The Opinions

The Los Angeles wildfires offer a stark reminder that we no longer live in an era of reliable home insurance. An exodus of insurance companies from disaster-prone areas has put the American dream of homeownership in peril. In this episode, the climate reporter Nick Mott makes the case for a national climate catastrophe insurance plan that could help protect families from the devastating losses bei...

Argentina’s head of state, Javier Milei, is the latest inspiration for Donald Trump and his supporters, including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. As Trump prepares to return to the White House, the Times Opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg explains what his admiration for Milei and his austerity policies might mean for Trump’s new administration. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. Hoste...

The Supreme Court seems ready to uphold the law that would ban TikTok unless the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells it to a U.S. buyer. The Opinion columnist David French talks with the politics editor Katherine Miller about why he believes the app poses a unique threat to U.S. security. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.ad...

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 des...

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...

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 ou...

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.c...

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz compa...

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 u...

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

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?...

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

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@nyt...

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...

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

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

The columnist reflects on a quarter century of contrarian opinions at The Times. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Holidays often mean more work. Here’s how to view that work differently. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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...

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz co...

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

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 . Hosted by Simplecast, an Ad...

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz compa...

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

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 u...