New York Times columnist Bret Stephens on politics, war, and the great debate of the 21st century. Click the link above for the full conversation. Bret Stephens is an opinion columnist for the New York Times. He is co-author with Gail Collins of the popular column, The Conversation. He joined the New York Times in 2017 from The Wall Street Journal, where he had been an op-ed editor and columnist.