The weapons deal President Trump announced this week marks a shift in his attitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin and the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. But can it shift the trajectory of the war? If not, what will? Damir Marusic, Max Boot and Kori Schake discuss what the deal means for Ukraine and how Trump’s growing hawkishness will play to his “America First” supporters.

A lot of famous bands go on long past their prime, doing nostalgia tours and squeezing their hits for all they’re worth. But not R.E.M., one of the biggest bands in the world during a stretch of the 1990s. The band went from regularly playing shows for more than 100,000 people to calling it quits. Contributor Will Leitch, who occasionally bumps into the former members of R.E.M. in the grocery store, talks about how rare and admirable it is to know when to move on, and how the music is still there for all of us even if the band is not.

A new immigrant detention center in Florida has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by Republicans, who are now selling merch around the pop-up prison. It’s just one more stunt in a long line of immigration performance from President Trump and his administration. But is all this just a distraction from the difficulty of actually fulfilling his mass deportation campaign promises? And what happens to public support as Trump’s policies become more extreme? Dana Milbank, Eduardo Porter and Monica Hesse discuss.

Last month, Post columnist Dana Milbank hiked part of the Appalachian Trail with his brother. Along the way, he detached from the news and reacquainted himself with nature. In the process, he received a real-life lesson about how the world around us can reduce cognitive fatigue and enhance well-being. He reflects on his journey in a recent essay.

The One Big Beautiful Bill just passed the Senate, bringing the cornerstone of Trump’s legislative agenda one step closer to the finish line. But what’s actually in it, and who will feel its effects the most? Columnist Dana Milbank is joined by contributing columnists Ramesh Ponnuru and Natasha Sarin to discuss the economic and political implications.

Democratic socialism has notched another victory. Zohran Mamdani’s win over the establishment is just the latest in a line of self-proclaimed socialist candidates who’ve been invading the Democratic Party for the past decade. See: Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But are people actually drawn to the policies and ideology of socialism, or is it about something else? Molly Roberts, Drew Goins and Philip Bump discuss what Mamdani’s victory tells us about the power of young voters.

After much hemming and hawing, President Trump joined the Israeli attack on Iran over the weekend. He’s now declared a ceasefire, but it’s off to a shaky start. So was the U.S. bombing a success and what’s next in the Middle East? Can the current leaders in Iran and Israel ever actually come together? Columnist Dana Milbank talks with Jason Rezaian, former Tehran correspondent at the Post, and Emily Harding from the Center of Strategic and International Studies about what’s going on in the Middle East.

AI has become the one-stop solution to most of the problems we face. But can it truly substitute for human relationships? Drew Goins is joined by Post Opinions editor at large Bina Venkataraman and inclusion strategist Charlotte Marian Pearson to discuss the rise of AI companionship and what could be lost as more and more people get closer to this new technology.

With Israel’s relentless attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and top military leaders, the country is on the verge of catastrophe and major change. But what are Israel’s end goals, and does it need the United States to achieve them? Dana Milbank is joined by Jason Rezaian and Keith Richburg to talk through what’s happening in the Middle East and how the politics are playing out in an interesting way back in the U.S.

As troops descend on Washington to show off U.S. military might, the National Guard is being sent to respond to protests in Los Angeles and accompany ICE on raids. At the same time, President Donald Trump is saying the military’s mission is not to spread democracy, but to “dominate any foe.” Contributing columnist and Navy veteran Theodore R. Johnson joins Drew Goins and Molly Roberts to discuss what happens when the military is sent into cultural battlegrounds, whether the parade will make anyone feel more patriotic and what military service means today.

Protests against President Trump’s immigration policies have spread from Los Angeles outward over the past week. And his decision to send in National Guard troops, and then Marine units seems only to be adding fuel to the fire. Columnists Molly Roberts, James Hohmann and León Krauze discuss why these protests are happening now, whether democracy is beating authoritarianism and if this is really what voters wanted when they elected Trump.

In the background of the parades, festivals and protests going off for Pride Month, there are executive orders targeting trans Americans and diminished support of certain rights for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Many corporate sponsors, happy to wave rainbow flags and sell Pride-themed merch in years past, are pulling back funds, too. Writer John Paul Brammer joins Drew Goins and Molly Roberts to discuss how the political atmosphere is affecting Pride this year.

Some investors on Wall Street are starting to call President Trump’s bluffs on tariffs — coining the acronym TACO, for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” But will Trump make good on his promises to end the conflict in Ukraine, strike a deal with Iran and make nice with China? Or is his strongman approach just making things worse? Columnists Dana Milbank, Catherine Rampell and Jim Geraghty discuss how difficult it is to strike deals when Trump’s actual policy objectives are so muddled.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Americans went to the movies in record numbers. They were drawn by a live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch,” the ninth Mission Impossible movie, and perhaps some good air-conditioning. Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Will Leitch talk about why Hollywood continues to cash in on remakes, and what makes a film worth getting off your couch and going to the theater for.

President Trump, under the cover of the culture war, is attempting to pull billions of dollars in funding from universities unless they agree to his ideological demands. After Harvard refused and sued the Trump administration, Trump tried banning all of its 27 percent of international students last week. Dana Milbank, Catherine Rampell and Jason Willick discuss why the president is so obsessed with attacking universities, and what the consequences might be for future students.

“Sesame Street” recently announced it is coming to Netflix. The deal is a lifeline for the 56-year-old kids’ show, which has struggled after getting dropped from HBO and now has to deal with federal funding cuts for educational programming. With public media under attack once again, Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Monica Hesse talk about whether things like “Masterpiece Theater” or “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” or NPR are still important — and can still survive — in today’s political and cultural landscape.

Republicans are haggling over the details of how much to cut Medicaid and food stamps while also trying to give bigger tax breaks to the richest Americans. Meanwhile, the rating agency Moody’s has downgraded the United States’ perfect economic score for the first time, because of how much this bill could run up the national debt. Dana Milbank, James Hohmann and Natasha Sarin talk about whether the Republicans can get this legislation over the finish line and why America is suffering from “boy-who-called-wolf energy” when it comes to the federal debt.

The debate over how to use AI in schools, and what constitutes cheating, is not unlike other arguments about tech and learning in recent decades — be it students using graphing calculators to solve problems or Wikipedia to do research. But will AI be more disruptive than anything we’ve seen before? Columnists Molly Roberts, Megan McArdle and Monica Hesse discuss how they’re using AI in their work and personal lives, and how they think we can create a helpful — and hopeful— AI future.

Since President Trump took office, people with money have been cozying up to him — from tech billionaires donating to his inauguration fund, to Qatari royals offering him a $400 million plane. And Trump’s newfound love of cryptocurrency is providing an easy vehicle to get money into his and his family’s coffers. Dana Milbank, Molly Roberts and James Hohmann discuss the return on investment people are getting (or not) for trying to curry favor with the president.

There’s been a bit of an obsession with declining birth rates lately, particularly on the right. That has sparked conversations about policies that might entice people to have more children. But all the talk seems to ignore the social issues beneath the trend — which might be why policy interventions around the world haven’t been able to reverse it. Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Bina Venkataraman discuss some solutions to falling birth rates and whether it’s really the huge problem people are making it out to be.