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October 9, 2026

María Hergueta

Programming note: This newsletter will be off on Monday, Oct. 12, for the holiday, returning on Tuesday.

Notable

Screens are a scapegoat. “Blaming screens is a convenient way to avoid harder, deeper issues: inadequate mental health care and a system that chronically underfunds treatment.”

— Jonathan Slater, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center

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How to bring Israel out of isolation. “For a Europe threatened by Russia and forced to reduce its strategic dependence on the U.S. for defense and technology, Israel is positioned to help fill the gap.”

— Shira Efron, the Israel policy chair and a senior fellow at RAND

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The diminishing returns of choke-point diplomacy. “If your nation weaponizes a choke point, mine will accelerate efforts to shift away from that dependency.”

— Michael Froman, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations

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Spotlight

Damon Winter/The New York Times

The Texas Democrat Peeling Off MAGA Voters

No one was paying attention to Gina Hinojosa a month ago. Michelle Goldberg writes: Now Republicans are worried.

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ICYMI

We don’t know how to talk about Cornell. “Our reliance on consent as the ultimate arbiter of acceptability has left us unable to recognize and critique bad behavior outside of its narrow definition of criminal sex.”

— Christine Emba, a contributing Opinion writer

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Listen (or Watch)

The New York Times The Ezra Klein Show What if A.I. Is Just a ‘Normal Technology’? The computer scientist Arvind Narayanan explains that just because A.I. is intelligent doesn’t necessarily mean it’s powerful. 1 HR 1 MIN LISTEN

More in Opinion

John McWhorter What to Make of Trump’s Uptick in Profanity The president’s speech is getting filthier. By John McWhorter

Guest Essay Trump Wants to Decide Who Counts. And Who Doesn’t. Rewriting the rules for counting the population is yet another way to marginalize minorities. By Justin Gest

In Your Words

Re: “Trump Wants to Decide Who Counts. And Who Doesn’t.”

Re: “The Authoritarian Future Is Already Here”

Miss Bear sequestered in the woods Our major problems are compounded by the inescapable fact that our dominant religion — Capitalism — recognizes no aim higher than financial profit and the hedonist life. Market fundamentalism rules. Remnants of old religions may still bring some empathy for the expendables, those of little market value. But that's fading fast all over.

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