Interesting Times with Ross Douthat (New York Times Opinion)

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 falling
• 09:04 - There are too many single people
• 10:27 - We can thank technology for the coupling crisis
• 12:58 - The digital segregation of men and women
• 16:31 - Men have less to offer these days
• 20:11 - What can bring the sexes back together
• 24:31 - 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 IVF
• 40:50 - 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 interestingtimes@nytimes.com.

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On this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat interviews Vice President JD Vance about the Trump administration’s deportations, the tariff backlash and how Vance’s faith influences his politics.

• 01:49 - How faith shapes JD Vance’s politics
• 04:26 - ‘Papal interventions in politics’
• 14:44 - How will the Trump administration measure success on immigration?
• 21:22 - ‘The courts are trying to overturn the will of the American people’
• 23:55 - Are migrants really at war against the US?
• 28:48 - The parallels between the War on Terror and Trump's deportation policies
• 40:29 - What does a successful trade policy look like?
• 48:10 - The "big, beautiful bill"
• 58:57 - Does the Trump administration expect the AI revolution will take jobs?
• 54:05 - What worries Vance about AI
• 58:33 - JD Vance's message to shocked Trump voters

(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.

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 business
• 39:28 - Tony Gilroy's advice for future filmmakers

(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.