The Opinions

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]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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, 2024. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 left-wing style of populist politics.”Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 vote accordingly.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the wake of the Dobbs decision, South Carolina banned abortion after around six weeks of pregnancy. The law does have a few exceptions, including rape and incest. Dr. Kristl Tomlin, a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist, saw what those exceptions look like in practice for young victims of rape — and she decided to leave the state. In this episode, Dr. Tomlin describes how having to involve the sheriff’s department and lawyers in her work hurt her patients, and pushed her to leave the community she loved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Florida’s two major hurricanes in the past month highlight how decades of deregulation and overdevelopment under Republican leadership have made the state increasingly vulnerable to climate change. After more than 30 years of living through Florida hurricanes, the writer Jeff VanderMeer believes a “managed retreat” is a necessary response to the growing frequency and intensity of storms.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Melania Trump promoted her recent memoir, “Melania,” with a series of glossy and cryptic promotional videos stating the desire “to share my perspective: the truth.” But what does the self-titled memoir reveal to us about the often inscrutable former first lady? The bookish Opinion columnists Carlos Lozada and Pamela Paul discuss what they learned — and often, what they did not — from her work.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Despite concerns over the falling birthrate, especially on the right, the Times Opinion columnist David French recognizes that the push to have more families — and bigger ones — has become problematic. In this audio essay, French explains why he thinks the recent political conversation on the topic reveals “the worst form of natalism.”Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese group of atomic bombing survivors, “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.” Over the summer, in an effort to bring light to this new and terrifying nuclear era, Opinion’s editor, Kathleen Kingsbury, and the writer W.J. Hennigan interviewed Japanese survivors of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this audio essay, they share stories from two of the survivors they met, Chieko Kiriake and Keiko Ogura, who were just 15 and 8 years old on Aug. 6, 1945.To see more photographs and read more stories from them and other survivors, click here.This piece originally appeared on nytimes.com on Aug. 6, 2024.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mirielle Silcoff received backlash when she wrote a guest essay for Times Opinion about paying her 12-year-old daughter $100 to read a novel. In this audio essay, Ms. Silcoff explains why she doesn’t regret her decision, and why she felt like the experience for her daughter was worth the cost.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Donald Trump has been on a tour of the Gen Z influencer ecosystem, from Theo Von to Adin Ross. In this episode of “The Opinions,” Daniel Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, argues that Trump is trying to win the support of young men, a once loyal Democratic constituency. Mr. Pfeiffer says Democrats ignore these voters at their peril, for the 2024 election and beyond: “There is no post-Trump era if Gen Z men become firmly adherents of MAGA philosophy,” he explains.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The last time Mosab Abu Toha, a poet and teacher, was in a classroom in Gaza, it was to shelter with his students and their families, all seeking refuge from Israeli airstrikes. Since then, he and his family have fled Gaza, and they temporarily reside in the United States. In this audio essay, he shares what it means when classrooms cease being places of learning and become a family’s only hope for survival.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Israeli anger toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been building in the year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Mairav Zonszein, an Israeli-American journalist and analyst, argues that this anger does not extend to the plight of the Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank. More than 41,000 people have been killed in Gaza, and yet, she says, Israelis are stuck in a cycle of “apathy” and “indifference,” unable to fully realize the devastation befalling their neighbors.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

M. Gessen, an Opinion columnist, watched Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate with a sense of dread. In their mind, the question was not who would win the debate but, rather: How much did we lose? In this audio essay, Gessen argues that when we put Trump and his acolytes on the same platform as regular politicians and treat them equally, “that normalization degrades our political life and degrades our understanding of politics.”Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thomas Friedman, an Opinion columnist and Middle East correspondent, is keenly aware of the many red lines that have been crossed in the growing conflict between Israel and Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. He says, after Iran’s latest attack on Israel, anything is possible — from symbolic retaliation to the bombing of a nuclear facility. Hear why he believes that “this really is the most dangerous moment in the modern Middle East.”Thoughts? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, was indicted last week for soliciting foreign funds for his campaign and for personal use. Casey Michel, director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program at the Human Rights Foundation, argues that to prevent the further degradation of our democracy, officials need to be more aggressive about enforcing existing foreign interference laws. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Listen to Times Opinion Editor Kathleen Kingsbury make the case for Kamala Harris.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jesse Wegman, a member of the Times editorial board, has argued that to make the American election process more straightforward and just, the United States should elect its president based on the outcome of the popular vote rather than the Electoral College. But in this episode of “The Opinions” he goes a step further, arguing that the Electoral College renders elections more vulnerable to legal manipulation for political ends. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Flash floods plagued Utah and much of the Colorado Plateau this summer. Climate change has made them more frequent and more intense. In this audio essay, Terry Tempest Williams, a writer and conservationist, describes the terrible beauty of witnessing one such flood alone in her home. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, the columnist Nicholas Kristof argues that Democrats should focus their criticism on Donald Trump instead of Trump voters. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Recently, Republicans have taken to accusing Kamala Harris of using fake accents while on the campaign trail. In this episode of “The Opinions,” John McWhorter, an Opinion writer and linguist, argues the vice president is simply revealing a piece of herself by slipping into “Black English,” a form of code switching that is actually quite presidential.Questions? Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

David French, a Times columnist, believes that to understand MAGA, we have to understand the joy and sense of belonging that the movement bestows upon its adherents. In this episode, he explains why Donald Trump’s most outrageous statements — such as the lie that Haitian immigrants are eating pets — appeal to his followers’ “sense of gleeful transgression.” Thoughts? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The economist and New York Times Opinion Columnist Paul Krugman makes the case for aggressive rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and argues that now is not the time for caution. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Heat waves kill more Americans than hurricanes, tornadoes and floods combined. But despite their deadly toll, we rarely treat them with the urgency they demand. Eric Klinenberg, a sociologist, has spent the better part of his career studying the effects of heat waves. In this episode, he argues that to take heat waves more seriously, we need to start naming them like we do hurricanes — a simple, zero-cost action that could end up saving lives.Questions? Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With Anastasia Berg. Having children has become increasingly “coded as conservative and reactionary,” philosopher Anastasia Berg argues. She makes the case for why young liberals and progressives should take the decision back — and stop delaying it. Thoughts? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For voters whose top issue is the economy, the choice is clear, argues Binyamin Appelbaum, a member of the Times Editorial Board. Though Vice President Kamala Harris’s plans may be ill-defined, he says, Donald Trump’s plans — curbing immigration, raising tariffs and cutting taxes — would actually leave consumers worse off than they are today.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michelle Goldberg, the Times Opinion columnist, and Patrick Healy, the deputy Opinion editor, discuss the best and worst moments of the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Will Harris’s apparent debate night victory matter to the swing state voters who can make the difference?Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After school shootings in Michigan, southern Virginia, and now Georgia, parents have been charged in connection to their children’s actions. Megan Stack, a Times contributing opinion writer, argues that states should turn their attention to gun storage and access laws instead of criminalizing parents.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Songs from Luciano Pavarotti, Sinead O’Connor and “Cats” may not strike you as typical campaign music, but they’re on repeat at Donald Trump’s political rallies. The staff editor Katherine Miller has spent a lot of time at Trump rallies, and in this episode, she takes listeners on a tour of the unusual — and often subversive — soundtrack the former president curates for his campaign events. Thoughts? Questions? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s drive to stay in power is harming Israel’s global reputation and complicating the U.S. presidential election for Democrats, the Opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman argues. In this audio essay, Friedman offers a new name for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and explains why Netanyahu might be rooting for Donald Trump this November.Thoughts? Questions? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

They’ve been found in our milk, our eggs, our water supply and our bodies.In this audio essay, the environmental activist Erin Brockovich makes the case for better regulation of the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, contaminating our world. PFAS exposure has been associated with fertility issues and developmental delays in children. And while lawsuits have been filed against some of the biggest manufacturers of PFAS, Ms. Brockovich says those suits aren’t the only — or even the best — solution. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Listen in on this focus group with young undecided voters — a group that could determine the outcome of the upcoming presidential election. The New York Times deputy Opinion editor, Patrick Healy, spoke with some Gen Z voters to better understand the issues they’re focused on and how they’re feeling about Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.In this episode, he argues that while many young undecided voters don’t trust Harris, there are clear ways for her to win their support. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Anchovies can help make plant-forward eating more delicious and appealing, argues Christopher Beckman, an archaeologist-turned-anchovy-lover. He is the author of “A Twist in the Tail: How the Humble Anchovy Flavored Western Cuisine,” and he makes the case for why we should all embrace the small, oily fish.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kamala Harris has made her time as a prosecutor central to her presidential pitch. In this audio essay, Carlos Lozada, a Times Opinion columnist and host of “Matter of Opinion,” examines Harris’s two memoirs, reflects on how her criminal justice message has changed and explores what that may reveal about her candidacy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this era of artificial intelligence, who can compose a better beach read for the vacationing masses? The beloved fiction writer Curtis Sittenfeld … or ChatGPT?Listen as Sittenfeld sits down with the Opinion editor Susannah Meadows to talk about what they learned after pitting her writing against artificial intelligence, and hear excerpts from both stories to decide for yourself which is the more compelling read.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Democratic Party’s recent position — or lack of position — on Gaza “feels like gaslighting to a lot of Democratic voters,” Farah Stockman of the editorial board argues in this audio essay. The party claims to value social justice and human rights, but when it comes to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, she says, Kamala Harris “needs to do more, and she can do more, to assure people she’s going to have a more evenhanded approach when she becomes president.”Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kamala Harris was flying high last week, but Donald Trump is poised to bring her back down to earth. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Should voters care about Kamala Harris’s identity? In this audio essay, the sociologist and New York Times Opinion columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom argues that while we shouldn’t ignore the unprecedented nature of Harris’s campaign, the Democrats need to balance that newness against the electorate’s desire to return to a time of political normalcy.Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Deborah Heaney was enjoying a vacation in the Caribbean when she was struck with a sudden, debilitating illness. It took her days, a flight home and some luck before she was finally diagnosed with dengue fever.As temperatures rise globally, mosquito-borne tropical illnesses are spreading, and our medical systems are failing to keep up. In this episode, Dr. Heaney argues that the medical community must do a better job of incorporating education on diseases like dengue into their practice. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1992, James Carville, the longtime political strategist, coined the phrase that helped win Bill Clinton the presidency: “The economy, stupid.” In this episode of “The Opinions,” he shares what he thinks Vice President Kamala Harris should do to capture American voters on the issue that he says is “first and foremost on people’s minds”: the cost of living. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.