Ill Conceived

Matthew Yglesias: One Billion Americans

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In 2020, Vox cofounder Matt Yglesias published a book entitled One Billion Americans which ostensibly sought to lay out a liberal argument for dramatically increasing the population of the United States. This week, June and Josh read the book. Hoo boy, do we have thoughts about it.

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EPISODE ART: Matthew Yglesias, the author of One Billion Americans. In 2014, Yglesias cofounded the news website Vox alongside Ezra Klein and Melissa Bell. He departed Vox in 2020 to join the Niskanen Center, a centrist think tank. Yglesias also publishes a newsletter called Slow Boring. 

SOURCES:

  • One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger by Matthew Yglesias (Portfolio, 2020)
  • “The boring journey of Matt Yglesias” by Dan Zak (Washington Post, January 11, 2023)
  • A Bluesky post about JD Vance by @helldude.bsky.social
  • “MTV cancels ‘Ridiculousness’ after 46 seasons, star Rob Dyrdek’s price tag became public” by Taijuan Moorman (USA Today, March 31, 2025)

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