View in browser|nytimes.com

February 23, 2026

Hannah Jacobs

Notable

A lot of exercise research is, quite frankly, bunk. “The limits of our knowledge are a tough pill to swallow (especially since it’s not just exercise; the research on nutrition is equally shaky). It can be frustrating to know there are some questions we’ll never answer. I also think it can be freeing.”

— Emily Oster, the founder and chief executive of ParentData

Read now →

Democrats need to change how they govern. “They will have to push back against a core constituency within the Democratic Party that often makes government deliver less and cost more: unions representing teachers, police officers and transit workers.”

— Nicholas Bagley, a law professor, and Robert Gordon, a former senior official in the Biden and Obama administrations

Read now →

Trump is actually pretty bad for Putin. “The problem is that Russia remains hemmed in by its war against Ukraine, entering its fifth year. For all his flip-flopping, Mr. Trump has not handed the country to Russia.”

— Hanna Notte, director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif.

Read now →

Spotlight

Damon Winter/The New York Times

The Human Cost of Trump’s War on Science

Consider the ripple effects of cutting H.I.V. research funding.

Read now →

ICYMI

Did the Supreme Court just save the Republic? “The tariff decision is a reminder that principles do still matter, that at least one branch of government is not in thrall to the president, and that we can rely on reason and precedent to decide cases rather than simply counting Republican and Democratic appointees.”

— David French, Opinion columnist

Read now →

More in Opinion

Guest Essay My Hope for Nick Reiner We feel compassion for his parents — but often not for Nick Reiner himself. His suffering, too, must have been terrible; it must be terrible right now. By Andrew Solomon

Guest Essay The Epstein Files Should Never Have Been Released Putting millions of pages online is a sign of institutional failure. By Daniel Richman

Guest Essay The Rise of the Bratty Machines An autonomous OpenClaw chatbot seeks revenge. By Elizabeth Spiers

The Television Show Every American Should Watch An emergency room that’s a mirror. By Frank Bruni

Guest Essay Falling From Ivy League Grad to Prisoner Expanded My Social Circle Unlike the version of prison conjured on TV and in the movies, I found a community quick to be generous and kind. By P.G. Sittenfeld

Bret Stephens The Case for Striking Iran The Iranian people should not be let down again. By Bret Stephens

letters The Many Gifts of Kidney Donation Readers respond to an Opinion essay by German Lopez about his decision to become a living kidney donor.

Guest Essay One of the Bible’s Greatest Moral Revolutions The Bible tells us to love immigrants. By Shai Held

In Your Words

Re: “Mikaela Shiffrin’s Silent Victory”

These people are such great examples of human endurance, of enduring love, of that great human quality to get back up, begin to heal and try again. What great courage they have. What great courage is required to be human. — A comment posted by Marky from Cleveland

Read more comments on the story here and check out our Letters to the Editor.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.

PLAY TODAY’S GAMES

Wordle → Connections → Strands → Spelling Bee → Crossword → Mini → Wordle → Connections → Strands → Spelling Bee → Crossword → Mini →

Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com.

If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our