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How a Super El Niño affects the global climate - July 29, 2026 - Vox

On June 11, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an El Niño advisory after temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean remained higher than average for several months. Declaring an El Niño isn’t out of the ordinary, as they happen in cycles every two to seven years. But this one could be extraordinary.

Some are calling it a “Super” or “Godzilla” El Niño, and the NOAA predicts an 81 percent chance that it could develop to a “very strong” level, rivaling the historic and devastating El Niños of 1982-1983 and 1997-1998. Experts are predicting it will likely reach its peak this winter and into 2027, bringing heat, rainfall, and other potential extreme weather events.

But even with that foresight and climate models that can confidently predict what might be in store, we still face a test of what could potentially be the strongest El Niño ever recorded and the wild weather that comes with it. We spoke with atmospheric scientists and meteorologists to find out how a Super El Niño forms, why it changes global climate, and what we should expect in the coming months.

Read more about El Niño:

The latest from NOAA about this El Niño: https://www.noaa.gov/topic-tags/el-nino-la-nina-enso

Vox podcast The Gray Area covers the possibility of a “Godzilla El Niño”: https://www.vox.com/podcasts/495653/el-nino-climate-change-global-warming-david-wallace-wells

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/

World Meteorological Organization’s seasonal outlook for El Niño heat and rainfall: https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/el-nino-forecast-intensify-increasing-likelihood-of-extreme-weather

The Guardian’s coverage of California’s shark surge: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/14/california-sharks-el-nino

New York Times article about powerful El Niños of the past: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/climate/el-nino-history-famine.html

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The illusion of the ‘self’ | The Gray Area - July 27, 2026 - Vox

Sean Illing talks with neuroscientist Gregory Berns, author of The Self Delusion. Berns claims that the idea of a unified, persistent self is a kind of illusion, and that we are better understood as multiple selves at different moments in time, tied together by a story — which is what we call our identity. Sean and Greg also talk about whether the brain is a computer, how perception works, the limits of thinking too much about thinking, and what psychedelics can do to disrupt and change the stories we tell about ourselves.

This episode originally aired in November of 2022.

Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)

Guest: Gregory Berns (@gberns), author; professor of psychology and distinguished professor of neuroeconomics, Emory University

00:00 Intro

06:34 The story we tell ourselves

10:38 The mystery of consciousness

17:32 Psychedelics and the self

25:49 We are constantly changing, even on a cellular level

34:54 Is the brain really like a computer?

39:41 How other people shape the stories we tell ourselves

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The Boomer politicians who won't retire | America, Actually - July 25, 2026 - Vox

Congressman James Clyburn remains one of the defining architects of modern Democratic politics. But as a new generation of voters pushes for structural reform, is the establishment listening?

Vox’s Astead Herndon sits down with 86-year-old Clyburn to challenge him on corporate PAC contributions, the lessons of the 2024 election, and whether experience should triumph over generational turnover.

00:00 – Intro

01:22 – Why Rep. Jim Clyburn decided to run for reelection at 86

05:32 – Experience vs. youth in Congress and the debate over cognitive tests

09:08 – Looking back at Joe Biden's 2024 debate performance and reelection bid

11:34 – Working across the aisle: Clyburn on his relationship with Sen. Lindsey Graham

12:38 – Are younger politicians too rigid?

14:26 – The CBC’s defense of corporate PAC money

19:02 – Technology, AI, and how veteran lawmakers legislate modern issues

20:32 – Navigating the Democratic primaries

25:43 – Who is to blame for the Democratic Party’s brand problem?

30:35 - Lessons from the Biden administration and Kamala Harris’s defeat

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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