🎧 GOP women are over it
One big theme I’m watching heading into 2026 is the growing fractures on the right, where new divisions seem to be opening every couple of days. This episode of Today, Explained dives into the role women in particular are playing in fracturing the Republican coalition and will help you understand what’s likely to be a tumultuous year to come.
The 10 best books of 2025
One of my favorite things about senior correspondent Constance Grady’s book list is that she doesn’t confine herself to books published this year — there are some new gems on here, but also a nonfiction book from 1980 and some mid-century short stories. I dare you to get through this without finding something new to read.
What podcasts do to our brains
What does it mean for society that we’re walking around with people’s voices piped into our brains all the time? Senior correspondent Adam Clark Estes went cold turkey on his podcast habit to find out. This piece encouraged me to let my mind wander while I was doing the dishes, and I was better for it.
🎧 Vitamin C and the common cold
Is it me, or is something going around right now? Many of us are probably taking mega-doses of Vitamin C to try to ward off illness. But how did this get started — and should we be doing that? (I will defend my fizzy vitamin envelopes: They are tasty.)