Today, Explained

Taylor: Look What You Made Me Do

23 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ambassador William Taylor finally testified on Tuesday and it was a doozy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yes We Canada?

22 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Justin Trudeau won re-election on Tuesday, but it wasn't pretty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Where are the troops going?

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump is pulling out of Syria while sending more troops to Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

Introducing Reset

20 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Students across the country are graded by artificial intelligence. But does an algorithm really know how to write? Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Trumpster fire

18 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, the White House stonewalled the impeachment inquiry. This week, the stonewall came crumbling down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...

Should Facebook let Trump lie?

17 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump lied in a Facebook ad and Facebook didn’t take it down so Elizabeth Warren lied, too. The Verge’s Casey Newton explains. Learn mor...

DEB4TE

16 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the fourth Democratic debate, the candidates treated Elizabeth Warren as the frontrunner. Vox’s Ezra Klein explains what that means for the race ...

A new war in Syria

15 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration just imposed sanctions on Turkey for invading northern Syria. But it may be too late for America’s Kurdish allies. Learn mo...

Indigenous Peoples' Delegate

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly 200 years ago, the Treaty of New Echota offered the Cherokee Nation representation in Congress. Kimberly Teehee just became its first nominee. ...

Did China just dunk on the NBA?

11 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

An NBA executive’s tweet supporting protests in Hong Kong has exposed how vulnerable the biggest American companies are to China. Learn more about y...

The nine impeachment scenarios

10 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

President Pence? President Pelosi? There are nearly a dozen ways the impeachment inquiry could end. Vox’s Laura McGann runs through each of them. Le...

Stonewalling the impeachment inquiry

09 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains why the White House is now refusing to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry. Ezra Klein scrutinizes the Republican st...

Leaving Syria (and the Kurds)

09 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Turkey is sending troops and tanks to its border with Syria hours after President Trump announced he would be removing US forces from the nation. Syri...

SCOTUS raises the stakes

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After a sleepy spring term, the Supreme Court of the United States is back and looking to weigh in on abortion, immigration, and LGBT rights. Learn mo...

Inside a Facebook all-staff

04 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Audio of Mark Zuckerberg in a closed-door staff meeting leaked to Casey Newton of The Verge. Then Elizabeth Warren entered the fray. Learn more about ...

Meanwhile in Ukraine....

03 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ukraine finds itself at the center of the American impeachment drama, but President Trump is the least of the country's worries. Learn more about your...

It's not easy whistleblowin'

02 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The whistleblower’s attorneys say their client is in danger. That’s not unusual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...

The impeachment counternarrative

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Listen as Vox’s Andrew Prokop meticulously debunks the White House talking points around the whistleblower scandal. Learn more about your ad choices...

"No contract! No cars!"

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The United Auto Workers is engaged in the biggest General Motors strike since the 1970s, all while union leaders are having their homes raided by the ...

UN-for-Greta-ble

27 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In just one week, she inspired global protests, mean-mugged President Trump, and chastised world leaders at the United Nations. David Wallace-Wells, e...

The whistleblower complaint

26 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The House Intelligence Committee released the whistleblower complaint minutes before Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire began his...

The "transcript"

25 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The White House released a record of President Trump’s conversation with President Zelensky, then went on the defensive. Learn more about your ad ch...

Pelosi calls for impeachment inquiry

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This evening Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House will begin an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains how ...

Son of a Biden

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A whistleblower in the intelligence community has sparked a political scandal involving President Trump and a pair of Bidens. Vox’s Andrew Prokop ex...

Burn, baby, burn

20 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The vast majority of your plastic isn’t being recycled. It might be time to consider lighting it on fire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po...

The 51st state?

19 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Residents in the District of Columbia have been living with "taxation without representation" from Day 1. Today, they take their call for statehood to...

To Bibi or not to Bibi

18 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s decade-long hold on power may be coming to an end. Anyone up for peace? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

When it's time to die

17 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week Maine joins several states allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives with medication. Cyndie Rogers explains why she eventually wa...

How do you remove an egg from an omelette?

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Some say that’s how hard it is to remove the UK from the EU. Boris Johnson's Brexit strategy heads to the United Kingdom's highest court Tuesday. Le...

ABCDebate

13 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After Vox's Tara Golshan reviews the third Democratic debate, Matthew Yglesias explains how Joe Biden wins even when he loses. Learn more about your a...

The president's hit list

12 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

“I’d be happy to slaughter them,” President Rodrigo Duterte said about three million drug users in the Philippines. It appears he is following t...

Like, bye

11 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook and Instagram are thinking about ditching the thumbs and hearts. What would life be like without "Likes"? Learn more about your ad choices. V...

John Boltin'

10 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

John Bolton is out. Vox’s Alex Ward explains why he was at odds with his boss from Day 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

Am I gonna die from vaping?

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Maybe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gerry with the bad maps

06 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A historic court decision erased some of the most gerrymandered maps in the country this week. North Carolina now has two weeks to redraw them. Learn ...

CNN's climate marathon in 20 minutes

05 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We watched seven straight hours of Democrats discussing climate policy so you wouldn't have to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...

#FreedMeekMill

04 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Rapper Meek Mill was arrested on drug and weapons charges as a teen in 2007, but the case didn't close until last week. NPR's Bobby Allyn explains how...

Missing history

03 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Kids in school don’t learn much about American slavery. Professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries says students deserve the real story. Learn more about your a...

Still not safe to drink

30 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First it was Flint, now it's Newark. Why do American cities keep contaminating their water? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

Death of a Koch brother

29 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

David Koch was one of the biggest and most influential donors in American politics. Mother Jones' Daniel Schulman explains his complicated legacy. Lea...

Don't try CRISPR at home

28 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Biohackers treat their bodies like a science project. But should they be allowed to edit their own DNA at home? Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Biofuel duel

27 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

An EPA decision has left Iowan corn growers feeling betrayed by President Trump. Democrats are watching. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...

Alaska's missing police force

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A third of Alaskan communities don’t have cops. Kyle Hopkins, investigative reporter at the Anchorage Daily News, explains Alaska’s public safety ...

When killing is "necessary"

23 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week California passed what some call the toughest law on police use of deadly force in the country. It hinges on one word: necessary. Learn more...

Hope for Hong Kong

22 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hong Kong ramped up its protests and China ramped up its propaganda machine. But the conflict may have finally reached a turning point. Learn more abo...

Coal's last stand

21 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a train full of coal sitting on the tracks in eastern Kentucky. It’s being blocked by a group of laid-off miners who want what they're owe...

Ending the endless war

20 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This weekend in Afghanistan was one of the deadliest this year. Vox’s Jenn Williams explains whether America can end its longest war. Learn more abo...

Do sanctions work?

19 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration is ramping up sanctions on Venezuela, but it may end up hurting the people they're meant to help. Learn more about your ad ch...

The warehouse of forgotten evidence

16 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty set out to investigate why police across the country often fail to catch serial rapists. Learn more about your ad cho...

What's up with the yield curve?

15 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Vox’s Matthew Yglesias explains why everyone's whispering about a recession. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(Don't) give me your poor

14 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration is about to make it a lot harder for poor people to get a green card. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....

Death behind bars

13 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide is unexpectedly shining a light on the conditions in America’s jails. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

Deep fried podcast

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Vox's Tara Golshan spent the weekend at the Iowa State Fair trying to figure out what eating deep fried Oreos has to do with running the country. Lear...

Latinos after El Paso

09 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of Saturday’s shooting, Latinos across the United States are questioning their safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...

Six rivers, three countries, one Kashmir

08 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

India is escalating its 70-year fight for Kashmir. The winner gets the water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon Crime

07 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What started as a push to increase mining in the rainforest led to a murder. Ernesto Londoño, Brazil bureau chief for The New York Times, explains ho...

Disown your kid to pay for college

06 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This summer’s hottest college admissions scam is parents disowning their children. The Wall Street Journal’s Doug Belkin explains. Learn more abou...

A Green New Deal, but for guns

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Vox’s German Lopez explains why Democrats need a bold new plan for gun control. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reviving death

02 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After 16 years, the Trump administration is bringing back the federal death penalty. Reverend Sharon Risher, who lost her mother, two cousins, and a c...

Dem Debates 2: Election Boogaloo

01 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bernie yelled at Ryan. Biden defended Obama. Warren destroyed Delaney. Vox's Tara Golshan explains the "fight for the heart of the party" and Ezra Kle...

Life's a breach

31 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Capital One got hacked. Equifax is trying to make up for its hack. And The Verge’s Russell Brandom explains why you should definitely prepare yourse...

Coats checks out

30 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Coats is resigning, leaving a vacancy at the top of US intelligence. The Washington Post’s Shane Harris explains how his replacement may be a Tr...

Where we’re going, we still need roads

29 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Four of the world’s biggest carmakers have secretly negotiated an emissions deal with California, circumventing the Trump administration. Learn more...

No such thing as free lunch

26 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A school district in Pennsylvania apologized this week for saying students with unpaid lunch debt might end up in foster care. The scandal is part of ...

BoJo

25 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson wanted a Brexit and now he’ll have to figure out how to make it happen. The Atlantic’s Tom McTague explains how a self-proclaimed “...

Mueller reports

24 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

At long last, former special counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...

#RickyRenuncia

23 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans are demanding Governor Ricardo Roselló resign. David Begnaud from CBS News reports from San Juan. Learn more a...

Five years after Eric Garner

22 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After five years, a decision on the death of Eric Garner, who was put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer, creates further questions. The Washington Pos...

Holy shit

19 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, Vox’s Brian Resnick says astronauts left something up there that could unlock the origins of life itsel...

"Send her back"

18 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

An ugly, racist week in America came to a head last night with a chant at a Trump rally. The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer says this is a defining moment f...

How to solve the asylum crisis

17 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, the Trump administration dramatically changed the rules governing asylum. A scholar who has helped shape US immigration policy since the 1...

The Prince of Blackwater

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Betsy DeVos’s baby brother made a name for himself running one of America's top mercenary companies. The Intercept's Matthew Cole explains how Black...

What raids?

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Immigrant communities across the United States spent the weekend on edge awaiting so-called "ICE raids." Reporter Tal Kopan explains what happened and...

Don't stop, make it pop

12 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Your favorite young person’s favorite app is TikTok. Vox’s Rebecca Jennings has been spending too much time trying to understand it. Learn more ab...

The government will sleep in your bed

11 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week, 22 UN ambassadors condemned China for detaining at least a million ethnic Uighurs in “reeducation camps.” After Gulchehra Hoja, a Uighu...

A preexisting debate

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Obamacare is back in court. Vox’s Li Zhou explains how the healthcare bill might finally meet its maker and Ezra Klein explains why that might be gr...

The renegade general

09 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Libya’s ongoing civil war has escalated into one of its bloodiest moments yet—the bombing of a migrant detention center in Tripoli. Analyst Anas E...

Switch to Mitch

08 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the first Democratic debates, candidates seemed to be running against a powerful Republican who arrived long before Trump and will likely outlast h...

Know your enemy (Part II)

05 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When people see Deeyah Khan's documentary about white supremacists they tell her, "The real problem is jihad. You should spend time with jihadists." S...

Know your enemy (Part I)

03 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Documentary filmmaker Deeyah Khan grew tired of receiving death threats from white supremacists so she traveled to a Detroit motel to meet up with one...

Equal pay is the goooooaaaaaallllllllll!

02 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Team USA is having quite the World Cup, but the women made headlines even before the tournament started by suing the United States Soccer Federation. ...

40 acres and a bill

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Slavery reparations were once an untouchable idea in American politics, but now presidential candidates openly support it. And for the first time ever...

Two days, Explained

28 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty Democratic candidates. Two debates. Some awkward Spanish. Vox’s Ella Nilsen hits the highlights and Ezra Klein explains why Democrats should ...

Supreme Count

27 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court dropped two doozies today. NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang details a ruling on the 2020 census before Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains how the C...

"Safe and sanitary"

26 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Senate passed $4.6 billion in emergency aid for the crisis at the southwestern border today. Last night, the House passed its own version. Aid wil...

Republicans on the run

25 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A landmark cap-and-trade bill in Oregon is on life support after Republicans fled the state to avoid voting on it. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

The rise and fall of R. Kelly

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

R. Kelly is facing new criminal charges, as well as investigations that involve the IRS, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security. Jim DeRogat...

Never forget

21 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The 9/11 first responders and Jon Stewart are fighting Congress for what they hope is the last time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...

Drone down

20 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Iran kicked off the day by blowing up a very expensive US surveillance drone. Vox's Alex Ward explains why tensions keep getting more tense. Learn mor...

I see fake people

19 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Doctored videos of Nancy Pelosi and Mark Zuckerberg have Congress worried about the nation’s grasp on reality. Drew Harwell from the Washington Post...

Change for a 20?

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As Washington gears up for the 2020 elections, it's fighting over who should be on the $20 bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...

After the ouster

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sudanese protesters pulled off the impossible: ousting dictator Omar al-Bashir. Now, the protestors face a new adversary: al-Bashir's military. Reem A...

Little pink houses for nobody

14 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

California is the most populous state in the country, but people increasingly can’t afford to live there. Single family zoning is partly to blame, b...

Hong Kong in the streets

13 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hundreds of thousands of people are protesting in Hong Kong. CNN’s Matt Rivers is on the scene and the BBC's Helier Cheung explains how British colo...

Guatemala’s corruption conundrum

12 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There are nearly twenty candidates vying to be president of Guatemala. Some are being investigated for corruption by the country’s watchdog court, t...

Planting dreams

11 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Erica Alfaro just got her master’s degree. But underneath the cap and gown is the story of migrant farm workers, a teen pregnancy, and domestic abus...

Mushroom magic

10 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Denver and Oakland have become the first US cities to effectively decriminalize magic mushrooms. Michael Pollan, author of “How to Change Your Mind,...

My Brexit brings all the boys to the yard

07 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Right-wing politicians in the UK are under attack. Delicious, sticky attack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crisis of faith

05 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Iraq’s Christian population has been fleeing the country en masse. The United States wants to help, so long as they don’t come here. (Transcript h...

The new secession

04 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Wealthy white residents are trying to secede from East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. The Atlantic’s Adam Harris says they’re part of a growing tr...