Today, Explained

Graduating Marjory Stoneman Douglas High

24 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What’s up with the Parkland teens? Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School inspired over a million people to march for gun control a few ...

The Endangered Endangered Species Act

23 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The White House has proposed stripping the Endangered Species Act of key provisions - the same legislation that helped save the grizzly bear, bald eag...

Mr. Trump's wild week

20 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What a week. President Trump sided with President Putin, then he didn’t, then he did, then he didn’t again. Vox’s Alex Ward tries to keep up.  ...

The Stanford Prison Correction

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In 1971, a professor locked a bunch of young men in a basement to understand evil. The results were explosive. This summer, it all came crashing down....

Open casket, reopened case

18 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most brutal murder cases in American history has been reopened. The Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery explains how Emmett Till’s family m...

Does America need Sacha Baron Cohen?

17 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bernie Sanders, Sarah Palin, and Dick Cheney walk into an interview. Sacha Baron Cohen is waiting for them. Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff explains. Learn m...

Vladimir's best day ever

16 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Vladimir Putin flatly denied Russian interference in the United States’s 2016 elections and President Trump refused to call him out. Former ambassad...

What are Democrats doing even?

13 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Republicans control the White House, Congress and most state legislatures. Pod Save America’s Dan Pfeiffer explains how Democrats can dig themselves...

I can't believe it's not breastmilk

12 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Breastmilk. Research says it’s the best, so why did the U.S. threaten to shut down a breastfeeding proposal at the World Health Assembly? Vox’s Ju...

Brexiting is hard to do

11 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

British Prime Minister Theresa May is losing cabinet members left and right. She can’t figure out how to Brexit. BBC's Rob Watson says the UK's brea...

The New Justice

10 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Brett Kavanaugh is President Trump’s pick to replace Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court. The New York Times Magazine’s Emily Bazel...

Roe v. Wade v. Trump

09 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tonight the president announces who might replace Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court. During his campaign, he promised he would choose...

Say goodbye to Pruitt

06 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It’s official: Scott Pruitt will no longer lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Vox’s Umair Irfan explains why it doesn’t really matter who...

Tonight. Midnight. Trade war.

05 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When the clock strikes twelve tonight, the US government plans to hit Chinese goods with $34 billion in tariffs. China plans to lash back. Vox’s Mat...

Abolish ICE?

03 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#AbolishICE has gone from an online murmur to a national movement, but a lot of Americans are confused about what exactly Immigration and Customs Enfo...

They call him AMLO

02 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Meet Mexico’s next president: Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Call him AMLO. He’s a leftist, a populist, and wasn’t shy about calling Donald Trum...

We need to talk about Yemen

29 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s travel ban this week, making it all but impossible for the citizens of seven countries to enter the Unite...

Born to run

28 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to become the youngest woman to ever serve in Congress this November. The 28-year-old Democratic Socialist defeated te...

The most powerful man in America retires

27 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After 30 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement today. Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick explains what the departure of ...

Yes we ban

26 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s travel ban. Emily Bazelon from The New York Times Magazine explains the opinion, a fie...

Controversy for controversy's sake

25 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A 32-year-old from Santa Monica, California, helped President Trump conceive of the most divisive immigration policy in decades. The Atlantic’s McKa...

Redesigning life on Earth

22 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bill and Melinda Gates are messing with nature. But they’re doing it to save the world. This week, their foundation gave away millions to make malar...

What the executive order doesn't fix

21 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump signed an executive order which aims to end his own policy of family separation at the border. Yeah... it's confusing. Martha Mendoza ...

UNHRC ya later

20 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The United States has been threatening to withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council for some time, but President Trump and Ambassador Nikk...

Happy Juneteenth!

19 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's Juneteenth! What is this holiday that hardly anyone fully understands? UCLA's Brenda Stevenson explains the history, and argues that the celebrat...

2,000

18 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

That’s how many kids have been separated from their parents at border crossings over a six-week span since the Trump administration’s new zero tol...

Little summer vampires

15 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tiny blood-sucking Lyme-disease-carrying ticks are out to ruin your summer. Since 1991, Lyme disease has doubled in the United States due to a variety...

Mo Salah will make you care about soccer

14 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The World Cup kicks off today. Looking for a country to cheer for? Consider Egypt. The team might not be the most storied or stacked, but it’s got M...

The Sessions Doctrine

13 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it harder for Central Americans fleeing gang violence or women escaping domestic violence to gain asylu...

How do you solve a problem like Korea?

12 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un made history today. Or did they? NPR’s Elise Hu was there. She explains what happened and what didn’t. Plus, The New ...

Will work for healthcare

11 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Good news for poor Americans: Medicaid is expanding in several states. Bad news for poor Americans: Medicaid is expanding in several states with work ...

Riding in cars without boys

08 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week, the Saudi government issued driver’s licenses to women for the first time in the country’s history. But London School of Economics prof...

You're tariffing us apart

07 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

North America isn't getting along anymore. Canada's Prime Minister is having testy phone calls with President Trump about the War of 1812. Mexico has ...

Pardon me

06 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Scooter Libby. Dinesh D'Souza. So far, none of President Donald Trump’s pardons have had anything to do with his administration,...

When your president acts like a dictator

05 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nicaragua is spiraling into a state of national catastrophe, as clashes between police and student protesters over the past two months have left more ...

You can't have your cake

04 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today the Supreme Court issued a decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, or as it’s colloquially known, the “g...

2 Big 2 Fail

01 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Congress is rolling back the bank regulations implemented after the 2008 financial crisis. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias explains why, and what it means fo...

Why does everyone hate George Soros?

31 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There are three things you need to know about George Soros: 1) You’re pronouncing his name wrong. 2) He’s richer than rich. 3) He’s one of the m...

Roseanne gets canned

30 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

ABC canceled the popular reboot of Roseanne after its star likened President Obama’s former advisor, an African-American woman, to an ape on Twitter...

We've updated our privacy policy

29 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

You know those privacy policy emails flooding your inbox lately? Turns out those are thanks to the European Union’s crackdown on websites that colle...

The poorest rich country in the world

25 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Venezuela has been crippled by poverty, starvation, five-figure inflation, and on Sunday, an election that many countries didn’t recognize as legit....

We'll never have Singapore

24 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump cancelled his historic Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today. The announcement comes after a North Korean offici...

Kneecapped

23 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today the National Football League released a statement saying players will be fined if they kneel during the national anthem. It’s the ultimate res...

Arbitration Nation

22 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court may have taken away your ability to file a class action lawsuit against your employer. In a 5-4 decision yesterday, the Court decide...

Ireland's great divide

21 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This Friday, Ireland holds a historic vote that could overturn one of the strictest abortion policies in the world. The race is razor-tight: Facebook ...

A cynic's guide to the royal wedding

18 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you might have heard that there’s a royal wedding happening this Saturday. (Even Sean’s mom is tuning in...

Go ahead. Legalize it.

17 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week, the Supreme Court of the United States fundamentally changed... sports. It struck down a 1992 law that prevented states from legalizing spo...

Hawaii versus the volcano

16 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Explosions are ramping up on Hawaii’s Big Island this week, as the Kilauea volcano continues to spew lava and blow a 12,000-foot plume of ash into t...

What you need to know about Gaza

15 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sixty Palestinians were killed at the Israel-Gaza border yesterday, the day the U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem. Vox’s Yochi Dreazen breaks down...

Jordan Peterson explains himself

14 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Jordan Peterson has gone from being an obscure Canadian academic to a kind of political rock star for the right. Overnight. Vox’s Zack Beauchamp unp...

#MeToo's big betrayal

11 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned Monday after four women accused him of physical assault. The news was a rough blow to the #MeToo ...

Dial C for Cohen

10 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Stormy D, AT&T, and nine Fabergé eggs. The investigation into the president’s personal lawyer keeps getting more colorful. This week, it was confir...

No deal!

09 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Everyone else - including France, Russia, China, even Iran - ha...

"We tortured some folks"

08 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tomorrow is the Senate confirmation hearing for Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the C.I.A. The 33-year veteran of the organizatio...

This is America

07 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The NRA announced a new president today: Fox News contributor and Iran-Contra alum Oliver North. The news caps a big weekend for the organization. Ten...

The $5,751 ice pack

04 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine a world where a Band-Aid costs $629. Bad news: you live in that world. Vox’s Sarah Kliff explains how American hospitals tack on “facility...

Too Juul for school

03 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to 13 companies that appear to market their vaping products directly to kids. E...

Nowhere to go

02 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Forty-nine Central Americans seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border were granted entry today. They're part of a caravan of around 200 migrants who a...

Golden State Killer opens Pandora's box

01 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After 40 years, police say they have finally caught the Golden State Killer, a man responsible for at least 12 murders, 50 rapes, and 100 break-ins in...

There's something about Sean

30 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sean Hannity is curiously close to President Donald Trump — so close that some say he may as well have a desk in the Oval Office. In recent weeks, t...

Just call us "Korea"

27 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in history, the leader of North Korea took a trip to South Korea today. Kim Jong Un met with President Moon Jae-in to talk unificat...

Oh, SNAP!

26 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Next up on the chopping block? Food stamps or SNAP as it’s now known. A new farm bill, fresh out of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, could f...

Don't drink the water

25 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Four years ago today, Flint, Michigan switched water supplies to save a few million dollars. To date, that decision has cost over $400 million. Govern...

SEE YOU IN COURT

24 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court wraps up its term with a bang tomorrow: Trump v. Hawaii, the travel ban case. The Court will hear arguments on whether the ban excee...

Too little, too latte?

23 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On May 29th, Starbucks will shut 8,000 locations and lose millions of dollars to provide racial bias training for employees. The training comes after ...

Yes we cannabis

20 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a plan to decriminalize marijuana federally. But the debate over legalization rages on at the loc...

"I don't get confused"

19 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nikki Haley has had a rough week. On Sunday, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations announced sanctions against Russia. On Monday, the White House ...

Congress just broke the Internet

18 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump signed FOSTA into law a week ago today. The “Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” looks good on paper, but Vox’s Aja Romano says it al...

The $43,000 phone booth

17 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Pruitt, the embattled head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is facing a host of new scandals: a $43,000 soundproof phone booth, a securit...

Why did the U.S. just bomb Syria?

16 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump and United States allies bombed chemical weapons facilities in Syria on Friday. The attacks came in response to President Bashar al-As...

Mile-high mutiny

13 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When its corporate owner introduced new budget cuts and layoffs, journalists at The Denver Post decided to fight back. They ran a front-page editorial...

He said, she said, she said, she said....

12 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today is Day 4 of Bill Cosby’s retrial. The first trial ended in a hung jury, but this time things are different. Five new women are testifying, acc...

The raid

11 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump today called the raid on the office of his personal lawyer Michael Cohen “unthinkable.” Vox’s Zachary Fryer-Biggs explains what ...

What's my wage again?

10 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today is Equal Pay Day. Vox’s Sarah Kliff reveals the real reason why working women earn about 82% as much as men. Then Valerie Wilson of the Econom...

1, 2, 3, 4... I declare a trade war

09 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump said he would “always be friends” with China’s leader, but the two countries have been acting anything but these past few days. ...

It’s never too late to understand the war in Syria

06 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump announced this week he wants to withdraw US troops from Syria over the next six months. The country’s civil war has killed an estima...

They're not gonna take it

05 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The West Virginia teacher strike has ended, but walkouts are just getting started in Kentucky and Oklahoma, where lawmakers are scrambling to pass bil...

20 shots and a cell phone

04 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

289. That’s the number of people who have been shot and killed by police in 2018 alone. One of them was Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old black man from ...

Mark Zuckerberg Explains Himself

03 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg seldom gives interviews, but in the wake of the massive Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, he made an exception to speak...

Gerrymandering 101

02 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court is currently deliberating two cases that could reshape the entire country’s political maps. At issue is partisan gerrymandering—...

Quitting the Border Patrol

30 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Mexican-American Francisco Cantú never expected to become a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. But for nearly four years, Cantú both detained and rescued mig...

Chief Wahoo Strikes Out

29 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It’s Opening Day — peanuts, cracker jack, and for some, racism. Sundance, a Native American activist, has been protesting the Cleveland Indians ma...

The New Abortion Wars

28 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kentucky just joined a wave of states attempting to severely limit when a woman can terminate her pregnancy. Vox’s Anna North surveys the growing re...

Bolton's Back

27 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump announced John Bolton will be his new National Security Advisor just as the White House prepares for historic talks with North Korea. ...

The Survivors

26 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dantrell Blake traveled from Chicago to Washington, D.C., to join hundreds of thousands for the March of Our Lives on Saturday. Sean Rameswaram spent ...

Flagrant Foul

23 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The FBI is investigating over twenty colleges for paying athletes under the table, reigniting the age-old debate: Should college athletes be formally ...

Me Too, Mr. Trump

22 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A judge gave the green light this week for a woman to sue President Trump for defamation. Summer Zervos claims Donald Trump sexually assaulted her; he...

Cambridge Analytica

21 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted the social media giant “made mistakes” in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and vowed to fix them. The U...

It's Been Six Months

20 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today is the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Maria, one of the worst natural disasters in American history. But Puerto Rico remains without fully-r...

One Man vs. InfoWars

19 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The white nationalist rally in Charlottesville sparked outrage when a driver barreled through the crowd, killing one woman and injuring more than 30. ...

Lady and the Trump

16 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A president. A porn star. A lawyer with a $130,000 payoff. The allegation is Donald Trump had an affair with Stormy Daniels and his lawyer paid her to...

The Colder War

15 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a new Cold War being fought in the North Pole between the United States and Russia (but also China, Finland, Norway, Canada, Greenland and m...

Default in Our Loans

14 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told states to back off regulating the nine private companies that lend money to students last week. That could mean m...

Rexit

13 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter. That’s how Secretary of State Rex Tillerson found out he was fired today. The news came on the heels of Tillerson calling Russia “an irre...

The United States vs. California

12 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump takes his first trip to California as president tomorrow. Making matters awkward, his administration sued the Golden State last week over...

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

09 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After months of name calling and test missiles, Donald Trump will be the first sitting United States president to meet with a North Korean leader. Vox...

The Disability Belt

08 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Out of the ten counties with the most adults on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), nine voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. But in the pr...

That'll Teach 'Em

07 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

An historic walkout in West Virginia ended yesterday. Teachers managed to shut down every single public school in the state for nine days to demand hi...

What's the Deal with Steel?

06 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump announced that he's okay with a trade war late last week and he's got the tariff proposals to prove it: 25% for steel, 10% for aluminu...

Inclusion Riders, Explained

05 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Quick bonus episode! Frances McDormand won the Academy Award for Best Actress last night for her performance in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Mi...