The Opinions

This week in politics: Which Democrats? And whose A.I. morals?

A Special Forces veteran joins the columnist David French to assess Pete Hegseth’s leadership.

The columnist David French argues that “we have privileged getting wasted over taking care of people.”

The world order is changing. So is the United States’ place in it.

This week in politics: Midwest realignment and what’s next for conservatives.

It’s time to give the public what it wants: A.I. regulation.

Three Opinion writers discuss the developing A.I. story and whether Trump is losing touch with reality.

What’s missing in the national conversation on mental health medication.

The $5,000 election promise shows how afraid Trump really is.

Before Donald Trump, there was the lawyer Roy Cohn. In “American Scoundrel,” the couathors Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark examine the life and legacy of Mr. Cohn, a driving force behind McCarthyism, a pop culture villain and a key influence in Mr. Trump’s approach to power and politics. The Opinion columnist Carlos Lozada, the Opinion political writer Michelle Cottle and the Vanderbilt history professor Nicole Hemmer discuss the new book and how, even though he died in the 1980s, Mr. Cohn’s influence continues to live with us in politics and pop culture today.

Thousands shared their caregiving stories. Is America listening?

Why country and cowboys have a hold on our culture and our political imagination.

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 political writer Michelle Cottle teams up with the columnists David French and Jamelle Bouie to dissect party strategy ahead of — and beyond — the midterm elections. Plus, Jamelle divulges the book that fills him with dread.

Democratic divisions, polling misses and Ocasio-Cortez’s egg freezing: the week in politics.

And what a hedge fund’s $35 billion loss reveals about the state of the industry.

Michigan presents as much a warning as it does an opportunity.

We’ve reached peak self-diagnosis culture.

Democrats have an anger problem. Republicans have a Trump problem.

People are tracking more and more of their health metrics. Are they optimizing their health, or just hunting for disease?

Three Opinion writers discuss whether the president’s Red Scare strategy will work.

Is celibacy cool now?

This week: the Todd Blanche hearing, Lindsey Graham’s legacy and progressive infighting.

David Wallace-Wells and Robinson Meyer discuss whether the gathering coalition of Americans against data centers could be the next Occupy Wall Street movement or Tea Party.

What America’s embarrassments have in common.

Influencers may be “Chinamaxxing,” but the U.S. is still the world’s economic powerhouse.

The Harvard historian on why change requires “determination and imagination.”

Three Opinion writers on Trump’s latest face-plant.

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 son-in-law Jared Kushner) and “Khomeiniism” (named for the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran). In conversation with the Opinion editor Dan Wakin, Friedman explains what he means and discusses what he sees as President Trump’s recent string of failures.

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 correspondent Michelle Cottle argues. In this conversation with the contributor E.J. Dionne Jr. and the columnist Carlos Lozada, the three discuss the ways in which Vance is courting potential constituencies and positioning himself as the next Republican presidential nominee.

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 House lawn? On “The Opinions,” the Times contributor Robert Siegel and fellow contributors E.J. Dionne Jr. and Peter Wehner debate this form of “human cockfighting,” and take stock of the state of the nation ahead of America’s 250th birthday. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com. This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Jillian Weinberger. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Video editing by Steph Khoury and Kristen Williamson. The postproduction manager is Mike Puretz. Original music by Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Video is Jonah M. Kessel. The deputy director of Opinion Shows is Alison Bruzek. The director of Opinion Shows is Annie-Rose Strasser.

David Wallace-Wells speaks with the economist and law professor Natasha Sarin about what the coming A.I. I.P.O.s could mean for your retirement account.

And what the Maine candidate reveals about politics today.

A case for mourning the American dream.

The president is acting as if the midterms no longer matter.

A much-needed, nuanced conversation about masculinity and feminism today.

The president’s $1.8 billion slush fund is causing further cracks in the Republican Party.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA movement has reshaped the public health debate. But if the coalition behind it begins to fracture, what comes next?

Why Silicon Valley is obsessed with taste.

The country seems to be tiring of the Trump era. Now what?

M. Gessen and Rachel Louise Snyder on the parallels between authoritarianism and domestic violence.

How the economic shock waves of Trump’s Iran war will be felt globally.

David French and the Supreme Court justice discuss how the ideals of 1776 shaped — and strain — the country today.

As the Trump administration guts weather agencies, a state’s low-cost flood tracking system offers a model for responding to more deadly inundations.

What moving deadlines — and red lines — in Iran means for America’s leverage.

Why petty theft might be the new political protest.

What recent events in Europe can tell us about the future of Trumpism.

What a shift in the dating preferences of younger men reveals about our changing norms.

America may be losing more than just the conflict in Iran.

The debate over words we can and can’t say.

From Tehran to the Supreme Court, a look at Trump’s relentless battles.

The columnist M. Gessen sits down with the writer Harriet Clark to talk through the complexity of maintaining relationships with family members who have done unthinkable things.

Will the war with Iran further degrade America’s already strained relationships with its allies? This week, Mona Charen, the policy editor at The Bulwark, joins the contributing Opinion writer E.J. Dionne Jr. and the former “All Things Considered” host Robert Siegel to unpack what the war portends for NATO, for Israel’s image in the United States and for American politics going forward.

Did President Trump fall for the myth of surgical warfare? Gen. Stanley McChrystal joins the columnist David French, both veterans of the Iraq War, to discuss what may have been overlooked in the planning of Operation Epic Fury. McChrystal, who retired from the Army in 2010, argues that the United States often overestimates the decisive power of aerial bombing while underestimating the weight of historical grievance. And the general weighs in on the current culture of bravado coming from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. This conversation was recorded on Friday, March 20.

President Trump has his own ideas about American power, American voters, and American enemies. On “The Opinions,” the writer Michelle Cottle and the columnists Jamelle Bouie and David French argue that unfortunately Trump misunderstands all three.

What does a relatively unknown candidate for governor of Florida reveal about antisemitism in American politics? In this episode, the columnist Michelle Goldberg discusses the Republican primary candidate James Fishback, his trollish antisemitic views and his appeal to young male voters.

The Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson joins E.J. Dionne Jr. and Robert Siegel to discuss Trump’s falling approval rating and what it portends for November.

Trump’s Iran war will affect more than just gas prices.

A fashion insider and two culture writers dissect “America’s Next Top Model.”

A week into Trump’s war in Iran, his strategy is still a mystery.

The round table convenes to discuss the upcoming Texas primaries and Trump’s State of the Union shortcomings.

The Supreme Court’s decision striking down the Trump administration’s tariffs left the President fuming and with fewer weapons in his trade war arsenal. Opinion writers Binyamin Appelbaum and Emily Bazelon, and editor Steve Stromberg, discuss how the Court’s ruling constrains the President, what Trump has done in response, and where trade policy should go from here, as automation and A.I. continue to threaten American workers.

Three Opinion writers on Iran, Epstein and what power really looks like.

Three writers and an Olympic medalist on the grit and grace of the winter games.

The round table reflects on a chaotic week of incompetence and meltdowns.

In this installment of The Conversation, David Brooks says goodbye to The Times, and offers his parting thoughts.

More than a decade ago, The New York Times editorial board argued that the United States should legalize recreational marijuana. This week, the board modified its stance. Yes, it should be legalized — but it must be better regulated. Marijuana is causing more harm than predicted by many during the fight to legalize it. In this conversation, David Leonhardt, an editorial director in Times Opinion, and Emily Bazelon and German Lopez, Opinion writers who work with the editorial board, explore what smarter regulation could look like and why it’s sorely needed.

The round table convenes to debate whether we need to worry about the midterms being free and fair.

Glamour, silence and a very big hat.

America’s health care system isn’t built to support an aging population.

Amid national protests, the round table convenes to debate what anti-ICE tactics should look like.

Perel, a renowned psychotherapist, doesn’t really think society can — or should — fall in love with a machine.

Watching the response to ICE in his hometown has the columnist Thomas L. Friedman navigating “a mixture of pride and anguish.”

The Conversation convenes with Emily Bazelon, David French and Aaron Retica discussing the questions reshaping American politics right now, from immigration enforcement to whether the country can still claim to be “one nation, indivisible.”

Jamelle Bouie, Ross Douthat and Kathleen Kingsbury on how Trump is changing the U.S. and the world.

The midterms will be a battle for control of Trump’s legacy.

Trump thinks he can run the oil. Does he have what it takes to run the country?

Even experts can’t tell what’s made by A.I. So what happens to trust now?

The round table convenes to discuss the start to Trump’s 2026, from Greenland to Minnesota and Venezuela.

Tressie McMillan Cottom, Jessica Grose and Meher Ahmad on why plastic surgery and fillers no longer feel like a secret — or a stigma.

M. Gessen and David French on why the ends do not justify the means in Venezuela.

Bill White thought being gay was a sin. Then his 15-year-old came out.

Jeffrey Toobin talks with Bryan Stevenson about surviving the politics of fear in 2025.

The columnist Michelle Goldberg believes reclaiming the narrative on immigration should be America’s next story.

Jamelle Bouie, Michelle Cottle and David French convene to discuss the year that was.

Trump is giving himself an A-plus-plus-plus, but the rest of America is anxious.

The columnist believes America’s real political contest is in the center.

Trump didn’t invent misogyny, but he’s leaning into it.

Two columnists debate this strange moment.

Through their reporting, the columnists share how regular citizens stand up to governments they oppose.

Will the president soon wish he hadn’t run for a second term?

Bret Stephens, Frank Bruni and Aaron Retica on the gap between Trump’s interests and what matters to Americans.

Rural aesthetics are in — from cowboy boots, to country albums by popstars, to pastoral idealism peddled by influencers. New York Times Opinion editor Meher Ahmad speaks to columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom and contributor Emily Keegin about what these cultural touch points mean for our politics, and society at large.

“If America hasn’t broken your heart, you don’t love her enough,” the New Jersey senator argues.

“You need this renewal. You need new figures who are untouched, who were never part of these awful power games,” the columnist Lydia Polgreen argues.

Ro Khanna argues that even though there is a risk in releasing the documents, it still needs to happen.

Can the right find its way back to small government? Sarah Isgur thinks so.

Is this the beginning of the end for Trump and his MAGA base?

Lydia Polgreen speaks to the former New York Times bureau chief Howard W. French about the cost of not engaging with Africa.

Cecilia Muñoz on how to solve America’s biggest political challenge.