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What masculinity does to men | The Gray Area - June 22, 2026 - Vox

Sean talks with journalist Jordan Ritter Conn about his book “American Men,” an intimate look at four men trying to figure out what manhood and masculinity have given them versus what they have cost them, and what to do with the gap between the men they think they’re supposed to be and the men they actually are. They talk about being fathers and sons as well as about violence, shame, ambition, male friendship, loneliness, and why being a “good man” might mean finally letting go of the desire to perform manhood.

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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)

Guest: Jordan Ritter Conn (@jordanconn)

00:00 Intro

00:47 Beyond the ‘what’s wrong with men’ debate

06:30 Why so many men feel like they’re not enough

08:14 Four different paths to manhood

16:17 The role of fathers

19:44 Achieve doesn’t always bring confidence

24:54 The cost of male loneliness

33:21 Rethinking what it means to be a good man

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Millennial politicians tackling AI & cancelled tweets | America, Actually - June 20, 2026 - Vox

Two newcomers in high profile races in New York City are trying to get to Washington. On the way, they’re forcing the Democratic Party to confront its immediate future on technology, identity, and immigration.

Vox’s Astead Herndon sits down with New York Congressional candidates Alex Bores and Darializa Avila Chevalier to talk about AI regulation, generational change, and why their races hold national significance.

00:00 — Why New York primaries have national implications

01:02 — Meet Alex Bores: Target of a tech super PAC

01:51 — From Palantir engineer to AI regulatory watchdog

06:32 — The debate over an AI moratorium and global competition

08:42 — The AI dividend: Universal basic income vs. tech disruption

09:55 — Inside the RAISE Act: Moving beyond watered-down safety laws

12:15 — Money and fear: Why Washington stays quiet on tech

14:50 — Part II: Challenging the Democratic establishment in NY-13

15:43 — Generational change vs. identity politics

19:00 — Foreign policy at home: Connecting local budgets to global warfare

20:59 — Public safety and rethinking the criminal justice arsenal

23:14 — Moving past the 2020 "woker than thou" rhetoric

24:49 — The legality and ethics of deportation enforcement

27:35 — Navigating the future of the left

Sources and further reading:

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 hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom.

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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

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