Matter of Opinion

Matter of Opinion is off this week, but the news hasn’t stopped. So this week we’re bringing you something from columnists across New York Times Opinion. With President Biden’s candidacy in question, we asked them: Who would you like to see as the Democratic nominee? These are their answers.

• Lydia Polgreen on the case for Vice President Kamala Harris
• Nicholas Kristof on the case for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan
• Ross Douthat on the case for Senator Joe Manchin
• Pamela Paul on the case for Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland
• David French on the case for Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania
• Charles Blow on the case for President Biden

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

If your opinion has changed on President Biden since the debate, we want to hear from you, too. What do you hope to see happen before the Democratic convention? Leave us a voice mail at 212-556-7440 or email us at [email protected]

This audio essay was originally made for the NYT Audio App, free for Times subscribers in the Apple App Store.

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.

Ezra Klein joins Ross and Michelle to dissect the first presidential debate of 2024: “At some point Democrats have to decide if they want to try to win this election, or it is simply too uncomfortable for them to do anything but be on this train as it derails.”

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

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

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We’re getting ready for this week’s presidential debate. In the meantime, we wanted to share an audio essay from Michelle Cottle on a make-or-break vote for the MAGA warrior Lauren Boebert. The controversial lawmaker is facing a primary in Colorado that will determine her political future. Michelle visited a biker bar in Douglas County, Colo., to understand the ways Boebert is tweaking her image in a new district in hopes of winning over more traditional conservatives. Can she do it without losing hard-core Trump fans?

This audio essay was originally made for the NYT Audio app, free for Times subscribers in the Apple App Store.

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.

Populism, offered as a solution to economic and cultural woes, has gained ground in Europe following a slew of recent elections. Across the pond, the Ohio senator and potential Trump running mate J.D. Vance is championing an American version of populist politics that is also gaining traction. On this week’s episode, the hosts discuss Vance’s embrace of the ideology and consider why many voters find it so appealing.

Plus, Ross shares a literary deep cut that not even Carlos has heard of.

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

Recommended in this episode:

• “What J.D. Vance Believes” by Ross Douthat in The Times
• “Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans,” “Fire and Blood: A History of Mexico” and “Comanches: The History of a People” by T.R. Fehrenbach
• “What Will Become of American Civilization?” by George Packer in The Atlantic

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.

Amid politically charged flag flying, secret recordings, and eyebrow-raising financial disclosures, there’s something fishy about the behavior of the nation’s top judges. Are they ruining faith in the Supreme Court? Or is that the partisan reaction to the decisions coming from on high?

Michelle, Carlos and Lydia are joined by the Times editorial board member Jesse Wegman to discuss just how low the bar has gotten for the justices, and what could be done to restore America’s faith in the court.

Plus, Michelle weighs in on the beef of the summer.

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

Recommended in this episode:

• “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar

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.

Former President Donald J. Trump’s appearance at a U.F.C. match this week seems to be part of a larger strategy to attract men — especially young men — to his cause. But what can President Biden do to change the narrative that “the left doesn’t like men”?

This week, Michelle Cottle and Carlos Lozada are joined by their (male) Opinion colleagues Jamelle Bouie and David French to debate why men are becoming more conservative and whether Trump’s masculine appeal is about policy or his “manliness.”

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

• “Audience of One: Trump, Television and the Fracturing of America” by James Poniewozik
• “American Sniper” directed by Clint Eastwood
• May 2024 Times/Siena poll of the presidential battlegrounds

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.

In a special intercontinental episode, Lydia Polgreen reports from South Africa as the country challenges Israel for its attack on Rafah in southern Gaza.

The post-apartheid nation has emerged as a critical leader and a moral voice in some (but not all) superpower struggles. Yet back at home, South Africa’s 30 years of multiracial democracy is undergoing major political upheaval. What does the nation’s recent election offer young nations hoping for postcolonialist democracy? Lydia opens her reporter’s notebook and explores these questions with the South African journalist William Shoki and her editor, Max Strasser.

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

Mentioned in this episode:

• “Many voters are hooked on their abusive rulers” by William Gumede in the Sunday Times
• “South African election turns populist as parties play anti-foreigner card” by David Pilling and Monica Mark in the Financial Times
• “Neither Settler Nor Native” by Mahmoud Mamdani

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.

With Lydia in South Africa covering their election, Ross out on parental leave and Michelle  reporting from a saloon in Colorado, Carlos  turns the mic over to his Times Opinion colleagues to respond to the news about Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in the New York hush-money trial.

The columnists Michelle Goldberg and David French — who calls himself “a recovering litigator” — join the deputy Opinion editor, Patrick Healy, to discuss Trump’s 34 guilty counts and debate what they mean for the former president, whether he’ll face jail time and how it will affect the 2024 presidential race.

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.

We’re taking a break to enjoy the Memorial Day weekend and will be back next week. Until then, enjoy an audio essay from NYT Opinion’s other Michelle — Michelle Goldberg — on what Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign could mean for President Biden and Donald Trump. 

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voice mail 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 debate what the latest Times/Siena poll reveals about Joe Biden’s weaknesses and mull over the question of whether Vice President Kamala Harris is one of them. Plus, Carlos on some advice that’s gold, Jerry, gold.

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

Mentioned in this episode:

• “Biden’s Polling Denial: Why He Doesn’t Believe He’s Behind” by Hans Nichols and Alex Thompson in Axios
• “An Interview With Kamala Harris on What’s at Stake in 2024” from “The Run-Up”
• “Kamala Harris Should Try to Be Really Popular” by Matthew Yglesias on his blog, Slow Boring
• “What Happened” by Hillary Rodham Clinton
• “Did the President Call?” mash-up from HBO’s television series “Veep”
• “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future” by Franklin Foer
• “Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden” from “The Ezra Klein Show”
• “This New Book About ‘Seinfeld’ Is Worth Double-Dipping” by Carlos Lozada in The Washington Post
• Jerry Seinfeld’s 2024 Commencement Address at Duke University
• “Why Conservatives Give Better Commencement Speeches Than Liberals” by Carlos Lozada in The Washington Post

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.