David Leonhardt

2 days ago | nytimes.com | David Leonhardt |Jason Furman |Jillian Weinberger

A Harvard economist argues that a decline in manufacturing jobs is not what ails the United States. Jason Furman, an economist who was an adviser to President Barack Obama, believes that trade is an unmitigated good - a rarely heard opinion on the right or the left these days. In this episode of "The Opinions," David Leonhardt, the director of the Times editorial board, pushes Furman on the downsides of trade and asks him to explain its benefits - for both Americans and the rest of the world.

1 month ago | nytimes.com | David Leonhardt |Patrick Healy |Jillian Weinberger

And what will be lost if higher education fails to fight back. On this episode of "The Opinions," Patrick Healy and David Leonhardt discuss President Trump's attempts to remake higher education and argue that higher education should reform itself first. How Universities Can Push Back Against TrumpAnd what will be lost if higher education fails to fight back. Below is a transcript of an episode of "The Opinions." We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect.

2 months ago | nytimes.com | David Leonhardt

Germany yesterday became the latest country where voters rejected a left-leaning government largely because of their unhappiness over immigration and the economy. Germany's next chancellor is likely to be Friedrich Merz, a former corporate lawyer who has promised to crack down on migration, cut taxes and regulation and adopt a hawkish policy toward Russia. Merz leads a center-right alliance that finished first in yesterday's election, with 29 percent of the vote.

2 months ago | nytimes.com | David Leonhardt

Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, had returned from Ukraine hours earlier and was munching on a baby carrot when I walked into her office on a recent Wednesday afternoon. She laughed as she finished the carrot, evidently not expecting a visitor quite yet. Listen to this article, read by Robert Petkoff "I need vegetables," she explained. The trip was a whirlwind - a flight into Poland, then a train into Kyiv, all of it kept secret until Frederiksen was across the border.

Feb 11, 2025 | nytimes.com | David Leonhardt

Schoolchildren in Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania are still about half a year behind typical pre-Covid reading levels. In Florida and Michigan, the gap is about three-quarters of a year. In Maine, Oregon and Vermont, it is close to a full year. This morning, a group of academic researchers released their latest report card on pandemic learning loss, and it shows a disappointingly slow recovery in almost every state.