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The internet is all bots now | The Gray Area - June 26, 2026 - Vox
Sean talks with Atlantic writer Charlie Warzel about the increasingly weird experience of being online. They discuss AI-generated content, bots, algorithms, the “dead internet theory,” and why so much of the web now feels artificial, manipulated, or unreal. They also explore psyops, conspiracy culture, social media, and the deeper question lurking beneath the AI boom: What are human beings actually for?
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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)
Guest: Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel)
00:00 Intro
01:45 The bot-haunted internet
08:53 Why the internet feels fake
15:11 The post-human internet
22:37 What is a psyop?
29:22 What is AI slop?
37:57 Charlie Warzel’s favorite part of the internet
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What masculinity does to men | The Gray Area - June 22, 2026 - Vox
Sean talks with journalist Jordan Ritter Conn about his book “American Men,” an intimate look at four men trying to figure out what manhood and masculinity have given them versus what they have cost them, and what to do with the gap between the men they think they’re supposed to be and the men they actually are. They talk about being fathers and sons as well as about violence, shame, ambition, male friendship, loneliness, and why being a “good man” might mean finally letting go of the desire to perform manhood.
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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)
Guest: Jordan Ritter Conn (@jordanconn)
00:00 Intro
00:47 Beyond the ‘what’s wrong with men’ debate
06:30 Why so many men feel like they’re not enough
08:14 Four different paths to manhood
16:17 The role of fathers
19:44 Achieve doesn’t always bring confidence
24:54 The cost of male loneliness
33:21 Rethinking what it means to be a good man
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.
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Darializa Avila Chevalier’s win in NY points Dems in a new direction | America, Actually - June 20, 2026 - Vox
Two newcomers in high profile races in New York City are trying to get to Washington. On the way, they’re forcing the Democratic Party to confront its immediate future on technology, identity, and immigration.
Vox’s Astead Herndon sits down with New York Congressional candidates Alex Bores and Darializa Avila Chevalier to talk about AI regulation, generational change, and why their races hold national significance.
00:00 — Why New York primaries have national implications
01:02 — Meet Alex Bores: Target of a tech super PAC
01:51 — From Palantir engineer to AI regulatory watchdog
06:32 — The debate over an AI moratorium and global competition
08:42 — The AI dividend: Universal basic income vs. tech disruption
09:55 — Inside the RAISE Act: Moving beyond watered-down safety laws
12:15 — Money and fear: Why Washington stays quiet on tech
14:50 — Part II: Darializa Avila Chevalier challenges the Democratic establishment in NY-13
15:43 — Generational change vs. identity politics
19:00 — Foreign policy at home: Connecting local budgets to global warfare
20:59 — Public safety and rethinking the criminal justice arsenal
23:14 — Moving past the 2020 "woker than thou" rhetoric
24:49 — The legality and ethics of deportation enforcement
27:35 — Navigating the future of the left
Sources and further reading:
America, Actually publishes video episodes every Saturday tackling key issues in politics, culture, and the economy. Subscribe to Vox’s YouTube channel to get them. Listen to episodes of America, Actually on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app.
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When colleges think Plato is too gay | The Gray Area - June 19, 2026 - Vox
Who gets to decide what’s taught in college classrooms? And should the answer be different at private colleges than at public universities?
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In today’s episode, guest host Avishay Artsy speaks to philosophy professor Martin Peterson about why Texas A&M University asked him to stop teaching part of Plato’s “Symposium.” The two discuss academic freedom, who gets to decide what’s taught in university classrooms, and the value of Plato’s writing. The episode explores what happens when politics and educational values collide on campus.
Host: Avishay Artsy, Vox Supervising Producer
Guest: Martin Peterson, Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University
00:00 Intro
01:21 Why Professor Peterson was asked to revise his syllabus
03:02 Why Plato’s Symposium still matters
05:39 What do students expect to read in this class?
06:01 Texas A&M’s new policy
09:46 How professors responded
19:52 How students responded
22:25 Why is Professor Peterson resigning?
30:06 How Professor Peterson's research connects to his decisions
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Why LA will never get a Mayor Zohran Mamdani - June 18, 2026 - Vox
With the election of Zohran Mamdani in New York City, big-city mayors have once again become a focal point of national politics.
Now, in Los Angeles, the mayoral race in November is heating up with Councilmember Nithya Raman edging out reality TV star Spencer Pratt to secure her candidacy against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. And Raman, a Democratic Socialist like Mamdani, is zeroing in on housing and affordability as defining issues of local politics.
But beneath the promises to take on hot-button issues that plague Angelenos, a persistent question remains: Why can’t the LA mayor get anything done?
Part of the answer takes us back to the creation of the LA city charter, a product of the turn-of-the-20th-century progressive movement that emerged in response to the corrupt politics that plagued cities like New York and Chicago.
Despite the radical and experimental origins of LA’s decentralized governance approach, a weak mayoral office may no longer be the best way to serve the people of Los Angeles today. Even if LA elected a progressive, Mamdani-esque candidate, the mayor’s office still has an uphill battle with fragmentation and decades of mounting red tape designed to favor negotiators over visionaries for mayor.
Read more about the Los Angeles mayoral position:
How much power does the mayor of LA really have? (Spectrum News): https://spectrumlocalnews.com/ca/california/inside-the-issues/2022/02/25/how-much-power-does-the-mayor-of-la-really-have-
The 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles City Charter holds lessons for today’s LA (Haynes Foundation): https://haynesfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Essay-100th_Anniversary_of_Charter_Election.pdf
How We Got This Way (Los Angeles has Always Been Suburban) (PBS SoCal): https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/how-we-got-this-way-los-angeles-has-always-been-suburban
Proposition 13's Hidden Effects On the Built Environment (PBS SoCal): https://www.pbssocal.org/history-society/proposition-13s-hidden-effects-on-the-built-environment
Coming in 2028: “The second most powerful person in California” (Harvard Kennedy School): https://www.hks.harvard.edu/more/student-life/student-stories/coming-2028-second-most-powerful-person-california
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