Please, Go On with James Hohmann

The GOP debate is by and for Republicans, but plenty of Democrats are watching how this race unfolds too. Washington Post editorial writer Charles Lane brings on left-leaning columnist Greg Sargent and humorist Alexandra Petri to get a sense of what liberals are thinking about Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP candidates' responses on climate change and abortion, and the party’s divide over whether the country needs better governance, or full-on revolution.

Ruth Marcus is a Post Opinions columnist and one of the nation’s foremost experts on the Supreme Court and the legal system. George Conway is a lawyer and one of Donald Trump’s leading conservative critics. 

They sat down Thursday to talk about the Department of Justice’s latest indictment of Trump, what it means, and where the country goes from here. 

The team at Washington Post Opinions is using this space to bring you occasional conversations reacting to the biggest stories we're talking about. As we continue to share discussions, we’d love to know what you think and what you’re craving to hear. 

In the run-up to this year’s annual NATO summit in Vilinius, Lithuania, all eyes were on what prospects the alliance would give Ukraine on becoming a member. No one expected that Ukraine would be given full membership while the war was still going on. 

But some kind of clear signal was expected. It did not come. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, upon learning of the final language of the NATO leaders’ communiqué, tweeted angrily that it’s “unprecedented and absurd” not to set a time frame for Ukraine’s NATO membership. Members of the U.S. delegation were “furious” with Zelensky’s outburst, and in a private meeting reportedly urged him to cool down and embrace what the security aid he was being promised.

Assignment editor Damir Marusic and columnists Max Boot and Josh Rogin discuss all this drama, and what implications it has for the future of the war in Ukraine.

The team at Washington Post Opinions is using this space to bring you occasional conversations reacting to the biggest stories we're talking about. As we continue to share discussions, we’d love to know what you think and what you’re craving to hear. We wanted to quickly react to today’s news and hope you find the conversation useful and thought-provoking.

The U.S. Supreme Court striking down affirmative action in college admissions is a huge development for law, education and politics. It’s also, if you’re a Black person who attended a school that considers race in admissions, something of a personal story. So Post Opinions columnists Christine Emba (Princeton) and Perry Bacon Jr. (Yale) discussed the ruling, its implications for potential students and graduates of elite colleges, how it fits into America’s legacy racial history and the “reckoning” of the last few years; and their own personal experiences as Ivy League students and alums. 

Journey through the messy past and uncertain future of America’s national parks. The Washington Post’s Lillian Cunningham ventures off the marked trail to better understand the most urgent stories playing out in five iconic landscapes today.

“Field Trip” is a new podcast series that will transport you to five national parks: Yosemite, Everglades, Glacier, White Sands and Gates of the Arctic. Follow the show wherever you listen.

On The Post’s new podcast, "The 7," host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories of the day. It's a way to get caught up in just a few minutes. It comes out every weekday at 7 a.m. Check it out today, then find and follow "The 7" so you're set for tomorrow. 

You can also read "The 7" here.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) joins James Hohmann for a conversation about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the threat posed by China.

Read Sen. Rubio’s op-ed.

Listen to his speech at the Heritage Foundation.

The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine weighs in on Vladimir Putin’s war against the country, as well as Donald Trump’s past attacks on her character. 

A number of red states have moved to limit transgender rights in recent months, most notably Texas. With that in mind, we return to a conversation from last summer with activist Gavin Grimm — at a watershed moment in the struggle for trans rights.

Read Gavin Grimm’s op-ed.

Paul Farmer, a global health advocate and physician whose work saved millions of lives, died in Rwanda last month at age 62. Author John Green, a mentee of Farmer’s, discusses the physician’s life and remarkable legacy.

Read John Green’s op-ed about Paul Farmer.

And his op-ed about giving up social media.