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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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Are you anxious, avoidant, or secure? | The Gray Area - June 15, 2026 - Vox
Sean talks with psychiatrist and neuroscientist Amir Levine about attachment, insecurity, and why our relationships shape us more than we think. They discuss his updated framework for anxious, avoidant, and secure attachment styles, why being ignored or excluded can feel so threatening, and how small everyday interactions can either calm the brain or send it spiraling. They also dig into childhood dynamics, therapy, conflict, friendship, loneliness, and different ways we can build more secure lives.
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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)
Guest: Amir Levine, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author of Secure: the revolutionary guide to creating a secure life
00:00 Intro
01:39 What is attachment theory?
08:17 Why is it so hard to feel secure?
12:11 The stories that fuel our insecurity
17:21 Why we overthink our relationships
20:50 Why being ignored feels so threatening
29:58 Why predictability isn’t boring
32:36 It may not be you. It may be your environment.
37:18 How to build a more secure life
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Hasan Piker vs. The Establishment | America, Actually - June 13, 2026 - Vox
Hasan Piker has become one of the most prominent leftist voices in the US, serving as an online guide for a Democratic Party trying to navigate the new internet. But his rapid rise has sparked a furious backlash from the party's centrist establishment.
Vox’s Astead Herndon sits down with Jonathan Cowan, president of the premier centrist think tank Third Way, who argues that Piker’s history of inflammatory rhetoric makes him a toxic liability that Democrats must cast out. Then, we put those exact claims to the Twitch streamer himself.
00:00 — Introduction: Is Hasan Piker toxic?
01:12 — The centrist case against Piker with Third Way's Jonathan Cowan
04:47 — Comparing Piker to far-right extremists
07:34 — Evaluating rhetoric and the threat of violence
10:19 — Electoral strategy: Moderates vs. deep blue progressive pushes
18:14 — The apology question: Third Way's challenges for Hasan
21:26 — Hasan Piker responds: Addressing the "cringe" past content
23:55 — "Pig dog" and allegations of antisemitic tropes
26:01 — Rick Scott hyperbole and streaming accountability
30:37 — Quadrupling down on Hamas and Israel stances
35:19 — Piker’s theory of political change and the Democratic Party
40:45 — Why liberals fail to capture Twitch and streaming culture
44:00 — Closing message to the Democratic establishment
Sources and further reading:
Democrats Are Too Cozy With Hasan Piker, WSJ Opinion:
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/free-expression/democrats-are-too-cozy-with-hasan-piker-2ecee4cc
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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