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Good morning, 

There's a terrorist on the loose in Brooklyn this morning. Suspect is a Caucasian female, standing about 3 feet tall, weighing 40 lbs. Answers to no one. Refuses to sleep. Acts like a brat to family and friends. Says she won't go to school. If found, please return her to parents. 

Seriously, the munchkin woke up at the crack of dawn and chose a path of violence today, so I am trying to write this while she's screaming at me and it's making it hard to focus. Rather than pontificate on the latest with the ceasefire while a 4-going-on-14-year-old torments me for the crime of buying the wrong cereal, I'd like to direct everyone's attention to a recent interview I watched that really moved me. I think it will move you, too. 

Ross Douthat, the token but brilliant conservative at the New York Times op-ed page, recently brought on Ben Sasse for his podcast "Interesting Times." (YouTube link here, also available on the regular pod feeds). Sasse, 54, is the former Republican senator from Nebraska who is now dying of Stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed last December, told immediately he was "not operable," and given a few months to live. He's already past his self-described "expiration date," but he is clear-eyed about his coming death. In the months since his diagnosis, Sasse has been putting on a master class in the art of living while dying. 

During his conversation with Douthat, which is all but guaranteed to make you cry at one point or another, several things struck me. It was interesting to hear from Sasse about how badly the Senate was failing to do the work of the people even before Trump was elected the first time. He talks about how he was persona non grata within the GOP — and even among some of his own constituents — from the moment he was sworn in because he refused to get drawn into the partisan bomb-throwing routine of going on cable news and talking about how Obama wasn't born here, or whatever else was the debate of the day manufactured to divide us. 

Sasse is also a historian. He talks about how, 100 years from now, our currently insane era of politics won't be remembered at all. Instead, what will be remembered is the technological revolution happening under our feet, for better or worse. Our relationship with the smartphone, and all the ways that device has changed us at both an individual and group level (mostly for worse). It's interesting to be forced into the realization that the Trump era, with all of its daily crises and outrages, could actually be seen as a whole bunch of nothingness in the scheme of things. Or Donald Trump as the man who just happened to be US president at the precipice of a major tech-induced societal upheaval. 

But the real meat of the interview isn't about politics at all. It's about what you would do if you knew when you were going to die. Sasse happens to be a devout Christian, and he talks at length about his faith. It's remarkable to watch a man, his face covered in bloody scabs from the therapies he's on, approach the end with such equanimity, class, grace and even humor. Also to decide to share that wisdom with the world and all of us who will, like him, be confronted one day with the reality of our own morality... what a gift to your fellow man to be able to articulate that in your final hour. The moment that really got me was when he and Douthat talk about how there's no fear in death, the fear is in being forced to think about how those you leave behind will go on without you.

It's a shame that we can't have someone like Sasse as president. We wouldn’t deserve him. He’d never make it through a primary, anyway. I'm sure I wouldn't agree with most of this guy's politics or policy proposals, but I would vote for him in a heartbeat. Because I am more and more of the belief that being a genuinely good and moral person is, frankly, the only thing I am looking for in our next leader. Everything else can be negotiated.

If you can spare an hour today watch or listen to this podcast. Douthat is an under-appreciated interviewer, and someone whose style I try (and fail) to emulate on my own show. On that note, allow me to get back to negotiating with the terrorist and her demands. Back tomorrow with more analysis on the news of the day, plus a podcast interview I did yesterday that I am really proud of and excited to show everyone.

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Carlo Versano is Newsweek's Director of Politics and Culture. He has in-depth knowledge and experience covering a range of topics and stories over a 20-year career in the news business. Carlo joined Newsweek in 2024 after a stint at The Messenger. Before that, he was an Emmy-winning producer at NBC News. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond and the New School. You can get in touch with Carlo by emailing [email protected].

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Newsweek is part of the Trust Project, which focuses on honesty, accuracy and fairness in journalism. Read more about our best practices. To get in touch with our newsroom with suggestions on how to point out possible errors, please contact us at [email protected].