The episode follows a hearing this week on reparations, featuring host Jeffery Robinson in conversation with Dr. Ron Daniels and Nkechi Taifa

Meet the Social Advocates, Active Defenders and Modern Benefactors

Melissa Bell, Co-Founder of Vox and Publisher of Vox Media, announced today Swati Sharma, Managing Editor at The Atlantic, has been tapped as the new Editor-in-Chief of Vox—the premier explanatory journalism network. Sharma joins Vox during a moment of tremendous growth and will oversee its website’s editorial vision as the network reaches wider audiences in more places and in more formats than ever before. “Throughout her career, Swati has combined a deep respect for great journalism with a profound understanding for audience needs,” Melissa Bell said. “I’m so excited to have Swati working with Vox during this incredible moment of change for both us and our audiences. She brings an appreciation of Vox’s distinctive journalistic mission and proven experience leading teams to consistently produce their best work.” Sharma joined The Atlantic in January 2018 and guided its digital coverage during some of the most consequential news moments in recent history, overseeing all of the site’s sections—Politics, Culture, Technology, Ideas, Science, Family, Global, Health—and was instrumental in the record growth of The Atlantic’s audience. She will begin as Vox’s Editor-in-Chief next month. “From its inception, Vox has worked to provide a deep understanding of an ever complex and often confusing world. With a still raging pandemic, an overdue and ongoing racial reckoning, and a new Presidential administration, the work is more vital than ever,” says Swati Sharma. “I’m thrilled to join an institution that has strong values and a crucial mission and I’m looking forward to collaborating with the talented team already in place to continue producing work that dissects and illuminates big ideas, challenges long-held perceptions, inspires people to live better lives, and fosters the kind of discussion that leads to real change.” Before joining The Atlantic, Sharma spent more than four years at The Washington Post, as Deputy General

Subscribe to listen to Land of the Giants: The Google Empire hosted by Recode’s Shirin Ghaffary and Alex Kantrowitz, Founder of Big Technology.

As part of our continuing research on policy perspectives, consumers’ media diets, and how media consumption affects society, Vox Media commissioned a survey of ~2,500 subjects from January 10-14, 2021, in partnership with research firm SightX. Our goals included: Assessing the extent of polarization on issues commonly identified as controversial Identifying areas of consensus regardless of political identification Charting a new path for media organizations to encourage responsible, active consumer engagement Articulating the role of the consumer in advocating for better discourse As part of a media organization, we at Vox Media strive to hold ourselves and our teammates to high standards of ethics across our journalism and advertising. We encourage marketers to evaluate their media partners closely and frequently to ensure that advertisers are aligning with responsible dialogues, rigorous fact checking, and thoughtful perspectives. And, as consumers realize their agency in shaping the national narrative, we hope that they will also increasingly support media organizations that advocate for and practice high-quality journalism. Below you can read more on our findings: ON POLARIZATION When asked, people have a muted perspective on their own polarization. While some may classify themselves as staunchly conservative or liberal, 70% of people would consider themselves middle of the road. This political spectrum, shown below, mirrors a bell curve and begs the question—Are we more polarized by our self-identified labels versus the issues that matter? After looking at this data, Vox Media dug further and examined how people think about issues, whether that polarization impacts their desire for change, and the need for media to play a consistent role through responsible journalism. ON POLICY ISSUES There is no doubt that a wide gulf exists between the very liberal and the very conservative when it comes to political issues. However, the data below suggests that the majority

SB Nation is supercharging its audio programming across The SB Nation NFL Show, Arrowhead Pride, and Bucs Nation podcasts with “Digital Radio Row”

Hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding, the podcast will move to Vulture on February 2.

Vox Quick Hits offers audiences the unique ability to create a personal listening experience with a daily playlist – subscribe here.

A Q&A with Stephen DiMarco, Chief Digital Officer, Kantar & Edwin Wong, SVP Insights & Innovation

The new narrative series, hosted by Cristela Alonzo, debuts today––subscribe here.

(and Dry January is taking the year off)

New York Magazine editor-in-chief David Haskell announced today that Lindsay Peoples Wagner (@lpeopleswagner) will be the next editor-in-chief of the Cut, New York’s site for women, covering style, self, culture, and power. Peoples Wagner will conceive the strategic direction for the Cut’s next chapter, overseeing all editorial content, events, brand extensions, and more. She joins the Cut from Teen Vogue, where she has been editor-in-chief since 2018; she is also the co-founder of the Black In Fashion Council, focused on the advancement of Black people in the fashion and beauty industry. This will be a return to the Cut for Peoples Wagner, who was previously the site’s fashion market editor from 2015-2018, writing about fashion, race, and culture, and producing photo shoots and celebrity profiles. Her last major feature for the Cut was “Everywhere and Nowhere,” an in-depth examination of what it’s really like to be Black and work in the fashion industry, featuring more than 100 people of color’s insights and perspectives. While at Teen Vogue, Peoples launched Generation Next, a mentorship initiative that invited six diverse designers to showcase their lines at New York Fashion Week in September 2019. Under her leadership, the publication put a spotlight on new voices, publishing its first-ever cover featuring a trans person of color with actor Indya Moore, and making musician Lil Nas X the face of their annual music issue, marking his first cover in spite of the fact that he had a No. 1 song out. Peoples Wagner will be taking the reins of the Cut from Stella Bugbee, who announced in October that she would be moving into the role of editor-at-large at New York Magazine. Bugbee was the Cut’s first editor-in-chief. “I cannot wait to see what Lindsay does as the Cut’s new editor-in-chief,” says David Haskell. “She

This five-part podcast series, hosted by Sean Rameswaram, debuts today — subscribe here.

At the end of April, a month into an unprecedented nationwide lockdown, 67% of people told us that they were concerned that society would be changed permanently. Heading into the last weeks of 2020, it’s apparent that the virus has indeed changed us. Covid-19 has put into question the very fundamentals of “normal” that we’d all come to unthinkingly accept, but despite the disruption, the pandemic has also created a rare opportunity to reflect on our lives and, potentially, to reset them. To better understand audiences’ new behaviors and shifting sentiments, explore this roundup of all the research our Insights & Innovation team shared this year. DIGITAL LIVES (AND HOW TO MAKE THEM BETTER) Breaking the Algorithm As much as we have advanced our digital lives to create algorithms to optimize engagement, time spent on site, and drive scale, we have yet to construct algorithms that challenge ourselves to be better to one another. Simplicity Leads to Malignancy Understanding complexity is crucial to all of us understanding each other, but the oversimplification of the information we consume online has led to a regression of empathy. Quality journalism can bridge the gap. THE FUTURE OF MEDIA Why Podcasting Is a Powerful Medium for Any Marketer The opportunity for marketers to reach audiences on audio. Podcasts deliver trusted and relevant content in a focused, rich, and powerful package, that audiences say they can’t get anywhere else. Why Supporting Local Journalism Is Good For Business Supporting local journalism is incredibly important in building incremental audiences and communities, making for a valuable environment for advertisers to target relevant consumers and drive action. POWERING PURPOSE  Why Equality Matters Gauging the public’s pulse on areas of inequality in America and how Vox Media’s readers and non-Vox Media readers define equality: what issues matter most, expectations of

Funding announced as part of Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge; builds on Vox Media’s DE&I roadmap

Weeks after a divisive and polarized presidential election, we are headed into a Georgia runoff that will determine which party controls the U.S Senate. The good news? We share more commonalities than you’d think. Vox Media sees responsible, quality journalism as crucial to narrowing the divide and bridging the gap between information and action.  Our Insights & Innovation team partnered with Dr. Naira Musallam, co-founder of SightX to better understand desire for societal change, by studying Vox Media’s  audience’s relationship with news, and examining how complexity will be crucial to all of us understanding each other Our findings indicate that the oversimplification of the information we consume online leads to a regression of understanding and empathy. Our thesis: simplicity leads to malignancy. We learned there is more commonality than what is often presented digitally. 69% believe we are more alike than different 58% feel empowered to be part of the change to improve society 54% believe they can change their community during this time 53% want to make personal changes to advance Black lives in this country But there is worry that the issues we face are too complex. While 76% of those surveyed are worried about the country, 48% feel that the issues we face are far too complex to solve—nearly half say they are not agreeing with friends and family over Covid-19 and/or the Black Lives Matter movement. 57% feel confused on what to believe because of differing stories of news on social media. Journalism is fundamental to personal decision-making, providing answers, and creating emotional stability. 64% need to know what’s happening in the news in order to make decisions. 58% find that the news is helping them get answers they can’t get anywhere else. 48% find the news to be more comforting during this time. Regression to

Vox Media’s CEO and Co-Founder speaks with Business Insider’s Alyson Shontell about industry trends, diversity, equity & inclusion, and planning for a post-pandemic future

Brands have a growing mandate from consumers to make society and the environment safer—to stand for something both in purpose and action. From social justice to climate justice, the expectation of brands is to make an impact by prioritizing progress for all above – or at least alongside – profit. As VoxMediaIQ – Vox Media’s social impact practice – looks to close the gap between purpose and impact, Vox Media believes there’s an opportunity for brands and media to do more of that together. As part of this work VoxMediaIQ undertook a study—Why Equality Matters. The objectives were to make the concept of equality more tangible for brands, understand what aspects of equality consumers are rallying around, how that impacts their spending habits, and why it should matter to marketers. This study is part of Vox Media’s ongoing research on shifting social consciousness in these unprecedented times. In conducting this research, we found universal support among Vox Media’s audience for the Black Lives Matter movement and that the majority of our audience felt motivated to take some kind of action in support. Learn more about audiences’ perspective on the Black Lives Matter movement here. Topline learnings: The Vox Media audience seeks brands and editorial that align with their values—brands that take action and editorial that informs how to take action. Echoing the core values of VoxMediaIQ, our audience wants to participate in change. They strive to embody a new sense of conscious consumerism. Across our 13 editorial networks, Vox Media readers defined equality as equal access to resources/opportunities (47%) regardless of their personal circumstances (53%), demonstrating a belief that we do not have equality until we have equity. 80% of the Vox Media audience believe brands can have an impact on social issues and expect them to step up, even

The eight-part interview podcast series debuts today and runs through Inauguration Day––subscribe here.

Full season now streaming: The series explores some of the most satisfying culinary destinations around the world including the Pacific Northwest, Casablanca, Tijuana and Costa Rica

The new podcast, a relaunch of Kara Swisher’s award-winning interview show, Recode Decode, debuts today.

Adweek Names the Vox Media Podcast Network “Podcast Network of the Year” and Recode’s Land of the Giants: The Netflix Effect “TV and Streaming Podcast of the Year;” Vox’s series “Explained” takes “Hottest Medium Expansion” in Adweek’s 2020 Hot List