Impromptu

With tuition costs rising and student debt weighing many Americans down, how valuable is higher education in this day and age? The answer is complicated. On average, people with a college degree earn much more, and there’s social benefits, too. But it doesn’t pay off for everybody, and with AI encroaching on white-collar work, the decision becomes even trickier. Drew...

Read more from our columnists:

Dana Milbank: For the Trump administration, it’s amateur hour

Philip Bump: The bubble that created Trump is the reason he’s stumbling

Americans have been turning away from organized religion for decades — but recent research suggests that trend might be stalling out. And studies do show that people affiliated with a religion tend to be happier and healthier. So should more people be joining up? And are there ways to make some of the most ancient religions a little more modern, or at least more open...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s tenure as HHS secretary has been every bit as troubling as many feared. He won’t outright support vaccines, despite a measles outbreak. He’s insulted autistic people by saying the disorder is preventable. And he’s losing scientists who might be able to actually help with his promises to fight chronic disease and get Americans to eat healthier....

Bill Maher’s visit to the White House appears to mark a shift in how some comedians and late-night hosts will approach the second Trump presidency. But what role should political and subversive humor play during these very serious times? Can it bring Americans together — or just offer a form of escapism? Post Opinions’ Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Theodore R. Johnson discuss the current landscape of the genre and where it could be...

President Trump appears to be thumbing his nose at the Supreme Court by defying its rulings on deportation. And he escalated the issue this week during a visit from El Salvador’s president, when both leaders refused to try to return a Maryland father mistakenly deported to a notorious prison. Columnists Dana Milbank, León Krauze and Jason Willick discuss whether defying the rule of law could finally catch up to Trump —and if he'll ...

Global travel has boomed in recent years, sometimes to the point of annoying locals. But with all that’s happening with U.S. foreign policy, might we soon be begging for tourists to return? Post Opinions’ Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Catherine Rampell discuss the impact of Trump’s policies on travel, and how local economies and tourists are often bound to each other...

Additional reading by our columnists:

Dana Milbank: The economy. The Constitution. Is there anything Trump won’t destroy?

Philip Bump: What America could look like a decade from now

Is nothing safe from the culture wars? President Trump has found a new battleground: the nation’s museums. He’s demanded that art and stories that he says divide people based on race be removed from the Smithsonian's dozens of institutions. The Post’s Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Monica Hesse discuss what’s at stake when our history is papered over, and how art can ...

A fitness influencer posted a video of his over-the-top morning routine that’s racked up nearly a billion views. What does the video’s popularity tell us about our culture’s obsession with so-called wellness? Are people just searching for meaning in a world that can feel out of control? Columnists Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Ted Johnson talk about

Since Republicans took over government in January, Democrats haven’t been able to find a unified message or opposition strategy. While Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tour the country speaking to massive crowds about fighting billionaires, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is taking heat for supporting a Republican-led budget plan. How can th...

Why are so many people talking about two escapist, engrossing TV dramas that let us slip away from our reality for an hour each week? Is it just that this kind of complex, big-budget television show is so rare these days? Columnists Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Monica Hesse talk about the valley on the other side of “peak tv” — and how sometimes you just need shows ...

The Trump administration is taking its immigration attacks beyond the border. Federal officials have detained green card holder and Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, and have picked up other legal immigrants returning from travel abroad. What does all of this mean for the legal immigration system? Columnists Dana Milbank, Eduardo Porter and Shadi Hamid discuss the chilling effects of this “hinge moment” in Trump’s preside...

You think you’ve heard all you need to about daylight saving time, but we promise you haven’t heard it quite like this. Most people hate changing the clocks back and forth each fall and spring, but they can’t seem to agree on how we could do it better. In this episode, Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and David Von Drehle take us on a journey of DST through history and arou...

As President Trump stays bullish on tariffs, sending markets spiraling and personal anxieties soaring, the Republican-led Congress is trying to pass a budget. Do Democrats have any levers to pull, or should they just let Republicans own whatever happens next? Dana Milbank, Heather Long and James Hohmann talk through the negotiations in Washington this week and how Trump’s unclear messaging could hurt business.

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