Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

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 “Interesting Times.” Ross Douthat talks to Reihan Salam, the president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Together they wrote the book “Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream.”

They review their George W. Bush-era prescriptions for the Republican Party to reclaim the working-class vote and the ways they were right (and wrong) about building a new Republican majority.

• 03:47 George W. Bush era
• 12:06 Rise and fall of the Tea Party
• 18:19 Trump’s 2016 “blood and guts” message
• 28:11 Trump’s effect on the right and left
• 35:48 Trump’s first term economic agenda
• 39:30 Elon Musk vs JD Vance
• 46:50 Imagining an activist, conservative government

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

Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com.

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 billionaire Peter Thiel is unimpressed with our pace of innovation. In this episode, he critiques artificial intelligence, longevity science and space travel — and warns that our lack of progress could lead to catastrophic outcomes, including the emergence of the Antichrist.

• 01:19 - What does stagnation mean in 2025?
• 06:30 - Peter Thiel's case for more progress and innovation
• 11:30 - Does taking more scientific risk include life extension?
• 15:14 - Peter Thiel's political history
• 18:34 - Did Trump live up to Thiel's expectations?
• 25:10 - Does Elon Musk still want to go to Mars?
• 28:09 - How Thiel defines A.I.
• 33:20 - Is A.I. Too Modest An Ambition?
• 35:23 - How will the human race evolve? Should it?
• 41:53 - Thiel's critique of Silicon Valley
• 43:40 - Who is the real Antichrist?

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

Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com.

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.

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 corporate power has limited choice in our day-to-day lives, and how her fight against Big Tech unites left and right.

• 02:41 - What’s wrong with big business?
• 09:27 - The political costs of corporate consolidation
• 11:39 - How the 2008 financial crisis shaped Lina Khan's philosophy
• 17:49 - The antitrust consensus from Reagan to Obama
• 21:54 - How the left and right align against big business 
• 26:12 - Khan's wins and losses at the FTC 
• 36:53 - Is the Trump administration embracing or rejecting Khan's vision?
• 42:32 - Is anti-monopoly policy the solution to our economic problems?
• 48:38 - Can Big Tech be broken up?

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

Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com.

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.

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 blessing.

“Interesting Times With Ross Douthat” is a new weekly podcast from New York Times Opinion. Every Thursday, he will map the new world order through interviews and conversations. Answering questions like: What does our new political era really look like? What is the future of democracy around the world, with American empire in retreat? What happens to movies and books — all of culture — in our digital and A.I.-dominated age?

Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com.

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.