Vox

Progressives have a new playbook. We tested it in Queens | America, Actually - May 9, 2026 - Vox
"Progressive" and "affordability" are trendy political buzzwords today, but for most Americans, they feel more like abstract concepts rather than lived realities. The Congressional Progressive Caucus is trying to change that by launching a 10-point "Affordability Agenda."
Congressman Greg Casar (D-TX) joins America, Actually this week to discuss his caucus’s shift from focusing on identity politics and bills like the Green New Deal to kitchen table issues like banning AI surveillance pricing and capping childcare costs.
Later, we head to one of the country’s most Democratic congressional districts in the country to see if these Washington talking points resonate with voters.
00:00 Intro: New political buzzwords
00:33 Progressives roll out their “affordability agenda”
05:11 Shifting progressive priorities
06:22 Connecting the dots between climate and the economy
08:51 Redefining progressive for 2026
12:30 Reclaiming the narrative from Donald Trump
14:15 Rethinking “defund the police”
17:21 Voices from Queens, New York
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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How Gen Z went MAHA | The Gray Area - May 8, 2026 - Vox
Sean talks with Vox senior correspondent Anna North about the strange rise of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement. They explore why MAHA resonates, especially with younger people, how legitimate concerns about food and public health blur into conspiracy thinking, and why social media has become such a powerful engine for both. They also discuss the collapse of trust in institutions, the emotional logic behind wellness movements, and what it would take to rebuild trust in science and public health.
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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)
Guest: Anna North (@annanorthtweets)
00:00 Intro
01:35 MAHA: Vaccines and Medical Distrust
08:49 MAHA's Subcultures
15:37 Gen Z Wellness Influencers
29:41 Gen Z Institutional Distrust
36:28 Tools For Rebuilding Public Trust
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.
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How to feel awe every day | The Gray Area - May 4, 2026 - Vox
Sean talks with psychologist Dacher Keltner about the science of awe and why it might be one of the most important emotions we have. They explore how awe quiets the ego, shifts our attention away from ourselves, and reconnects us to other people, nature, and larger patterns of meaning. Along the way, they discuss why music, moral courage, and even grief can trigger awe, how modern life may be starving us of it, and what it reveals about the limits of reason, the power of the body, and the deeper ways we make sense of being human.
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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)
Guest: Dacher Keltner
00:00 Intro
02:39 Awe vs fear
08:14 Awe and human achievement
12:23 How awe quiets the self
20:17 How awe reconnects us to the world
29:29 Awe and moral beauty
37:56 Awe in unexpected places
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.
Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members.
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
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America 250: What does a “more perfect union” look like? | America, Actually - May 2, 2026 - Vox
Are we in a period of reinvention, or is the 250-year-old "American experiment" now hitting a wall?
This week on America, Actually, historian Heather Cox Richardson explains our current political climate and how the US is facing its biggest stress test since the Civil War. The substack author helps us write a new social contract for the next 250 years.
00:00 Intro: The state of the “American experiment”
01:00 Is the US reinventing itself every 80 years?
02:19 How art and history shape politics
04:09 Understanding the rise of Donald Trump
08:40 Reclaiming patriotism and our national narrative
14:52 Drafting a new social contract
15:45 Voting rights and protecting our environment
18:40 Supreme Court terms and universal healthcare
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.
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