Frames of Space

Stephanie Murray on Why Low Birthrates Matter

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 many kids, why lower fertility rates are such a big deal, and her own experience as a mother of three.
Show Notes
"Welcome to Family Stuff" by Stephanie Murray, Family Stuff
"Stephanie Murray: Promoting Parenthood in a Free Society" from The Human Progress Podcast
"A Pro-Natalism for Normies" by Patrick Brown, The Dispatch

Charlotte Swasey on How Voters Perceive the Democrats

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 politicians could approach controversial issues like immigration.

Dylan Matthews on Negativity Bias and the Cost of Foreign Aid Cuts

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 so compelling.
In this episode, I got a chance to speak with him about the extent of negativity bias in journalism, the positive effects of George W. Bush's presidency, and the future of artificial intelligence in society.
Show Notes
"Why the news is so negative — and what we can do about it" by Dylan Matthews, Vox
"We’ll miss globalism when it’s gone" by Dylan Matthews, Vox
"What would a world without foreign aid look like?" by Dylan Matthews, Vox
 
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Matthew Adelstein on Theism, Utilitarianism, and Animal Welfare

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 written about: that our moral circle is still way too small, that good arguments should beat gut feelings even when they get weird, and that tribal loyalty is the mind-killer. Follow that recipe and you end up somewhere delightfully off-map—and that’s exactly where this conversation goes.
In this episode, I got a chance to speak with him about the philosophical arguments for the existence of God, the merits of utilitarianism, and whether or not we should kill animal predators to prevent them from killing other animals.
Show Notes
"The Ultimate Guide To The Anthropic Argument" by Bentham's Bulldog, Bentham's Newsletter
"Islam Is Very Implausible" by Bentham's Bulldog, Bentham's Newsletter
 

Katherine Dee on the Nature of Internet Subcultures

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
"The Billionaire, the Influencer and their Baby" by Katherine Dee, Wisdom of Crowds
"Internet Overexposure Syndrome" by Katherine Dee, Comment

Jessica Grose on Technology and Post-Pandemic Divides

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, all the places where our ideals crash into our everyday lives.
In this episode, I got a chance to speak with her about how our social media has been affecting kids, how student performance has changed in recent years, and the ways that modern medicine has become a victim of its own success.
Show Notes
"Parents Don’t Know It but K-12 Students Are Falling Into ‘the Honesty Gap’" by Jessica Grose, The New York Times
"Measles, MAHA Moms and Robert F. Kennedy Jr." from The Opinions

Micah Sifry on Government Protest and American Authoritarianism

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 service.
Show Notes
"A Different Kind of Anti-Trump Resistance Is Brewing" by Micah Sifry, The New York Times

Noah Smith on the Crisis of Trump's Tariff Madness

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, deficit spending, and more.
In this episode, I got a chance to speak with him about Trump's latest tariffs, how harmful they will be for all of us, and how the economic world order is changing.

Cathy Reisenwitz on Navigating Gender Norms

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 autonomy.
Show Notes
"How to fight fascism" by Cathy Reisenwitz, Sex and the State
"Politics, Sex, and Sexuality: The Growing Gender Divide in American Life" from Survey Center on American Life
"Our intelligentsia has abandoned our illiterati" by Cathy Reisenwitz, Sex and the State

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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