Vox

How mindfulness got weird | The Gray Area - February 23, 2026 - Vox
Mindfulness is everywhere now, which is kind of weird.
What started as a countercultural practice has become a productivity hack and a billion-dollar app ecosystem. On one level, it’s great that more people are meditating. But somewhere along the way, the whole thing got flattened. When mindfulness is mainly about optimizing your output, we’ve probably missed the point.
Today’s guest is Jon Kabat-Zinn, pioneer of the American mindfulness movement and author of the mega-bestseller Wherever You Go, There You Are. Jon’s work helped bring meditation into medicine, schools, sports, and everyday life. He’s also spent decades reminding people that mindfulness isn’t about escape, self-improvement, or becoming some perfectly serene version of yourself.
Sean and Jon talk about what mindfulness actually is, why being present is so damn hard, and what happens when industry turns meditation into another tool for self-optimization.
This episode originally aired in December of 2023.
Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)
Guest: Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life.
00:00 Intro
03:02 Mindfulness vs. mindlessness
13:12 What to do when you have a lapse in attention
19:36 The mindfulness industry
34:10 Recognizing this moment
36:46 A meditation led by Jon Kabat-Zinn
We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show.
And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. New episodes drop every Monday and Friday.
If you enjoy our reporting and want to hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom.
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.
Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO
Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o
Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H
How Jeffrey Epstein fooled America | Today, Explained - February 21, 2026 - Vox
Jeffrey Epstein remained a thriving member of the elite for decades, even when everyone seemed to know what he was doing. His sphere of influence included top political officials, CEOs, corporate executives, finance managers, and even a member of the British royal family. How did he manage it? It turns out it was by establishing an elaborate network of influence and access that went well beyond the norms and expectations of the rich and famous.
What were the tipping points that nearly brought Epstein to justice in the 14 years before his first conviction and his final 2019 arrest? What were the structures and systems that failed to stop him from abusing and exploiting young women and girls in those 14 years? In this episode, we tick through the guest lists and institutions that continued to profit from relationships with Jeffrey Epstein — and which helped him remain free, in turn.
We will also talk about many of the conspiracy theories that have popped up since the latest tranche of Epstein documents came out. Was Epstein a national security asset? Did he actually kill himself?
Independent journalist Tara Palmeri, author of the Red Letter Substack and host of The Tara Palmeri Show, argues that conspiracies are important to help the public understand the extent and scope of the Epstein scandal — since for so long, so much about the story was covered up. We’ll make sense of which conspiracies have validity and which are tinfoil hat material, in this interview with a journalist who has long advocated for and written about the Epstein survivors.
00:00 Intro: What we do and do not know about Epstein
03:31 The stories of the Epstein survivors
07:56 The conspiracy theories around Epstein
11:21 The elite enablers around Epstein
17:08 The political cover-up over Epstein
19:13 The conspiracy theorizing around Epstein
22:13 The elite lies around Epstein
Today, Explained publishes compelling interviews with key figures in politics and culture every Saturday. Subscribe to Vox’s YouTube channel to get them or listen wherever you get your podcasts. And new episodes of Today, Explained drop every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite listening app.
If you enjoy our reporting and want to hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom.
Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.
Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o
Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H
What was immigration like before ICE? - February 20, 2026 - Vox
In the history section on ICE’s website, one line reads: “Despite U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's relatively young age, its functional history predates the modern birth of the agency by more than 200 years.” That phrasing of “functional history” stands out. We know that ICE was created in 2003. So what exactly do they mean by that? To unpack this claim, Vox producer Nate Krieger examines the history of immigration enforcement in the US.
The story of American immigration is one of gradual change. Over time, the role of the immigration services slowly changed, morphing from an agency that managed labor and benefits to one that saw itself as law enforcement, with a focus on national security.
And with that shift came a growth in capacity. The first federal immigration agency was created in 1891 with a total staff of 4 people. Today, with ICE, that number is over 22,000.
So how did immigration restrictions and enforcement change over the span of American history? By examining the centuries of events that culminated in the creation of ICE, we can begin to understand the context that created this modern agency.
Sources and further reading:
For more context, images, and written accounts of Ellis Island, see this page on the National Park Service’s website: https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/index.htm
For this story, Nate Krieger focused on the history leading up to 2003 and the creation of ICE, so the piece does not delve into more recent developments. But detailed information and data on deportation in President Donald Trump’s second term can be found here: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/immigration-detention-report.pdf and https://deportationdata.org/analysis/immigration-enforcement-first-nine-months-trump
And more information on ICE’s arrests in the interior, which are a relatively recent phenomenon, can be found here: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/content/ice-arrests-deportations-interior
This piece only touched on Japanese incarceration during the Second World War. For more information — and first-hand accounts — about this important subject, Densho is a fantastic resource: https://ddr.densho.org/
"Immigration: How the Past Shapes The Present" by the sociologist Nancy Foner, who was interviewed for this piece, is a comprehensive look into why the past is critical to understanding modern immigration: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=immigration-how-the-past-shapes-the-present--9781509557912
If you enjoy our reporting and want to hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom.
Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.
Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o
Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H
ICE, Minneapolis, and the right to carry | The Gray Area - February 20, 2026 - Vox
Vox's Sean Illing talks to Atlantic writer Tyler Austin Harper about the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, and why liberals are missing the point about American gun culture and the right to bear arms.
Beyond that, Tyler asks an important question: If you really believe we’re sliding toward authoritarianism, how can you argue that the public should disarm?
Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)
Guest: Tyler Austin Harper (@Tyler_A_Harper)
00:00 Intro
06:19 ICE, Minneapolis, and the right to carry
10:44 Choosing to carry a concealed firearm
12:55 ICE in Maine
14: 51 The Second Amendment and government tyranny
19:39 Why is being pro-Second Amendment right-coded?
28:31 How to make a pro-Second Amendment case to the political left
We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show.
The Gray Area is a Vox podcast that takes a philosophy-minded look at culture, technology, politics, and the world of ideas. Twice a week, we invite a guest to explore a question or topic that matters. From the state of democracy, to the struggle with depression and anxiety, to the nature of identity in the digital age, each episode looks for nuance and honesty. For full episodes, check out The Gray Area at https://www.vox.com/the-gray-area or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you enjoy our reporting and want to hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom.
Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.
Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE
JB Pritzker wants to take down Trump | Today, Explained - February 14, 2026 - Vox
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has a playbook for fighting back against the Trump administration, and he says it’s working. Few Democratic politicians have leaned into the fight against the Trump administration as aggressively as he has. While some blue-state leaders have tried to find a lane of compromise or quiet resistance, Pritzker has gone the other direction: signing laws to limit ICE operations in Illinois, creating an accountability commission staffed by retired federal judges, suing the federal government, and successfully blocking the deployment of federalized National Guard troops on Chicago’s streets.
Pritzker is a unique figure in Democratic politics. A billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, he has spent tens of millions of his own dollars to push for a more progressive income tax in Illinois and has advocated for a national wealth tax — policies that would directly cost him money. He's also a Jewish Democrat who has navigated his party’s shifting positions on Israel and Gaza and is a two-term governor who has drawn some public support as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
00:00 Intro
01:22 The Illinois playbook against Trump
03:23 Are Dems too timid in their pushback against Trump?
05:07 Are our elections safe?
06:17 Democrats and immigration
09:27 A billionaire in favor of the wealth tax
11:12 Is Gov. Pritzker running for president?
14:03 Democratic missteps in the past
15:58 Views on Israel and antisemitism
19:31 Is Gov. Pritzker on GLP-1s?
Today, Explained publishes compelling interviews with key figures in politics and culture every Saturday. Subscribe to Vox’s YouTube channel to get them or listen wherever you get your podcasts. And new episodes of Today, Explained drop every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite listening app.
If you enjoy our reporting and want to hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom.
Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.
Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o
Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H