Vox

Are young men and women giving up on each other? | The Gray Area - October 12, 2026 - Vox

What happens to a society when its members become increasingly wary of one another, and relationships break down based on gender lines?

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In today’s episode, guest host Christine Emba speaks with pollster and writer Dan Cox about his new book Generation Uncoupled: America's New Gender Divide and the Crisis of Human Connection. They consider how and why men and women in America are growing apart, rising safety concerns among young women, and the widening political divide on gender lines.

Host: Christine Emba, columnist and author

Guest: Dan Cox, Director of the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute and author of Generation Uncoupled.

00:00 Intro

04:34 Smartphones and the crisis of connection

09:38 When the gap between men and women opened

26:25 The erosion of our social connections

35:52 Our changing social awareness

40:21 How to make a change

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Wisconsin is a test of the blue wave | America, Actually - October 10, 2026 - Vox

Most of the focus in this year’s midterms is naturally on Congress. But the battle for control of state legislatures matters just as much, if not more.

Currently, Republicans hold a trifecta — control of the governorship, state senate, and state house — in 23 states, while Democrats hold 16.

Flipping just a handful of state seats can change who holds the majority of power nationwide. That has major policy implications. On this week’s episode of America, Actually, Vox’s Astead Herndon travels to Wisconsin to dig into the national strategy behind state-level trifectas, what’s at stake for working-class voters, and what it takes to flip rural districts.

00:00 A blue wave beyond Congress

01:50 Wisconsin: The perfect case study

04:48 What a Wisconsin trifecta could deliver

06:09 Winning back rural voters

07:07 Wisconsin’s gerrymandering legacy

08:17 The growth of data centers

10:41 Francesca Hong’s narrow primary loss

12:43 The electability debate

16:17 Wisconsin’s national stakes

18:45 Rallying to flip the legislature

20:40 The issues that matter most to rural Democrats

29:00 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.

If you enjoy our reporting and want to learn more, sign up for Astead’s weekly newsletter, Midterms, Actually. Just go to www.vox.com/midtermsactually to learn more, and get in-depth analysis about this year’s election right to your inbox.

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The problem with the death penalty | The Gray Area - October 9, 2026 - Vox

Is there a humane way for the state to kill someone?

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Guest host Miles Bryan sits down with New York Times Magazine writer and ProPublica reporter Pamela Colloff to pull back the curtain on critical flaws in America's approach to the death penalty. From the tragedy of wrongful convictions to the profound impact capital punishment has on victims' families, can the death penalty ever truly be justified?

Drawing on decades of reporting and a new book, Catch the Devil, Colloff examines the reality of executions in states like Florida, the prevalence of unreliable jailhouse informants, and why a system built on human judgment can never be infallible.

00:00 Intro

01:59 Why Colloff changed her mind on the death penalty

06:57 The declining use of the death penalty

11:49 Governor Desantis and the death penalty

20:50 The governor’s power in Florida

32:45 Jailhouse informants

42:02 To Catch a Devil

Guest Host: Miles Bryan, Vox Senior Producer and Reporter

Guest: Pamela Colloff, author of Catch the Devil

And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. New episodes drop every Monday and Friday.

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If Dems take Congress, what can they actually do? - October 8, 2026 - Vox

With the US midterm elections a few weeks away, Vox is bringing you conversations with our political reporters and correspondents. Today, Explained host Sean Rameswaram speaks with senior politics correspondent Andrew Prokop about the challenges a reshaped Democratic Party could face if it wins control of the House and potentially the Senate.

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