Frames of Space

Allie Volpe is a correspondent at Vox. She writes extensively about the science of human connection—friendship, conversation, community, and the invisible threads that tie our well-being to the relationships around us. And let me tell you, these connections are vital. Take loneliness, for instance. Loneliness isn’t just a feeling; it’s a state of being that affects us both psychologically and phys...

David French is an opinion columnist for The New York Times. Formerly a senior editor at The Dispatch and staff writer at National Review, David is known by many for his understanding of mainstream conservatism, and how Republican culture has changed significantly over the past decade. In this episode, I spoke with him about the history of populism within Evangelical America, the ways that Evangel...

Jeremiah Johnson is the co-founder of The Center for New Liberalism , host of The New Liberal Podcast , and the writer behind the Substack Infinite Scroll . His writing lives at the strange intersection of serious policy and unserious online discourse—and he’s one of the few people I’ve come across who is willing to take both seriously. One day he’s writing about marginal tax rates or housing vouc...

Bret Devereaux is a military historian and a Teaching Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University. He writes the blog "A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry," which covers Roman history, the nature of power and violence in society, and the best sci-fi/fantasy stories. In this episode, I got a chance to speak with him about how George Washington prevented a military coup, the unwritten ru...

Karin Tamerius is a psychiatrist, a political psychologist, and the founder of Smart Politics. She writes the Substack "The Smart Politics Way," which has quietly become one of the most thoughtful guides to how we talk about—and think about—politics. The truth is, we’re living in a time where the news cycle is relentless. It’s not just a daily onslaught of information; it’s a constant barrage of d...

Mónica Guzmán is the author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. She is also host of the podcast "A Braver Way," and an advisor for Public Practice at Braver Angels. Her beat is bridging political divides, and how to model good-faith political disagreements across the aisle. In this episode, I got a chance to speak with her a...

Stephanie Murray is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and the author behind the Substack "Family Stuff." Her beat involves covering many of the intricacies and data points behind parenting and child-rearing, particularly the decline in birthrates throughout much of the developed world. In this episode, I got a chance to speak with her about the explanations for why people aren't having as man...

Charlotte Swasey is the writer behind the Substack "Medium Data," which examines the intricacies of polling and political analysis to generate upcoming election forecasts and predictions for Democratic politicians. In this episode, I got a chance to speak with her about the Senate forecast for the 2026 Elections, the gap between the perception and reality of Democratic policies, and how politician...

Dylan Matthews is a senior correspondent at Vox and one of the key writers behind Future Perfect, a section of the site dedicated to exploring ways to make the world better through evidence, reason, and moral philosophy. If you look at his body of work, you’ll find that he’s written about everything from AI risk to tax policy to foreign aid spending. And that eclecticism is part of what makes him...

Matthew Adelstein writes the Substack "Bentham's Newsletter" under the alias "Bentham's Bulldog." He is the rare thinker who will, in one breath, defend a rigorous logical case for the existence of God, and in the next insist that we should worry more about shrimp than about most public-policy debates. His outlook isn’t contrarian for sport; it’s the consequence of three guiding hunches he’s writt...

Katherine Dee is an internet culture reporter who writes the Substack "default.blog," which observes the quirks and tendencies of various subcultures on social media. In this episode, I got a chance to talk with her about her history covering different facets of the internet, how she approaches AI, and the different incentives of online interaction compared to in-person interaction. Show Notes "Th...

Jessica Grose is an opinion writer for The New York Times. What I admire about Jessica's writing is that she doesn’t just cover politics as a horse race or culture as a meme war; she zooms into the kitchen tables, classrooms, and waiting rooms where policy choices land on real bodies. Her beat is ​parenthood and education, faith and loneliness, COVID aftershocks and TikTok doom-scrolls — basically...

Micah Sifry is a writer and organizer behind the Substack "The Connector." He has decades of experience in covering how technology is changing politics, and how to participate productively in the political process. In this episode, I got a chance to talk with him about the history of mass protests in the US, the recent authoritarian cuts to government spending, and public perceptions of government...

Announcement: this podcast will be publishing episodes twice as often as before (so every single week on Thursdays) for the next several weeks at least, and hopefully for longer. Count yourself lucky in that regard :) Noah Smith is an economist who writes the Substack "Noahpinion" and co-hosts the podcast "Econ 102." He is known for his commentary on economic issues like inflation, trade policy, d...

Cathy Reisenwitz writes the Substack "Sex and the State," which covers the intersection between feminism, sex advocacy, and how our society shapes our perception of gender roles. In this episode, I got a chance to talk with her about her upbringing as an Evangelical, how her views on gender and sex have changed over time, and the tension between our desire for rigid structure and our desire for au...

Shauna Daly is the co-founder of the Substack "Young Men Research Initiative," which covers how people can reach out to young men who are increasingly drifting rightward. In this episode, I got a chance to talk with her about the ways that young men are lacking a script for what type of person they should be, the recent decline in romantic relationships between young men and women, and which mascu...

When we see people acting in ways that seem irrational or incomprehensible, it’s easy to see them as ignorant or evil. But what if there’s more to it? What if, beneath the surface, there’s a much more complex mix of emotions—joy, fear, loyalty, and even desperation—that we tend to dismiss or fail to see? Erik Engheim writes the Substack "Erik Explores," which covers politics, history and culture f...

Lauren Harper Pope is the co-founder of WelcomePAC, an advocacy organization to help elect centrist Democrats in swing districts. Beyond helping to raise political funds in that regard, she is known for her political commentary, including Substack writing and hosting the podcast The Depolarizers. In this episode, I got a chance to talk with her about the most productive Democratic candidates to fu...

Check out my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/FramesofSpace Robin Hanson is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University, and a former research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. He is known for his commentary on cultural drift, which examines how the nature of cultural shifts has changed over time. In this episode, I got a chance to talk t...

Greg Sargent is a staff writer at The New Republic and the host of the podcast "The Daily Blast." In this episode, I got a chance to talk with Greg about the electoral popularity of immigration reform, how shifts in voter turnout have affected Democrats, the role of media responsibility during election cycles, and how to cover Trumpism without burnout or fatigue. Show Notes "Why Democrats Got the...

Tyler Cowen is the Holbert L. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University and director at the Mercatus Center. He is also the host of the podcast "Conversations with Tyler," where he talks about a wide range of topics from AI to economic inequality to social media, and much, much more. In this episode, I got a chance to talk with Tyler about quite a few of those topics: the extent of his...

Miriam Elder is an American journalist known for her coverage of the Russian government. She has written for Vanity Fair, BuzzFeed News, The Guardian, and recently, The New York Times. In this episode, I got a chance to talk to her about her response to Trump's recent victory, and the parallels she sees between Russian authoritarianism and Republican authoritarianism. Sources "Don't Let Trump Driv...

Darrell Owens is a Substack writer who is known for his commentary on housing, culture, and progressive politics. In this episode, I got a chance to talk to him about the prevalence of homelessness in blue cities, how progressives could respond to right-wing media influencers, and the way that Twitter affects important political discourse. Show Notes Liberal NIMBYs Are Helping Red States by Darrel...

Jessica Grose is an opinion writer for The New York Times. She is known for writing about issues related to education and culture, such as how the pandemic has affected schools in the long run, or what has been causing declining fertility rates. In this episode, I got a chance to talk to her about the current baseline quality of US education, the increase in distrust towards societal institutions,...

Noah Smith is an economist who writes the Substack "Noahpinion" and co-hosts the podcast "Econ 102." He is known for his commentary on economic issues like inflation, trade policy, deficit spending, and more. In this episode, I got a chance to talk to him about why Democrats lost the 2024 Election, how Trump's proposed policies would affect the economy, and the tradeoff between inflation and unemp...