Today, Explained

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 ...

No coup for you!

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Joe won. And won. And won. Rudy can fail. And fail. And fail. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

How Melbourne eradicated Covid-19

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Melbourne, Australia, had a first wave. Then it had a second wave. Then it decided it was done with Covid-19. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Le...

It’s beginning to look a lot like stimulus

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In an end-of-year plot twist, Congress is working on a fresh bipartisan stimulus bill. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad ...

A woman’s work is never done

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of women left the workforce as Covid-19 forced school closures, but that doesn’t mean they have less on their plates. Is government-funded ...

God-given right?

03 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court ruled that New York state can’t limit how many people gather in church, even during a pandemic. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains why...

America Offline

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Low-income students are dropping out of college because many don’t have a reliable way to get online. Vox’s Emily Stewart says the solution is sim...

The key to the Cabinet

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

President-elect Biden has started announcing his Cabinet nominees, but Matthew Yglesias says the most important positions aren’t the ones you’d th...

What if developing a vaccine was the easy part?

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Covid-19 vaccines are coming out faster than many thought possible. But distributing the vaccines could be an even tougher challenge. Transcript at vo...

Unexplainable

24 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists all over the world are searching for dark matter: an invisible, untouchable substance that holds our universe together. But they haven’t ...

Withdrawing won’t end the war

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With two months left in the Trump presidency, the US is reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan in an attempt to end America's longest war. But B...

All the mall things

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Retail was struggling. Then came the virus. Recode’s Jason Del Rey explains how the American mall will never be the same, and how the machines might...

The peacemaker’s civil war

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An ethnic conflict in Ethiopia has thrown the Horn of Africa into disarray and could upset order on the continent. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplaine...

Badlands

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Covid-19 is surging across the United States, just in time for cold weather and major holidays. North Dakota is doing particularly badly. Vermont may ...

America said yes to drugs

17 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Oregon decriminalized all drugs. Red states and blue states are doing the same with weed. It’s the culmination of a failed drug war. Transcript at v...

MAGAlomaniac

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A weekend of protests, violence, and enmity in DC revealed what Donald Trump has planned post-presidency. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn ...

(Home)school is cool

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Covid-19 is surging (again). Schools are closing (again). Kids are learning online (again). And more American parents than ever are turning to homesch...

They fought the Lyft and the Lyft won

12 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

California tried to strengthen labor rights for gig workers. Uber, Lyft, and their food-delivering cohorts responded with a $200 million propaganda of...

Fox & Frenemies

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

After a fraught Election Week, cable news is finally cutting away from President Trump’s falsehoods. Erik Wemple, media critic for the Washington Po...

No concession!

10 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The 45th president of the United States has thus far refused to acknowledge the 46th. Political scientist Zeynep Tufekci explains this latest test of ...

Biden’s coronavirus plan

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

And some big vaccine news, too. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Biden wins

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

-And Kamala Harris, too. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happened to Congress?

05 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Vox’s Ella Nilsen explains why Democrats are waving goodbye to the blue wave. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices...

President Biden?

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains the latest election math, and Ezra Klein argues that, despite record-setting turnout, it wasn’t a great night for Ame...

Today (should be a holiday), Explained

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This Election Day, voter turnout is projected to break records in the United States, but it won’t get anywhere close to Australia’s. Professor Lis...

What to expect when you’re electing

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains how Joe Biden — or President Trump — could win 270 electoral votes. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn mor...

The Trump Years: State of our union

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the final episode of our five-part series, New York Magazine’s Rebecca Traister and Vox’s Ezra Klein explain how four years of the Trump presid...

The Trump Years: Health of the nation

29 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the fourth of our five-part series, Vox’s Dylan Scott explains how a president with no plan on health care evolved into a president with no plan ...

The Voters

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Election turnout is on track to be the highest in a century. Farmers, essential workers, prisoners, and two ladies named Ruth explain their 2020 presi...

The Supreme Court may disenfranchise you now

27 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Pandemic or not, the highest court in the land won’t extend Wisconsin’s deadline for mailed ballots. Good thing it’s not a swing state. Oh, wait...

#EndSARS

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alexis Akwagyiram, bureau chief for Reuters in Nigeria, explains how a protest to reform the country’s police made its way around the world. Transcr...

The Trump Years: Win at all costs

23 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the third of our five-part series, Vox’s Andrew Prokop says there’s one key takeaway from the Mueller investigation and impeachment: Trump will...

“Hey Google,” the United States is suing you

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Barr and Elizabeth Warren have found a common enemy. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...

Will Covid-19 cancel the holidays?

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Last Christmas, I gave you my health. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Block the vote?

20 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The 2020 election is well underway, as are efforts to prevent people from voting. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choic...

The parody-proof president

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Live from New York, impressions are trite! Vox critic-at-large Emily VanDerWerff explains why late-night TV struggles to satirize President Trump, and...

The Trump Years: America First

16 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the second of our five-part series, Vox’s Nicole Narea and Jenn Williams explain how President Trump has fundamentally changed the perception of ...

Do you believe in magic?

15 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A Los Angeles magician struck gold with a glorified Zoom meeting. Some are asking if he’s figured out how to save theater. Transcript at vox.com/tod...