“Matter of Opinion” is off for the week, but we’re leaving you with an audio essay from our very own Carlos Lozada on what we can learn from how our leaders speak.

Politicians’ language can tell you a lot about the way they think, sometimes unintentionally. If the 2024 election is indeed a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Carlos makes the case that their dueling visions for America come down to their favorite words.

This audio essay was originally made for the NYT Audio App, free for Times subscribers in the Apple App Store.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

Have we reached peak Taylor Swift? Does the world need your bagel shop’s position on Israel-Hamas? Should Ross start drinking on mic? On the year’s final episode of “Matter of Opinion,” the hosts take your questions and reflect on the best of 2023.

(A transcript of this episode can be found at the top of the episode page on the Times website.)

Mentioned in this episode:

• “The Presidential Fantasy Draft America Needs,” episode of “Matter of Opinion” from New York Times Opinion
• “Covering the Election: The One-Year Countdown Begins,” by James Fallows in his “Breaking the News” Substack
• “Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World,” by John Vaillant
• “The 10 Best Books of 2023,” By The New York Times Books staff in The New York Times

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected].

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Scandal, it seems, no longer stops politicians in their tracks.

George Santos — who was expelled from Congress last Friday — will reportedly make six figures after just one week as a Cameo star. Donald Trump has been mired in countless trials and controversies — and yet he is still the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

This week on “Matter of Opinion,” the hosts reminisce over famous political scandals of yore. From tan suits to yacht affairs, what actually makes a scandal scandalous? And in the Trump era, are there real consequences to messing up anymore? Plus, Michelle Cottle tears down the house with her holiday gift guide.

(A transcript of this episode can be found at the top of the episode page on the Times website.)

Mentioned in this episode:

• “Checkers speech,” Richard Nixon Foundation
• “Watergate: A New History,” by Garrett M. Graff
• “White House Plumbers,” a five-part miniseries on Max
• “Healthy Holly” book series, by Catherine Pugh
• “All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid,” by Matt Bai
• “Bush Encounters the Supermarket, Amazed,” by Andrew Rosenthal in The New York Times
• “A Very Thin Line: The Iran-Contra Affairs,” by Theodore Draper
• “The Final Days,” by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
• “George Santos Is Earning Six Figures From Cameo Videos,” by Ben Smith and Kadia Goba on Semafor

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected].

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Strongmen are making a comeback. The hyperlibertarian Javier Milei in Argentina and the anti-immigration Geert Wilders in the Netherlands are among a growing group of recently elected leaders who promise to break a few rules, shake up democratic institutions and spread a populist message.

Is it a reaction against the failures of liberal democracies? Or is there something else behind the appeal of these misbehaving men with wild hair?

This week on “Matter of Opinion,” the hosts debate where the urge to turn to strongmen is coming from and whether it’s such a bad thing after all. Plus, young listeners share their formative political moments, even in the middle of class.

(A transcript of this episode can be found at the top of the episode page on the Times website.)

If you've been inspired to call in, we're still taking your thoughts for our end-of-the-year episode. We're looking for two things, either a question you've been dying to ask us, or a topic you'd like to hear if we're hot or cold on. You can email us at [email protected], or leave us a voicemail at 212-556-7440. We may play some of it in a future episode.

Mentioned in this episode:

• “Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra,” a podcast from MSNBC
• “This Country Seemed Immune to Far-Right Politics. Then Came a Corruption Scandal.” by Alexander C. Kaufman on HuffPost
• “The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium,” by Martin Gurri

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.

Though the “Matter of Opinion” crew is off this week, Michelle Cottle is eagerly awaiting the season finale of the first-ever “Golden Bachelor.” This older spin on the “Bachelor” franchise has proved to be a surprisingly apt funhouse mirror depiction of how America avoids the realities of its aging baby boomer population. And Michelle is here for it — in all its “weird glory.”

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

We’ll be back with a regular episode next week, but in the meantime, send us a question or a topic you’d like to hear if we’re hot or cold on by emailing [email protected]. Or leave us a voice mail at 212-556-7440. We may use it in a future episode.

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.

What’s your earliest political memory? That’s the question Professor Carlos Lozada puts to his co-hosts this week on “Matter of Opinion.” The hosts discuss the coups and presidential pinings of their youths before debating what political events may be shaping the attitudes of younger voters today.

Plus, the documentary Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce need to see.

(A transcript of this episode can be found at the top of the episode page on the Times website.)

If you’re under 30 and want to share your formative political experience with us, leave a voicemail by calling 212-556-7440 and we may play some of it in a future episode.

Mentioned in this episode:

• “Running From Office: Why Young Americans Are Turned Off to Politics,” by Jennifer L. Lawless and Richard L. Fox
• “Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care,” by Reed Abelson and Jordan Rau in The New York Times

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 election results on Tuesday made it clear that voters support Democratic policies and state politicians — but new polling shows they don’t love the president.

On this week’s episode of “Matter of Opinion,” the hosts share their takeaways from the voting, and what it all means for 2024. Also, your calls about your presidential fantasy matchups.

(A transcript of this episode can be found at the top of the episode page on the Times website.)

Mentioned in this episode:

• “October 2023 Times/Siena Poll of the 2024 Battlegrounds”
• “The Woke Burnout is Real — and Politics is Catching Up”

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected].

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 polls are clear: Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump has the full confidence of American voters. But is Biden’s latest competition, Democratic Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota, the answer to voters’ malaise? Or perhaps an independent candidate like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.?

On this week’s episode of “Matter of Opinion,” the hosts imagine their own alternative candidates for 2024 and debate what good — if any — could come from long-shot contenders.

(A transcript of this episode can be found at the top of the episode page on the Times website.)

Mentioned in this episode:

• “Dean Phillips Has a Warning for Democrats,” by Tim Alberta in The Atlantic

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected].

If you want to share your dream matchups for the 2024 presidential election, leave us a voice mail message at (212) 556-7440. We may use excerpts from your message in a future episode.

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.

Will technology — and the people who make it — lead us into a better future? Or a worse one? This week on “Matter of Opinion,” the hosts discuss Elon Musk, techno-optimism and the manifesto taking Silicon Valley by storm. Plus, we learn that Ross wears dad drag.

(A transcript of this episode can be found at the top of the episode page on the Times website.)

Thoughts about the show? Email us at [email protected].

Mentioned in this episode:

• “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” by Marc Andreessen
• “Elon Musk,” by Walter Isaacson
• “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future,” by Elizabeth Kolbert

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 Opinion columnist and former New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Thomas L. Friedman joins the “Matter of Opinion” hosts to discuss the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East and the mistakes that led to this moment (he’s looking at you, Benjamin Netanyahu).

(A transcript of this episode can be found at the top of the episode page on the Times website.)
 

Mentioned in this episode:

• "Why Israel is Acting This Way," by Thomas L. Friedman in The New York Times

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.