Opinion Today: “The Odyssey” and the revolt of the human
Here’s what we’re focusing on.
Opinion Today
July 24, 2026
On the set of “The Odyssey,” workers roll a camera on a track and hold a microphone over Zendaya and Matt Damon as they walk through a field.
Photo Illustration by The New York Times

Notable

No wonder Elon Musk hates “The Odyssey.” “What’s striking, though, isn’t just that people are returning to theaters, it’s the sort of films they’re going to.”

— Michelle Goldberg, an Opinion columnist

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Maybe the problem with A.I. is people. “Brief your A.I. agent the way you would brief a new hire. Tell it not just what you want done but why it matters, what constraints are in play, what success or quality looks like and what pitfalls to avoid.”

— Keith Ferrazzi, the founder of Ferrazzi Greenlight, an executive coaching firm

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Our vast collective Jeffrey Epstein failure. “The question is, how do we address the magnitude of that failure? What can justice mean for the survivors at this point?”

— Rachel Louise Snyder, a contributing Opinion writer

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Spotlight

An outstretched hand touching the surface of a body of water.
Alex Jacobs-Blum

Please Don’t Thank Us for the Land

Many conservatives who critique land acknowledgments aren’t acting in good faith, but they do have a point.

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ICYMI

Trump’s tariff runaround defies the courts — and common sense. “This whole game of tariff Whac-a-Mole has the flavor of my regular negotiations with my toddlers: When I tell one he can’t hit his brother with a shovel, he produces a stick instead. (Points for creativity, though.)”

— Natasha Sarin, a contributing Opinion writer

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Listen (or Watch)

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The New York Times

The Ezra Klein Show

Platner’s Top Campaign Strategist on What Went Wrong

Morris Katz helped Zohran Mamdani win, and then tried to do the same for Graham Platner. What has he learned?

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1 HR 18 MIN LISTEN

More in Opinion

John McWhorter

Place Names Change With Time, and That’s OK

What’s in a name? Depends where you are.

By John McWhorter

Mayor Zohran Mamdani looks solemnly ahead as he places both forearms and his clenched hands on a desk.

letters

Mamdani’s Video Message About Netanyahu

Reader’s react to the New York mayor’s video criticizing the Israeli prime minister. Also: A.I. jobs for philosophers; a battle in the health care industry; fast walkers; pregnant bellies.

In Your Words

Re: Gen Z-ers Are Ditching Sex. They Might Be Onto Something.

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