Today, Explained
Episodes
Fortnite fights Apple for your phone
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of the world's biggest video games is suing one of the world's biggest tech companies. The Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins explains how the f...
Can we get to 70%?
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
That’s President Joe Biden’s new vaccination goal, and he’s got some fresh ideas on how to get there. Vox’s German Lopez explains. Transcript ...
Congress takes on sexual assault in the military
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Congress wants to change how the military prosecutes sex crimes. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand explains her bill. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Lear...
The bonkers housing market
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is it a bubble? Is it going to pop? Do you need to bid over asking? Has it already sold? Are there any houses left? Will you ever find one? Vox’s Je...
The enduring mystery of long Covid
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
An estimated 10 percent of people who test positive for Covid-19 experience long-haul symptoms. Vox’s Julia Belluz joins the Unexplainable podcast t...
We scored Biden's first 100 days
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Biden’s biographer, Evan Osnos, explains why the president is a weather vane for the Democratic Party. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Support...
Apple vs. Facebook (feat. Privacy)
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Apple updated its software and Facebook was very upset. Recode’s Sara Morrison and Peter Kafka explain. Roller derby is involved. Transcript at vox....
Biden vs. Putin (feat. Navalny)
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden is cranking the pressure on President Putin, but it was Russian dissident Alexei Navalny who scored a victory by refusing his prison f...
India’s SOS to the world
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer ended up with the world’s worst Covid-19 surge. Neha Arora, New Delhi correspondent for Reuters, explains...
A plan to protect the planet
24 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Or at least 30 percent of it. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepod...
Is nuclear energy good or bad?
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to the Atlantic’s Robinson Meyer explain the arguments and then decide for yourself. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about y...
It’s electric!
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Norway has lapped the world in adopting electric vehicles. Vox’s Umair Irfan explains how the US might catch up. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplaine...
The case for climate optimism
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2019, David Wallace-Wells wrote a book called The Uninhabitable Earth. Just two years later, he’s feeling hopeful — thanks to the world’s big...
Peanut butter and jellyfish
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
And other items from the lunch menu of 2050. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...
America awaits a verdict
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin have wrapped after a brutal week for policing in America. Minnesota Public Radio’s Jon Collins shares his re...
The Echo Park eviction
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The recent police crackdown on a tent camp in Los Angeles has left the city divided. One thing everyone agrees on is the dire need for lasting solutio...
Gaetzgate
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz’s sex scandal. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices....
Johnson & Johnson & Problems
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The US government is calling for an immediate pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccinations after six recipients (out of millions) developed blood clots. Pr...
Vaccine passport, please
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Recode’s Rebecca Heilweil explains how proving you got the shot became controversial. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad...
CICADAPOCALYPSE 2021
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Or maybe, after listening to this episode, it’ll be more like CICADAPALOOZA! Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices....
Taylor Swift rewrites her story
09 Apr 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. The Atlantic’s Shirley Li explains...
KKK High
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A group of students in Topeka, Kansas, discovered their high school was named after an exalted cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan. Then they tried to change ...
Hot Senate procedural news
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Monday night, the Senate parliamentarian gave Democrats an unprecedented blessing. Vox’s Ella Nilsen and Li Zhou explain what they might do with ...
MLB to Georgia: You’re out!
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Major League Baseball, Delta, and Coke are calling out Georgia for its new voting reforms, but some of these corporations were involved in crafting th...
“My friend” has a question about the vaccine
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We asked if you still had vaccine questions, and you did. We found answers. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
High crimes
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
New York is the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana, but President Joe Biden won’t budge. This means that it’s possible to become a bi...
Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s infrastructure week in America. President Joe Biden unveiled a plan to spend trillions on bridges, roads, housing, and clean energy to prove it...
Making tennis a misdemeanor
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More than half of US states are working to ban, or even criminalize, trans athletes playing sports. Vox contributor Katelyn Burns explains how conserv...
Ship happens
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After six days, a very big boat is finally afloat. While stuck, it brought international trade through the Suez Canal to a halt and cost companies bil...
The original anti-vaxxer
26 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When a Swedish American pastor refused to get a smallpox vaccine in 1902, he ended up in the United States Supreme Court. The Atlantic’s new podcast...
The end of minty cigarettes?
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With Democrats in charge, there is a lot of talk about big ideas for the country, including … banning menthol cigarettes? Politico’s Sarah Owermoh...
Would NOT demanding gun control be more effective?
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Trace’s Jennifer Mascia explains why two gun reform bills the House recently passed are likely to fail in the Senate. Patrick Blanchfield from t...
WTF is an NFT?
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Monday, a tweet sold for $2.9 million. That followed a JPEG that went for $69 million. The Verge’s Liz Lopatto explains how internet ephemera tur...
AnchoRage
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The United States and China met in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday to air grievances, and the cameras were rolling. Vox’s Alex Ward explains how the ...
Why America needs a national pandemic memorial
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
People want to move on from Covid-19, but that doesn’t mean forgetting its victims. Historian Paul Farber and Vox reporter Alissa Wilkinson explain ...
Racism, misogyny, and the shootings in Georgia
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Eight people were killed in shootings at three Atlanta-area spas. Most of the victims were women. Six were Asian American. Georgia state Sen. Michelle...
Why are more children crossing the border?
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A growing number of unaccompanied minors at the US-Mexico border is highlighting President Biden’s struggle to fulfill his campaign promises on immi...
Who gets to vote?
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a question the US has struggled with since its founding. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastc...
Vaccines4Kids
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden says all adults will be eligible for a vaccine by May 1. But for the world to truly return to normal, young people will need shots, to...
No one nose
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Believe it or not, scientists still don’t know how the sense of smell works. But that isn’t stopping one guy at MIT from trying to reverse-enginee...
It’s been a year
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The year in revue. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Biden’s Big F***ing Deal
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden’s American Rescue Plan has been approved by Congress. It’s a revolution in American welfare disguised as stimulus. Transcript at v...
You’re vaccinated. Now what?
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
New guidelines from the CDC for fully vaccinated people suggest it’s finally time to hug your grandparents. Dr. Kavita Patel explains the do’s and...
Alabama shakes up Amazon
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Darryl Richardson, a worker at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, explains why he helped initiate a unionization effort that now has President...
The Bachelor meets reality
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Beset by controversy, The Bachelor’s latest season is winding down with an identity crisis. It’s a rare case of reality TV reflecting our cultural...
The surge of anti-Asian violence
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The United States is stumbling through two racial reckonings at once. Author Jeff Chang says it’s an inflection point centuries in the making. Trans...
Manchin in the middle
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Biden won the presidency, but it’s Joe Manchin from West Virginia who seems to be the decider. The Charleston Gazette-Mail’s Joe Severino shad...
The $15 dream
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Washington’s hottest policy fight is over raising the minimum wage to $15. Emily Stewart explains the Democrats’ effort to get it through Congress...
How acid trips led to better policing
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Thirty years ago, Eugene, Oregon, figured out an alternative to the police. They called it CAHOOTS. Seriously. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. L...
Canceling Keystone XL
27 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden finally wants to put the Keystone XL pipeline to bed. But if the last 12 years of environmental fights are any indication, it won’t ...
The case for Covid-19 optimism
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vox’s German Lopez explains why he feels optimistic about the end of the pandemic even though 500,000 Americans have died, the virus is mutating, an...
A tale of two governors
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom were hailed for their leadership early on in the pandemic. Now, the former is mired in scandal and the latter is facing ...
Stimu-less
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What’s taking so long? What’s happening with those $1,400 checks? Are the Democrats betraying the people who voted for them? Vox’s Li Zhou and A...
Googliath
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australia just reined in Google. Dozens of other countries want in on the action. The latest season of Land of the Giants explains how two grad studen...
A tough week for Texas
20 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
First it was brutal winter weather, power outages followed, and then came a poorly timed trip to Cancun. Texas Public Radio’s Joey Palacios explains...
Rush Limbaugh’s legacy
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Nicole Hemmer explains how Limbaugh helped pave the way for Fox News, OAN, and Newsmax. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about ...
Biden at the border
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden says he wants to undo his predecessor’s immigration policies, so why are some of them still in effect? The El Paso Times’s Lauren ...
57-43
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Democrats made a strong case against Donald Trump. Republicans are being punished for supporting it. Vox’s Zack Beauchamp explains. Transcript at vo...
#FreeBritney
13 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The movement to liberate Britney Spears from her conservatorship may not succeed, but it’s revealing a lot about how we treat young women. Vox’s C...
The Republican(!) plan to give parents money
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sen. Mitt Romney wants to throw money at parents, Andrew Yang-style. President Biden is into it, too. Vox’s Dylan Matthews explains. Transcript at v...
Vaccine hoarding
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Poorer countries have received less than 1 percent of the Covid-19 vaccines distributed around the world. Vox’s Julia Belluz explains what the WHO i...
26 Words
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A quarter-century after it was signed, Section 230, the law that made the modern internet, has done the impossible: united Democrats and Republicans. ...
Capitol punishment
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vox’s Andrew Prokop previews the historic second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. Law professor Alan Rozenshtein explains what th...
The Senate’s $1.9 trillion all-nighter
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Senate voted on more than 40 pieces of legislation overnight. Vox’s Li Zhou explains what the “vote-a-rama” means for President Biden’s ag...
The Arab Spring, 10 years later
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ten years ago, a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire and set off a revolution across the Middle East and North Africa. The Independent’s Borzo...
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “loony lies”
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vox’s Aaron Rupar explains why Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has likened a fellow Republican’s views to cancer. And New York magazine’s...
The coup in Myanmar
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some would say the military has always been in control of Myanmar. On Monday morning, they made it official once again. Transcript at vox.com/todayexp...
Introducing Chicano Squad
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After the 1977 murder of a young Latino man, the Houston Police Department created a team of five young Latino officers to solve homicides in their co...
Biden’s latest 13 actions (in 13 minutes)
30 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
And whether or not any of it will last beyond his presidency. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...
GameStock
29 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vox’s Emily Stewart explains how GameStop’s stock jumped by 1,700 percent this month. Bloomberg’s Matt Levine ponders the purpose of the stock m...
The military’s far-right problem
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sen. Tammy Duckworth wants the military to do a better job of rooting out extremism in its ranks. A military investigator explains how to solve a deca...
Coronavirus, 365 days later
26 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One year after our first episode on the novel coronavirus, Vox’s Julia Belluz explains what we got right, what we got wrong, and what comes next. Tr...
Marianne Williamson on healing America’s soul
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Marianne Williamson was applauded as well as ridiculed on the presidential debate stage when she warned of the “dark psychic forces of collectivized...
Second in command, first in history
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kamala Harris has already broken barriers, but ahead lies the rare task of leading a polarized and evenly divided Senate. Transcript at vox.com/todaye...
Biden’s first 17 actions (in 17 minutes)
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In his first few minutes in office, President Biden hit CTRL+Z on former President Trump’s agenda. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more ...
46
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in today and got straight to work. Vox’s Laura McGann and Dylan Matthews explain what will be done immediatel...
Abolish the lame-duck period?
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
America’s two-month lame-duck period gave supporters of the outgoing president ample time to plan a violent uprising. Vox’s Ian Millhiser argues t...
The first global vaccination
15 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Was distributed by 22 orphans. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Okay, Google: unionize!
15 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A very big tech company now has a very small union. Recode’s Shirin Ghaffary explains why highly paid workers in an anti-union industry still organi...
The people behind the insurrection
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump has been impeached for inciting an insurrection on the Capitol one week ago. CNN’s Elle Reeve was there and explains who was duped i...
A step past impeachment
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Impeachment won’t stop the United States’ slide towards authoritarianism. Voter reform might. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more abo...
Deplatforming Donald
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
First he lost his Facebook. Then he lost his Twitter. As of today, President Trump had been limited or booted by more than a dozen platforms. Casey Ne...
The flamethrowers and the fire extinguishers
08 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Infighting among Republican lawmakers reached a breaking point this week. The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins explains why and the tough road ahead for the...
How security at the Capitol failed
08 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Washington Post national security reporter Dan Lamothe explains how a number of agencies and politicians put together a historically bad security plan...
The breach, explained by Rep. Maloney (locked in her office)
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York explains what it was like to live through today’s violent transfer of power. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. ...
The virus gets more contagious
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Viruses mutate, but this time it’s different. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...
All eyes on Georgia
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tuesday’s election will decide who controls the Senate, but the president is still hung up on the election he already lost. Transcript at vox.com/to...
The year in revue
30 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a year. It’s been a year And after all the news We’re still not in the clear It’s been a year Can’t even remember what life was l...
How 2020 changed us
29 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the final episode of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” people look back on a very long year. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained....
Animals catch Covid-19, too
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the fourth of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” a reminder that we’re not the only animals who got Covid-19 this year. Science w...
Dr. Fauci’s nightmare before Christmas
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the third of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” Dr. Anthony Fauci reflects back on his pandemic year, what he’s learned, and what...
The year live music died
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the second of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” musicians explain how they got creative when live shows and tours were canceled....
Moving home
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the first of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” millennials are moving back in with their parents (again), but they are discovering...
A climate change of address
19 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An estimated 143 million people will relocate to escape climate change in the next three decades. Quartz’s Amanda Shendruk explains how cities can t...
How Netscape created our tech world
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Go for Broke podcast, host Julia Furlan travels back to the mid-’90s to explain how a bygone web browser set the stage for mo...
Pornhub just deleted 80% of its videos
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most popular porn sites on the internet just purged more than 10 million videos. Vice’s Samantha Cole explains why. Transcript at vox.com...
Your vaccine questions, answered
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Covid-19 vaccine is being distributed in the United States, and you have questions. Vox’s Umair Irfan has answers. Transcript at vox.com/todayex...
India’s farmers strike
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The world’s biggest democracy is contending with what might be the world’s biggest labor stoppage. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn mor...
How movie theaters might survive
12 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of the Decoder podcast, host Nilay Patel speaks with Shelli Taylor, the CEO of Alamo Drafthouse. Taylor argues the government has fail...
The vaccine, explained by Martin (who got it)
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Martin Kenyon was one of the first people to get the Covid-19 vaccine this week. He talks about his experience, and an epidemiologist explains how to ...