Frames of Space

Shauna Daly on the State of Young Men in America

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 masculine-coded traits might be worth promoting in the future.
Show Notes
"What’s Love (And Sex and Porn) Got to Do With Elections?" by Young Men Research Project
Timestamps
00:00 Graceful Dialogue on Gender Issues
10:37 Gen Z's Growing Political Divide
16:09 How Digital Media Consumption Affects the Gender Divide
22:55 Changing Gender Roles and Economic Disparities
27:31 Rethinking Gender Performance Differences
33:13 Diversity Enhances Health and Connection
37:32 Marriage and Population Policy Debate
42:41 The Right-Wing Ideological Divide
49:38 Balancing Gender Equality and Modern Masculinity
53:18 Reimagining Modern Masculinity
59:30 Negativity in the Left's Sex Discourse
01:07:25 Election Trends and Gender Attitudes
01:11:21 Condemning Blatant Misogyny
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Erik Engheim on How He Misjudged Trump Supporters

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 from a Nordic perspective.
In this episode, I got a chance to talk with Erik about how he was wrong about Trump supporters, and his apology to them for misjudging their morality. We discuss the nature of Republican support for Donald Trump, and the sense of joy that is present within the MAGA movement.
Show Notes
"My Apology to Trumpers" by Erik Engheim, Erik Examines
President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress, March 2025
"The 3 cognitive scripts that subtly rule our lives" by Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Big Think
"I Welcome Trump Supporters" by Erik Engheim, Erik Examines
"David French: Checks, Balances, and the New Trump Era" from Good Faith

Lauren Harper Pope on Democratic Coalitions and Fundraising

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 fund, the nature of political polarization, and the importance of reaching out to politically disengaged voters.
Show Notes
"The Awkward Politics of Evasion" by Liam Kerr and Lauren Harper Pope, WelcomeStack
"The Case for Strong Parties" from The Depolarizers
"Democrats Are Losing the War for Attention. Badly." from The Ezra Klein Show
"Invest to Win The Middle" from WelcomePAC

Robin Hanson on the Problem Behind Declining Fertility Rates

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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 to him about what causes cultural change, how that relates to the debate over declining fertility rates, and what could be done to address cultural drift.
Show Notes
Fertility Rate from Our World in Data

Greg Sargent on Immigration and Electoral Strategy

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 Politics of Immigration So Wrong for So Long" by Rogé Karma, The Atlantic
"Trump Just Laid a Brutal Trap for Dems, and They're Walking into It" by Greg Sargent, The New Republic
"Democrats Have a Better Option that Biden" by Ezra Klein, The New York Times
This interview was recorded on January 17th, 2025.

Tyler Cowen on How He Views the World

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 libertarian ideology, why he's less pessimistic about social media, what movies have influenced him, etc.
In that regard, this episode has quite a few parallels to an average Conversations with Tyler episode: you'll hear quick pivots, broad range, and a willingness to see where the host might lead. Hope you enjoy!
Show Notes
"Jonathan Haidt on Adjusting to Smartphones and Social Media" from Conversations with Tyler

Miriam Elder on Not Giving Up On the Fight

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 Drive You Into Internal Exile" by Miriam Elder, The New York Times
"How's the GOP's Trans Panic Has Shades of Putin's Anti-LGBTQ+ Playbook" by Miriam Elder, Vanity Fair

Darrell Owens on Understanding Democratic Party Politics

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 Darrell Owens, The Discourse Lounge
Why Harris Lost Uninformed Voters by Darrell Owens, The Discourse Lounge

Jessica Grose on Education, Culture, and Institutional Distrust

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, and what the 2024 election results say about our culture.
Show Notes
Emma's Torch
"2024 is Suddenly About Having Kids" from Matter of Opinion
"Trump Doesn’t Care Enough About K-12 Education to Break It" by Jessica Grose, The New York Times
"Good Marriages Are Good. Bad Marriages Are, Well, Bad" by Jessica Grose, The New York Times
"Rachel Wiseman and Anastasia Berg on Millenial Concerns Surrounding Parenthood" from Frames of Space
Yes Day
"The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking" by Brendan I. Koerner
"Young Women Will Never Stop Talking About Sexism" by Jessica Grose, The New York Times

Noah Smith on How Trump Will Affect the Economy

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 unemployment.
Show Notes
"Identity politics isn't working" by Noah Smith, Noahpinion
"Americans hate inflation more than they hate unemployment" by Noah Smith, Noahpinion