Feeling Nihilistic? You’re Not Alone.
6/3/202639 min
The American dream is dying — or dead — and many Americans, especially young people, are struggling to imagine what comes next. Between political instability, wars, inflation and artificial intelligence disrupting the job market, there’s a lot that is uncertain about the future. In this episode, the Times Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman speaks with the Opinion columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom and the New York magazine writer Brock Colyar about the grief, paralysis and loss of agency shaping this political moment — and whether there’s a path forward.
Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Jasmine Romero. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Video editing by Steph Khoury. The postproduction manager is Mike Puretz. Original music by Isaac Jones and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Video is Jonah M. Kessel. The deputy director of Opinion Shows is Alison Bruzek. The director of Opinion Shows is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsWinna Lo0:00
[puzzling music] I'm Winna Lo. I write the game Connections, one of the puzzles from New York Times Games, and I love horror movies, I love my dog, and I love trying to trick you.
Tracy Bennett0:08
I'm Tracy Bennett. I get to pick the Wordle word every day, which is not as easy as it sounds. A fun fact about me is that I'm descended from a witch who was put on trial in Salem.
Speaker 30:20
New York Times Games are made by people, like the ones you just heard from. Go to nytimes.com/games to start playing today. [upbeat music] This is The Opinions, a show that brings you a mix of voices from New York Times Opinion. You've heard the news. Here's what to make of it.
Nadja Spiegelman· Host0:41
I'm Nadja Spiegelman, and I'm a culture editor for New York Times Opinion. [upbeat music] Lately, I've been feeling overwhelmed. I just read headline after headline, and I feel helpless. Our institutions are eroding.
Speaker 5· Soundbite1:03
The Justice Department has now set up a fund paid for in taxpayer money, $1.8 billion, what the president calls an anti-weaponization fund to compensate Trump allies. The US Supreme Court today struck down one of Louisiana's majority Black congressional districts.
Speaker 31:19
Companies are eliminating formative entry-level jobs, the work handed over to artificial intelligence.
Nadja Spiegelman· Host1:25
[upbeat music] Even if you go to protests, even