Vox

Will gas prices decide the midterms? | America, Actually - August 8, 2026 - Vox

Gas prices are hovering around $4 a gallon nationally, and hitting $4.20 in swing states like Pennsylvania. President Trump has promised relief once the Iran war ends, but history shows voters’ patience at the pump doesn’t last long. So Vox’s Astead Herndon traveled to one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country to see if high fuel costs might actually flip votes in this year’s midterm elections.

00:00 Do gas prices decide elections?

01:10 Why $4 gas could hurt Republicans

02:00 What Pennsylvania voters told us

03:00 Did Trump break his promise on gas prices?

05:00 What’s to blame for the higher prices?

08:03 Why some voters still support Trump

12:47 The history of gas prices and elections

14:53 How gas prices helped unseat Jimmy Carter

15:45 Why presidents get blamed for gas prices

17:19 Why gas prices hit differently for Americans

18:45 Can the GOP survive $4 gas?

21:19 Will gas prices decide the midterms?

21:21 How should Democrats campaign?

23:51 The limits of presidential power

Read more about gas prices:

Why Gas Prices Hit Different

https://julianzelizer.substack.com/p/why-gas-prices-hit-different

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What does a parent owe their child? | The Gray Area - August 7, 2026 - Vox

The Gray Area is taking a short break this week — but we’ve got something special for you.

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We’re dropping an episode from one of our favorite podcasts, Unexplainable. In it, host Noam Hassenfeld and Vox senior reporter Sigal Samuel explore one of the biggest dilemmas facing growing families: How much should parents decide about their children’s future from prenatal testing alone? Noam and Sigal wrestle with the moral dilemmas surrounding genetic testing, parental choice, and the limitations of trying to predict the future.

Host: Noam Hassenfeld, Host of Unexplainable

Guest: Sigal Samuel, Vox Senior Reporter

Listen to more Unexplainable episodes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unexplainable/id1554578197

Read Sigal’s advice column here: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/459003/designer-babies-embryo-selection-polygenic-testing-ethics

00:00 Intro

03:49 What does a parent owe their child?

04:59 What do genetic tests screen for?

09:29 The complexities of genetics screening

13:02 Should parents choose their baby’s traits?

21:41 How did the Vox audience respond?

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.

And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube.

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The Gray Area is taking a short break this week — but we’ve got something special for you.

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India’s internet war - August 6, 2026 - Vox

In 2014, Narendra Modi pioneered the use of social media and digital campaigning in India to become prime minister. Known as one of the first global politicians to harness the power of the internet, he has the most social media followers of any world leader currently in office.

Today, over a decade since Modi’s digital-first political campaign, an internet-fueled youth movement called the Cockroach Janta Party (or the Cockroach People’s Party) is using the same social media platforms to organize protests, successfully forcing the resignation of one of Prime Minister Modi’s top advisers. The Indian government has responded with a crackdown, arresting protesters and increasingly censoring X, Meta, and other social meda sites. The legacy of the Cockroach Janta Party will be complex: on one hand, it brought to the forefront important conversations around Gen Z unemployment and meritocracy; on the other, it may have pushed the Indian government to create stricter new censorship laws to silence future dissent.

The internet that helped propel Modi to power is becoming a tool that a new generation uses against him. How much further will Modi’s government go to censor its people and restrict free speech?

Read more about censorship in India and the Cockroach Janta Party:

Censorship tracker on MediaNama, a live list of censorship following the Jantar Mantar protests in New Delhi: https://www.medianama.com/2026/07/223-censorship-tracker-live-list-jantar-mantar-protests-new-delhi/

“Social Media Modi-Fication: Narendra Modi’s use of Social Media in Indian Elections 2014”: https://papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/mediasia2014/MediAsia2014_04062.pdf

“India CJP protests: Young women face harassment and abuse”: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g43l251vyo

“Activists decry AI surveillance at CJP protests”: https://www.dw.com/en/india-news-activists-decry-ai-surveillance-at-cjp-protests/live-78139564

“India’s young are more educated than ever. Why are so many jobless?”: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17841zez8wo

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Can you build a blue zone? - August 4, 2026 - Vox

Blue zones are places around the world where people have been reported to live longer, healthier lives. The idea began with researchers studying communities in places like Sardinia, Okinawa, Ikaria, Nicoya, and Loma Linda, where daily life seemed to support longevity through movement, connection, purpose, and healthier eating.

But over time, Blue Zones became more than a way to study longevity. They became a certification program exported to communities across the United States.

In this video, we visit California’s Beach Cities to see what happens when a community tries to re-create the conditions of a blue zone, and ask whether the lessons of longevity can really be engineered, or whether basic public health ideas have been repackaged into something much bigger.

Read more about Blue Zones:

The Longevity Hot Spots That Weren’t

https://newrepublic.com/article/188317/blue-zones-longevity-hot-spots-myth

Shades of blue: Blue zones, supposed havens of longevity, have become a global brand. But skeptics think they rest on shaky science

https://www.science.org/content/article/do-blue-zones-supposed-havens-longevity-rest-shaky-science

Why People in “Blue Zones” Live Longer Than the Rest of the World

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/blue-zones

Do People in ‘Blue Zones’ Actually Live Longer?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/well/live/blue-zones-longevity-aging.html

This video is presented by Colgate. Colgate doesn’t have a say in our editorial decisions, but they make videos like this one possible.

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What technology can't give you | The Gray Area - August 3, 2026 - Vox

Sean talks with writer and philosopher Ian Bogost about his new book The Small Stuff. They discuss what modern life has lost in its pursuit of convenience, efficiency, and optimization. From stick shifts to coffee cups, lawnmowers, and smartphones, Bogost argues that many of the small sensory experiences that once connected us to the physical world have quietly disappeared.

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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)

Guest: Ian Bogost

00:00 Intro

02:35 Why we feel disconnected from the physical world

07:23 Gratification vs. self-indulgence

20:09 Why owning things matters

26:05 How remote work ‘flattens’ our space

35:38 Living in expectation

41:35 Accepting sensory gifts

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