Why the Essay Matters Again — The Weekly

Why are essays resonating again in this moment? And what does it mean when writers, not just journalists or politicians, start helping people make sense of America in real time? Guest Host Mike Madrid sits down with Robert Arnold (writer, speaker, and activist) for a wide-ranging conversation about the resurgence of the essay, the responsibility of artists and writers in a fractured political age, and why long-form thinking still matters in an era shaped by algorithms, cable-news conflict, and shrinking attention spans. Check out Robert’s Substack: Check out Mike’s Substack: POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. CONTRIBUTE TO POLITICOLOGY politicology.com/donate SPONSORS & PROMO CODES Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(703) 239-3068‬ Follow this week’s panel on X (formerly Twitter): Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why the Essay Matters Again — The Weekly is an episode from Politicology by Politicology.

This episode is 71:45 long.

This episode was published on Mar 20, 2026.

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