Today, Explained
Episodes
Permanent daylight saving time?
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A bill to make daylight saving time permanent slipped through the Senate. Now, the real fight for time begins. This episode was produced by Miles Brya...
The Americans fighting for Ukraine
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden insists he won’t send American troops to join Ukraine’s war with Russia. Veterans like Alexander Szokoly joined the fight anyway. ...
South Korea’s incoming “anti-feminist” president
18 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With its neighbor distracted by domestic culture wars, North Korea is making new moves. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Colle...
“Don’t Say Gay”
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The furor over Florida’s latest culture-war legislation has Disney, among the state’s largest employers, turning red. This episode was produced by...
Why Ukraine won’t quit
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s war begin. We check back in with Kurii Vasyl, who stayed behind, and his niece Yulya, who fled. ...
Defunding Covid-19
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The coronavirus pandemic isn’t over, but certain corners of Congress don’t want to spend a penny more on it. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel argues for $100 b...
Beware the Madness of March
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Americans bet more than $50 billion on sports last year, and that record will likely be broken in 2022 as more states legalize the practice. A profess...
Radio, someone still loves you
11 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The BBC is bringing back shortwave radio broadcasts to counter censorship and disinformation in Russia and Ukraine. Professor D.W. Stupples explains. ...
Putin’s war spills into space
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russia has threatened to let the International Space Station plummet. The Verge’s Loren Grush explains the Star Wars. This episode was produced by W...
From Kabul’s airport to Virginia’s burbs
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The world watched in horror as tens of thousands fled Afghanistan last August. Today, Explained’s Haleema Shah meets with an evacuee still stuck in ...
Banning Russian oil
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gas prices hit a record high in the United States today. Then the White House put an embargo on Russian oil. The Atlantic's Robinson Meyer explains. T...
Breaking Russia’s banks
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The US and EU are denying a handful of Russian banks access to SWIFT, a key tool in the global financial system. This episode was produced by Miles Br...
Volodymyr vs. Vladimir
04 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Volodymyr Zelenskyy went from a middling peacetime president to a heroic wartime president. Kyiv Independent’s Oleksiy Sorokin explains from an undi...
The Texas transgender panic
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gov. Greg Abbott has instructed child protection officials to investigate the parents of transgender children. Dallas Morning News reporter Lauren McG...
Why Ukraine has to fight Russia alone
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
And how the fight might end. This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapiro, fact-checked by Laura Bu...
What Russians think of Putin’s war
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It depends a lot on where they get their news. Meduza’s Aleksey Kovalev reports from Moscow. This episode was produced by Victoria Chamberlin, edite...
Ketanji Brown Jackson
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee is historic but may have little impact on American law. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains. This episode wa...
The real and imagined history of Ukraine
25 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Vladimir Putin says Ukraine isn’t a country. He’s wrong. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Sha...
A phone call from Ukraine
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kurii Vasyl and his niece Yulya try to make sense of Russia’s invasion of their country. And Kyiv Independent reporter Igor Kossov explains the late...
Why Ukraine matters
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Vox’s Jonathan Guyer explains how a Russian invasion of Ukraine could affect me and you and everyone we know. This episode was produced by Hady Mawa...
The Olympics on thin ice
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This year’s weird Winter Olympics were overshadowed by politics, Covid-19, and the threat of war. But as NPR’s Tom Goldman explains, the biggest s...
Weapons of cash destruction
18 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The US hopes the threat of sanctions will dissuade Russia from invading Ukraine. Historian Nicholas Mulder explains the surprising history of economic...
Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A tech investor and his rapper wife were busted for a multi-billion dollar bitcoin heist. They couldn’t really spend any of the money. This episode ...
All-American divorce
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In her Today, Explained debut, co-host Noel King heads to Atlanta to find out why some people in one of its wealthiest neighborhoods are trying to sec...
What the truck is happening in Canada?
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A convoy of truckers angry over Covid-19 mandates is disrupting life in Canada’s capital city. Their movement is gaining traction in cities around t...
Sarah Palin v. The New York Times
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The New York Times published an editorial that made false claims about Sarah Palin. A lawsuit over the error could change American media. This episode...
The best and worst of Tom Brady
11 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Quarterback Tom Brady will retire as the winningest football player in NFL history. ESPN's Seth Wickersham explains why so many people are happy to se...
How Brett Kavanaugh views time
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to fixing discriminatory voting maps, nine months may not be enough for some justices. Ian Millhiser explains. This episode was produced...
Why America loves a Jackass
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Oscar nominations are out, but the No. 1 movie in America features Johnny Knoxville and his friends hurting each other. He attempts to explain why...
How this Syria raid was different
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden gave strict orders to avoid collateral damage during a raid on an ISIS leader. Civilians still died, but it might be a sign of a shift...
RIP SAT
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why are colleges ditching the test? A) The SAT is biased B) Colleges want to admit more diverse students C) The pandemic D) All of the above This epis...
Is everything trauma now?
04 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Psychologists are worried that "trauma" is losing its meaning. A trauma survivor says they shouldn't be. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edi...
The case against masks
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At least in schools. This episode was produced by Victoria Chamberlin, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapiro, fact-checked by Laura Bull...
Throwing money at the migrant crisis
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Vice President Kamala Harris just attended Honduras’s presidential inauguration. Her trip was really about the US-Mexico border. February 4, 2022 co...
Spotify’s Joe Rogan problem
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The podcast host built a massive audience by speaking to fringe figures in culture, business, and science. During the pandemic, that got him in troubl...
Honey, I shrunk the kids’ tax credit
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The US government let the expanded child tax credit expire ... just as researchers produced a study showing giving parents money might help improve br...
Ukraine’s pipeline problem
28 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The US is negotiating to stop Russia from invading Ukraine, but a Germany-backed natural gas project complicates things. This episode was produced by ...
Breyer to Reteyer
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Vox’s Ian Millhiser says American politics shifted during Justice Stephen Breyer’s career, until he no longer had a place in them. This episode wa...
Joe Biden, r u ok?
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Build Back Blunders, and other presidential misadventures. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapi...
A Syrian war criminal is actually going to prison
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Crimes against humanity are rarely prosecuted successfully, but a Syrian colonel got a life sentence for just that. Documentarian Adithya Sambamurthy ...
China’s Winter Olympics (feat. Covid-19)
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Games don’t begin until February 4, but the drama around the pandemic, free speech, and diplomatic boycotts has been building for months. NPR’...
10 Downer Street
21 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing political ruin because his aides partied while the UK locked down. This episode was produced by Will Re...
The man with a pig heart
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
That’ll do, pig. That’ll do. Today's show was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapiro and Paul Mounsey, fact-...
The James Webb Time Machine
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
To look into deep space is to look back in time. Ahead of the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, Unexplainable talked to scientists who hope to...
The James Webb Space Telescope
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This Sunday, the greatest telescope in the history of humanity is scheduled to reach its destination nearly a million miles away from Earth. Vox’s U...
Chile’s millennial president
14 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The 35-year-old president-elect in Chile loves tattoos, Taylor Swift, and progressive policies. Gabriel Boric will now try to overhaul the government...
Why Russia sent its janky version of NATO to Kazakhstan
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The speedy arrival of CSTO troops in Kazakhstan is unprecedented in the 30-year history of the Russia-backed regional security alliance. Today’s sho...
"Break the Senate"
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
President Joe Biden wants to change how the Senate works to pass voting reforms. Sen. Mitch McConnell is threatening hell if it happens. Today’s sho...
Novax Djokovic
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How the best-ranked men’s tennis player in the world went to Australia to become the greatest of all time and ended up being detained. Today’s sho...
No substitutes for the substitutes
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when all the teachers get sick? Today’s show was produced by Miles Bryan with help from Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Matt Collette, enginee...
The high cost of cheap clothes
07 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fast fashion took over the apparel industry, but consumers are tiring of its poor labor and environmental standards. Vox’s Terry Nguyen explains. To...
Life on the Russia-Ukraine border
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russia has kept its military at Ukraine’s doorstep for almost a decade. But a recent escalation on the border is creating fears of a full-blown inva...
Theranope
05 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A tech startup said it could start a medical revolution with a little machine and a drop of blood. It was a fraud, but research into smarter, less inv...
Will omicron speed up the pandemic’s end?
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The omicron variant is very transmissible, but it might make Covid-19 less miserable. Today’s show was produced by Miles Bryan with help from Hady M...
America still can’t agree on its insurrection
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One year later, the United States is still trying to wrap its head around what happened on January 6, 2021. (It was an insurrection.) This year, our d...
2021
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This song was written and performed by Sean Rameswaram and Noam Hassenfeld, produced by Noam, engineered by Efim Shapiro, and features additional voca...
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s American dream
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Giannis Antetokounmpo went from hawking watches and DVDs on the streets of Greece to winning an NBA championship for the Milwaukee Bucks. In this repo...
Taylor’s version
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of the biggest pop stars in the world is rerecording her first six albums at the artistic peak of her career. In this repodcast, the Atlantic’s ...
The spike in gun violence
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
America's homicide rate rose by almost 30 percent in 2020. It was the biggest spike in 60 years, and the murder rate was even higher in 2021. In this ...
Four days of work?
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The pandemic changed how we think about work. In this repodcast, Vox’s Anna North says it might be time to change how much we work, too. Today’s s...
Good news
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
2021 was better than 2020. Here's proof. Today’s show was produced by Matt Collette, edited by Jillian Weinberger, engineered by Efim Shapiro, fact-...
Vanessa Nakate’s climate optimism
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate has been ridiculed, erased, and let down by the world's most powerful people. She explains how she remains hop...
We scored Biden’s first year
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We scored Biden’s first year The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos evaluates President Biden’s first year in office and whether Biden managed to lower the...
Who killed Malcolm X?
17 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly 60 years after the assassination of Malcolm X, some of the men wrongly put in prison for killing him are finally being redeemed. Abdur-Rahman M...
The blood diamond of batteries
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cobalt is powering the electric vehicle revolution, but much of the world’s supply is mined under deadly conditions in Congo. Journalist Nicolas Nia...
(Some) omicron answers
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to South Africa, the world now has some data on omicron’s severity, transmissibility, and whether or not the vaccines will protect us from it...
Operation Flex
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A bodybuilder posing as a Muslim convert was welcomed into a California mosque. When he showed signs of extremism, members reported him to the FBI, on...
Why we still can't predict tornadoes
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Most people get about eight minutes' advance warning of a tornado. This episode of Vox’s Unexplainable podcast explores how scientists need to confr...
The new meth
10 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While the nation’s attention has been focused on the opioid crisis, a new, more dangerous form of methamphetamine has swept across the country. Toda...
The fastest economic collapse ever
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
That’s what the United Nations says is taking place in Afghanistan right now. Today’s show was produced by Will Reid, edited by Matt Collette, eng...
Are you vaxxed, fellow kids?
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Explained returns to Cramer Hill Elementary School to explore the challenges of vaccinating children against Covid-19. Today’s show was repor...
The shooter's parents
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The mass killing at Oxford High School in Michigan may seem comparable to those that preceded it, but the aftermath has taken several new turns. Today...
Africa wants its stuff back
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The world’s most illustrious museums are finally having to reckon with the stolen art in their collections. Today’s show was produced by Haleema S...
C is for Culture War
03 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Big Bird got vaccinated, an Asian American Muppet moved in, and conservatives got really mad at Sesame Street. Today’s show was produced by Haleema ...
What happened to Peng Shuai
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A tennis star accused a former top Chinese official of sexual assault. Then she vanished. Now her case is changing sports in China. Today's show was p...
Unraveling Roe
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains how the Court could undo Roe v. Wade...
Space trash
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Russia blew up a satellite and almost put the International Space Station in a precarious position. Recode’s Rebecca Heilweil explains how humans ar...
Omicron
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
AA-muh-kraan or OH-muh-kraan Today’s show was produced by Miles Bryan and Will Reid, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapiro, fact-check...
Salmonella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A deadly salmonella strain is spreading through American poultry, and there’s not much the government can do to stop it. ProPublica’s Bernice Yeun...
Kyle Rittenhouse and the “self-defense” defense
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After the Chicago Tribune’s Stacy St. Clair runs through the Rittenhouse trial and verdict, legal scholar Eric Ruben explains how “self-defense”...
The Future of Work: Retirement should be fun
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
But somehow it got very scary. Today’s show was produced by Victoria Chamberlin, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapiro, fact-checked b...
Why it's hard to find rapid tests in the US
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
And why they're easy to find in Europe (though they don't seem to be helping much at the moment). Today’s show was produced by Miles Bryan with help...
Is Zillow really buying all the houses?
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
No. Vox's Jerusalem Demsas disproves a popular internet conspiracy theory. Today’s show was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Matt Collette, engi...
Belarus manufactures a migrant crisis
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Belarus is promising migrants passage to Europe knowing the EU will turn them away. Today’s show was produced by Haleema Shah with help from Amina A...
Inflation nation
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Consumer prices are rising at their fastest rate in 30 years. Vox’s Emily Stewart explains why this is bad news for for drivers, shoppers, and Presi...
The Future of Work: The gig is up
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A third of American workers do gig work. In the third part of our series, The Future of Work, learn how the pandemic helped them discover their power....
China’s pursuit of ‘Zero Covid’
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
China’s 1.4 billion people are averaging fewer than 100 cases of Covid-19 a day. All it takes is the willingness to shut down anything at any time. ...
So I elected an Oath Keeper
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Extremists in the right-wing militant organization known as the Oath Keepers are present in law enforcement and in the military. Now, thanks to report...
Astroworld
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How a music festival became a death trap, and what it would take for it never to happen again. Today’s show was produced by Haleema Shah and Hady Ma...
Trillion-dollar Biden
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You win some and you lose some. Just ask President Biden, who started last week with electoral setbacks and ended it with a big f***ing deal. Today’...
The Future of Work: OOO
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
They said the office would never be the same. In part two of our series, The Future of Work, what happens to your workplace when they're right. Today’...
The case for climate reparations
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While world leaders have descended on Glasgow to try to figure out how to slow emissions in the future, New York magazine’s David Wallace-Wells argu...
Sudan’s coup
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After a bloody fight for democracy, Sudan is sliding back into the hands of the military. CNN’s Nima Elbagir says a successful military coup could h...
School board brawl
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's Election Day in the USA. This time around, the nasty political fights and insurrections are going local. NPR's Anya Kamenetz explains. Today’s ...
For whom the door bells
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While the doorbell recovers from Halloween, Nice Try explains how it’s an essential part of the American dream. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained...
The Future of Work: “I quit!”
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are millions of job openings in America, and millions of Americans are still not able to find work that suits. In the first part of our series, ...
Facebook’s Meta-morphosis
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From the company that brought you alternate facts comes an alternate reality! Today’s show was produced by Will Reid, edited by Matt Collette, engin...
Chappelle's Show(down with the trans community)
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vox's Aja Romano explains how Dave Chappelle's latest standup special led to a reckoning at Netflix. Vulture's Craig Jenkins assesses whether there's ...
The Alec Baldwin shooting
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Variety’s Brent Lang explains how cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on the Rust film set—and how the tragic shooting might catalyze positive ch...
Ruthless County, Tennessee
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For 11 years, a Tennessee judge sent kids to jail for a crime that doesn’t exist. Nashville Public Radio’s Meribah Knight explains why that judge ...