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What does 'Orwellian' really mean? | The Gray Area - November 10, 2025 - Vox
We use “Orwellian” to describe everything from campus dust-ups to authoritarian crackdowns. But what did George Orwell actually stand for, what did he get wrong, and what can we learn from him about our age of surveillance capitalism and distraction?
Sean’s guest is Laura Beers, historian at American University and author of Orwell’s Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the 21st Century. They dig into Orwell’s defense of truth over ideology, his crusade against euphemism, his experience with propaganda and persecution in Spain, and why 1984 and Animal Farm only capture part of his project.
Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)
Guest: Laura Beers, historian and author of Orwell’s Ghosts
00:00 Intro
05:52 Truth in political speech
11:01 Doublethink: holding two mutually contradictory ideas in your head
12:35 Orwell did not support the women's movement
17:27 Colonialism and Orwell's essay: Shooting an Elephant
22:00 What is the value of reading Orwell today?
27:23 Uses and abuses of language
35:58 Why did Orwell understand totalitarian societies?
42:05 What did Orwell get wrong?
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China Just Learned Exactly How to Play Trump | The Long Game with Jake Sullivan & Jon Finer - November 7, 2025 - Vox
In their first episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer tackle three flashpoints central to U.S. national security interests right now: U.S. / China relations, the Russian - Ukraine War and the situation unfolding in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean. They close with a discussion about the new Netflix film A House of Dynamite, a story about crisis decision-making that, for two people who’ve lived those moments, hits uncomfortably close to home.
Vox will be sharing the first four episodes of "The Long Game" with our audience. You can continue watching by subscribing to the show’s official YouTube channel: youtube.com/@podlonggame
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0:00 - US / China The Literal Long Game
04:46 - Trump’s Playbook
06:22 - Export Controls
09:17 - Supreme Court Case on Tariffs
10:00 - Uncertainty and Ambiguity
12:48 - Continuing Russian War Against Ukraine
13:54 - Is an End Closer Now?
23:03 - Finally the Battlefield
27:35 - Possibility of Hybrid Warfare?
32:01 - Trump’s Backpeddling
35:40 - Approach to our own Hemisphere
37:15 - What is the Objective with Venezuela?
39:53 - What are the Targets?
42:42 - Post Intervention Risks
43:40 - A House of Dynamite
50:15 - Portrayal of Three Dimensional Characters
52:00 - Analogy to Missile Hitting Poland
57:15 - Uncertainty Over Attribution and Reaction
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Is free will a myth? | The Gray Area - November 3, 2025 - Vox
We all think of ourselves as authors of our lives. The difference between our happy ending and someone else’s tragic one are the choices we each make. But what if none of that’s true?
Sean’s guest today is Robert Sapolsky, a biologist and neuroscientist at Stanford University and author of Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will. They dig into Sapolsky’s claim that free will is an illusion and discuss what the science says about genes, stress, culture, and how all this research might reframe the way we think about meritocracy, blame, punishment, and even hatred.
This episode originally aired in November of 2023.
Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)
Guest: Robert Sapolsky, biologist and neuroscientist at Stanford University and author of Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will.
00:00 Intro
07:12 What is determinism?
24:47 Can you choose to change?
36:37 Are we just responding to stimuli?
46:22 Can we claim credit for our successes?
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The messy truth about free speech - October 29, 2025 - Vox
On September 15, Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show opening monologue included comments about the shooting of right-wing media figure Charlie Kirk, and how the "Maga gang" was "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Soon after, Brendan Carr, the chair of the FCC and an appointee of President Donald Trump, appeared on a conservative podcast and threatened to act against ABC and its parent company, Disney, for Kimmel’s remarks. On September 17, ABC and Disney suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Kimmel’s suspension launched a national debate and protest around freedom of speech and satire. From celebrities like Wanda Sykes to Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz, people from across the spectrum weighed in on the decision. The show returned days later on September 23, but the FCC’s actions left many questioning whether Kimmel’s First Amendment rights were violated.
This incident is just one of many instances of the gray areas of free speech making its way into the news cycle. In this video, we take a look at the origins of the “inalienable right” to free speech, how the Supreme Court has determined the boundaries of speech (including hate speech), and where free speech might be headed next with a six-justice majority of Republican appointees. As this issue continues to evolve, social media is one of the latest modes of communication adding new layers of complexity to this age-old debate.
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We’re not doomed by climate change. We’re just confused. | The Gray Area - October 27, 2025 - Vox
The story we tell about climate change is mostly a story about loss. But look to the data, and that story starts to fall apart. Emissions are peaking in key sectors. Clean energy is scaling faster than anyone predicted. Real progress is happening. It’s just not happening in the way we imagine it.
Sean’s guest today is Hannah Ritchie, Deputy Editor at Our World in Data and author of Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change. They discuss why our picture of the planet is so distorted, why despair can be as dangerous as denial, and what a truly energy-abundant, livable future could look like.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)
Guest: Hannah Ritchie, author of Clearing the Air
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262052740/clearing-the-air/
00:00 Intro
00:38 We know how to solve big problems
12:10 The cost of renewables has plummeted
28:58 Contested topics in the climate world
38:55 There's too much focus on plastic
45:09 What the future could look like
This episode was supported by a grant from Arnold Ventures. Vox had full discretion over the content of this reporting.
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