In this conversation, the New York Times Opinion columnists Carlos Lozada, a former book critic, and Pamela Paul, previously the editor of The Times’s Book Review, each share one book that, in their opinion, can help us understand this point in history.
The holiday season is known for bringing dreaded cocktail party small talk. But your conversations with colleagues, friends or family need not be awkward drudgery, according to Opinion Audio’s executive producer, Annie-Rose Strasser. In this episode, she reveals her no-fail solution to making every conversation accessible and exciting, no matter who shows up to the holiday party. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
President Biden has about six weeks left in office, and with Republicans set to control both houses of Congress and the presidency next year, his final acts may be more important than ever. So we asked five Opinion writers: What should Mr. Biden’s priority be over these next few weeks? Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]
These are cruel and challenging times. How did previous generations hold on to their sanity — and humanity — in the face of violence and instability? In this episode, the columnist David Brooks seeks answers in the intellectual and moral traditions of ancient Athens and Jerusalem. The key to thriving, he argues, is to embody behaviors that might at first seem contradictory. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
In a nation filled with meat lovers, how can we persuade Americans to stop eating animals and help save the planet? The food writer Bee Wilson believes the answer lies with food preferences — specifically, changing them. “It is possible to learn to love new foods, and it’s something transformative and actually joyous,” she says. In this episode, she makes the case for changing your taste for beans, a humble legume that is packed with extraordinary flavor. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytime...
The Israel-Gaza war poses multiple challenges for President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration. But the former president has proposed a plan for peace in the region before. The question is: can he be convinced to pursue it again? In this episode, the columnist Thomas L. Friedman argues that Trump has an opportunity to make history. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
It’s Thanksgiving week, and the columnist Nicholas Kristof wants you to consider skipping the turkey. “I don’t want to wag my fingers at people and tell them, ‘Look, this is how you should eat,’ but I do think that there are really important ethical questions that we have to ponder and confront,” he says. In this episode, Kristof argues that Americans, who spend thousands of dollars each year caring for their dogs, should spare a thought for the pigs who live short lives in brutal conditions bef...
Margaux Laskey, an associate editor at New York Times Cooking, has a surprising confession: She doesn’t like Thanksgiving dinner. After days of effort, she finds the final product bland and boring. “I love gratitude and thankfulness, but I’m grateful I don’t have to eat turkey if I don’t want to,” she says. In this episode, she shares ways to celebrate Thanksgiving — no cooking required. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
From Matt Gaetz to Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s outlandish cabinet selections reflect the power of social and political deviance, the Opinion columnist Bret Stephens argues in this episode.
President-elect Donald Trump has said that as president, he will negotiate an end to the carnage in Ukraine in a single day. A peace deal could have ugly effects for Ukraine, but according to the contributing writer Megan Stack, Trump should put an end to the war and finally be the friend to Ukraine America likes to believe it is. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
Exit polls from the presidential election reveal a divided country: Women tended to vote for Kamala Harris; men, for Donald Trump. And that divide may extend to citizens who aren’t yet of voting age. Naomi Beinart, a 16-year-old junior, witnessed it at her school in the days after the election. In this episode, Beinart says that while her fellow female students fear for the future, “this election didn’t seem to measurably change anything for the boys around me, whether their parents supported Mr...
Donald Trump has referred to Hungary’s autocratic prime minister, Viktor Orban, as “a great man, a great leader.” In this episode, the columnist M. Gessen, who is in exile from Vladimir Putin’s Russia, draws parallels between Trump, Orban and Putin. Gessen explores what life might look like in Trump’s next term and describes their fear that, this time, “people are going to retreat into their private lives and try to shut out the political world.”
In a recent interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he expected that the Trump administration would recommend against putting fluoride in drinking water, which was met with public outrage and confusion. The economist Emily Oster argues the public deserves more nuanced analysis and explanation on public health issues like fluoridation to build trust. Public health is complex, she says, but experts need to believe that the public can understand the context in which decisions are made — and explain t...
The biggest divide in America today is not about race or gender, the Times Opinion columnist David Brooks argues. In this episode, he explains how the “diploma divide” can help us understand Donald Trump’s overwhelming support from working-class Americans and what Democrats can do to win them back. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
Voters chose Donald Trump, in part, in response to inflation under President Biden. And yet, the columnist Paul Krugman argues, the new president-elect’s economic plan “is the most inflationary program probably that any American president has ever tried to implement.” In this episode, Krugman outlines four reasons Trump’s economic plans will hurt Americans’ wallets. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
For those caught off guard, Trump’s victory has been a shock. In this episode of “The Opinions,” the columnist and “Matter of Opinion” co-host Carlos Lozada encourages his fellow Americans to ask a sobering question: If Trump is our preferred leader, what does that mean for who we are as a nation? Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]
The New York Times Opinion columnists Lydia Polgreen and Tressie McMillan Cottom discuss what was revealed about America on Tuesday, why the Democrats failed and what individuals can do about the future. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
Donald Trump’s enduring hold over the Republican Party may send him back to the White House. On this episode of The Opinions, the columnist David French joins deputy Opinion Editor Patrick Healy to discuss the future of the G.O.P. and what a second Trump term might mean for America. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected] .
Today, many of us are ruminating on an unknowable future. Eliza Barclay, a climate editor for New York Times Opinion and a certified mindfulness instructor, is here to help with that. In this 5-minute mindfulness meditation, she aims to help listeners ease their fears and anxieties about the election by drawing their attention to the present moment. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
The Deputy Opinion Editor Patrick Healy on one of the voter insights that has stayed with him from Donald Trump's former campaign manager. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
After Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, three Puerto Rican icons — Ricky Martin, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Rita Moreno — shared a collective message in a Times Opinion essay: “Our vote won’t be a reaction to racist jokes. We’ll be voting for the future of a country that could be majority-minority by midcentury,” they wrote. In this episode, Miranda reads the trio’s essay. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
Republicans’ growing support among Latinos is no longer guaranteed after a comedian made a racist joke at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally. But could it cost Trump the election? Isvett Verde, a Times Opinion editor, speaks with Mike Madrid, a Republican and an expert on Latino voting trends and behaviors, about why the election may hinge on each candidate’s ability to sway Latino voters. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
Some parents don't let their children keep their halloween candy, and instead have a "switch witch" come in the night and replace the sweets with a toy. But the Opinion writer Jessica Grose believes the spooky day doesn’t have to be so complicated. In this audio essay, she offers another approach to micromanaging holidays by letting kids’ imaginations run wild.
With less than a week to go until the most contested election in generations, law professor Mary Ziegler considers what a second term for Donald Trump would mean for abortion rights. In this audio essay, she argues that while the former president may seem indifferent on the campaign trail to tightening abortion laws, there is a real possibility that if re-elected he will seek to appease his base by using his executive power to ban abortions nationwide. This episode originally aired on Feb. 6, 20...
Much of the country is laser focused on the presidential election, but control of the Senate is also up for grabs in November. One of the seats in contention is, surprisingly, in deep-red Nebraska, where the independent Dan Osborn is running against the Trump-endorsed Republican Deb Fischer. In the episode of “The Opinions,” the columnist Michelle Goldberg travels to Nebraska to report on Osborn’s appeal and argues that his decision to run lays the groundwork for a “potential new avenue for a le...
The Republican Party has been investing millions of dollars in anti-trans advertisements in a play to reach moderates and voters on the left who feel uncomfortable with or confused by transgender rights. In this episode of “The Opinions,” the New York Times Opinion deputy editor, Patrick Healy, and the columnist M. Gessen discuss these ads and the fear they’re tapping into in American society. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
The meteorologist John Morales has been a hurricane specialist in Miami for decades, but he never found himself close to tears until he witnessed the intensification of Hurricane Milton while live on the air earlier this month. In the weeks since, the clip of Morales choking up has been viewed millions of times online. In this episode of The Opinions, Morales reflects on his emotional response to the Hurricane and urges Americans who share his climate anxiety to talk about how they feel — and vo...
Despite growing concerns, the Opinion writer Jessica Grose doesn’t want you to panic about the falling birthrate. In this episode of “The Opinions,” she argues there’s a positive picture behind the decline in births and suggests there are creative solutions that could help us embrace a future below replacement rate. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
Many undecided voters aren’t undecided; they’re just uncomfortable, Patrick Healy, the deputy Opinion editor, argues. In this episode of “The Opinions,” he says that “uncomfortable Trump voters” — people who don’t want to admit that they’re going to vote for Donald Trump — could end up costing Kamala Harris the election.
Since coming down the escalator to announce his bid for president in 2015, Donald Trump has disparaged and dehumanized immigrants. In this episode of “The Opinions,” the Opinion columnist Carlos Lozada, an immigrant from Peru, reflects on what it means to not just discuss the issue but to be at the center of it. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
