Opinion Today: Elections, a bronze medal debacle and life on Mars

Updates from Times Opinion's blog.

View in browser|nytimes.com August 16, 2024 By Anna Marks Staff Editor, Opinion In today's newsletter, we're offering some of our favorite recent entries from The Point, Times Opinion's blog. Our writers told you what they think about the potential for election interference in Georgia, an Olympic gymnastics bronze medal debacle and the search for life on Mars. Check them out below. Jesse Wegman on election interference in Georgia → Liriel Higa on Jordan Chiles → Neel Patel on NASA and life on Mars → Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks How Harris Has Completely Upended the Presidential Race, in 14 Maps A Democratic strategist explains how the Electoral College math has changed since Kamala Harris entered the race. By DOUG SOSNIK More From Opinion Guest Essay We Now Have a Chance to Stop the Most Deadly Infectious Disease — if We Act New advances in screening, prevention and treatment of TB make tremendous progress possible — if we tap them. By Atul Gawande Guest Essay 30 Years Ago, Two Young Strategists Cracked How to Beat a Guy Like Trump. Are Democrats Ready to Listen? Kamala Harris has a once-in-a-generation chance to deal a hammer blow against Trumpism and pull American democracy back from the brink. By Timothy Shenk Jamelle Bouie Nine Years of Trump Is a Warning We Must Heed There is no electoral incentive for Republicans to moderate their behavior. By Jamelle Bouie Michelle Goldberg Trump Is No Longer Even Pretending to Champion the Working Class He's always longed for the approval of oligarchs. By Michelle Goldberg Guest Essay The Brazen Evasions of Hunter Biden Hunter's alleged foreign lobbying misdeeds have appeared to fall just short of crossing the line into criminality. That has now changed. By Casey Michel The Misery of Leading Columbia University It's hard to blame Nemat Shafik for stepping down. By Pamela Paul The Ezra Klein Show Manliness, Cat Ladies, Fertility Panic and the 2024 Election Christine Emba and Zack Beauchamp discuss how gender and family politics are shaping this election. 1 HR 30 MIN LISTEN john mcwhorter Harris Gonna Code Switch It's normal for people, especially Black Americans, to dip into colloquial speech depending on whom they're talking to. By John McWhorter Paul Krugman Is It Morning in Kamala Harris's America? The good news may finally be breaking through to voters. By Paul Krugman India's 'Reclaim the Night' Protests Should Go Global One half of the world's population shouldn't be afraid of one-half of each day. By Valerie Pavilonis David Brooks You're Only as Smart as Your Emotions We now understand that our emotions are often wise. The problem is that our culture and our institutions haven't caught up with our knowledge. By David Brooks Matter of Opinion JD Vance and the Dueling Visions of the American Family 2024 is suddenly about having kids. Why? 44 MIN LISTEN Philip Cheung for The New York Times letters Learning From Success With Homeless Veterans Readers call for expansion of a program that has helped many veterans. Also: Walz's military service; Trump's unreality; Black doctors; farewell to WCBS Newsradio. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times. To stop receiving Opinion Today, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018