The holiday season is known for bringing dreaded cocktail party small talk. But your conversations with colleagues, friends or family need not be awkward drudgery, according to Opinion Audio’s executive producer, Annie-Rose Strasser. In this episode, she reveals her no-fail solution to making every conversation accessible and exciting, no matter who shows up to the holiday party.

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

President Biden has about six weeks left in office, and with Republicans set to control both houses of Congress and the presidency next year, his final acts may be more important than ever.

So we asked five Opinion writers: What should Mr. Biden’s priority be over these next few weeks?

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com

These are cruel and challenging times. How did previous generations hold on to their sanity — and humanity — in the face of violence and instability?

In this episode, the columnist David Brooks seeks answers in the intellectual and moral traditions of ancient Athens and Jerusalem. The key to thriving, he argues, is to embody behaviors that might at first seem contradictory.

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

In a nation filled with meat lovers, how can we persuade Americans to stop eating animals and help save the planet? The food writer Bee Wilson believes the answer lies with food preferences — specifically, changing them. “It is possible to learn to love new foods, and it’s something transformative and actually joyous,” she says. In this episode, she makes the case for changing your taste for beans, a humble legume that is packed with extraordinary flavor.

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

The Israel-Gaza war poses multiple challenges for President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration. But the former president has proposed a plan for peace in the region before. The question is: can he be convinced to pursue it again? In this episode, the columnist Thomas L. Friedman argues that Trump has an opportunity to make history.

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

It’s Thanksgiving week, and the columnist Nicholas Kristof wants you to consider skipping the turkey. “I don’t want to wag my fingers at people and tell them, ‘Look, this is how you should eat,’ but I do think that there are really important ethical questions that we have to ponder and confront,” he says. In this episode, Kristof argues that Americans, who spend thousands of dollars each year caring for their dogs, should spare a thought for the pigs who live short lives in brutal conditions before ending up on breakfast plates.

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

Margaux Laskey, an associate editor at New York Times Cooking, has a surprising confession: She doesn’t like Thanksgiving dinner. After days of effort, she finds the final product bland and boring. “I love gratitude and thankfulness, but I’m grateful I don’t have to eat turkey if I don’t want to,” she says. In this episode, she shares ways to celebrate Thanksgiving — no cooking required.

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

From Matt Gaetz to Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s outlandish cabinet selections reflect the power of social and political deviance, the Opinion columnist Bret Stephens argues in this episode.