Trailing Dolly Parton around the world, I witnessed so many small moments in which she?d gracefully own her power without the slightest hint of fight.

A form that the Michigan state government asks people to fill out if they are seeking public assistance is the journalist Annie Lowrey?s favorite example of the time tax ? the administrative burden the government imposes on those seeking public benefits. At one point, the form contained over 1,000 questions, though it?s since been streamlined. Lowrey walks through it? and what it signals to the people filling it out ? on ?The Ezra Klein Show.?

Accessing public benefits often requires navigating a burdensome amount of paperwork and bureaucracy ? what the journalist Annie Lowrey calls ?the time tax.? On ?The Ezra Klein Show,? she explains why administrative hurdles that may seem neutral can function as tools of social control.

Spheres of conflict have multiplied and are merging. Meanwhile, the West is a mess.

Readers respond to a column about a Kansas law that invalidates the licenses of transgender people. Also, the need for better health care delivery; ugly dog breeds often suffer.

It is too hard for women suffering from postpartum mental illness to prove the insanity defense.

Mr. Trump is breaking the law. Congress and the judiciary need to respond.

The 2028 Republican presidential field is taking shape. Who will be the contenders ? and who should wait for the next cycle? On ?The Opinions,? Jamelle Bouie and David French size up the potential candidates and debate who should make his move now.

The Opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie thinks JD Vance has a likability problem. On a recent episode of ?The Opinions,? Bouie discusses how this may affect Vance?s prospects if he runs for president in 2028.

Annie Lowrey, the author of ?The Time Tax,? explains how the government steals Americans? time ? on purpose.

A.I. could turn one of our country?s worst habits into a national security crisis.

The Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States in 1824. His tour carries key lessons for a country still fighting over how to remember its past.

Annie Lowrey, the author of ?The Time Tax,? explains how the government steals Americans? time ? on purpose.

The Iran war was supposed to expose China?s weakness on oil, but it didn?t quite work out that way.

Readers respond to a column by Thomas L. Friedman about Iran?s strategy to avoid losing the war. Also: the legacy of Tommy John.

Private equity and Big Tech have infiltrated the fashion world. How did it happen, and how can consumers shop more intentionally?

The federal government was supposed to release a definition of ultraprocessed foods. What happened?

Given their past, what does a future in England hold for them?

The future?s a riddle. Shakespeare isn?t.

The class-based violence of the past was part of a broader struggle. Today, the violence is the end in itself.

The model collapse scenario threatens to wipe out whatever gains chatbots like Claude enjoyed from being trained on books in the first place.

Are we willing to regulate and enforce cannabis safety, especially to protect the most vulnerable among us?

Mark Carney has chosen suffering, but he did what Canadians elected him to do.

President Trump needs to face reality on the Strait of Hormuz.

Readers respond to a guest column outlining what Democrats need to do when selecting a presidential candidate. Also, President Trump?s health reports; video at the Supreme Court.

World War II proves the government can intervene directly to fix the housing crisis.

Democrats paid a price for forming their politics on Twitter; people on the right will pay a price for forming theirs on X.

Four years at Harvard won?t corrupt your children.

As New Yorkers, we?re used to negotiating over tiny patches of space. But I didn?t expect that to continue on the beach.

Musicians have a special tendency to elevate their teachers to divine status. It?s the worst thing a serious artist can do.

?The Odyssey? and ?Barbie? show a zeitgeist shift that goes beyond Hollywood: The hero?s narrative is corroding our political and public life.

President Trump exists in a degraded, chaotic environment.

This human printer runs ? but not out of ink.

Or, how a river taught me how to go with the flow (sorry, had to).

A Democratic governor popular in a state that glows red offers lessons for winning working-class voters. For one, speak plain English.

As primary results trickle in, both parties are wrestling with what they stand for ? and where they?re headed.

Readers react to a guest essay about how some patients struggle with getting off medications used to treat depression.

In the ancient world, debt forgiveness was a regular tool to control the economy. Why have we forgotten it?

It?s time to combat commercial surveillance with stronger laws on fair pricing.

Is it OK to raise this issue? I don?t want to be a bother.

As primary results trickle in, both parties are wrestling with what they stand for ? and where they?re headed.

China is supplying the world with E.V.s, batteries and other advanced technologies. On ?The Ezra Klein Show,? Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, explains how China?s manufacturing capacity is impacting geopolitics and the U.S. economy.

America?s trade deficit is at roughly the same level as it was during the Biden administration. So has President Trump?s trade policy achieved anything? Brad Setser, a China expert and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, weighs in on ?The Ezra Klein Show.?

Readers respond to a therapist?s essay about what?s gone wrong in the field of mental health care. Also: the triumphs of ?Cats: The Jellicle Ball.?

On the search for an elusive new national consensus.

Art doesn?t predict the future, but it can be an early warning system.

China is winning the industries of the future. What should the U.S. do about it?

Electricians like data centers. Here?s why you should, too.

What if starting a family was thought of not as a privilege but as a fundamental right?

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