Impromptu

After much hemming and hawing, President Trump joined the Israeli attack on Iran over the weekend. He’s now declared a ceasefire, but it’s off to a shaky start. So was the U.S. bombing a success and what’s next in the Middle East? Can the current leaders in Iran and Israel ever actually come together? Columnist Dana Milbank talks with Jason Rezaian, former Tehran cor...

AI has become the one-stop solution to most of the problems we face. But can it truly substitute for human relationships? Drew Goins is joined by Post Opinions editor at large Bina Venkataraman and inclusion strategist Charlotte Marian Pearson to discuss the rise of AI companionship and what could be lost as more and more people get closer to this new technology.

With Israel’s relentless attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and top military leaders, the country is on the verge of catastrophe and major change. But what are Israel’s end goals, and does it need the United States to achieve them? Dana Milbank is joined by Jason Rezaian and Keith Richburg to talk through what’s happening in the Middle East and how the politics are play...

As troops descend on Washington to show off U.S. military might, the National Guard is being sent to respond to protests in Los Angeles and accompany ICE on raids. At the same time, President Donald Trump is saying the military’s mission is not to spread democracy, but to “dominate any foe.” Contributing columnist and Navy veteran Theodore R. Johnson joins Drew Goins...

Protests against President Trump’s immigration policies have spread from Los Angeles outward over the past week. And his decision to send in National Guard troops, and then Marine units seems only to be adding fuel to the fire. Columnists Molly Roberts, James Hohmann and León Krauze discuss why these protests are happening now, whether democracy is beating authoritar...

In the background of the parades, festivals and protests going off for Pride Month, there are executive orders targeting trans Americans and diminished support of certain rights for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Many corporate sponsors, happy to wave rainbow flags and sell Pride-themed merch in years past, are pulling back funds, too. Writer John Paul Brammer join...

Some investors on Wall Street are starting to call President Trump’s bluffs on tariffs — coining the acronym TACO, for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” But will Trump make good on his promises to end the conflict in Ukraine, strike a deal with Iran and make nice with China? Or is his strongman approach just making things worse? Columnists Dana Milbank, Catherine Rampell ...

Over Memorial Day weekend, Americans went to the movies in record numbers. They were drawn by a live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch,” the ninth Mission Impossible movie, and perhaps some good air-conditioning. Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Will Leitch talk about why Hollywood continues to cash in on remakes, and what makes a film worth getting off your couch and...

President Trump, under the cover of the culture war, is attempting to pull billions of dollars in funding from universities unless they agree to his ideological demands. After Harvard refused and sued the Trump administration, Trump tried banning all of its 27 percent of international students last week. Dana Milbank, Catherine Rampell and Jason Willick discuss why t...

“Sesame Street” recently announced it is coming to Netflix. The deal is a lifeline for the 56-year-old kids’ show, which has struggled after getting dropped from HBO and now has to deal with federal funding cuts for educational programming. With public media under attack once again, Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Monica Hesse talk about whether things like “Masterpiece Theater” or “Daniel Tiger’s N...

Republicans are haggling over the details of how much to cut Medicaid and food stamps while also trying to give bigger tax breaks to the richest Americans. Meanwhile, the rating agency Moody’s has downgraded the United States’ perfect economic score for the first time, because of how much this bill could run up the national debt. Dana Milbank, James Hohmann and Natasha Sarin talk about whether ...

The debate over how to use AI in schools, and what constitutes cheating, is not unlike other arguments about tech and learning in recent decades — be it students using graphing calculators to solve problems or Wikipedia to do research. But will AI be more disruptive than anything we’ve seen before? Columnists Molly Roberts, Megan McArdle and Monica Hesse discuss how ...

Since President Trump took office, people with money have been cozying up to him — from tech billionaires donating to his inauguration fund, to Qatari royals offering him a $400 million plane. And Trump’s newfound love of cryptocurrency is providing an easy vehicle to get money into his and his family’s coffers. Dana Milbank, Molly Roberts and James Hohmann discuss t...

There’s been a bit of an obsession with declining birth rates lately, particularly on the right. That has sparked conversations about policies that might entice people to have more children. But all the talk seems to ignore the social issues beneath the trend — which might be why policy interventions around the world haven’t been able to reverse it. Drew Goins, Molly...

President Trump is warning Americans that they might need to give up some new dolls and pencils as his tariff plans upend the world economic order. But as people brace for the trade wars to hit their pocketbooks, there’s still a question of whether Trump will back down. Dana Milbank, Catherine Rampell and Eduardo Porter discuss the broken calculations on both tariffs and the Republican budget bill. 

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