New York Times Opinion

“All around me I hear and see mentions of cognitive health, which, like early onset, is a term that wasn’t nearly as prevalent a decade ago,” writes Frank Bruni, a Times contributing writer. “I trip across more and more articles about brain optimization. I encounter more and more ads for elixirs that promise to perpetuate my acuity and protect my precious thoughts. I’ve never been so conscious of my consciousness. I’ve never been so mindful of my mind.” There has also been a growth in the idea that we can “train” our brains with puzzles. “I like to think that my habit of starting every day with a sequence of challenges in The Times — Wordle, Connections, Strands, the Mini, the Midi and Spelling Bee — amounts to mental calisthenics,” Frank writes. “It’s not loafing; it’s working out. It’s not procrastination; it’s brainmaxxing.” nyti.ms/4f6RAUP

🎨 Ben Wiseman

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6 hours ago | [YT] | 113

New York Times Opinion

Over the past few years, there have been ongoing calls for the Obamas to run for president, writes Roxane Gay. “There is an active and persistent expectation that Mr. Obama will save us from ourselves,” she writes. Roxane says this reveals something deeper about voter psychology: “Voters want to dictate which offices their preferred politicians hold, what positions they take, and even where and how they live. It is fantasy football: political edition. It is also wish-casting and fan fiction.” But, Roxane adds, “wish-casting your dream ticket makes politics facile and toothless. Instead of plucking candidates out of thin air, we could learn more about those who intend to run and what they want to do for us, and for our country.” nyti.ms/4utu1u9

🎨 Gabriel Alcala

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1 day ago | [YT] | 753

New York Times Opinion

William Golding’s novel “might feel somewhat dated, but his delirious beast-haunted island, in shattered refracted form, sure as hell does not," the author Junot Diaz writes of the new "Lord of the Flies" adaptation on Netflix.

So could a talent as massive as Jack Thorne, the writer of “Adolescence,” "make Golding’s island haunt and disturb when we live in a society that isn’t just obsessed with brutality, it almost is brutality?" nyti.ms/4nLB3rs

🎨 The New York Times

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New York Times Opinion

Democrats have “failed to tell a coherent story about what is happening to America, why it matters and how we can get out of this spiral,” writes Ben Rhodes, who was a speechwriter for Barack Obama from 2007 to 2017. “In times like this, we need leaders who tell us hard truths while insisting that the present state of our politics is not permanent. The people don’t need despotic government, but they do need someone to tell them how to get out from under it.”

The party, he adds, has lost its way in its speechwriting. “In California, it has been dispiriting to watch candidates shout at each other about their credentials to reform housing laws while investors make billions off an A.I. boom that could wipe out jobs needed to pay rent,” Ben says. “Our political debates feel divorced from how power functions, apportioning shrinking resources while Wall Street and Silicon Valley make record profits.” nyti.ms/4tWuHHw

📷 Damon Winter

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3 days ago | [YT] | 975

New York Times Opinion

“Ebola is often called a disease of compassion,” Craig Spencer, an emergency doctor and a professor at Brown, writes in a guest essay for Times Opinion. “It finds its victims among the people who stay close when loved ones or their patients fall ill.” But now, as the world faces what is already the third-largest Ebola outbreak in history, much of our infrastructure to catch and contain the disease has been decimated by Elon Musk’s dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. “The New York Times reported that the delay in detecting the virus stemmed in part from the fact that samples had been transported to a lab in Kinshasa at the wrong temperature, something U.S.A.I.D. would have previously overseen,” Craig says. “By the time U.S. officials learned of the outbreak, it had been nearly a month since the first death.” nyti.ms/3PwNf2R

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4 days ago | [YT] | 2,176

New York Times Opinion

Thursday's finale of Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show" marks the end of an iconic show, but it is also the end of an era of corporate television and a small group of corporate leaders deciding what gets broadcast. "Hurray, right? Actually, we’re going to miss it more than you might think," Michael Hirschorn, the chief executive of Ish Entertainment, writes.

Michael says that YouTube's efforts to replicate the talent and success of late-night television have mostly come up short. "Corporate media may be much derided, not least because some in the mogul class that ran it turned out to be sex pests or worse," he argues. "But it’s worth asking if there is something from the old ways that can be ported into this new world." nyti.ms/4nKk3SE

🎨 David Huang

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5 days ago | [YT] | 750

New York Times Opinion

The supernatural seems to be back in American life, Katya Ungerman argues. "Pew found in 2024 that 30 percent of Americans consult astrology, tarot cards or fortune tellers at least once a year," she writes. "New age practices are even more popular among some demographics, like younger women and L.G.B.T.Q. adults." What's going on? "Why is the world re-enchanting itself now?," Katya asks. nyti.ms/4wJaHdV

🎨 Brecht Vandenbroucke

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6 days ago | [YT] | 611

New York Times Opinion

“President Trump’s Justice Department is using taxpayer money to create a $1.8 billion political slush fund,” writes the Times editorial board. “Americans should be cleareyed about what the president is doing. He is taking their money and showering it on criminals.” nyti.ms/42Mff5E

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New York Times Opinion

When Spencer Pratt, formerly of the reality show “The Hills,” announced his bid for mayor of Los Angeles in January, Times Opinion writer Jessica Grose was not surprised. “Whether you like it or not (and I do not), reality stars are apparently becoming a staple of our deeply unserious 21st-century politics,” Jessica adds. From Ronald Reagan to Arnold Schwarzenegger to Donald Trump, Hollywood has always found its way to government. Pratt is no different, she adds. nyti.ms/4umTKV4

🎨 Eleanor Davis

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1 week ago | [YT] | 352

New York Times Opinion

Higher fuel prices brought on by President Trump’s war in Iran are a burden to America’s poorest families, writes Jeff D. Colgan, a professor of political science at Brown University who recently tracked the rising, real-time energy costs of the war.

“The cruelty of high fuel prices isn’t just about the cost, but also about the unequal burden it places on American households,” Jeff adds. “Americans can and should hold Mr. Trump accountable for the mess he has created in the Persian Gulf. Despite claiming to be the party of national security, the Republicans have proved to be poor shepherds of the national interest. In the case of Iran, their missteps are having direct, visible consequences for Americans’ pocketbooks.” nyti.ms/4dt7XbB

📷 Aleksey Kondratyev

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