Sean Rameswaram
Appearances
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
A New York City bodega recently started selling what they're calling loosey eggs. Instead of a dozen or a half dozen, you can buy a little bag with three little eggs in it. The idea got a ton of attention.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Okay, so that's like roughly what, off the top of my head, like 28,000 chickens per person?
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
This isn't like a happy story where like a trillion pounds of manure gets turned into a trillion pounds of fertilizer and recycles and closes the loop and all that.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Kenny Torellis, senior reporter at Vox, our man on the meat beat. It's been a minute. What is going on with the bird flu?
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Okay, that sounds worse than awful, Kenny. Why would you want to live here in Malcolm, Iowa, next to the manure?
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
So Malcolm cares more about this farm and the revenue it brings in than it does the people who might bounce.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Okay, so not only are we killing millions and millions of chickens and not even eating them because of bird flu, and not only are eggs more expensive across the entire country, but just living near these farms is a shit show. President Trump says he wants to do something about the price of eggs. He's got Elon Musk at his side. I don't know what his diet is, but he's also got RFK at his other side.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
And that dude's always going on about factory farms and agriculture in the United States and how we need to fix it.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
How come? Because he wasn't put in charge of agriculture?
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
It sounds like what you're saying, Kenny, is that the only way this would actually change and there'd be enough attention on factory farming to actually achieve political change would be if there were something as catastrophic as, like, A bird flu pandemic.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
So that leaves us where? It's on us, the consumers, to make different choices.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Kenny Torello, Vox.com. He also makes music. In fact, all of the music you heard on today's show came from Kenny, who goes by Torello when he's dropping beats. Kenny's reporting was supported by Animal Charity Evaluators, which received a grant from the Builders Initiative. And Vox's future perfect fellow, Sam Delgado, assisted with Kenny's reporting. Thank you, Sam.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Miles Bryan produced this episode. Amina Alsadi edited. Laura Bullard fact-checked. Andrea Christen's daughter and Patrick Boyd mixed. I'm Sean Ramos-Firm, and it's Today Explained.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Is that why the eggs are so expensive, Kenny? I don't want to make this about the eggs when you just said 20 million of our friendly chickens have died, but is that why the eggs are so expensive?
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
All right, guys, today is a day. I know they are going to be $1.99 today. Oh, chickens must be on a strike or something, because, baby, ain't no way six eggs is $4.99.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
But we're not at the pandemic threat yet either. I don't want to freak people out.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Eggs are too expensive. Ask anyone. Ask the President of the United States.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Well, our fair president, I don't know how much he's said about bird flu, I don't know how much he cares, but he certainly has promised to bring down the price of eggs.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
And since they're intrinsically related, let me ask, how's that going so far?
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
But on today, Eggsplained, Vox's Kenny Torello is actually going to make the case that eggs are too cheap. Get a load of this guy, will ya?
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Well, I know President Trump has a history with, you know, vaccinating millions of Americans, Operation Warp Speed, TBT, COVID-19, etc. But his new Secretary of Health and Human Services, Roberts Floride Kennedy, hates vaccines. How does he feel about vaccinating chickens, though?
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Okay, so we've got five points, Kenny, ranging from more showers for people working on these chicken farms to vaccinating millions, hundreds of millions of chickens potentially. Do we have any idea when this five-point plan from Brooke Rollins would go into effect? I mean, we've got the Wall Street Journal op-ed. When do we see the money moving?
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Okay, so the culprit is factory farming, but also the norm is factory farming.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Hello, podcast listeners. I'm Sean Romser. I'm here from the Today Explained show, and I've got some news you can use. We're taking Vox Media podcasts on the road and heading back to Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest Festival. March 8th through 10th, we'll be doing special live episodes of hit shows, including our show, Today Explained. Where should we begin? With Esther Perel. Pivot.com.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
A touch more with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe. Not just football with Cam Hayward. And more presented by Smartsheet. The Vox Media podcast stage at South by Southwest is open to all South by Southwest badge holders. I'll be the guy in a Mr. T costume. We hope to see you at the Austin Convention Center soon. You can visit voxmedia.com slash SXSW to learn more. That's voxmedia.com slash SXSW.
Today, Explained
Eggs aren't expensive enough
Kenny Torella, MeatBeat, Vox.com. Factory farms are in the spotlight because of expensive eggs and bird flu. And you've been reporting on them. Where do we begin? So let's start in Malcolm, Iowa.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
On March 12th, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was picked up by ICE in Prince George's County, Maryland. In the days that followed, he was deported to the country where he was born, El Salvador, except this time he wound up in its infamous Seacott prison. At Seacott, they don't let any of the prisoners have access to the outside world.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
That being said, you've written for New York magazine about three scenarios that. could be how this plays out.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
Sean Ramos for him today explained we spoke to Senator Chris Van Hollen on Tuesday afternoon. We started with why he wanted to go down to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego-Garcia.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
The three scenarios you gave us all involve development. Something's going to happen that leads to something else happening. Is there any way in this current situation where nothing happens and he just stays there and the courts forget about it? Or does something have to happen?
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
You're not quite at constitutional crisis yet. The senator we spoke with early in the show is there. What's kind of complex and frustrating about a constitutional crisis is that it's open to interpretation. Even so, what kind of precedent does this standoff set?
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
And it's only been, you know, fewer than 100 days still at this point. But of course, we've seen the executive branch test the judiciary time and again. What have we learned so far, Ellie, from those tests? Well,
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
On March 31st, the Trump administration said it had mistakenly deported Abrego Garcia, calling it an administrative error. On April 4th, a U.S. district judge told the Trump administration to have Abrego Garcia back in the United States by April 7th. On April 10th, the Supreme Court entered the chat and more or less agreed, saying the Trump administration needed to get Abrego Garcia back.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
Did he say he was in danger? Did he say he was traumatized but felt relatively safe? What was the prison condition looking like?
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
But it's April 23rd and he's still not back. On Today Explained, we're going to speak with the Maryland senator who sat down with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador last week and figure out how this legal standoff between the Trump administration and the courts might play out.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
When you guys met up, there was some photos released and it looks like you had like margarita glasses or something in front of you. Where did that come from? Where exactly was this meeting?
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
They want to literally put a cherry on top of the situation.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
We asked the senator about the things Republicans want to focus on in this case. Allegations that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang and the fact that his wife once took out a protective order against him claiming that he punched her and ripped off her shirt.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
There's a lot of focus on this one individual, even though... Hundreds of undocumented migrants have been shipped off to El Salvador. California's governor, Gavin Newsom, called Garcia's case the, quote, distraction of the day. What's your response to that assessment?
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
You're not only saying we have to focus on constitutional rights. You're saying this situation with Abrego Garcia is a constitutional crisis. You say constitutional crisis. Gavin Newsom says distraction. How do we reconcile those two assessments of this very serious situation?
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
Senator Chris Van Hollen, Maryland, we're gonna run the scenarios of how this might end when we return on Today Explained.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
Support for today explained comes from Built Rewards. Built Rewards says, how nice would it be to get a little pat on the head from your landlord every time you paid your rent? Don't touch my head, landlord. Maybe my back, but not my head, sir. Built Rewards lets you earn points on your rent so you don't have to rely on your landlord to validate your self-worth, which feels like a good plan.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
Bill Ward says there's no cost to join, and just by paying rent, you can unlock flexible points that can be transferred to your favorite hotels and airlines, a future rent payment, your next Lyft ride, and more.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
They say you can also gain access to exclusive neighborhood benefits in your city, things like extra points on dining out, complimentary post-workout shakes, and unique experiences that only Built members can access. And when you're ready to travel, they say Built points can be converted to your favorite miles and hotel points around the world.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
You can start paying rent through Built and take advantage of your neighborhood benefits by going to joinbuilt.com slash explain. That's J-O-I-N-B-I-L-T dot com slash explain. Joinbuilt.com slash explain to sign up for Built today.
Today, Explained
How the Abrego Garcia standoff ends
All right. So we've just heard from Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who went down to El Salvador to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia. As of Wednesday morning, where does his legal situation stand? What is the status quo?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
President Donald Trump has been back in office for one month. And what a year it's been. We've covered a lot of Trump that Today explained this past month, from pardons to executive orders to Greenland to Guantanamo to tariffs to Maha to Elon and Elon and even more Elon. But today we're going to talk about the websites.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Which is a not-for-profit that has been preserving the web since 1996. Journalists use it all the time. But for the uninitiated, I asked Mark to show us around the Internet Archive.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
So with that example, with MTV News, give us a sense of what you guys were doing in advance of that website going down to make sure that people could find out, you know, I don't know, what Everlast was singing about in 2004.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
I want to talk about government websites now because that's sort of the reason we're having this conversation today. I think most people probably think the government will take care of archiving government websites. But here we are in a new administration and websites are disappearing, coming back online, and people are worried. When you, an archivist of the internet, see government websites –
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
disappearing, coming back online, becoming unreliable. How do you react to that? Is that like better or worse than regular websites that are non-governmental going offline?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Were you caught off guard when you saw the new administration removing web pages, removing websites?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Sean Ramos from here with Addie Robertson, senior editor at The Verge, here to tell us about the websites. What is going on with the government's websites?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
You're saying, you know, the WhiteHouse.gov site obviously changes administration to administration. I think to some degree people understand that, that Joe Biden's administration probably wouldn't have been posting trolly valentines about immigration, you know, a year ago this time to their Instagram account. But what we're seeing here is –
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
is websites that people need, websites that record public health information going offline, briefly, permanently, what have you.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Is that a different degree of sort of erasing the historical record or messing with the historical record than we've seen?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
The Wayback Machine, the Internet Archive, mostly funded through donations, the generosity of people, institutions, even governments. Is that going to be enough to archive the Internet to the extent that, you know, future generations will want to see and need?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
There you have it. Let me ask you one last question, Mark. You guys have been at this for nearly three decades. Certainly you've saved a lot of stuff. And certainly a lot of stuff has fallen through the cracks. I wonder, is there something that slipped through the cracks before?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
that you could tell us about that might suggest to our audience, you know, what is lost when we can't archive to the extent we want to or need to?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Huh. And by losing that fleeting webpage, that one, you know, maybe minor, maybe major webpage about bird flu on the CDC's website, what are we losing?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Yeah. I mean, and you are… You are comparing, in a way, a CDC website to the Protestant Reformation. But I think you mean it, don't you?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Mark Graham, known exclusively to Amanda Llewellyn as WebMG. Check out the Wayback Machine at web.archive.org. Amanda produced the show today. Laura Bullard helped and wore the hat. Jolie Myers edited. Andrea Christen's daughter and Patrick Boyd mixed. And Andrea even made some original music. Thanks to the free state of Aftonia for the Wi-Fi. Oh, and it's today explains seventh birthday today.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
What did you get us? Maybe show some love in the comments and the ratings and the reviews. They say it helps. And thank you for listening for however long you've been listening. If you're new to the show, feel free to browse the archive.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Is there presidential precedent for something like this happening? Or is Donald Trump and Doge and Elon Musk and the gang like the first administration to come in and just start ripping apart websites?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Government web pages are disappearing. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes they don't. And it's part of a greater problem we have online. Some call it digital decay. Others call it link rot. Whatever you call it, our Internet is disappearing. And we're going to help you understand why it matters and what we can do about it on the show today.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
So some websites are disappearing, some websites are disappearing and coming back. Some websites are still up. Is there anyone who has like a full grasp of what exactly is gone forever?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Beyond... The American people perhaps needing access to some of this information beyond any number of institutions needing access to this information. It points at a bigger problem we have on our internet right now, right? Something called link rot.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
So you've been covering this issue, Addy, for more than 10 years. Is link rot getting worse online, or is it sort of continuing apace?
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Right. I mean, I think we can all, you know, mourn the loss of like our GeoCities homepage from 2003. Yahoo! But it's a lot rougher when like, I don't know, some billionaire buys out alternative newspaper and just decides one day to shut down its website.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Addie Robertson, reader at TheVerge.com. When Today Explained returns, we're heading into the Wayback Machine to hear from the people trying to archive the entire internet, one webpage at a time.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Support for today Explained comes from Hydro. Maybe you kicked off the week strong, hitting the gym on Monday with every intention of getting the rest of the week in, but then life happened, you know, your friends called you over, there was a game, there was a movie. There was a rough day of news and you needed to come home and lie on the floor for a while.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Anyway, the mental back and forth about working out turned out to be more exhausting than the workout itself. With the Hydro Rower, they say you can get a full body workout in just 20 minutes. No overthinking required. You can stick to the plan and get a full body workout overnight. all from the comfort of your home with Hydro.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
Head over to hydro.com and use the code EXPLAINED to save up to $475 off your Hydro Pro Rower. That's H-Y-D-R-O-W.com. Code EXPLAINED to save up to $475. Hydro.com. Code EXPLAINED.
Today, Explained
Breaking the internet
So let's just have you start by saying your name and what it is you do.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
We may never know what Pope Francis thought of converted Catholic J.D. Vance because he died shortly after meeting our vice president. The world will miss its cool pope who is best known for caring about the poor, rejecting the frills of the papacy, and talking smack about American politicians. But he also dropped an album once. It's a lot of prayer mixed with a lot of straight-up pop music.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
This is Today Explained. Before Pope Francis died, the biggest Catholic news of the week was going to be the canonization of the first millennial saint. We here today explained we're on top of the news because we like to keep tabs on our millennials, but we were not nearly as on top of it as this guy.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
There was a pizza box with a cartoon Pope Francis on it sitting right behind him.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
On to the main event, the first, Millennial Saint Carlo Cutis. Why was this kid so important to Pope Francis?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
To get a halo, you gotta do a few miracles. Those who are familiar with the Catholic Church will know.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Catherine Colitis is a research associate at the Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies in England's Cambridge. We reached out to her to ask her about Conclave 2025.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
How many new saints are there? How many did Pope Francis sign off on?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Yeah, you're talking about this kid in league with Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul. Is he really that big a deal for the Catholic Church?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
And are we to assume that one day Pope Francis himself will be a saint?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Amen. Victoria Chamberlain and Abishai Artsy made our show today. They had help from Amina Alsadi, Laura Bullard, Gabrielle Burbey, Andrea Christensdottir, Patrick Boyd, and me, I'm Sean Ramos from This Was New Saint Explained.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
I'm sure the church is elated to be growing in the global south, but I'm sure it's. equally miserable to be shrinking in Western Europe and North America. Why is it shrinking in Western Europe and North America? Do you know?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Since it's Earth Day, here's a taste of cuidar el planeta, or take care of the planet. What comes after Pope Francis? Coming up on Today Explained.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Got it. So there's this tension in the Catholic Church, just like there's this tension most everywhere we look right now, between progressivism and conservatism. How is that going to factor in to this conclave to decide the next pope?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
The conclave that elected Pope Francis met in 2013. How will this conclave in 2025 look differently from that one?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Is that the papal equivalent of like trying to pack the Supreme Court?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Okay, so who are the contenders in this conclave? Do we have some frontrunners?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Got it. And you didn't mention perhaps the most delicious choice, Pier Battista Pizzabala. Why is that?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Interesting, because another famous Catholic who had outspoken views on the conflict in Gaza was Pope Francis himself. Is that to say that that turned off this conclave?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
So it sounds like Asian Francis is the favorite, and it sounds like Asian Francis would perhaps just, you know, be a passing of the baton, so to speak, in terms of Francis's progressive politics. What does that mean for the Catholic Church in the years ahead, if indeed Asian Francis is selected?
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
So if we get Cardinal Tagale, we might continue to see mariachi mass in the southwestern United States.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Support for today explained comes from Vanta. If I could automate 90% of one task in my life, oh no, they are putting me on this spot. I like most of the tasks I do. What do I not like? I guess I wouldn't take the trash out. I don't like the alley behind my house.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
Maybe if I had a robot, I would have them go into the alley behind my house and take out the trash and then pick out some of the trash. It's already in that alley because other people aren't doing their fair share in the neighborhood. Anyway, Vanta says they're a trust management platform that helps businesses operate.
Today, Explained
Conclave (2025)
automate up to 90% of the work for in-demand security frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and more. Go to vanta.com slash explain to meet with a Vanta expert about your business needs. That's vanta.com slash explain.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
It's official. The United States is breaking up with Ukraine. Last night, the president suspended military aid to the country. That's about $1 billion in arms Ukraine isn't getting until it commits to negotiating peace with Russia. That move, of course, comes after a perfect meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Oval Office on Friday. They talked about playing cards.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
So what does that mean for Ukraine? Does that mean they can't win this war with the U.S. pulling out in its intelligence, you know, air support capacity?
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
I mean, if we game that out, does that mean that ultimately in about a year, once Ukraine their resources run dry and they're forced to capitulate potentially, that they may end up in the same place they're in right now with President Trump trying to force them to come to a negotiating table and to settle this thing?
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Europe seems to be, you know, making noise about stepping up in this moment. There was this huge assembly of European leaders and Justin Trudeau this past weekend.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Is there going to be a difference between the European support of, say, four or six months ago and what we see in the coming months?
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Why was it that the U.S. was so invested in Ukraine up until, say, I don't know, last Friday?
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
But hearing you say that, Shashank, it occurs to me that we're talking about our own president who isn't quite at that dictator status, but is making threats north of the border in Canada, over there in Greenland, south of the border in Panama. I mean, this is a guy who's into territorial conquest. What do you think the U.S.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Ukraine, Ukraine explains. Today Explained, Sean Ramos from here with Eric Levitz, a senior correspondent at Vox. Eric, I think people are pretty sure how the left and moderates and globalists responded to that Oval Office meeting between Trump and J.D. and Zelensky. But how did the right in the United States respond?
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
might lose in a moment like this where it seems to be transitioning to this sort of more America first mindset?
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
So America first saves us some money, maybe, you know... I can't even think I'm trying to play the devil's advocate. All I can think is that it saves us some money.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Shashank Joshi, Economist.com. Avishai Artsy produced. That's a hat trick. Devin Schwartz was producing too. Patrick Boyd and Andrea Christen's daughter mixed. Jolie Myers edited. And Laura Bullard and Kim Eggleston fact-checked. Thank you, Kim. I'm Sean Ramos for him. I'm going to be at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas this Saturday. Come say hi if you're there too.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
I know I told you I'd be talking to Rami Youssef, but Tim Walls said he wanted to chat, so we're doing that instead. Swing by the Vox Media podcast stage presented by Smartsheet and Intuit. If you're into it, learn more at voxmedia.com slash S-X-S-W, voxmedia.com slash South by Southwest. Alright, alright, alright.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Now, you know, with the Bannon comment, it sounds like he has some disdain for Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president. There was a sense from what was going on in the room and from, you know, what's his name, Brian Marjorie Taylor Greene, bullying Zelensky over not wearing a suit. Do you own a suit? That people on the right maybe just don't like this president. Is that the case?
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
How big is this faction in the United States of pro-Putin Americans? Because, you know, historically speaking, Eric, Russia, Putin, bad.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Okay, so Putin, not necessarily MAGA's best friend, Zelensky, maybe not so much MAGA's arch nemesis, but this way of thinking that the United States needs to have Europe's back all the time, not exactly the MAGA platform.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Today explains looking into why humiliating Zelensky appeals to the MAGA base and what Europe plans to do about it.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
How do most Americans feel about all this, Eric? It sounds like Trump's base, Joe Rogan, not into supporting Zelensky and Ukraine. But most Americans? I mean, we've been at this for years now. You would hope most Americans are on board.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Well, Donald Trump at this point says he wants nothing more than peace between Russia and Ukraine, perhaps with a little bit of Ukraine resources on the side. Does this U.S. break with Zelensky that we're seeing now get us any closer to peace?
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Eric Levitz, read his work at Vox.com. Ahead on Today Explained, You're up to the plate? Support for the program today comes from Better Mint. You thought I was going to say something else. Better Mint asks, do you want your money to be motivated? Do you want your money to rise and grind? Do you think your money should get up and work?
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Better Mint has a lot of questions for you and for your money. Better Mint is an automated investing and savings app that they say makes your money hustle. That's a fun visual.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Their automated technology is built to help maximize returns, meaning when you invest with Betterment, your money can auto-adjust as you get closer to your goal, rebalance if your portfolio gets too far out of line, and your dividends are automatically reinvested. And according to the company, that can increase the potential for compound returns. Visit Betterment.com to get started.
Today, Explained
Breaking up with Ukraine
Today Explained is back with Shashank Joshi, defense editor at leading magazine The Economist in London, England. Shashank, the United States doesn't seem to want to help anymore with this war, at least for the moment. Who's going to help Ukraine?
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
And when we look at these diet direwolves in the northern United States somewhere by way of colossal, do we feel more good or bad?
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
Well, let's talk about, to start with, what do you think of the ethics of the process by which these direwolves have come to be? Obviously, let's just think about whatever animal it was that birthed these direwolves, not a direwolf, I assume.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
It sounds like you have a host of concerns, and throughout listening to you describe many of them, I hear the potential for death lurking at every corner, which is, I guess, an irony of this process known as de-extinction, is that it sounds like you sure got to kill a lot of animals to get to the point of bringing back an animal that, as we heard from DT earlier, might end up simply just dying off again.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
Which I guess gets to the point of cruelty. Where is the regulation when it comes to this process of de-extinction?
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
Not a lot of people have seen these direwolves that have come back from extinction up close and personal. Like DT Maxx from The New Yorker is one of the few who has.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
We've talked about a lot of the risks here, a lot of the drawbacks. I want to talk about some of the potential benefits. Do you see some good there if we do indeed get some medical or scientific breakthroughs out of this company's work?
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
I mean, there's been talk of rebalancing habitats, fixing mutations in endangered pink pigeons, vaccinating elephants against herpes, sharpening our tools for fighting diseases. There's apparently some potential there.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
Dr. Klitzman, I thought of one silver lining in all of this. If what you're saying is true, someone still cares about being on the cover of Time magazine.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
Dr. Robert Klitzman, Columbia University. Dr. Devin Schwartz made our show today. He was edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, and mixed by Andrea Christen's daughter and Patrick Boyd. My name's Sean Ramos-Viram. The show is Today Explained.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
And you can't tell us where that was, but it's somewhere in the northern United States, I've read. Yeah.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
And now we know that apparently direwolves are back A startup called Colossal says they've brought these pups back from extinction. They say they've got three of them, but are these direwolves they brought back actually direwolves? And whether they are or aren't, should we be trying to bring direwolves back? Like, why? We are going to ask on Today Explained.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
Direwolves, not just a thing from Game of Thrones, not just Jon Snow's best friend. Direwolves walked the Americas for millennia, up until about 14,000 years ago when maybe their primary food source dried up or humans hunted them to extinction, no one was taking notes. But we know they were a bit bigger than gray wolves, they ate a lot of meat, and their bite could crush bones.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
Tell us more about this company that brought back the diet direwolf version that you saw. We could do this all day. Yeah. It's called Colossal. It's run by a dude named Ben Lamb. Who is he? What is he trying to do here?
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
How much money have they raised to do this, and how much is this company that they're running Colossal worth at this point?
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
And I ask you this not because like Paris Hilton or Peter Jackson, I'm planning on investing in this company, but because I wanted to establish that people are taking these people seriously. And now that we've established that, do us a favor and tell us just how hard it is to do what this company says it wants to do.
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
You mentioned someone named Beth Shapiro, who's now, I think, one of the leading scientists over at Colossal. And someone like Beth Shapiro comes from, I believe, UC Santa Cruz out in California, where she was doing versions of this kind of work, if not trying to, you know, revive the woolly mammoth. Can Colossal work faster than your, I don't know, typical elite university lab?
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
To bring this back to where we started, DT, with Romulus and Remus, these two diet direwolves. What happens to them? I do. I'm going to stick with it. What happens to them? Where do they go?
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
When you realized that these diet wolves would just die out, did that bum you out? What did you make of that?
Today, Explained
The startup that cried dire wolf
DT Maxx, read his profile of the direwolves over at newyorker.com. The ethics of de-extinction, when Today Explained is back.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
It's officially been a month now, and to his credit, President Trump waited almost an entire month before doing a 180 on U.S.-Russia relations. Trump had a nice long phone call with Vladimir Putin about a week ago. Ukraine was not invited.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
What sense do we have of what exactly the peace deal might be, the one that the Trump administration is shopping around for?
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
Vladimir Putin got his start as a spy, and now our top spy in the United States has a soft spot for Vladimir Putin. In fact, some people sincerely believe she's a straight-up Russian operative.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
A lot of people are upset right now because it seems like the United States is taking a rather sympathetic view towards Russia's side of this war, towards Russia's arguments around this war. Do we have any idea why that is?
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
Right. I mean, I think the new director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has said that Ukraine and NATO provoked Putin into starting this war. Donald Trump has said similar things. Is the general vibe that the United States is sending to Europe, to Ukraine, to Russia, that Ukraine bears some responsibility here and thus will have to pay for it?
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
You're in Kiev right now. When you talk to Ukrainians about what's happening here, what's the feeling on the ground?
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
Matthew Luxmore, known at Today Explained as DeluxeMatthewWSJ.com, Avishai Artsy produced, Amina Alsari edited, Laura Bullard fact-checked, Patrick Boyd and Andrea Christen's daughter mixed.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
The rest of the team includes Harima Wagdi, Amanda Llewellyn, Peter Balanon-Baby, Miles Bryan, Travis Larchuk, Victoria Chamberlain, Devin Schwartz, Jolie Myers, Miranda Kennedy, Noelle King, and welcome, Gabrielle Burbey. Believe it or not, we use music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Today Explained is distributed by WNYC. The show is a part of Vox.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
Support our journalism, if you will, by joining our membership program today. Go to vox.com slash members to sign up. And have you heard about the Log Off newsletter? It's a Vox product that tells one story about what happened in Trump world each afternoon. So then you can just log off and forget about him for the rest of the night. Consider it. We'll be logging off in the meantime.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
And then on Tuesday, Trump blamed Ukraine for being invaded by Russia. And then to top it off, on Truth Social yesterday, he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator without elections. Shortly thereafter, on that same website, Trump called himself a king. Totally cool, normal stuff. But you might be old enough to remember the United States being on Ukraine's side of this war.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
Steve Kahl is a senior editor at what I'm told is a leading magazine, The Economist, and he's here to help you understand who's just been put in charge of U.S. intelligence and how that might shift the course of U.S. foreign policy.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
On Today Explained, we're getting used to this new normal, being BFFs with Russia. And we're going to start with the person Trump has put in charge of U.S. intelligence, a Russia sympathizer with no intelligence experience to speak of, named Tulsi Gabbard.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
Good for her. How does she go from becoming a Republican to becoming one of the most important players in our intelligence community, if not the most important player?
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
So those are her first tasks from her boss. But obviously a big part of her job will be countering U.S. adversaries. China comes to mind. Russia historically would have come to mind. But what does putting Tulsi Gabbard in charge of our national intelligence say about Russia? where we're heading with Russia and about what Trump wants to accomplish with Russia.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
Steve Call, Economist.com. Whatever you want, Vladimir. Ahead on Today Explained. Hello, podcast listeners. I'm Sean Romsom here from the Today Explained show, and I've got some news you can use. We're taking Vox Media podcasts on the road and heading back to Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest Festival.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
March 8th through 10th, we'll be doing special live episodes of hit shows, including our show, Today Explained. Where should we begin? With Esther Perel. Pivot.com. A touch more with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe. Not just football with Cam Hayward. And more presented by Smartsheet. The Vox Media podcast stage at South by Southwest is open to all South by Southwest badge holders.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
I'll be the guy in a Mr. T costume. We hope to see you at the Austin Convention Center soon. You can visit voxmedia.com slash SXSW to learn more. That's voxmedia.com slash SXSW.
Today, Explained
Vatever you vant, Vladimir
Sean Ramos from Today Explained, here now with Matthew Luxmore. He covers the war in Ukraine for the Wall Street Journal, a war whose end the United States wants to accelerate with Russia the victor.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Mr. Jackie Robinson, number 42, integrated baseball, not because DEI, but because he was so good that to paraphrase his manager, I don't care if the guy is yellow or black or if he has stripes like a fucking zebra, he can make us all rich.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
We often, reporters will often say Donald Trump is unprecedented. The things that he does are unprecedented. I imagine you would tell me the United States has in the past tried to rewrite its own history at certain points.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Give me some examples of the times we've tried to do this.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
What was the story they were trying to sell?
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
It's Today Explained. I'm Noelle King with John Swain, who's an investigative reporter at The Washington Post. John, the mess that we're here to discuss today started with an executive order from President Trump. What was the order and how did it lead to the reporting that you've been doing?
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Can I, can I jump in and actually just tell you something? I'm from central New York. I went to public school. That was what I learned.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Why did I learn something that wasn't true in public school?
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
That was a version of history. But let's compare that to what we're seeing today. What you're talking about with these popular books and Gone with the Wind and then they make it a movie, that seems to me more subtle than the president says, you delete that information about Jackie Robinson's military service from the website. Will what Trump is doing succeed because it is so unsubtle?
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Professor David Blight of Yale. Amanda Llewellyn, producer. Jolie Myers, editor. Andrea Christen's daughter and Patrick Boyd, engineers. Laura Bullard keeps us honest. President Trump, we can give you her cell number if you want. I'm Noelle King. It's Today Explained.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
He also served in the military, during which time he was court-martialed after peacefully refusing to move to the back of an army bus. He was acquitted. The Department of Defense website featured Robinson in a section called Sports Heroes Who Served until March 19th, when his page disappeared and the URL redirected to one that had the letters DEI in front of Sports Heroes.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
I don't really know the ins and outs of the Battle of Iwo Jima. What did the Marines at Iwo Jima do that got them taken down off a government website?
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
So they kept the iconic picture up, but they removed the information about Mr. Hayes being American Indian. What other kinds of changes did you uncover in your reporting?
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
A Pentagon spokesman defended the removal, but about 90 minutes later, the page was restored. That spokesman resigned last week. Ahead on Today Explained, the Trump administration tries to rewrite history.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
I wonder if you were able to talk to employees of the park service and ask them how they're deciding which pages to change or to take down. Are they being given orders? Are they making these choices on their own?
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
So we've talked about the Park Service. We've talked about the Department of Defense. Is this something happening elsewhere to either other agencies, other websites?
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
And we're going to have more with a deeply concerned historian when we come back. John Swain of The Washington Post investigative reporter. Thanks to him. Support for Today Explained comes from Delete.me. Your data is a commodity and it has already been stolen. That can lead to identity theft, phishing attempts, harassment. Now you can protect your privacy with Delete.me.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Delete.me says they make it easy and quick and safe to get your personal data off the internet at a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. Claire White is my colleague here at Fox, and she tried out Delete.me.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete Me, now at a special discount for our listeners. You can get 20% off your Delete Me plan by texting TODAY to 64000. The only way to get 20% off is to text TODAY to 64000. That's TODAY to 64000. Message and data rates may apply. Support for Today Explained comes from Greenlight.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Talking about money with kids isn't always easy, says Greenlight, even for the most finance savvy parents. Who among us? That's where Greenlight comes in. Greenlight says it's more than just a debit card. It's a money app built for families that gives parents a simple way to send money, track spending and help kids develop smart saving habits.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Greenlight says kids and teens get freedom to manage their own money, gaining confidence, responsibility and lifelong financial skills along the way. One of our colleagues at Vox Otisham has used Greenlight, and here are her thoughts.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
You can start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at greenlight.com slash explained. That's greenlight.com slash explained to get started. greenlight.com slash explained.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
This is Today Explained. We're back with historian and Yale professor David W. Blight.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
Okay, so nothing that's ever been contested.
Today, Explained
American_history_v9_final_FINAL_THIS ONE
In the first half of the show, Professor Blight, we heard that many historians are really quite angry about some of the changes that the Trump administration has been demanding. What does an angry historian look like? What's been going on?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
The Oscars are this Sunday, and of all the films nominated, only one of them was filmed in secret. It's called The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
How modern an issue is this at the Oscars? Is this like a 2025 concern or was this always an issue in the history of this category?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
I know the Oscars, the Grammys, all these big award shows, they do institute change when there's a big enough controversy. The Oscars have gotten a lot of flack for women directors not getting nominated, and now they're trying to do better. The Grammys have gotten a lot of heat for not being diverse enough, and now they're adding lots of diversity to their academy.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
Has there not been a big enough controversy in the international film category to institute some changes here, or have there been some over the years?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
That's just about all the English we got out of the seat of the Sacred Figs director. The rest of our conversation was done through a translator who was with him in his New York City hotel. We started with the craziest thing about this movie, that it was shot in secret in Tehran.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
You know, I'm all of a sudden remembering when Parasite won Best Picture.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
The once and current once again president actually had some thoughts about it.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
and said that Hollywood had lost its way if a foreign movie were winning Best Picture. Did he have a point?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
OK, well, it doesn't sound like there's going to be too much dramatic change in the best picture category any time soon. But if we were to rejigger best international film to function better, what could we do? What are the options?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
It's about an Iranian family at odds with each other over the country's repressive policies.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
It sounds so common sense that, you know, you wonder why the Oscars don't just do that. Why don't they do that?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
I wonder, is anyone out there making the case that we just don't even need this category anymore? Because as you're pointing out here, you've got this sort of international bleed into the best picture category. Do we still need to have a whole category for movies that, you know, aren't... English language.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
Nate Jones, Best Supporting Writer at Vulture.com. Best Producer goes to Abhishek Artsy. Best Deputy, Jolie Myers. Best Senior Researcher, Laura Bullard. And Best Mixing is going to be shared by Andrea Christensdottir and Patrick Boyd. Oh, and the Oscar for Best Ensemble. Why doesn't that Oscar exist?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
Hadi Mawagdi, Devin Schwartz, Gabrielle Burbay, Victoria Chamberlain, Travis Larchuk, Miles Bryan, Amanda Llewellyn, Amina Alsadi, Miranda Kirshen, And best host goes to La La Land. No, sorry, sorry. It's Noel King. This is Noel King, the best host. Today Explained is distributed by WNYC. The show is a part of Vox, which, FYI, is an independent news source.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
That means we don't worry about serving the interests of the powerful. We just worry about serving you. And we rely on you today. to help fund our work. If you want to support us, you can go to vox.com slash members and sign up today. Thank you a million and thank you to the Academy.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
When people in our audience hear that this movie was filmed in secret in Iran, they might imagine, oh, there were a lot of interior shots, you know, scenes set inside buildings, scenes set inside apartments, whatever it might be. That's how you film a movie secretly.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
But I was surprised when watching it that there are indeed shots of, you know, this family that the movie is about eating dinner together. Outside of a restaurant, you know, there's shots of people driving around Tehran. How do you do that secretly? Obviously, you have cameras when you're filming outside.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
It's got Iranian actors. It's got an Iranian director. It's very much about Iran. But it's Germany's submission to the Oscars. The director of this movie, Mohammad Rasoulaf, is in exile, but we caught up with him in New York City to ask him what it's like to make a movie secretly and why Germany is repping this super Iranian movie. We're doing the Oscars. Today explains Stott.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
This movie, The Seat of the Sacred Fig, it follows a family being torn apart. A father who's part of the sort of establishment in Tehran and his supportive wife. And then their two daughters who are unhappy with the system and eager to join young women protesting in the streets. And it's very much set during the Masa Amini protests from a few years ago.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
Why did you want to set a movie during those protests? And how did you come up with the idea for this family where all of the tensions we were seeing in the streets in Tehran were sort of manifested in this family unit?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
And that's why you not only filmed this movie secretly, but you were also directing it remotely. You weren't allowed to make a movie in Iran, so you were never on the set of your own movie. How does that even work?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
And now you very well may win an Oscar for this film that you shot in secret remotely in Iran. But of course, the country that wins this Oscar, if it indeed wins, is Germany. Why is it Germany? Yes, of course.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
Mohamed, thank you so much for joining us. I'm not in the Academy, but I hope you win an Oscar on Sunday. Thank you. Thanks. Muhammad Rasul, if you can call him Muhammad, his translator was Shada Dayani. The movie's The Seed of the Sacred Fig, and it's nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film. But some say Best International Film is the messiest category at the Oscars.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
We're going to find out why when we're back on Today Explained.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
Hello, podcast listeners. I'm Sean Romsom here from the Today Explained show, and I've got some news you can use. We're taking Vox Media podcasts on the road and heading back to Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest Festival. March 8th through 10th, we'll be doing special live episodes of hit shows, including our show, Today Explained. Where should we begin? With Esther Perel. Pivot.com.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
A touch more with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe. Not just football with Cam Hayward. And more presented by Smartsheet. The Vox Media podcast stage at South by Southwest is open to all South by Southwest badge holders. I'll be the guy in a Mr. T costume. We hope to see you at the Austin Convention Center soon. You can visit voxmedia.com slash SXSW to learn more. That's voxmedia.com slash SXSW.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
And the Oscar goes to... Sean Ramos from Today Explained here with Nate Jones from Vulture, where earlier this month you published a piece titled, Is There Any Way to Fix Oscar's International Film Category? What's wrong with it, Nate?
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
If it's a behavior, why not change it? This week on The Gray Area, I talk to Olga Hazan about our personalities and whether we can change them. Listen to The Gray Area with me, Sean Elling. New episodes every Monday, available everywhere.
Today, Explained
The messiest Oscars category
Okay, so some of the issues we're talking about here include that countries can only submit one movie. Who decides which movie that is? Anything else that's like sort of a sticking point in the international feature category?
Today, Explained
The most dangerous award
I think it's time we give a little love to our stunt coordinators and our stunt...
Today, Explained
Mar-a-Lago makeover
I just went down the Suzanne Lambert rabbit hole and I'm obsessed. Why am I just finding her? Like, She is my hero.
Today, Explained
Mar-a-Lago makeover
How do you navigate an entire career change after losing everything? This week on Net Worth and Chill, I'm chatting with Lewis Howes, the host of the School of Greatness podcast with over 500 million downloads. Lewis went from rising professional athlete to broke after a career-ending injury.
Today, Explained
Mar-a-Lago makeover
But that was just the beginning of his story. It's an episode packed with raw honesty and failure, practical advice for career pivots, and the financial wisdom that comes from losing it all and rebuilding it. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch on youtube.com slash yourrichbff.