Opinion Today: JD Vance talks with Ross Douthat
Here’s what we’re focusing on.
Opinion Today
June 18, 2026
The back of a man with tattooed arms wearing a British flag T-shirt.
Hannah McKay/Reuters

Notable

The far right is becoming a fixture of British politics. “There is a troubling sense in Britain that only the right seems to possess the momentum and theatricality that succeeds in this new quick-fire videographic era of politics.”

— William Davies, an author

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What’s remote work doing to us? “To ensure that work remains a source of connection, we must change not only where we work, but how we work, so that our jobs continue to bring us together.”

— Natalia Emanuel and Emma Harrington, labor economists

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Why the Knicks make us feel good. “Only occasionally, and as if by accident, as with the Knicks of the early 1970s, is the team greater than the sum of its parts. Usually it’s less.”

— James Traub, an author and journalist

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Spotlight

The podcast guest, JD Vance — reproduced in a sepia-tinted photograph.
The New York Times

Does the Vice President Own the Iran Deal? I Asked Him.

Ross Douthat interviews JD Vance. They talk Iran, Christianity, Vance’s new book and other topics.

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ICYMI

Democrats need better candidates. “Building a newer and hopefully larger tent requires a different set of skills, more willingness to jeopardize parts of the existing coalition, more outsider personnel and ultimately someone willing to run the kind of risky underdog campaigns that put Donald Trump and Barack Obama in the White House.”

— Matthew Yglesias, a contributing Opinion writer

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More in Opinion

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Trump and Netanyahu Have Really Stepped in It Now

America and Israel have snatched defeat from victory.

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The Conversation

Trump’s Titanic Insecurities Are Sinking Us

The president has found a new trap door in Iran.

By Frank Bruni and Bret Stephens

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Guest Essay

This Is Not a Grand Bargain With Iran. Good.

The world doesn’t need a nuclear deal with Tehran.

By Michael Singh

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Jessica Grose

The Deck Is Stacked Against Healthy Eating

We need the will to push back against corporate interests.

By Jessica Grose

In Your Words

Re: My Sons Love U.F.C. I’m Not Fighting It.

T

TheAnonymousNobody

Arlington, VA

Do you honestly find it surprising that your boys would come to enjoy combat sports? UFC is simply the evolution of a tradition spanning (quite literally) thousands of years of human history. While this event was clearly a bread and circuses style move from the trump administration, there is still room to appreciate the spectacle for what it is. I think your 15 year old quite eloquently tapped into why fighting sports are popular with his reference to how they fulfill a deep, primal urge within the male psyche. I'm sure your boys appreciate your presence and effort to become involved with their hobbies, and I hope that you continue to try and deepen your connection with them.

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