Vox

What would J.R.R. Tolkien think of Palantir? - May 12, 2026 - Vox

Peter Thiel and Alex Karp’s Palantir Technologies is one of the most powerful and mysterious tech companies in Silicon Valley. Its namesake is also one of the most powerful and mysterious magical objects in the lore of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy series The Lord of the Rings.

The palantiri of The Lord of the Rings are sort of like crystal balls or “seeing stones” that allow their users to communicate across vast distances, see events from afar, and sometimes even peer into the future. But just about everybody who tries to use a palantir in The Lord of the Rings is deceived by it, acting on the visions they’re receiving without the greater context or wisdom of what’s behind them. So why would the people behind Palantir want to name the company and build its culture around these powerful yet easily corruptible magical objects?

J.R.R. Tolkien was famously anti-tech and anti-government, expressing his fears of what would happen when those two forces combined through his fantasy works and his letters to friends, family, and colleagues. If he were alive in the age of Palantir, he might not be thrilled that a tech company with lucrative government contracts is name-checking his creations.

Vox producer Benjamin Stephen went on a quest to find out the story behind Palantir’s name, what the link to The Lord of the Rings reveals about the company, and what Tolkien might think about how his words are being used.

Read more about Palantir and The Lord of the Rings:

Vox senior correspondent Constance Grady’s piece on the conservative reading of The Lord of the Rings: https://www.vox.com/culture/466858/lord-of-the-rings-conservatives-right-republicans-elon-musk-jd-vance-peter-thiel

The Scouring of the Shire letter written by Palantir alumni: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25930212/the-scouring-of-the-shire.pdf

Caroline Haskins’s WIRED piece on what Palantir actually does: https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-what-the-company-does/

"Tolkien's Deplorable Cultus," an essay by literature professor Robert Tally: https://spectrejournal.com/tolkiens-deplorable-cultus/

Today, Explained covers what the right gets wrong about Tolkien: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6p2Jxa9KRttPTF15vwPmjR

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Why we can’t see progress | The Gray Area - May 11, 2026 - Vox

If someone asked you to describe the state of the world right now, odds are you’d reach for the bad news first: political division, AI panic, war, ecological crisis, unraveling everywhere. And none of that is imaginary. But Rebecca Solnit thinks the pessimistic view is incomplete. We’re good at seeing catastrophe and reversal, and much worse at seeing the slower, more positive transformations that unfold over decades.

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Solnit’s new book, The Beginning Comes After the End, is an argument for noticing those changes without denying the darkness of the present. She joins Sean to talk about hope, backlash, political despair, and why fragile victories are still victories worth defending.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)

Guest: Rebecca Solnit

00:00 Intro

02:17 Why we struggle to recognize change

08:44 What is driving today’s political backlash?

15:25 How to find hope in fragile victories

20:39 Is backlash an eternal political reality?

24:54 Power vs. culture: where does change really happen?

37:06 Does Rebecca Solnit ever lose hope?

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.

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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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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.

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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

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.

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