Sarah Wildman lost her 14-year-old daughter, Orli, to cancer in March 2023. Before she died, Orli had questions about the end of her life, but as Wildman explains in this episode, that conversation wasn’t encouraged by Orli’s doctors and caregivers. Wildman argues that health care providers need to be frank and empathetic with patients and their families about the realities of death. “Everyone deserves the opportunity to sit with these questions at the end of life,” she says. “It’s not impossibl...
Jan 09, 2025•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the world grows increasingly fractured, taking the time to engage with strangers has become even more important. The artist and graphic journalist Wendy MacNaughton has created a simple but powerful way for people to connect in an isolated world. In this episode, she shares how she brings people together by having them draw each other in public spaces. All it takes is 60 seconds, two pieces of paper, two pens and the willingness to look — really look — at someone you’ve never met. Thoughts? E...
Jan 08, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general, recently recommended that cancer warnings be included on all alcohol products. The author and wine enthusiast Boris Fishman argues that doing so would place all forms of liquor in the same bucket — one that ignores the history, the generations of labor and the joy that accompany sipping a glass of wine. He’d like people “to think about this as just one example out of many in a life that risks becoming stripped of a certain kind of magic because we’re trying to ...
Jan 07, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In two weeks, the Biden administration will step down, and with it, the most diverse cabinet in American history. In this episode, The Times’s editorial board member Farah Stockman explores the impacts of Joe Biden’s historically significant appointments, both in the United States and abroad. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
Jan 06, 2025•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast President-elect Trump’s pick for secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been critical of ultraprocessed foods. But how bad are they? In this episode, Nicola Guess, a dietitian and researcher at the University of Oxford, explains why we shouldn’t be scared of the label “ultraprocessed.” Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
Jan 02, 2025•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a time when the internet is teeming with content and hyperfragmented, how do you determine which memes, viral videos and ideas actually matter? The Times Opinion writer Jessica Grose sits down with Ryan Broderick, the creator of the Garbage Day newsletter, to understand the trends that made a splash both on- and offline in 2024. This conversation was recorded in December 2024. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
Jan 01, 2025•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the year comes to an end, Times Opinion staff members — and our listeners — shared the things from 2024 they wanted to take with them into the new year. They range from impromptu hangs to weird A.I. TikToks. Take a listen. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
Dec 31, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Jimmy Carter had a rich legacy, often marred by misunderstandings. Despite lasting only one term, his work post-presidency stands tall in its influence around the world. In this audio obituary, the Opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof reminisces on his interactions with the former president, Carter’s social work across countries in Africa and his influence on Kristof’s worldview. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
Dec 29, 2024•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast The scent of vanilla is instantly recognizable — it’s also in danger of disappearing. In this ode to the vanilla bean, writer Aimee Nezhukumatathil explains why climate change might lead to the destruction of the beloved plant. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
Dec 26, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the past decade, the Times columnist David Brooks has gone from agnostic to deeply religious. In this episode he explores the evolving role of faith in his life, a force he describes as “a longing.” As he explains, “The joy is not in the satisfaction of the longing, but the joy is in the longing itself. It’s a good feeling to worship generosity itself.” Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
Dec 24, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Flu season has arrived again, and we still lack mainstream communication systems about risk levels and how to protect ourselves from seasonal viruses and emerging threats like bird flu. In this episode of “The Opinions,” the epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers argues that public health professionals should take a page from meteorologists and broadcast virus reports like weather reports. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
Dec 23, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast The New York Times Opinion columnist Thomas Friedman and the Opinion editor Daniel Wakin discuss how and why the United States should use its influence in Syria following the ousting of its longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com
Dec 19, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast The New York Times Opinion columnist David French, a lifelong evangelical, speaks to Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an atheist, about the role of Christianity in redeeming and supporting American democracy.
Dec 18, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast The columnist reflects on a quarter century of contrarian opinions at The Times.
Dec 17, 2024•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holidays often mean more work. Here’s how to view that work differently.
Dec 16, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is there a movie, a book, a meme, a memory, a hobby you took up or a vice you quit that stayed with you this year, or helped you unwind and forget about it all? Times Opinion wants to hear about it. Leave us a voice memo at theopinions@nytimes.com . We need your name, phone number, and where you’re calling from. Tell us what you’re holding onto, and why, as you head into 2025. You may get to hear your pick in an upcoming episode....
Dec 13, 2024•56 sec•Transcript available on Metacast The political scientist Robert A. Pape has studied political violence for the past 30 years. In this episode of “The Opinions,” he describes what his research illuminates about the homicide of United Healthcare’s chief executive, Brian Thompson. Pape also explains why he is not surprised by the background of Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with the killing.
Dec 12, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of The Opinions, Farah Stockman, a member of the Times’s editorial board, argues that letting U.S. sanctions against Syria expire, while not without risks, could go a long way to helping ordinary Syrians build a prosperous and stable nation.
Dec 11, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast What would happen if a nuclear weapon detonated in space, destroying the satellites that make so much of our digital existence — and our national security — possible? In this episode, William Hennigan, the lead writer for Times Opinion’s At the Brink series, speaks with the man whose job is to make sure that never happens. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com ....
Dec 10, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, the New York Times Opinion columnists Lydia Polgreen and M. Gessen discuss the historic Supreme Court case United States v. Skrmetti, its implications for gender-affirming care for minors in Tennessee, and what it could mean for how the federal government interprets “equal rights” moving forward. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
Dec 09, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Dec 06, 2024•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 theopinions@nytimes.com.
Dec 04, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 theopinions@nytimes.com
Dec 03, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 theopinions@nytimes.com.
Dec 02, 2024•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Nov 28, 2024•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 theopinions@nytimes.com.
Nov 27, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Nov 26, 2024•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 theopinions@nytimes.com.
Nov 25, 2024•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Nov 21, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 theopinions@nytimes.com.
Nov 20, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
