Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

• A Mind-Bending Conversation with Peter Thiel

  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 innovation11:30 - Does taking more scientific risk include life extension?15:14 - Peter Thiel's political history18:34 - 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 Valley43:40 - Who is the real Antichrist?(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)Thoughts? 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.

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• The Progressive Regulator Winning Over the Populist Right

  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 consolidation11:39 - How the 2008 financial crisis shaped Lina Khan's philosophy17:49 - The antitrust consensus from Reagan to Obama21:54 - 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 [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.

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• Trump’s Future Depends on His Immigration Crackdown

  Has immigration become the new litmus test for the Republican Party? In this episode, Ross talks to Matthew Continetti, the author of “The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism,” about the party’s shifting coalition, the defining role of immigration and how today’s right echoes its past.01:50 - What the Elon experiment (and fallout) tells us about the Republican Party06:55 - Is there a tech right beyond DOGE?10:09 - Is the “new right” really all that new?18:16 - Where Trump’s agenda fits within the larger conservative story25:16 - “Immigration is the biggest issue of our time”28:39 - How border control will define conservatism around the world34:05 - Is Silicon Valley out of step with Trump's immigration crackdown?39:43 - Will Trump's ideas outlast Trump?(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? 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.

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• What Makes Art ‘Left Wing’?

  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 to the showrunner Tony Gilroy, whose “Star Wars” spinoff “Andor” has, according to Ross, succeeded in being both original and smartly political in a Hollywood that is often neither.03:04 - The political world of ”Andor”08:36 - Tony Gilroy's syllabus for “Andor”10:40 - Is “Andor” a left-wing show?17:07 - What makes Hollywood progressive or liberal?24:22 - Debating the politics of “Michael Clayton”29:42 - Why aren't there more movies for grown-ups?32:56 - “There are no movie stars anymore.”35:55 - How A.I. changing the movie business39:28 - Tony Gilroy's advice for future filmmakers(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? 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.

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• How the iPhone Drove Men and Women Apart

  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 is as concerned about the global decline in fertility as he is. The two discuss why this isn’t just a gender issue — it’s “a solitude issue” – and whether there’s a way to bring relationships back.02:03 - What are the stakes of declining fertility?06:41 - Alice's master theory for why birth rates are falling09:04 - There are too many single people10:27 - We can thank technology for the coupling crisis12:58 - The digital segregation of men and women16:31 - Men have less to offer these days20:11 - What can bring the sexes back together24:31 - Could Hollywood help fix the problem?25:46 - Can the government incentivize people to have babies?27:30 - What role does religion play in all this?28:59 - The role of IVF40:50 - Does the fantasy of youth impact the numbers?43:43 - The world in 2080...(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? 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.

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