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5 days ago | 
nytimes.com | Jamelle Bouie |Michelle Cottle |Vishakha Darbha
Three Opinion writers on the death of empathy in America. In this episode of "The Opinions," the Times Opinion politics correspondent Michelle Cottle speaks to the columnists Jamelle Bouie and David French about the rise of "toxic empathy" and how the right has turned compassion into weakness. Why Politics Feels So Cruel Right NowThree Opinion writers on the death of empathy in America.
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1 week ago | 
nytimes.com | Thomas Friedman |Patrick Healy |Vishakha Darbha
After his latest trip to Israel, the columnist shares how it has changed in the past six months. The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has spent decades covering Israel and the Middle East. For this episode of "The Opinions," the deputy editor of Opinion, Patrick Healy, speaks to Friedman about his latest trip to the region, what he envisions for the future of Israel and how the ongoing conflict in Gaza is going to affect the country. Tom Friedman: Will Israel's War Ever End?
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | M. Gessen |Vishakha Darbha
"Nice university you got there. Shame if something happened to it."In this episode of "The Opinions," the columnist M. Gessen argues that when it comes to America's institutions, President Trump is taking a page out of a Soviet-style playbook. Welcome to Trump's Mafia State"Nice university you got there. Shame if something happened to it." Below is a transcript of an episode of "The Opinions." We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect.
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1 month ago | 
ourcommunitynow.com | Patrick Healy |Bret Stephens |Vishakha Darbha
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On this First 100 Days episode of “The Opinions,” the deputy Opinion editor, Patrick Healy, and the columnist Bret Stephens discuss the nuance of being a conservative critical of President Trump.Below is a transcript of an episode of “The Opinions.” We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Patrick Healy |Bret Stephens |Vishakha Darbha
Bret is a conservative who occupies this really interesting position: He's a Trump critic who thinks the administration is succeeding on some fronts, and he's an American who wants strong leadership in his country, but finds both political parties really lacking. So what's it like to agree with Trump on a bunch of issues, but also kind of hate him? I'm curious how Bret wrestles with that dichotomy and how he thinks Americans should see the next four years. Bret, thanks for joining me.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Lydia Polgreen |Vishakha Darbha
The longtime activist and writer Sarah Schulman on why now is the time to stand up to people you oppose. In this episode of "The Opinions," the New York Times Opinion columnist Lydia Polgreen speaks to the author and activist Sarah Schulman on resistance and solidarity during politically charged times. 'This Moment Is a Cataclysm,' but We Can Still ActThe longtime activist and writer Sarah Schulman on why now is the time to stand up to people you oppose.
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2 months ago | 
nytimes.com | Michelle Cottle |Ben Rhodes |Vishakha Darbha
And I think Democrats underestimate just how profoundly loathed they are right now. I say that as a Democrat. If you are under 30, the only national Democrats you've really known are Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden and then maybe a hundred days of Kamala Harris. [Cottle laughs.]And I like those people, but they are definitely not tomorrow, and they kind of represent Washington and they represent certain ways of doing things that people think have failed.
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2 months ago | 
businessandamerica.com | Patrick Healy |Thomas Friedman |Vishakha Darbha
And Bessent to me is Exhibit A of the fundamental truth — and we’ve talked about this before — of the Trump 2 administration. Trump 1 was surrounded by buffers, and Trump 2 is surrounded by amplifiers. There is simply no buffer anymore between what Trump hears at the Mar-a-Lago bar and what becomes Treasury policy days later, or foreign policy days later.
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2 months ago | 
nytimes.com | Patrick Healy |Thomas Friedman |Vishakha Darbha
It's not just impunity, Pat. What's going on in Washington today is a combination I've never seen: A president acting with impunity, backed by a party that controls the House, the Senate and effectively the Supreme Court which are absolutely terrified of challenging Trump on any issue. Backed by the world's richest man who can fund a primary against any of these people and who can really intimidate them with social media and launch a Twitter mob against them.
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Mar 3, 2025 | 
nytimes.com | Patrick Healy |Tressie McMillan Cottom |Vishakha Darbha
President Trump's outsize performance of masculinity has won him attention, elections and the support of manosphere influencers from Andrew Tate to Joe Rogan. In this episode of "The Opinions," the deputy editor of Times Opinion, Patrick Healy, speaks with columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom about what Trump's focus on gender means for men, women, minorities and American politics.
