Interesting Times

By New York Times OpinionSociety & Culture News

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Interesting Times episodes

July 23Iran, China, Canada? A Defense of Trump’s Grand Strategy
Is President Trump’s grand strategy unraveling? The United States is at war with Iran, China is ascendant, Russia and Ukraine are stalemated and American allies are openly questioning our commitment to them.
Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, joins me to discuss the state of America’s foreign policy and he makes the case that Trump’s approach to our allies and adversaries is making us stronger.
0:00 - Intro

1:24 - What Is Trump’s Approach to Foreign Policy?

5:00 - Is China Still America’s Main Rival?

7:08 - Colby’s Strategy of Denial in the Pacific

9:58 - How to Avoid a War with China & Taiwan

12:18 - Can U.S. Aircraft Carriers & Bases Survive a Pacific Conflict?

16:43 - Is the Iran War Draining Our Weapons and Resources?

17:49 - The U.S. Military Strategy in Iran War

19:44 - Does the Middle East Conflict Help or Hurt China?

22:04 - Trying and Failing to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz

28:13 - The Parallels of Iran to the Vietnam and Iraq Wars

33:17 - Trump’s Strategy With Russia & Ukraine

40:49 - "NATO 3.0" & Returning to the Cold War

43:21 - Did the Pentagon Try to Cut Support for Ukraine?

46:28 - How "Middle Powers" Fail

49:30 - Greenland, Canada, and the Monroe Doctrine

52:22 - Canada: Neighbor or 51st State?

54:23 - What We Expect From Allies
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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1 hr 4 min
July 16A Vision of a ‘Society Without Capitalism’
Democratic socialists are having a moment. But can they actually remake the Democratic Party — and the American economy — in their image? My guest today, Bhaskar Sunkara, is longtime democratic socialist, and he makes the case that socialism has a universal appeal that transcends our current politics and will ultimately triumph against capitalism.
0:00 Intro

1:24 The rise of democratic socialism

5:00 Why is this a breakthrough moment for Democratic Socialism?

8:24 Class Realities: The demographics of socialist voters

9:26 The intellectual foundations of the American left

11:02 What socialists want: Affordable housing, Medicare for All

15:55 Socialist housing policy: construction, rent control, public housing

18:17 The socialist approach to AI and technological change

22:16 The case for unions

24:18 Is Democratic Socialism compatible with capitalism?

25:57 Class conflict vs. the identity politics of the wokeness era

29:00 The ideological conflict between Hillary Clinton liberals and the Bernie Sanders left

30:40 This Socialist wants the left to stop hating America

36:38 Why Israel-Palestine and anti-imperialism are central issues for Democratic Socialists

45:51 Luigi Mangione and the illiberal left

50:37 Is Zohran Mamdani a moderate?

51:54 Was Joe Biden's presidency a socialist experiment?

55:42 Raising taxes to expand the welfare state
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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59 min
July 09‘ I'm Worried About Weimar America’
The work of Rod Dreher has a consistent theme: doom. He believes the collapse of Christianity has ushered civilizational decline in Europe, that we’ve traded our humanity for comfort, and he worries that totalitarianism is around the corner for the United States. “I’m worried about Weimar America,” he tells me. “It may not be Hitler 2.0, it may not be Stalin 2.0. It might be something all American, but it’s not going to be what we’re used to.” It’s best not to dismiss him; he’s been right before. We discuss how we got here and the dangers that still lie ahead when we grant godlike powers to our technology.
0:00 - Intro

1:41 - The role of Christianity in Western society

12:26 - Free speech in Western Europe

17:40 - Immigration and de-Christianization

23:55 - Viktor Orbán's Hungary

34:50 - "Weimar America" and the coming crisis

46:45 - Dreher's personal journey

55:12 - Dark re-enchantment and A.I. as a "vector for the demonic"
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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1 hr 3 min
July 02 The Unifying Speech We Won’t Get This Independence Day
My fellow Americans: On this 250th anniversary of our great republic, I think we’re unlikely to have a unifying address from any politician. So, I thought I’d get a little dressed up and offer one myself. Watch this video on YouTube Channel: Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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7 min
June 25Is it Time for a New Sexual Revolution?
The growing alienation between men and women is, to my mind, one of the biggest stories of our time.
It’s warping our politics and culture through the rise of misogynistic influencers on the right and a growing sense of feminist despair on the left.
My guest this week believes that our problems today can be traced back to the sexual revolution. She argues that it reset relations between the sexes in a fundamentally negative way and ultimately benefited men. Louise Perry is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal’s Free Expression section and the author of “The Case Against the Sexual Revolution.”
0:00 - Intro

01:28 - “The Case Against the Sexual Revolution"

16:20 - What is reactionary feminism?

21:30 - The effects of the digital revolution on men and women

30:29 - The tradwife phenomenon

34:58 - What about premarital sex?

43:38 - Can female emancipation and sexual restraint coexist?
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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56 min
June 18JD Vance on the Morality of the Trump Administration
“If you think this is a bad deal, what is your alternative?” Critics of JD Vance think that his key role in the Iran negotiations may end up being an albatross around his neck. (“If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD,” President Trump said in France this week.)
But in our conversation, the vice president seemed buoyant and eager to play the salesman, insisting that the deal is better than the pact President Barack Obama sealed in 2015.
I asked him about his initial opposition to the war, his conflict with the pope and whether his political future is riding on the success of the Iran agreement. We also discussed Vance’s new book, “Communion,” about the vice president’s return to faith, and whether or not the Trump administration’s policies embody Christian values.
0:00 - Intro

01:06 - The implications of the US - Iran Peace deal

07:04 - Will Iran's internal politics transform?

17:30 - The US - Israel Relationship

22:19 - Vance's Protestant Christian upbringing

28:22 - From non-believer to rediscovering faith

35:18 - Christianity in Vance's life and in the Trump administration

47:07 - Tensions with Pope Francis

54:10 - The future of the Iran deal and a message to Republican critics
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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1 hr 1 min
June 11 Better Sex, Better Hair, Better Sleep: ‘Humanmaxxing’ Is Here
We can enhance athletic performance, lose weight with a pill and even take psychedelics to alter consciousness. At what point does all this self-optimization become self-obsession? When does it get in the way of our humanity itself? My guest this week is the German biotech entrepreneur Christian Angermayer, who believes scientific breakthroughs to extend our lives — and even put us in touch with the divine — are close at hand.
0:00 - Intro
01:40 - Investing in longevity, A.I. and psychedelics
6:06 - The vision for the Enhanced Games
13:45 - Normalizing enhancements for everyone
20:02 - Ozempic is the first of many...
30:00 - The five basics for health and well-being
36:52 - Psychedelics trips and spiritual revelations
59:20 - Christian skepticism
01:04:22 - "Jesus is not human-maxxing."
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].
Read the full transcript here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/opinion/better-sex-better-hair-better-sleep-humanmaxxing-is-here.html
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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1 hr 12 min
June 05Anna Paulina Luna Wants Everything Disclosed
In an era defined by deep institutional distrust, a new trend within populist conservatism has emerged. It’s a sense that the federal government is keeping secrets and protecting the powerful at our expense. My guest this week is Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a conservative Republican from Florida who has quickly established herself as a political troublemaker. She’s challenging fellow lawmakers — Republicans and Democrats — on issues like sexual harassment and ethics, but she doesn’t see her campaign to clean up Congress as in tension with her allegiance to President Trump. Luna has focused her first years in Congress on exposing what she views as coverups, from the Epstein files to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and longstanding government secrecy around U.F.O.s.
00:00 - Intro

01:31 - Luna's politics: "Conservative with a streak of populism"

08:07 - From chaos to conservative influencer

16:17 - Critiquing the ethics of Congress

24:55 - Presidential ethics and the Epstein files

36:25 - The U.A.P. activity at Eglin Air Force Base

41:02 - The "mosaic" around the J.F.K. assassination

47:50 - U.A.P. evidence

54:30 - Whistleblower retribution and protections

57:57 - Secret programs: "A stronger dose of strangeness"
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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1 hr 22 min
May 28Our Military Is Built for the Wrong Century
The future of high-tech warfare has arrived. Just look to the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran to see how much drones and robots have remade the modern battlefield. Is the U.S. positioned to win wars in this new era? What are the ethical constraints of waging autonomous warfare? My guest this week is Christian Brose, the president and chief strategy officer of Anduril, a defense technology company building a slate of autonomous weapons and defense systems for the American military.
00:00 - Intro

03:18 - Drones on the Russia - Ukraine battlefield

8:17 - Iran's stalemate and American military readiness

17:11 - Anduril is more than a "Lord of the Rings" reference

25:33 - Force fields and a layered defense

31:12 - The challenges of "finicky" autonomous systems

44:44 - The ethics of automating the kill chain
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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1 hr
May 21A Defense of a Liberal Arts Education in the Age of A.I.
What’s really driving the humanities crisis in higher education? As enrollment and reading decline, I asked Jennifer Frey, a professor of philosophy, what it was like to run a liberal arts program that was gutted. I wanted to know whether she thinks the age of A.I. could bring back the kind of education she says is fundamental to human formation.
00:00 - Intro

2:08 - Why study the humanities?

5:00 - Do the humanities mean more morality?

15:00 - Shakespeare vs. John Grisham

24:07 - The Tulsa Honors College

34:43 - Left-wing critiques and specialization

44:10 - Is conservatism a friend to liberal arts?

56:32 - Why the humanities are crucial in the age A.I.
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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1 hr 4 min