Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

Is the artificial intelligence revolution keeping the entire economy afloat? This week on “Interesting Times,” Ross talks with Jason Furman, an economist from the Harvard Kennedy School and a contributing writer for Times Opinion, about how investors, policymakers and consumers should think about the boom — and potential bust — of the fastest growing segment of the American economy and look to past bubbles for answers. * 01:12 - Okay, so are we in a bubble? * 08:51 - Historical comparisons of past bubbles * 12:45 - The case for an A.I. bubble * 22:07 - The case against an A.I. bubble * 29:44 - What if it bursts? * 34:15 - The economic health of the Trump administration * 45:08 - “I'm reasonably optimistic.” (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat [https://www.youtube.com/@InterestingTimesNYT]. > Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett is playing the long game. In this week’s “Interesting Times,” she walks us through the current court’s most controversial rulings, why she believes that her originalist interpretations are resistant to ideological pressures and why she’s not comfortable thinking of herself as a cultural icon. * 02:19 - Balancing the personal and the professional * 11:45 - The theory and practice of originalism * 18:00 - Why was Roe. v. Wade overruled? * 27:19 - Stare Decisis and Overruling Decisions * 35:29 - “Judges are human and judges are fallible.” * 42:49 - The Supreme Court is taking the long view * 53:20 - The Court's relationship with the executive branch (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat [https://www.youtube.com/@InterestingTimesNYT]. > Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Evangelical pastor and self-proclaimed Christian nationalist Doug Wilson has been preaching for decades that America needs to reclaim its Puritan past. But in 2025, he believes he’s “significantly” more influential. Does that mean America is closer to Wilson’s goal of theocracy? In this episode, nothing is off limits — even Ross’s own salvation. * 01:36 - Doug Wilson's vision for a Christian nation * 08:37 - Wilson’s ideal theocratic republic * 19:12 - Theocracy and religious diversity * 30:50 - Do women have rights in this new republic? * 36:59 - Christendom and slavery * 46:50 - How far does Wilson’s influence go in a “clown world”? * 59:54 - Calvinism activism and quietism (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat [https://www.youtube.com/@InterestingTimesNYT]. > Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

The Twitch and YouTube star Hasan Piker understands what pushes people to commit acts of political violence. But does that understanding tip over into appreciation? In this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat and Piker debate why Piker’s post-liberal rhetoric attracts criticism from the right (and results in the occasional platform suspension) and why Americans’ changing attitudes on Israel feed his “revolutionary optimism.” * 02:14 - Life during and after Twitch * 10:45 - The Hasan Piker worldview * 15:57 - “Revolutionary violence” * 20:13 - Is it hyperbole or incitement? * 30:48 - Hasan’s Luigi Mangione coverage * 41:35 - The danger in pushing taboos * 51:52 - Anti-Zionist advocacy and Hasan’s Turkish background * 1:08:00 - “Revolutionary optimism” Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat [https://www.youtube.com/@InterestingTimesNYT]. A full transcript of this episode is also available on the Times website. > Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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 President Trump’s battles with Harvard and Columbia, about the administration’s assault on the Ivy League and why “a glorification of victimhood” is changing the relationship between universities and the federal government. * 02:51 - What is a “culture of victimhood”? * 07:38 - Mailman’s political awakening * 11:44 - Social media and protest culture in the 2010s * 19:39 - The Trump administration’s strategy against universities * 26:33 - The financial levers that could ensure compliance * 36:09 - Ideological diversity and free speech * 47:56 - How legal is all this? * 52:25 - Higher education in 2030 Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat [https://www.youtube.com/@InterestingTimesNYT]. A full transcript of this episode is also available on the Times website. > Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.