Frames of Space

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 Evangelical culture led to the rise of the MAGA movement, and how the current Trump administration is weaponizing the apathy and fatigue of American citizens.

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 vouchers; the next he’s explaining how fan drama in a K-pop subreddit is more predictive of future political radicalization than anything you’ll hear from a campaign manager. It sounds absurd, until you realize: he might be right. In this episode, I got a chance to speak with him about why he considers himself a liberal, why social media conversations tend to be both toxic and important, and why it's better to create things than to consume things. Show Notes "You don't care about politics. You have a politics hobby." by Jeremiah Johnson, Infinite Scroll "Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change" by Eitan Hersh "On Consumption vs Production" by Jeremiah Johnson, Infinite Scroll

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 rules governing the US military, and the tension between critiquing institutions and defending their existence. Show Notes "Collections: The American Civil-Military Relationship" by Bret Devereaux, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry

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 developments, policies, and crises that seem to demand our immediate attention. And while it’s natural to feel concerned about the state of the world, I can’t help but wonder: are we handling this in the best possible way? What Karin argues is something deceptively simple: our brains were never built for politics. In this episode, I got a chance to speak with her about why the human brain is not hardwired to deal with politics in a productive way, how empathy shapes peoples' political beliefs, and the kinds of discipline that people can engender within themselves to deal with the news cycle. Show Notes "Your Brain Isn't Built for Politics—Here's What to Do About It" by Karin Tamerius, The Smart Politics Way "Talking with Trump Voters Seems Hopeless—But It's Not" by Karin Tamerius, The Smart Politics Way

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 about the pervasiveness of fear in American politics, what couples therapy has to do with understanding political differences, and how to make use of political consumption.

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 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 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   You can find my Patreon page here.

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 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