Interesting Times with Ross Douthat
Episodes
Who Speaks for MAGA?
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, conspiracy theories and divisions multiplied on the right. On this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross talk...
Where Does the Transgender Rights Movement Go From Here?
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The transgender rights movement in America appeared to be gaining momentum. But after suffering a big loss before the Supreme Court in June and facing...
He Has a Plan for the Left. It Might Involve Overthrowing the Constitution.
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Thanksgiving! If you’re dreading your family’s impending political feuds over turkey and dinner rolls, we’re here to share an episode that...
Understanding the Right’s Antisemitic Turn
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is antisemitism the next chapter of “America First”? Many see the appeal of antisemitic ideas among younger conservatives as a natural consequence...
The Machine Wants to Kill Us
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“There’s something very spiritually dark about the internet,” the author Paul Kingsnorth tells Ross Douthat in this week’s episode of “Inter...
Did Women Ruin the Workplace?
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is society too feminine or not feminine enough? Two conservative writers, Helen Andrews and Leah Libresco Sargeant, disagree on the answer. They join ...
Mamdani’s Victory Is Less Significant Than You Think
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Does Zohran Mamdani’s win mean a new dawn for the Democratic Party? Not exactly, Ross Douthat argues. In this mini-episode of “Interesting Times,”...
What Palantir Sees
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who’s afraid of Palantir? The company’s chief technology officer, Shyam Sankar, joins Ross Douthat for a conversation about what the shadowy compa...
Taylor Swift’s Trad Turn
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” the soundtrack for the Trump era? Self-titled “conservative dad” Ross Douthat thinks so, and expl...
We Can Survive an A.I. Bust
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the artificial intelligence revolution keeping the entire economy afloat? This week on “Interesting Times,” Ross talks with Jason Furman, an ec...
Amy Coney Barrett Doesn’t Need You to Like Her
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Justice Amy Coney Barrett is playing the long game. In this week’s “Interesting Times,” she walks us through the current court’s most controve...
He Believes America Should Be a Theocracy. He Says His Influence Is Growing.
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Evangelical pastor and self-proclaimed Christian nationalist Doug Wilson has been preaching for decades that America needs to reclaim its Puritan past...
How Radical Is Hasan Piker? The Twitch Star’s Flirtation With Violence.
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Twitch and YouTube star Hasan Piker understands what pushes people to commit acts of political violence. But does that understanding tip over into...
The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Crackdown on Academia
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is wrong with higher education in America? According to many on the right, a lot. This week, Ross Douthat talks to May Mailman, the lawyer behind...
Ezra Klein Is Worried — but Not About a Radicalized Left
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ezra Klein argues that the left desperately needs a unifying project — for its own survival and for the sake of the country. In this episode of Ross...
I was set to interview Charlie Kirk. Then he was assassinated.
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In moments of political shock and horror, where can we turn? Ross was supposed to interview Charlie Kirk next month for the show and now offers his re...
Does the Future Belong to China?
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the United States still a worthy opponent for China? In this episode, Ross Douthat talks to Dan Wang, the author of “Breakneck: China’s Quest t...
The MAGA Woman Dress Code
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
While “Interesting Times” is on vacation, we’re sharing a conversation from “The Opinions” between Meher Ahmad, an editor for Times Opinion,...
Ross and Ezra Klein Discuss Trump, Mysticism and Psychedelics
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re sharing a great conversation Ross had on “The Ezra Klein Show” this past spring. Ezra asks Ross about his most recent book, “...
Abolish the Senate. End the Electoral College. Pack the Court.
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Democrats, President Trump’s victories have revealed the antidemocratic flaws at the core of our government. But could it be an opening for a co...
The DOGE Alum Asking if Foreign Aid Is America’s Problem
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Does America have a moral obligation to the world? The former Department of Government Efficiency staffer Jeremy Lewin, now deputy administrator for t...
What if the Government Believes in U.F.O.s More Than You Do?
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
U.F.O.s, fairies and abductions! This week, Ross talks to Diana Walsh Pasulka, a professor of religious studies, about how a deep dive into Catholic a...
She Exposed Epstein, and Shares MAGA’s Anger
19 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Julie K. Brown thinks Jeffrey Epstein didn’t act alone. On this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross talks to Brown, the investigative reporter ...
Is ‘Toxic Empathy’ Pulling Christians to the Left?
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The conservative Christian podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey joins Ross on “Interesting Times” this week to explain why “toxic empathy” has a stran...
Israel’s Moral Balance Beam
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How has the war in Gaza reverberated throughout American politics? Opinion columnist Bret Stephens and Ross Douthat debate the implications of the Isr...
Why Trump’s Blood-and-Guts Strategy Worked
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Independence Day! We’ll be back next week with a new episode, but today we’re sharing the episode that started us on the path to “Interest...
A Mind-Bending Conversation with Peter Thiel
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The billionaire Peter Thiel is unimpressed with our pace of innovation. In this episode, he critiques artificial intelligence, longevity science and s...
The Progressive Regulator Winning Over the Populist Right
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the key to freedom a life without Amazon? This week, Ross talks to Lina Khan, former Chair of the Federal Trade Commission about how unchecked corp...
Trump’s Future Depends on His Immigration Crackdown
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Has immigration become the new litmus test for the Republican Party? In this episode, Ross talks to Matthew Continetti, the author of “The Right: Th...
What Makes Art ‘Left Wing’?
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Does Hollywood have anything interesting left to say? In a world where franchises dominate and grown-up movies have fallen by the wayside, Ross talks ...
How the iPhone Drove Men and Women Apart
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What would make you want to have more children? This week on “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat speaks with Dr. Alice Evans, a social scientist who...
JD Vance on His Faith and Trump’s Most Controversial Policies
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat interviews Vice President JD Vance about the Trump administration’s deportations, the tarif...
An Interview With the Herald of the Apocalypse
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is artificial intelligence about to take your job? According to Daniel Kokotajlo, the executive director of the A.I. Futures Project, that should be t...
The Democratic Senator Taking Cues From Trumpism
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Democrats are stumbling — badly. While the Trump administration redefines the limits of executive overreach, the Democratic party remains at odds ov...
The New Culture of the Right: Vital, Masculine and Intentionally Offensive
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump era is ushering in a new age of right wing counterculture, one defined by masculinity and transgression. In this episode of Interesting Time...
Can the Catholic Church Quit the Culture Wars?
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat is joined by the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and an editor of America Magazine, to ref...
What if There’s No Way to Stop Trump’s Approach to Power?
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump may forever reshape the boundaries of executive power. This week on “Interesting Times,” Ross and Jack Goldsmith, who was the head...
This Instability May Be Worth It. Here's Why.
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the short-term economic pain of President Trump’s unpredictable approach to tariffs a reasonable price to pay for a more resilient America? Mr. T...
Introducing ‘Interesting Times’
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a saying that comes to mind these days: May you live in interesting times. It’s understood to be a curse, even though it sounds like a ble...
How Democrats Drove Silicon Valley Into Trump’s Arms
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The tech investor Marc Andreessen and his fellow Silicon Valley giant Elon Musk weren’t always the Donald Trump supporters they are today. In this e...
Steve Bannon on ‘Broligarchs’ vs. Populism
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, Ross talks to Steve Bannon, the chief strategist from Donald Trump’s first term and part of the original MAGA movement. Despit...