There’s a whole world of 2024 elections that don’t involve Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. These races will be key to determining America’s future. As we inch closer to Election Day, the hosts zoom in on the congressional races that reveal something deeper — and stranger — about our politics.

Plus, Ross has a new Vice.

(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

Recommended in this episode:

• “The Hard Truth About Montana and Jon Tester’s Senate Race” by Michelle Cottle
• “The Senate May Come Down to a Blue State Surprise” by Michelle Cottle
• “Tokyo Vice” on Max

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have been neck and neck in the polls for weeks. But past elections have proved the polls wrong. Can we trust them this time? This week, the hosts are joined by Kristen Soltis Anderson, a Republican pollster and Times Opinion contributor, to talk through what polls can — and can’t — tell us about how voting day will go.

Plus, a taste for All Hallow’s Eve.

(A full transcript of this episode will be available within 24 hours of publication on the Times website.)

Recommended in this episode:

• “The Selfie Vote” by Kristen Soltis Anderson
• “Millennials See the GOP as Old-Fashioned and Prejudiced. Here’s How to Change That.” by Carlos Lozada in The Washington Post
• “These 9 Women Were Solidly With Trump. Here’s What Has Changed.” by Patrick Healy, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Adrian J. Rivera

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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.

Michelle loves Halloween. Ross watches horror movies against his will. And Carlos is making textual comparisons across satanic franchises. It’s a very MoO Halloween bonus ep, y’all!

Share your favorite horror recs with us by emailing [email protected] or calling 212-556-7440. And tell us what we should chat about next time so Ross doesn’t have to read “Return of the King” to us.

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.

When Democrats coalesced around Kamala Harris this summer, they set their differences aside in the interest of preventing a second Trump presidency. But at what cost?

On this episode, Lydia is joined by her fellow Opinion columnists Jamelle Bouie and Michelle Goldberg to discuss whether this temporary unity is good or bad for the future of the Democratic Party.

(A full transcript of this episode will be available within 24 hours of publication on the Times website.)

Recommended in this episode:

• “Poll Finds Harris Rising as She Challenges Trump on Change” by Adam Nagourney, Ruth Igielnik and Camille Baker
• “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz: More From Their ‘60 Minutes’ Interviews” by Brit McCandless Farmer
• Vice President Kamala Harris’s interview on “The View”
• “Silicon Valley, the New Lobbying Monster” by Charles Duhigg in the New Yorker

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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.

This week the hosts discuss what was obscured by the civility of the V.P. debate, and consider what JD Vance and Tim Walz really offer their running mates and their parties’ futures.

Plus, Michelle won’t be washing away her stresses any time soon.

(A full transcript of this episode will be available within 24 hours of publication on the Times website.)

Recommended in this episode:

• ‘There’s a Trap Here’: Four Columnists Brace for the Vance-Walz Debate by David Brooks, Ross Douthat, Tressie McMillan Cottom and Pamela Paul

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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.

This week we're taking a break from the election and turn our attention to the allegations against Sean Combs: Where has #MeToo succeeded or fallen short? And what happens when the lines blur between rumor mill and conspiracy theory? The Opinion columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom and the Opinion writer Jessica Grose join the conversation. Plus, Jessica has a recommendation for Plath-heads.

(A full transcript of this episode will be available on the Times website.)

Recommended in this episode:

• “With Love, Sean Combs” by Tressie McMillian Cottom in Vanity Fair
• “Sean Combs and the Limits of the ‘Family Man’ Defense” by Jess Grose
• “Entitled | How Male Privilege Hurts Women” by Kate Manne, who coined the term “himpathy”
• “#MeToo Comes for the Archbishop” by Ross Douthat
• “Why We Can’t Quit Brad Pitt” by Scaachi Koul in Slate
• “Red Comet” by Heather Clark

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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.

Donald Trump and JD Vance have sparked panic over immigration in Springfield, Ohio. This week, the hosts talk about why our country’s immigration debate is now focused on a distraction instead of the core of the issue.

Plus, Ross is hot and cold about a particular pet obsession.

(A full transcript of this episode will be available within 24 hours of publication on the Times website.)

Recommended in this episode:

• "Trump Has Crossed a Truly Unacceptable Line" by Lydia Polgreen
• "What  JD Vance Believes" by Ross Douthat
• “How the Trump Campaign Ran With Rumors About Pet-Eating Migrants — After Being Told They Weren’t True” by Kris Maher, Valerie Bauerlein and Tawnell D. Hobbs in The Wall Street Journal
• The Real ‘Border Czar’ Defends the Biden-Harris Record, “The Ezra Klein Show”
• “Go West” by Lily Lynch in The Baffler
• “Melting Pot or Civil War? A Son of Immigrants Makes the Case Against Open Borders” by Reihan Salam
• “Chimp Crazy" on HBO

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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.

Kamala Harris may have won the debate by baiting Donald Trump. But is it enough to sway undecided voters?

This week on “Matter of Opinion,” the Opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie joins our hosts to talk about how each campaign should reconsider its nominee’s visibility in the next seven weeks to win the White House.

Plus, Michelle wants to be seen less.

Want to see the Valentine's Day card for C-SPAN that Carlos's kids made him? Click here

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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.

Opinion columnist David French is voting for Kamala Harris to save conservatism. Ross  is… skeptical. On this very special episode, the two Christian conservatives debate how to chart the right’s course out of Trumpism and to the future.

(A full transcript of this episode will be available on the Times website.)

Recommended in this episode:

• “To Save Conservatism From Itself, I Am Voting for Harris” by David French
• “This Is Probably Not the Deal the Pro-Life Movement Bargained for With Trump” by Ross Douthat

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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.

While we take a quick summer break, we wanted to recommend a new show: “The Opinions.”  Four times a week, in ten minutes or less, you’ll hear one of our columnists — Matter of Opinion hosts included — walk you through their take on an issue or idea you might not have considered. It’s like the Opinion pages come to life.

In this episode, our very own Carlos shares what he learned reading Kamala Harris’s two memoirs. He reflects on how her criminal justice message has changed over time, and considers what that may reveal about her candidacy. Listen and subscribe to "The Opinions" on Apple, Spotify  or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thoughts about Matter of Opinion? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (212) 556-7440.

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.