Donald Trump’s election might feel like déjà vu. But America is in a different place than it was eight years ago. Contributing columnists Amanda Ripley, Matt Bai and Theodore Johnson talk through how they’re thinking about Trump’s second term, how to set boundaries between the personal and political, and what type of civic involvement is actually useful.

Donald Trump won. But why? Were Americans really just mad about their grocery bill? Columnists Ruth Marcus, Dana Milbank and James Hohmann grapple with this election result as an “X-ray into our national soul.”

None of us can know the outcome of the election, but our columnists talk through the campaigns' final spasms. Ruth Marcus, Dana Milbank and James Hohmann discuss the shifting mood in Pennsylvania, whether abortion will be as motivating this time around and if Donald Trump can get “crypto bros and the guy who vapes” to actually vote.

In the final stretch of the campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is making a play for Republicans who don’t like Donald Trump. But can they be swayed to vote for a lifelong Democrat? Columnists Megan McArdle, Jim Geraghty and Ramesh Ponnuru discuss what they’re hearing from fellow conservatives about this election and the future of the GOP.

Americans don’t seem to have a shared understanding of when or how much to tip. Yet, millions of people rely on what we give to make a decent wage. Columnists Theodore Johnson, Heather Long and Molly Roberts talk about why things have become so confusing and get into the real issues beneath the campaign proposals to end taxes on tips.

In the final stretch of the presidential campaign, both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are turning to popular lifestyle and comedy podcasts to woo different audiences. We were curious whether the candidates sounded any different in these environments than at their rallies. So columnists Charles Lane, Molly Roberts and Perry Bacon listened in and discussed what they learned.

The National Archives might seem like a distant trove of documents and arcane laws for Americans far from Washington. But many of these national treasures are actually relevant to our lives. Author Sarah Vowell found the people inside the Archives who are making sure everybody can access these documents and find their stories.

As tensions between Israel and Iran soar, columnists David Ignatius and Josh Rogin talk with Damir Marusic about the broader forces at play in the conflict, the lack of plans for a stable future and what a Trump victory would mean for the U.S.-Iran relationship.

The IRS may be one of the most hated departments in the federal government, but it turns out it does more than just collect taxes. Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks got to know the folks in charge of the IRS’s cybercrime unit which investigates criminals who use cryptocurrency. In this bonus episode, Brooks talks with Michael Lewis about what she learned.

In the vice-presidential showdown JD Vance tried to remake himself by being nice, while Tim Walz directed his attacks at Donald Trump. Columnists Karen Tumulty, Dana Milbank and Ruth Marcus discuss the Jan. 6 moment and what Vance’s soft talk on abortion says about Republicans’ fear of how the issue will hurt them at the ballot box.

The skittish inflation number that flies across headlines might feel arbitrary; in fact, it’s anything but. To arrive at that number, it takes millions of calculations into granular details such as the chemical composition of turkey meat and the flavor notes of olive oil. In this episode, John Lanchester chats with Michael Lewis about what the government counts and how tracking these things tells us a lot about what a country values.

“Jeopardy!” has been on the air and wildly popular for 60 years. What makes it endure, and what does that say about American culture? Contributing columnist Amanda Ripley talks to Alexandra Petri, Drew Goins and Ryan Vogt — Post Opinions staffers who’ve been contestants on the show — about its staying power, and if “Jeopardy!” can still bring Americans together.

The scope of the federal government is vast, and in one corner lies NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, where the search for new planets and new life continues. As part of the Post Opinions “Who is government?” series, author Dave Eggers takes a look at the lab’s latest innovations and gets to know the people who are reaching for the stars. In this special episode, Michael Lewis talks to Eggers about what he learned.

Many economists and politicians are alarmed that Americans, like others around the world, are having fewer kids. But, apart from wanting a growing labor force, is this really a problem? Opinions columnists Shadi Hamid and Heather Long talk with Style columnist Monica Hesse about what’s really behind the baby bust and whether we just need to prepare for a lower fertility future.

Did the debate cause a vibe shift? Columnists Charles Lane, Megan McArdle, Dana Milbank and Jim Geraghty discuss how much voters care about policy, whether Trump made any good points and how his false claims about pet-eating immigrants mask a genuine issue.

The evidence is in. American men are facing a crisis — in health, in education and in the labor force. But under all of that runs deeper trends — disconnection, loneliness and a lack of role models. Columnists Theodore Johnson and Shadi Hamid talk with Richard Reeves, founder of the American Institute for Boys and Men, about the dueling visions of masculinity on the political stage and a hopeful way forward for the modern man.

As American kids head back to school, columnist Daniel Pink makes the case for paying teachers more money. High-quality teachers, he argues, significantly improve student learning, so shouldn’t they be paid as much as somebody assessing insurance premiums on your car? Plus, humor columnist Alexandra Petri discusses sending her child to school for the first time.

We are in Chicago, where it's Kamala Harris's party now. Columnists Dana Milbank, Jennifer Rubin, Jonathan Capehart and Jim Geraghty discuss why gender isn’t being talked about in this campaign so far, and they do the math on what percentage of the Democrats’ energy is from excitement, relief and just avoiding existential dread.

Pulitzer Prize winner Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was part of August’s massive prisoner exchange with Russia, talks about his time in jail, freedom of speech and the future of Putin’s regime.

Tim Walz went from being a little-known Midwestern governor to Democratic vice-presidential candidate in a matter of a few weeks. But in this sprint of a campaign, nothing is moving slowly. Charles Lane, Molly Roberts and Matt Bai talk through whether Walz can keep up the momentum of the Harris campaign, if the “weird” strategy is good or bad, and how much of a unifier Walz will be for the Democratic ticket.

Airline travel is increasingly exasperating. Any blip, whether it’s a weather event or a technical problem, leads to cascading days of delays and cancellations. Why does it all seem so fragile? Charles Lane, Catherine Rampell and Marc Fisher discuss the economics of flying and how customers might be helping drive a race to the bottom.

Ava Wallace, sports reporter at The Washington Post, is in France to report on the Summer Games — and eat a lot of croissants. Join her through the entire run of the games, for several episodes a week as she captures the highs, the lows and the Paris of it all, along with other Post colleagues.

After all the hand-wringing over the last month, it took only about 24 hours for Democrats to fall in line behind Vice President Harris as their new nominee. Even so, some worry she’s not the strongest candidate that could have been put forward. Our columnists discuss whether she can win, who might join her as a running mate and what it means for her chances to be a woman of color on the top of the ticket in 2024.

After a truly wild few weeks in politics, our columnists huddle up at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. They discuss the mood on the ground in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, how the unity message seems to be fraying and what recent events mean for the presidential campaign – and the country – going forward. Plus, humorist Alexandra Petri serves up an imagined J.D. Vance infomercial using his own words about Trump.