Interesting Times

The first draft of our future. Mapping the new world order through interviews and conversations. Every Thursday, from New York Times Opinion.Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here 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.

Interesting Times is a news podcast hosted by New York Times Opinion, with 83 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

New York Times Opinion hosts Interesting Times, a news show with 83 episodes published.

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  Interesting Times

  Silicon Valley’s Favorite Prophet Has a New Warning

  Oct 1, 202651 min

  Nick Bostrom rose to prominence for predicting artificial intelligence doom more than a decade ago — garnering support from figures like Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Bill Gates. But now he’s retreating from those warnings, focusing his attention on a more complex question: What if A.I. succeeds beyond humanity’s wildest imaginations? Will we be bored out of our minds? Are we too infantile to understand what’s coming? Guest host Spencer Klavan, the associate editor at the Claremont Review of Books, presses Bostrom on the potential uses and abuses of superintelligence, rationalist ethics and what makes us human. Note: As we work on relaunching “Interesting Times,” the show will feature a series of guest hosts in the coming months. 00:00 Intro 01:07 What is P(doom)? 04:44 Bostrom’s Doomsday Scenarios 06:14 Vulnerable World Hypothesis 08:27 The Best-Case Scenario of Superintelligence 12:37 The Problems We Can’t Solve in Utopia 14:47 Paths to Superintelligence 17:02 What Kind of Utopia Do We Want to Live In? 21:56 The Values Worth Keeping in Utopia 32:42 Bostrom’s Influence on Effective Altruism 38:04 Are Existential Warnings Helpful? 43:52 The Trajectory of Humanity 46:51 Why Bostrom Wants Utopia   (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 . Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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  Interesting Times

  How Worried Should We Be About the Midterm Elections?

  Sep 24, 202645 min

  Many Americans are losing faith in elections. Proposed solutions from across the political spectrum to restore faith in the process — early voting, mail-in ballot restrictions and voter ID laws — seem to have the opposite effect. But lack of trust in elections is a symptom of a broader problem: America is living through an era of democratic dissatisfaction. That’s what the New York University law professor Richard Pildes argues on this episode of “Interesting Times.” He and the guest host, Sarah Isgur, the editor of SCOTUSblog, discuss why Americans are so worried about the midterms and how to fix our electoral system and restore trust. 00:00 Existential Election Anxiety 02:38 Era of Democratic Dissatisfaction 04:21 Were Recent Election Reforms a Mistake? 06:09 Campaign Finance Reform 09:22 SCOTUS and Trump’s Mail-In Ballot Executive Order 13:57 Why Did Trump Target Absentee Ballots? 20:32 Should There Be a National Voter Database? 23:58 Proof Of Citizenship Debate 29:48 What Should SCOTUS Do? 35:47 Partisan Manipulation in Elections 42:24 Can the Midterms Be Stolen? 44:51 Closing Thoughts (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 .   Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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  Interesting Times

  Trump Is Getting Even Richer. Is That a Crime?

  Sep 10, 202643 min

  President Trump made more than $2 billion last year — far exceeding his presidential salary of $400,000. His growing fortunes are raising questions about his allegiance to investors, particularly foreign ones, as he makes policy decisions and shapes the direction of the country. The contributing Opinion writer Christopher Caldwell and the Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith discuss how the president has amassed this fortune, whether it’s legal and if the United States is becoming a kleptocracy. Note: As we work on relaunching 'Interesting Times,' the show will feature a series of guest hosts in the coming months. 00:00 Why Trump’s Wealth Is Unusual 01:30 Presidential Ethics Before Trump 02:28 Trump’s Crypto and Foreign Money Flows 06:12 Is It a Kleptocracy? 07:36 What’s Unconstitutional About Trump’s Finances 10:43 The U.A.E. and Trump’s Foreign Policy 13:41 How Trump’s Weaponization Is Changing Government 16:42 What Congress Could Do 18:59 The Tit for Tat Weaponization 24:13 Can Trump Pardon Himself? 26:57 The “Deep-State” Crackdown 36:59 Oversight Norms and Voter Verdict 42:46 Closing Thoughts (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 .   Subscribe today at 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 . For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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  Interesting Times

  Ross Douthat and Ezra Klein on the Art of Persuasion

  Aug 27, 20261h 14m

  “Interesting Times” is on a brief hiatus. Before we return next month, we’re bringing you an interview from “The Ezra Klein Show” with Ross Douthat about his 17 years as a conservative columnist at The New York Times. But Ross and Ezra go back even further, to the nascent days of political blogging. They talk about the seismic changes they’ve witnessed in the media industry over the years and the art of changing minds. (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website here .) Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times . Subscribe today at 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 . For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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  Interesting Times

  Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint for a 150-Year Life: Is It Worth It?

  Aug 13, 20261h 5m

  For my final episode as host of “Interesting Times,” I wanted a fitting finale — a conversation that encapsulates the ambition of this show: examining how seemingly radical ideas are steadily entering the mainstream of American politics, technology and culture. Few ideas are as radical as the hope of significant life extension and the quest to live forever. My guest today thinks he can outrun death. After selling his tech company for hundreds of millions of dollars and experiencing a profound religious crisis, Bryan Johnson turned his own body into the ultimate science project, centered on an explicit mission: Don’t die. But why does Johnson want to live forever, and what lessons can his algorithmically driven lifestyle bring to the rest of us? It’s been an honor hosting this podcast and navigating these strange waters with you. “Interesting Times” will be back with new episodes and new hosts in the fall. 0:00 Why Bryan Johnson Wants to Defeat Death 1:18 The Core Premise of "Don't Die" vs. Immortality 3:26 Selling Braintree/Venmo & Personal Collapse 6:33 Leaving the Mormon Church & Searching for Meaning 7:45 Launching Project Blueprint: Body as Philosophy 11:35 Bryan Johnson’s Daily Longevity Routine & Biological Age Metrics 15:06 How AI Builds "Autonomous Health" for the Human Body 17:58 The Best Habits to Optimize Health: Sleep & Heart Rate 21:32 Blueprint Products, Supplements, & Testing 23:46 Reversing Biological Aging: Saunas & HBOT 25:24 Can Psychedelics Extend Lifespan? Psilocybin Longevity Trials 31:07 How Falling in Love Has Changed His Perspective 34:06 Diagnosed with an Incurable Autoimmune Disease 35:51 The Risk of Gerontocracy 53:53 Can Humanity Defeat Death? Societal & Philosophical Impacts (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 . Subscribe today at 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 . For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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