank and Jim Geraghty discuss how much voters care about policy, whether Trump made any good points and how his false claims about pet-eating immigrants mask a genuine issue. And don't forget to check out the first two stories in our series, “Who is Government? Seven writers go in search of the essential public servant.” The Canary , by Michael Lewis The Sentinel , by Casey Cep Keep an eye on Washington Post...
Sep 11, 2024•21 min
The evidence is in. American men are facing a crisis — in health, in education and in the labor force. But under all of that runs deeper trends — disconnection, loneliness and a lack of role models. Columnists Theodore Johnson and Shadi Hamid talk with Richard Reeves, founder of the American Institute for Boys and Men, about the dueling visions of masculinity on the political stage and a hopeful way forward for the modern man. Check out some of the work Richard Reeves mentioned in the show...
Sep 03, 2024•31 min
As American kids head back to school, columnist Daniel Pink makes the case for paying teachers more money. High-quality teachers, he argues, significantly improve student learning, so shouldn’t they be paid as much as somebody assessing insurance premiums on your car? Plus, humor columnist Alexandra Petri discusses sending her child to school for the first time. This essay by Daniel Pink is part of a year-long project with Washington Post Opinions called “Why Not?” Check out some of the ot...
Aug 27, 2024•13 min
We are in Chicago, where it's Kamala Harris's party now. Columnists Dana Milbank, Jennifer Rubin, Jonathan Capehart and Jim Geraghty discuss why gender isn’t being talked about in this campaign so far, and they do the math on what percentage of the Democrats’ energy is from excitement, relief and just avoiding existential dread. Subscribe to The Washington Post here ....
Aug 20, 2024•22 min
Pulitzer Prize winner Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was part of August’s massive prisoner exchange with Russia, sat down to talk with Post Opinions editor David Shipley about his time in jail, the importance of freedom of speech and what the future holds for Putin’s regime. Today’s show was produced by Charla Freeland. It was edited by Allison Michaels and Damir Marusic and mixed by Emma Munger. Subscribe to The Washington Post here ....
Aug 14, 2024•43 min
Tim Walz went from being a little-known Midwestern governor to Democratic vice-presidential candidate in a matter of a few weeks. But in this sprint of a campaign, nothing is moving slowly. Charles Lane, Molly Roberts and Matt Bai talk through whether Walz can keep up the momentum of the Harris campaign, if the “weird” strategy is good or bad, and how much of a unifier Walz will be for the Democratic ticket. Read more from our columnists about Kamala Harris’s choice of a running mate here: Karen...
Aug 06, 2024•22 min
Airline travel is increasingly exasperating. Any blip, whether it’s a weather event or a technical problem, leads to cascading days of delays and cancellations. Why does it all seem so fragile? Charles Lane, Catherine Rampell and Marc Fisher discuss the economics of flying and how customers might be helping drive a race to the bottom. Stay until the end to get humor columnist Alexandra Petri's take on flying. Subscribe to The Washington Post here ....
Jul 31, 2024•26 min
Ava Wallace, sports reporter at The Washington Post, is in France to report on the Summer Games — and eat a lot of croissants. Join her through the entire run of the games, for several episodes a week as she captures the highs, the lows and the Paris of it all, along with other Post colleagues. Follow The Sports Moment podcast on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Music or YouTube . Sign up for The Sports Moment: Olympics Edition newsletter here ....
Jul 26, 2024•59 sec
After all the hand-wringing over the last month, it took only about 24 hours for Democrats to fall in line behind Vice President Harris as their new nominee. Even so, some worry she’s not the strongest candidate that could have been put forward. Our columnists discuss whether she can win, who might join her as a running mate and what it means for her chances to be a woman of color on the top of the ticket in 2024. Read more from Post Opinions: “ The five groups of Democrats that ended Biden’s ca...
Jul 23, 2024•26 min
After a truly wild few weeks in politics, our columnists huddle up at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. They discuss the mood on the ground in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, how the unity message seems to be fraying and what recent events mean for the presidential campaign – and the country – going forward. Plus, humorist Alexandra Petri serves up an imagined J.D. Vance infomercial using his own words about Trump. Subscribe to The Wash...
Jul 16, 2024•25 min
With falling poll numbers and President Biden's public appearances doing little to reassure voters he’s still got what it takes to win, Democrats are faced with a difficult decision about how to proceed. Biden has dug in, pledging to the public that he isn’t going anywhere. Charles Lane, Karen Tumulty and Perry Bacon Jr. talk through whether Biden can salvage his campaign, how possible it really is to change course now and who else could step up. Read more from our columnists: “ Kamala Harris wa...
Jul 09, 2024•22 min
It’s the week of the Fourth of July and the word patriotism is as divisive as the rest of American politics. Theodore Johnson, Karen Attiah and Jason Rezaian discuss the good and the bad about the United States, and how to reconcile its shortcomings while pushing for a better future. Read more from some of our columnists — Ted Johnson: “ American democracy is fine. It's the republic that's in trouble. ” “ Buck up, America. Help is on the way. ” Karen Attiah: “ How to reckon with the cult o...
Jul 03, 2024•17 min
President Biden’s debate performance has Democrats in a panic and Donald Trump supporters gleeful. Columnists Karen Tumulty, Dana Milbank and Jim Geraghty process how things feel the morning after, whether the president should step aside and how the truth was the night’s biggest loser. Read more from our columnists about the debate: Karen Tumulty: “ The Great Democratic Freakout is upon us ” Dana Milbank: “ If America is failing, that debate showed why ” Subscribe to The Washington Post he...
Jun 28, 2024•20 min
Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy recommended putting a warning on social media for minors last week, while governors from coast to coast have pushed for restrictions on teen phone use. But how worried should we really be, and what is there to do about it? Post columnists Amanda Ripley, Molly Roberts and Theodore Johnson talk through the dumbphone trend, how explicit lyric warnings on CDs backfired and what actually worked in the campaigns to stop kids from smoking. Listen to Murthy talking ...
Jun 26, 2024•23 min
It’s been a rough few years for movie theaters, and the dismal start to the summer blockbuster season hasn’t helped. If people go to theaters less often, will that change the type of movies that are made? Is the future of moviegoing a boutique, high-end experience? Matt Belloni, host of “The Town , ” joins The Post’s Alyssa Rosenberg and Chris Suellentrop to talk about what’s going on with the movies and what, if anything, will get people out of their living rooms and into theaters. Read more fr...
Jun 19, 2024•24 min
A quarter of Americans, most of them Republicans, say immigration is the most pressing issue facing the country. Post columnists Karen Tumulty, León Krauze and Jim Geraghty discuss why this issue is top of mind for so many people, how politics continues to thwart policy and whether Americans still see our country as a cultural melting pot. Read more from the columnists. Karen Tumulty: “ The U.S. is failing millions of undocumented essential workers ” León Krauze: “ Baltimore Francis Scott Key Br...
Jun 12, 2024•20 min
The Alitos are the latest couple to face the question: When you are married to someone in public life — a Supreme Court justice, a member of Congress, a Post Opinions columnist — what compromises do you need to make? Should you be held to the same ethical standards as your spouse? Charles Lane, Ruth Marcus and James Hohmann discuss the politics of marriage, whether the Supreme Court is more partisan now than in the past and why they don’t think Justice Alito needs to recuse himself in the Jan. 6...
Jun 05, 2024•26 min
Ruth Marcus, Dana Milbank and Karen Tumulty got together to talk about their immediate reactions to Donald Trump’s guilty verdict, the quality of his defense, and why the most knowledgeable people in Washington were expecting something different.
May 31, 2024•25 min
Do we actually want AI that seems human? Chatbots are being made to act and sound like humans. That makes them easier to talk to, but there could be other consequences. As our relationships with artificial intelligence evolve, do we need to draw a brighter line between what is technology and what is us? Opinions columnists Josh Tyrangiel, Bina Venkataraman and Amanda Ripley talk about what we really want out of AI. Read more on AI from our Washington Post columnists. Josh Tyrangiel: ...
May 29, 2024•20 min
The house, the yard and the picket fence have long been part of the American Dream. Owning a home is lauded as a way to grow your wealth and pass it down to future generations. But high demand and short supply, coupled with today’s soaring interest rates, have made home ownership out of reach for many Americans. Opinions columnist Catherine Rampell and associate editor Alexi McCammond join deputy editor Charles Lane to talk about the cultural and financial forces at work and the generational shi...
May 22, 2024•22 min
As trust in institutions plummets and many people search for shared values, what is the state of American identity? This bonus "Impromptu" episode features a live discussion between Opinions columnists Shadi Hamid and Jason Willick and the hosts of "Post Reports" Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi about the importance of identity in a changing world. For more from our colleagues in the newsroom, listen to " Post Reports ," a daily afternoon podcast, where you can hear deep dives into the biggest and...
May 19, 2024•45 min
The WNBA season began this week following a college tournament where the women were more popular than the men. Is this shift about more than Caitlin Clark and the fantastic players in basketball right now? Sports columnist Sally Jenkins joins Opinions columnists Theodore Johnson and Amanda Ripley to talk about what athletes have done for the women’s movement and whether the women’s game can avoid some of the pitfalls that have plagued men’s sports. Read more from our columnists about what ...
May 15, 2024•22 min
When asked about their religious affiliation, nearly 30 percent of Americans identify as “nones,” or “nothing in particular.” And over the past 25 years there’s been a steep decline in people belonging to any type of church, synagogue or mosque. But what is lost as people drift from religion? Is it at all responsible for today’s loneliness crisis? Read more from our columnists about what they discussed in the episode. Perry Bacon: “ I used to be a Christian. Now I miss church. ” Kate Cohen: “ Ho...
May 08, 2024•23 min
Campus protests across the country have renewed Americans' attention on the Israel-Gaza war and are scrambling U.S. politics, particularly on the left. Senior Opinions Editor Amanda Katz speaks with columnists Dana Milbank and Shadi Hamid about how their views have evolved since Oct. 7, whether there’s a double standard on free speech, and what the protests could foreshadow for the upcoming presidential election, particularly among young people. ( Note: This episode was recorded Monday, April 29...
May 01, 2024•26 min
The Supreme Court is set to decide to what extent former President Trump could be immune from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021, as his lawyers have claimed. Post Opinions columnists Charles Lane, Ruth Marcus and Jason Willick discuss the strategy and timing of these arguments and what we might expect the justices to decide in this showdown about the future boundaries of presidential authority. Read Ruth Marcus on why she thinks this case is “simultaneousl...
Apr 24, 2024•23 min
Some women are retreating to stereotypical, retro gender roles that embrace the patriarchy. Known as “tradwives,” they are all over TikTok. Style columnist Monica Hesse, letters and community editor Alyssa Rosenberg and senior editor for Opinions Amanda Katz discuss how this trend exposes a continued struggle over equality for men and women in modern society. Read Monica Hesse’s column: Tradwives, stay-at-home girlfriends and the dream of feminine leisure Read the Cut article that kicked off a l...
Apr 17, 2024•22 min
America is entering a grueling presidential election season that’s also a rematch of the one from four years ago. Many Americans report feeling dread and exhaustion about politics and the news. So how do we stay engaged? What can journalists do to help? Three of our columnists talk through it. Read Amanda Ripley’s deep dive crowdsourcing a playbook for election-year sanity: How to survive another Trump-Biden election And we want to hear your strategies too! Let us know how you plan to make it th...
Apr 10, 2024•20 min
Post columnists David Ignatius and Jim Geraghty just returned from Ukraine. They detail the mood on the ground, how much U.S. aid actually matters and whether the war seems winnable. Plus, Ignatius talks about his meeting with President Zelensky. Read David Ignatius’s interview with President Zelensky: Zelensky: ‘We are trying to find some way not to retreat’ Read Jim Geraghty’s latest columns from Kyiv: Ukrainians have a message for Mike Johnson How Russians are joining the fight against ...
Apr 03, 2024•21 min
The Biden administration wants America to transition to electric cars. Last week, the EPA announced a rule requiring more than two-thirds of new vehicles be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2032. This comes on top of pouring federal money into tax credits and developing charging infrastructure. But there are still bumps on the road to an electric-vehicle America. Charles Lane, Catherine Rampell and Megan McArdle talk about how to navigate them. Read Megan McArdle’s latest column on EVs: The best wa...
Mar 27, 2024•19 min
