The Opinions

The Opinion writer Michelle Cottle and contributing Opinion writer Ben Rhodes discuss why the Democratic Party hasn’t launched an effective opposition and who they see as the future of the party.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. The rest of the show's production team also includes Derek Arthur and Jillian Weinberger. Mixing by Sonia Herrero. Original music by Pat McCusker, Sonia Herrero and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

In his HBO special, “Just for Us,” the comedian Alex Edelman explores his Jewish identity and whiteness in an unusual way: attending a neo-Nazi meeting in Queens. Before the 2024 presidential election, he traveled to Minnesota to watch a stranger perform his comedy special in a theater performance. In this episode, Edelman joins the Opinion editor Susannah Meadows to reflect on that experience, what “Just for Us” means after Donald Trump’s return to office and why hard conversations — even with extremists — matter now more than ever.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Kristina Samulewski. It was edited by Alison Bruzek, Kaari Pitkin and Annie-Rose Strasser. The rest of the show's production team includes Derek Arthur, Vishakha Darbha and Jillian Weinberger. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, Isaac Jones and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

On this episode, Patrick Healy and David Leonhardt discuss President Trump’s attempts to remake higher education and argue that higher education should reform itself first.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. The show's production team also includes Derek Arthur and Vishakha Darbha. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Sonia Herrero, Carole Sabouraud and Aman Sahota. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

In this episode, the New York Times Opinion columnist David French breaks down the security concerns behind the Trump administration’s military discussions on the Signal app and the consequences such a security breach could have on American safety and military strategy.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

More than two months into his second term, President Donald Trump is testing the limits of the U.S. Constitution. But which of his executive actions are legally sound, and which defy constitutional principles? In this episode, the Opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie sits down with his editor, Aaron Retica, for a deep dive into the crisis that’s reshaping American democracy.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. The rest of the show's production team includes Vishakha Darbha and Jillian Weinberger. Mixing by Pat McCusker and Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

President Trump has been operating with complete impunity and disregard for American institutions. In this episode, the Times Opinion deputy editor Patrick Healy and the columnist Thomas L. Freidman discuss the repercussions of such behavior on America’s national and international policy.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishkaha Darbha. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Sonia Herrero. Original music by Aman Sahota, Carole Sabouraud and Pat McCusker. The show's production team also includes Derek Arthur and Jillian Weinberger. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

What does it look like when some of the world’s richest men withdraw assistance for the world’s poorest women and children? After Elon Musk claimed no one had died from cuts to American foreign aid spending, the Opinion writer Nicholas Kristof traveled to South Sudan to see the impact for himself. In this episode, he shares how millions of people now face death and starvation and why Americans — including those who believe in “America First” — should care.Read Kristof’s interactive essay with photos and charts at nytimes.com/opinion.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Annie-Rose Strasser. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Pat McCusker and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. The show's production team also includes Jillian Weinberger and Vishakha Darbha. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

A measles outbreak in West Texas has claimed two lives, and President Trump’s secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is spreading false claims about the disease and the vaccines that nearly eliminated it. In this episode of “The Opinions,” a Times Opinion editor, Alexandra Sifferlin, and an Opinion writer, Jessica Grose, discuss how the successes and failures of our modern health care system brought us to this moment and the Make America Healthy Again movement. We have eliminated “so many things that used to kill so many people that people have forgotten how dangerous those things are,” Grose says.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.comYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Opinions” at nytimes.com/column/the-opinions.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. Edited by Alison Bruzek. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Mixing by Pat McCusker. Original music by Carole Sabouraud, Isaac Jones and Pat McCusker. The show’s production team also includes Derek Arthur and Jillian Weinberger. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The Director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

Inspectors general are our government watchdogs. They root out corruption and check for fraud and inefficiencies — all things President Trump has claimed to want to do. And yet, when he took office, he fired more than a dozen inspectors general without warning.In this episode of The Opinions, we spoke to the reporter and filmmaker Francesca Trianni about her interviews with seven of these inspectors, their relationship to the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and why they’re worried about the future of American democracy.To see the videos of the Inspectors General, go to nytimes.com.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Opinions” at nytimes.com/column/the-opinions.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. Edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. The show’s production team also includes Derek Arthur and Jillian Weinberger. Original music by Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker and Carole Sabouraud. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The Director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

President Donald Trump is about halfway through his first 100 days in office. In this episode of The Opinions, Patrick Healy talks with the columnist Michelle Goldberg and contributor Frank Bruni about the moments that have defined Trump’s second term so far and what his first 50 days portend for the rest of Trump’s second term.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Opinions” at nytimes.com/column/the-opinions.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. Edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Mixing by Sonia Herrero. The show’s production team also includes Derek Arthur and Vishakha Darbha. Original music by Aman Sahota, Isaac Jones and Carole Sabouraud. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The Director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. 

Time is running out for transgender service members in the U.S. military. The Trump administration has put in motion plans to identify and remove transgender troops, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth saying they are unfit to serve.In this episode with the Opinion editor Sarah Wildman, Col. Bree Fram, one of the highest-ranking transgender members of the military, speaks about her journey and her uncertain future.Note: The views presented are Colonel Fram’s and do not reflect the official guidance or position of the U.S. government or the Department of Defense.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.comYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Opinions” at nytimes.com/column/the-opinions.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. Edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Mixing by Pat McCusker. Original music by Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker and Carole Sabouraud. The show’s production team also includes Vishakha Darbha and Jillian Weinberger. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The Director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

The columnist David Brooks joins Patrick Healy to take stock of President Trump’s fifth address to Congress, to analyze the Democrats’ response, and to discuss where Americans who care about moral leadership should put their energies today. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.comYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Opinions” at nytimes.com/column/the-opinions.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. Edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. The show’s production team also includes Derek Arthur and Vishakha Darbha. Original music by Aman Sahota, Pat McCusker and Carole Sabouraud. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. 

As a fiscal conservative, the columnist David French would normally be excited about a Department of Government Efficiency and the opportunity to rein in spending. But Elon Musk’s approach to cost cutting has left much to be desired. In this conversation with the Manhattan Institute's Jessica Riedl, French reckons with what Musk and his department have wrought on the government, and argues that DOGE will do little to ameliorate the proposed tax cuts in the budget resolution recently passed by the House.This conversation was recorded on Friday, February 28.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.comYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Opinions” at nytimes.com/column/the-opinions.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. Edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. The show’s production team also includes Derek Arthur and Vishakha Darbha. Original music by Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker and Carole Sabouraud. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. 

President Trump’s outsize performance of masculinity has won him attention, elections and the support of manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate and Joe Rogan. In this episode of “The Opinions,” the deputy editor of Times Opinion, Patrick Healy, speaks with its columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom about what Trump’s focus on gender means for women, minorities and American politics.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Opinions” at nytimes.com/column/the-opinions.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Mixing by Sonia Herrero. The show’s production team also includes Derek Arthur, Jillian Weinberger and Kristina Samulewski. Original music by Aman Sahota, Sonia Herrero and Carole Sabouraud. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

When Hillary Frank took her middle-school-age daughter to see “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.,” she was surprised to learn that the fictional Margaret had more sex education than her daughter. In this episode, Frank reflects on what she wishes she learned in health class as a teenager and how we might improve sex education in schools across the country.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted within 24 hours) and more episodes of “The Opinions” at nytimes.com/column/the-opinions.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. Edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Pat McCusker, Efim Shapiro and Carole Sabouraud. The show’s production team also includes Derek Arthur, Vishakha Darbha and Kristina Samulewski. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

President Trump has appointed Dan Bongino — a former U.S. Secret Service agent, right-wing podcaster and an outspoken critic of the F.B.I. — as the agency’s deputy director. In this episode, the Opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg examines what Bongino’s appointment means for the bureau and for the new order of American politics.Thoughts? Emails us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

Turning our back on Ukraine would only weaken America.The Trump administration may be considering negotiating a peace deal with Russia that would end the war in Ukraine. “No American president in the last 80 years and probably 100 years before that would have made this bargain,” Kori Schake, the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, tells the Opinion columnist David French.Thoughts? Questions? Get in touch at theopinions@nytimes.com.

President Trump appears ready to cut a deal that could end Russia’s war in Ukraine without ever consulting Ukraine. In this episode, the deputy Opinion editor Patrick Healy talks to the Opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman about Trump’s unpredictable approach to foreign policy.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

In this episode, the Opinion editor Aaron Retica and the columnist Jamelle Bouie discuss how President Trump, Elon Musk and their supporters are trying to sidestep Congress and reshape executive power.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

Kirk Wallace Johnson served with U.S.A.I.D. in Baghdad and Fallujah. When he returned to the United States, he spent much of his career helping thousands of Iraqis and Afghans, many of whom risked their lives working with American troops, gain refugee status in the United States through the List Project. As President Trump closes the door on the American refugee program, Johnson and the Times columnist Lydia Polgreen grapple with how to live now, through Trump’s second term, in the face of a muted resistance movement.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and if you celebrate, the chances of giving or receiving a bouquet of flowers is high. But have you considered the environmental impact of those flowers? In this audio essay, the contributing Opinion writer Margaret Renkl explains the true cost of bouquets and argues for other, less environmentally harmful ways to express your love.This episode originally aired February 14, 2024.

The deputy editor of Opinion, Patrick Healy, speaks with the columnist M. Gessen about why so many people and institutions, including Democrats, have bent the knee to Trump, despite strongly disagreeing with him.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

In June 2020, Manuel Bayo Gisbert, a visual anthropologist and artist, was abducted by members of a drug cartel outside of Mexico City. He was beaten, tortured and ultimately released, making him one of the few survivors of kidnappings in Mexico. A crisis of violence and disappearances has plagued the country for decades. In this episode, hear Gisbert tell his own story and how it led him to collect the memories of those who are still missing.Read Gisbert’s essay and see his photos of the survivors and families of the disappeared on nytimes.com.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

The biggest challenge to President Trump’s executive orders may be the American judicial system. In this episode, the Times Opinion columnist David French is joined by the federal judge Jeffrey S. Sutton to talk about the principles that guide the courts and how the calls made in those rooms could decide the future of American democracy in the next four years.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

The New York Times Opinion writer Binyamin Appelbaum has been writing and thinking about President Trump’s economic policy since his first term in office. In this episode, he joins the deputy Opinion editor Patrick Healy to talk tariffs, economic expansion and Trump’s recklessness.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

In this episode, the actor Hank Azaria, known in part for his numerous roles on “The Simpsons,” confronts how A.I. is already shaking up the vocal acting world. As he explains the human touches that shape his characters, he also offers hope for a future in which there is still a need for performers like himself. Is it inevitable that artificial intelligence will soon put him and his fellow creatives out of a job?Read Hank Azaria’s essay and watch him perform his most famous “Simpsons” characters at nytimes.com.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

On his first day back in office, President Trump signed an executive order to end unconditional birthright citizenship. Lawsuits immediately began pouring in, and a federal judge blocked the order for now. But as the columnist Carlos Lozada and the editor Aaron Retica point out in this discussion, the true impact of the order might not be in changing the law — at least right away — but in challenging the very idea of what it means to be American.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

President Trump’s pick for F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, is no stranger to controversy. And despite a vigorous Senate hearing on Thursday, he appears to be coasting toward confirmation. The New York Times politics correspondent Michelle Cottle spoke to the journalist and author Garrett Graff on what Patel’s F.B.I. appointment could mean for America, and of all of Trump’s nominees, why Patel is among the most dangerous.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

Maureen Dowd got her start in journalism during the Nixon era. Over her decades in Washington, she’s developed a keen understanding of how presidents wield power to further their goals. In this episode of “The Opinions,” she joins the deputy Opinion editor, Patrick Healy, to examine the breathtaking speed with which President Trump is carrying out his agenda.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

What can the 1890s tell us about 21st-century problems and a second Trump administration? According to the Opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie, quite a lot. In this episode, he speaks with Aaron Retica, an editor in Opinion, about what the 19th century and Donald Trump’s surprising new favorite president can tell us about our shifting culture.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

In 1993, Polly Klaas was kidnapped and murdered at the age of 12. Following her death, Polly’s tragic story became a plotline in true crime podcasts, TV shows and books. In this audio essay, Polly’s sister Annie Nichol argues that the popularization of true crime not only re-traumatized victims’ families but also helped create demand for “tough on crime” legislation. “Our legal system actually became more reactionary and more fixated on punishment and fundamentally less just,” she says.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

President Trump has declared that his second term will begin with the “most extraordinary first 100 days of any presidency in American history.” To track, interrogate and challenge his most consequential actions during his first few months in office, Times Opinion’s deputy editor, Patrick Healy, is beginning a weekly series on “The Opinions” focused on Trump’s first 100 days. He kicks things off with the Times writer David Wallace-Wells, exploring the president’s executive orders on climate and energy as Mr. Trump prepares to tour the destruction wrought by the recent wildfires in Los Angeles.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

Opinion's deputy editor, Patrick Healy, was joined by the columnists David French and Michelle Goldberg to makes sense of President Trump’s first day in office. We're learning “how much the American experiment has depended on the honor system,” French says.

Times columnist Thomas Friedman says this is a rare moment in the Middle East when “everything is in play and everything is possible." In this episode of The Opinions, he speaks to editor Dan Wakin about the forces brewing in the Middle East, what he expects of the relationship between Netanyahu and Trump and the one gig he would give up his column to try to do.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

Donald Trump has promised to severely curtail legal and illegal immigration as he takes office for the second time. In this episode of “The Opinions,” the writer Binyamin Appelbaum argues that while the United States needs to improve its immigration enforcement, the country also desperately needs immigrants for cultural and economic vibrancy. Immigrants, Appelbaum explains, are the country’s “rocket fuel,” and he argues for specific legal changes to ensure the United States’ immigration policy matches its national interests.

Maine has one of the highest rates of opioid use disorder in the nation. But a program at a rural Maine jail initiated by an addiction medicine specialist, Alane O’Connor, is offering hope and saving lives. She’s spearheading a pilot program that offers a monthly injection of the drug Sublocade to addicted inmates, which curbs opioid cravings continuously for a month. In this episode, she argues, “jails are an incredible opportunity to help people enter recovery.”Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Kristina Samulewski with help from Caroline Losneck. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Pat McCusker, Isaac Jones and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Jan Hoffman, and Alice Anderson at Acadia Recording.

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 being experienced in California.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

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.

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.

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 impossible, but doing so requires us to recognize: It’s not sadness we should fear. It’s regret.”Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

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? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 protect ourselves out of existence.”Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

The columnist reflects on a quarter century of contrarian opinions at The Times.

Holidays often mean more work. Here’s how to view that work differently.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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

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.

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@nytimes.com.

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.

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 before ending up on breakfast plates.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

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.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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. Trump or not.”Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 that context accordingly. “I think that the right way to move forward is with nuance,” Oster explains. “That is how we will get to a greater good overall.”Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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, 2024. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com 

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

Listen to Times Opinion Editor Kathleen Kingsbury make the case for Kamala Harris.Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com

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.

In this episode, the columnist Nicholas Kristof argues that Democrats should focus their criticism on Donald Trump instead of Trump voters. 

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com

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.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com

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 theopinions@nytimes.com

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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.

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.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

Kamala Harris was flying high last week, but Donald Trump is poised to bring her back down to earth.

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 theopinions@nytimes.com.

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.

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.

David French, an Opinion columnist, is an evangelical, pro-life conservative. For the first time in his life, he plans to vote for a Democratic presidential candidate: Kamala Harris.He says he will vote against Donald Trump “precisely because I’m conservative.” In this audio essay, David explains how he arrived at his decision and argues for other conservatives to join him.

Nicholas Kristof is an Oregonian and, he is quick to point out, a liberal. But in this audio essay, Kristof takes liberals to task for their governing of cities on the West Coast. It’s an election year, and so he asks the question he believes many Americans are thinking: “Why put liberals in charge nationally when the places around the country where liberals have the greatest control are plagued by homelessness, crime and dysfunction?”Thoughts? Questions? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

For Pride Month, the Opinion columnist Charles Blow dove into the stories of people who embraced fluid sexual identities later in life. He argues that despite the increasing number of people who come out as queer during adolescence, some don’t recognize or reveal an attraction to the same sex until their 40s or 50s. In this audio essay he shares their stories and his own.Thoughts? Questions? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

Democrats tend to do well in cities; Republicans tend to do well in rural areas. But winning back at least some rural voters is essential for Democrats to succeed in statewide elections. Farah Stockman, a member of the New York Times editorial board, found one Democrat who is trying out a new message in rural Ohio.Thoughts? Questions? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

With Democratic enthusiasm for Kamala Harris at a fever pitch, the New York Times Opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg spent a day in Atlanta at one of her rallies speaking with voters. In this audio essay, Goldberg argues that the energy among voters she met there is real, and more importantly, will last.Thoughts? Questions? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

A few months ago, the Opinion columnist David French and his family were canceled by their former church. In response, French wrote about the painful experience of being abandoned by his faith community. The column led to an outpouring from readers sharing their own thoughts and similar experiences. In this audio essay, French sits down with his editor, Aaron Retica, to discuss the fallout and listen to some of the responses he received from readers.Thoughts? Questions? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

When David Brooks was growing up, he was emotionally detached, he says. Over the past several years, he’s worked to change that. In this audio essay, Brooks shares what he learned opening up with others on his journey to become a fuller human being: that better conversation could help save America from its “social and emotional breakdown.”Thoughts? Questions? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

Commentary from the biggest names in New York Times Opinion. One voice, one idea, four days a week, in 10 minutes or less.Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.