The Opinions

Best Of: The Aesthetic That Explains American Identity Now

With the recent passing of Dolly Parton, we’re revisiting an episode from our archives that explores an aesthetic the legendary country singer knew well: rural. Last year

The Right Is Rethinking MAGA. The Left Is Rethinking ‘Woke.’

What will the Republican Party become after President Trump? And how can the Democrats rehabilitate their toxic brand? On this episode of “The Opinions,” the Opinion poli

How Are the Democrats’ Midterm Dreams Shaping Up?

With the midterm elections less than three months away, surprising primary results and polling misses are raising questions about the direction of American politics. Are

A.I. Hype Is Running Into Reality

Billions of dollars are flooding into — and out of — artificial intelligence, sparking concerns of a 2008-style economic bubble. The Opinion writer David Wallace-Wells is

Hello, Democrats? Are You Listening?

Based on the Democratic primary results in Michigan, a big question looms over the party: Can it turn this enthusiasm into a midterm win? The national politics writer Mic

Have We Turned Personality Into Diagnosis?

Influencers on social media are sharing content that claims to help followers self-diagnose complex medical conditions ranging from A.D.H.D. to autism. And the data revea

The Working Class Is Fleeing Trump

What have Democrats learned from this season of primaries so far? “Their voters are so much angrier than I think they realized,” says the Opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie

The Silicon Valley Health Trend Making Doctors Nervous

Americans have spent billions of dollars tracking themselves: their steps, their blood oxygen saturation, their sleep cycles, their glucose levels. Is any of this data ma

The New Tactic Trump Thinks Will Rally Voters

The Iran war isn’t going well for President Trump. The midterms are approaching. What’s a desperate president to do? Turn to Communism. This week the Opinion national pol

Gen Z-ers Are Ditching Sex. They Might Be On to Something.

Data shows that Gen Z is in a sex recession. Technology, #MeToo and a growing emphasis on platonic relationships are reshaping how many people think about sex. As anxiety

The ‘Devil’s Bargain’ at the Heart of American Politics Now

This week, “The Opinions” politics round table wrestles with the art of political compromise. Did Lindsey Graham ingratiate himself with Donald Trump to protect Ukraine —

Is This the Fastest Opinion Shift in American Politics?

Seventy-one percent of Americans say they don’t want an A.I. data center built close to where they live. Why? In this conversation, the Opinion writer David Wallace-Wells

‘Platner Is Vile.’ McConnell Is Missing. Welcome to American Politics.

The word of the week for politics is “humiliation.” At least according to the Opinion contributing writer David Wallace-Wells, who joins the Opinion columnist David Frenc

The American Economy Isn’t as Bad as You Might Think

Despite all its problems, the U.S. economy is actually outperforming its competitors, China and the European Union, two Opinion contributing writers argue in this episode

Best of: Jill Lepore: ‘Most Forms of Tyranny Do Come to an End’

As America’s 250th birthday approaches, we wanted to revisit this conversation with the Harvard historian Jill Lepore. Lepore worries that Americans have become too passi

Three Opinion Writers on Trump’s Latest Faceplant

As America heads toward its 250th anniversary, many of its citizens and residents are not feeling particularly celebratory. This week on “The Opinions,” the national poli

Thomas Friedman on the Clash at the Core of the Iran Deal

The divide between Iran and America is, the Opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman argues, ultimately about the difference between “Kushnerism” (named for the president’s s

‘A Deeply Anxious Personality’: Three Opinion Writers on JD Vance’s New Book

In JD Vance’s second memoir, “Communion,” the vice president reveals himself to be a deeply anxious person searching for certainty, the Opinion national politics correspo

The Spectacle of Trump at 80

What does it say about President Trump — and America — that the soon-to-be octogenarian plans to celebrate his 80th birthday with a series of U.F.C. matches on the White

The A.I. Bubble Is Coming for Your Retirement Account

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and A.I. company, is about to go public at a record-breaking $1.77 trillion. This summer, Anthropic and Open A.I. will follow suit,