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Freud was more right than you think | The Gray Area - August 17, 2026 - Vox

Sigmund Freud is probably the most famous psychoanalyst. Yet many of his theories have been critiqued or discredited. So is there anything we can still learn from the father of psychoanalysis?

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In today’s episode Sean speaks with professor Mark Solms, author of The Only Cure: Freud and the Neuroscience of Mental Healing. Mark argues that while Freud may have been wrong about many things, he was right about one important thing: the human mind cannot be fully understood on purely biological terms. He believes that modern psychiatry has become focused on treating mental suffering like a chemical problem, instead of focusing on emotional and psychological aspects.

Sean and Mark discuss the conscious versus the unconscious mind, whether psychoanalysis is the best therapy, and why Freud is still relevant today.

00:00 Intro

03:14 Was Freud a scientist?

09:23 The conscious vs the unconscious mind

16:35 The limits of science

27:34 Is psychoanalysis still the best therapy?

38:28 Why it’s so hard to change our behaviour

46:22 The human element in therapy

Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)

Guest: Mark Solms, neuropsychologist, psychoanalyst, and professor at the University of Cape Town. Author of The Only Cure: Freud and the Neuroscience of Mental Healing.

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Hasan Piker on what Democrats get wrong | America, Actually - August 15, 2026 - Vox

Democrats have been duking it out all summer. An insurgent left has been driving the moderate establishment up a wall, with high-profile wins in places like New York, Colorado, and Michigan.

But a big loss in Wisconsin for democratic socialist Francesca Hong has complicated the left’s narrative, and the battle between progressive momentum and establishment resilience has yet to be decided. At the center of it all is the leftist Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker. He joins Vox’s Astead Herndon once more to discuss the fault lines that will define the Democratic party’s future this November.

00:00 - Evaluating recent primary results in the Midwest

02:13 - Hasan Piker challenges the "electability narrative"

07:45 - Redefining the modern working-class electorate

14:28 - Is Piker a campaign liability?

21:05 - Obama as a blueprint

23:24 - The “vote blue no matter who” debate

28:18 - Why Democrats lack a bold vision

31:35 - Takeaways

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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Why straight dating is harder than ever | The Gray Area - August 14, 2026 - Vox

The internet is rife with chatter about “heteropessimism,” the feeling that gender relations are broken and heterosexual relationships are doomed. But is this just cynical discourse, like a coping mechanism for bad dates? Or is this a symptom of a much deeper, systemic breakdown?

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In this episode of The Gray Area, guest host Jonquilyn Hill is joined by Sarah Jones, senior writer for The Intelligencer. Together, they peel back the performative irony to look at the harsh realities of dating in a post-Dobbs, politically volatile United States.

From the economic structures that make leaving bad relationships feel impossible, to the "manosphere" versus the "pink pill," Sarah and Jonquilyn discuss why we are struggling to connect — and why "hopeful pessimism" might be the most responsible way to build a future.

00:00 Intro

01:42 Are the straights okay?

05:33 Defining hetero pessimism

16:33 Moving beyond cynicism with hopeful pessimism

27:32 Romantic relationships are hard work

29:47 Why political currents make dating fraught

41:29 Love and happiness are not finite resources

46:26 How women uphold patriarchal structures

52:18 Examining romantic norms

Host: Jonquilyn Hill, host of Explain It To Me

Guest: Sarah Jones, senior writer, Intelligencer

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