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.