Matter of Opinion

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.

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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.

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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.

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The hosts react to Kamala Harris’s convention speech in this special late-night edition of “Matter of Opinion”. Lydia, Ross and Carlos unpack how Harris had a “deft threading of a number of tricky needles” as she accepted her party’s nomination, and look at what the entire week revealed about the Democratic Party.

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

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.

If you believe JD Vance, the American family is in crisis. But are attacks on “childless cat ladies” and pitches for enfranchising kids actual policy platforms or merely culture war cudgels?

This week on “Matter of Opinion,” Jessica Grose joins Michelle, Ross and Carlos to debate the weird ways gender and family are showing up in the election and share their own roads to parenthood.

Plus, Jessica suggests a deep dive into a culture of “tin pot dictators wearing LoveShackFancy.”

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

Recommended in this episode:

• “Red Families vs. Blue Families: Legal Polarization and the Creation of the Culture” by Naomi Cahn and June Carbone
• “The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind” by Melissa S. Kearney
• “The Party of Julia” by Ross Douthat
• “Welcome to Bama Confidential,” Anne Helen Peterson’s essay series on her Culture Study newsletter

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 on the show, Michelle Goldberg joins Michelle  and Ross to debate the gambles or gains Kamala Harris has made by picking  Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate. They also discuss the ways the Trump-Vance ticket could recalibrate to regain their lead. Plus, Goldberg is sunny on a new show you probably haven’t heard of.

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

Recommended in this episode:

• Don’t Listen to the Right. The Kamalanomenon Is Real. by Michelle Goldberg
• The Focus Group Podcast episode “Kamala Needs a DEI Pick (Straight White Dude)” with Sarah Longwell
• Sunny from Apple TV+

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.

The 2024 presidential race is officially in its identity politics stage. From “White Dudes for Harris,” to “D.E.I. candidate” accusations, the hosts debate how race and racism are being deployed in the second week of the Harris v. Trump election.

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

Mentioned in this episode:

• “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” by Barack Obama
• “Rising Stare: The Making of Obama” by David J. Garrow
• “Barack Obama: The Story” by David Maraniss
• “The Olympic Flame Isn’t a Flame at All” by Andrew Keh

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.

Vice President Kamala Harris has gone from being one of President Biden’s many problems to the hope of the Democratic Party. This week Ross, Lydia and Carlos dissect the seismic campaign vibe shift in both parties. Plus, Ross criticizes another self-indulgent addition to the modern era’s Western canon.

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

Mentioned in this episode:

• Ross Douthat, David French, Michelle Goldberg, and Lydia Polgreen: Is It a Mistake for Democrats to Go All In on Harris? Four Columnists on the Party’s Moves.
• Harris’s Michigan event on abortion
• Harris’s first presidential rally in Milwaukee speech

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.

The former president was expected to offer “unity” in his convention acceptance speech. But, after a wild week, the speech revealed the same old Donald Trump. In this episode, the hosts debate: Is Trump a “man of destiny”?

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

Recommended in this episode:

• Donald Trump, Man of Destiny

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.

“The dam is breaking!” Have the Democrats reached their “break glass in case of emergency” moment? This week, Michelle, Ross and Lydia dig into the Democratic Party fissures, consider what could happen if President Biden refuses to bow out, and debate just how much this moment mirrors the Republican scramble against Trump in 2016.

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

Mentioned in this episode:

• George Clooney: I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.
• The Case for Joe Biden by Ross Douthat
• Ezra Klein: A Path to Defeat from “The Bulwark Podcast”

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.