
How Ben Sasse Is Living Now That He Is Dying
From Interesting Times by New York Times Opinion
April 9, 2026 · 1h 8m
About this episode
Ross Douthat interviews former Republican senator Ben Sasse about his experience facing terminal cancer and its impact on his life and perspective.
How would you live if you knew when you were going to die? I sat down with the former Republican senator Ben Sasse to hear how he is facing his own mortality after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis. For Sasse, cancer brings pain, but also clarity, sharpening his focus on the state of our politics, his wife and three children, and the God he expects to shortly meet.
People in this episode
Host: Ross Douthat
Guest: Ben Sasse
Topics covered
- mortality
- politics
- cancer
- family
- faith
Keywords
- Ben Sasse
- cancer diagnosis
- mortality
- politics
- family
- faith
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: New York Times Opinion
More episodes of Interesting Times
- Trump Is Getting Even Richer. Is That a Crime? · September 10, 2026 · 43 min
- Ross Douthat and Ezra Klein on the Art of Persuasion · August 27, 2026 · 1h 14m
- Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint for a 150-Year Life: Is It Worth It? · August 13, 2026 · 1h 5m
- Scott Galloway: America Abandoned Its ‘Unremarkable’ Young Men · August 6, 2026 · 43 min
- How Older Americans Hoard the Future · July 30, 2026 · 53 min
- Iran, China, Canada? A Defense of Trump’s Grand Strategy · July 23, 2026 · 1h 3m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Interesting Times podcast page.