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Last refreshed: July 1st, 2026 at 10:27 AM

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Episodes

Best of: Jill Lepore: ‘Most Forms of Tyranny Do Come to an End’

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 b...

Jul 01, 2026•29 min

Three Opinion Writers on Trump’s Latest Faceplant

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...

Jun 27, 2026•38 min

Thomas Friedman on the Clash at the Core of the Iran Deal

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 inform...

Jun 24, 2026•29 min

‘A Deeply Anxious Personality’: Three Opinion Writers on JD Vance’s New Book

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.ads...

Jun 20, 2026•40 min0

The Spectacle of Trump at 80

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 prod...

Jun 13, 2026•33 min

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