Today, Explained
Episodes
RIP Project 2025?
05 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Project 2025 and J.D. Vance have brought fringe policies to the presidential campaign. Democrats are using both to label the Republican ticket "weird....
Ecstasy Therapy: How MDMA became medicine
02 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Military veterans are unlikely collaborators with the psychedelic counterculture. The two groups’ efforts are being tested this month, when the FDA ...
Ecstasy Therapy: Penicillin for the soul
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1980s Berkeley, an eccentric chemist and his wife, a self-taught therapist, experimented with MDMA. Their work would kickstart a decades-long campa...
What will save men’s gymnastics?
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
2008 was the last time the US men’s gymnastics won a team medal at the Olympics. Justin Spring was part of that team, and he says that this week’s...
Why we’re all populists now
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and Kamala Harris all want to distance themselves from the inflation and bad vibes of President Biden’s economy. The Washi...
Is your refrigerator running?
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fridges are our go-to way of storing food, but they’re not good for the planet or even good for a lot of our food. Gastropod’s Nicola Twilley, aut...
Breaking the Olympics
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Breaking will dance its way into the Olympics this summer. B-boy historian Alien Ness says this is destiny. This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh...
Kamala’s meme-mentum
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kamala Harris memes have taken over the internet. Now she needs to figure out how to capitalize on them. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Ro...
Abercrombie is back
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fast Company’s senior fashion writer Elizabeth Segran explains how the company overcame a problematic history to pull off a renaissance. This episod...
Dengue’s biggest year ever
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
More than 10 million people worldwide have contracted dengue from mosquitos this year. Now experts are worried it might show up at the Olympics. This ...
You did it, Joe
22 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All bets are off as President Biden exits the 2024 race. Vox’s Andrew Prokop and Democratic strategist David Axelrod explain. This episode was produ...
Trump-a-mania at the RNC
19 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hulk Hogan delivered at the final night of the RNC, but did Donald Trump? We hear from two conservative strategists who do not agree on whether Trump'...
Why banning Juul backfired
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The US cracked down on Juul after an uptick in teen vaping and a flurry of health concerns. Podcaster Leon Neyfakh explains how the ban inadvertently ...
Trump just avoided 40 felony counts
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A federal judge has thrown out Trump's classified documents case. Wall Street Journal Justice Department reporter C. Ryan Barber explains what that mi...
VP J.D.
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump’s running mate is Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. Politico’s Ian Ward describes Vance’s transformation from a self-described hillbilly to the...
Is this us?
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The assassination attempt on Donald Trump is part of a steady uptick in political — and increasingly partisan — violence in the United States. Wit...
The song of the summer is DEAD
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Long live the song of the summer. But wait! Switched on Pop’s Charlie Harding disagrees. And Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos says maybe it never e...
What is Project 2025?
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump is trying to distance himself from it. Joe Biden wants you to Google it. Semafor’s Shelby Talcott explains what’s going on with the c...
The Supreme Court’s power grab
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court just fundamentally changed how the federal government works. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains. This episode was produced by Victoria C...
Dancing in the Dark Money
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Prosecutors ain’t nothing but tired of New Jersey’s political corruption. WNYC’s Nancy Solomon, host of the Dead End podcast, explains the cases...
Joe Almighty
08 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden says only the “Lord Almighty” can get him to end his re-election campaign, though more and more Democrats are trying to sway him t...
Why “Country Roads” feels like home
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
John Denver’s ode to West Virginia might be more popular abroad than it is in the United States. This Independence Day, we’re asking why. This epi...
Criminalizing homelessness?
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court has weighed in on homelessness for the first time in decades. The Economist's Steven Mazie tells us what the decision means, and Vox...
Once again, immunity is back up for grabs
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court sent the question of Donald Trump’s presidential immunity back to the lower courts. Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains. This episode w...
Panic! At The White House
28 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Biden needed to win the debate. He didn’t. Vox’s Christian Paz explains if Democrats can find a better candidate. This episode was produced by...
How Spotify picks its winners
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
No, Sabrina Carpenter probably isn’t paying the streamer to play “Espresso” every time you’re listening to music. But the app is making change...
The end of Made in China?
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden recently raised Trump-era tariffs, which could lead to even higher prices on Chinese imports. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai ex...
It’s not Islamophobic, it’s anti-Palestinian
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents are on the rise. Author Moustafa Bayoumi and Vox’s Abdallah Fayyad tell us about another kind of invisible di...
Why investors look past Elon’s musk
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk has had inappropriate relationships with SpaceX employees. Tesla shareholders knew that, and chose to reward him with a massive payday anywa...
How UFC explains USA
21 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Ultimate Fighting Championship went from niche bloodsport to multibillion-dollar league. Donald Trump might be its biggest fan. Journalists Luke T...
It’s not easy being a green conservative
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fighting climate change is not a very common Republican position. Climate activist Benji Backer argues it should be, and Climate Capitalism author Aks...
France's far-right youth
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
President Macron has called snap elections in France that could lead to him sharing power with the far right. Le Monde's Gilles Paris explains how the...
Save Darfur, again
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A bloody civil war is spreading famine and fear through Sudan. It’s a near-repeat of a crisis from two decades ago, but this time Sudan is not comma...
Party in the USA?
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do you talk about colonialism and slavery at a birthday party? New York City is trying to tackle that question this year as it turns 400, and the ...
Will LGBTQ voters come out for Biden?
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The LGBTQ+ voting bloc has traditionally favored Democrats, but as Vox's Christian Paz explains, this year their support may be slipping. California R...
We’re drowning in credit card debt
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Americans owe more than $1 trillion to credit card companies, a record sum that’s likely to keep growing as rising interest rates prevent cardholder...
Was that antisemitic?
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Since October 7 there has been a lot of debate over what is and isn’t antisemitic. Rabbi Jill Jacobs and Harvard law professor Noah Feldman explain ...
Tiktalk therapy
10 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Some therapists are turning to TikTok as a way to make more money and avoid burnout, but is a nightly scroll through therapy content enough to help so...
The last good day on the internet
07 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Remember when the only thing anybody could talk about was white and gold versus blue and black? NatGeo’s Brian Resnick does. And the Atlantic’s Ch...
A win for democracy in India
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
India's prime minister suffered a humiliating win this week. Vox's Zack Beauchamp explains a shocking election. This episode was produced by Peter Bal...
Immigration lemonade
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to immigration solutions, the federal government is handing out lemons. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is making lemonade. This episode was ...
Our immigration identity crisis
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Americans hold contradictory views on immigration: They’re more supportive of it than ever before, while also calling it the nation’s most divisiv...
The backlash to America’s racial reckoning
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed looked like a turning point in the fight against systemic racism. Except, as Vox’s Fabiola...
Florida man convicted
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Former President Donald Trump is now also convicted felon Donald Trump. It didn’t have to be this way. New York magazine’s Andrew Rice explains. T...
Can Mexico’s first woman president fix Mexico?
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The AP’s Megan Janetsky and Falko Ernst of the International Crisis Group explain how Mexico’s first woman president will inherit and address the ...
Chasing the storm
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Aaron Rigsby has built a career out of documenting tornadoes, hurricanes, and other extreme weather up close. So he’s seen just how much more extrem...
The Hamas org chart
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Seven months in, Israel has not “eliminated” Hamas leadership. Newsweek’s Tom O’Connor introduces them, and Mairav Zonszein from International...
America’s shellfish behavior
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Americans consume more shrimp than salmon and tuna combined. But where’s it all coming from? Listen to this episode of Gastropod before you throw an...
How to steal a team
24 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The billionaire owner of the Oakland A’s is trying to move his team to Vegas, and he wants public money to do it. Writer Dan Moore explains how A’...
Red Lobster’s bankrupt-sea
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The seafood chain found itself deep in the red after a disastrous unlimited shrimp promotion. Wall Street Journal restaurant reporter Heather Haddon e...
The AI hype machine
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Big Tech companies have rolled out a new batch of AI-powered products, improving upon what came before. But as Wired's Will Knight and investigative j...
Weed did it, Joe
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The federal government has moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous controlled substance. Politico cannabis policy reporter Natalie Fertig ex...
Is Russia winning now?
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It sure seems like it. The Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Luxmoore reports from Ukraine on why $60 billion of your tax money isn’t making much of a...
Amazon’s garbage book factory
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vox senior correspondent Constance Grady went inside the seedy underbelly of online self-publishing and lived to tell the tale. This episode was produ...
Cicada time
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The last time these exact cicada broods emerged from the ground at the same time, Thomas Jefferson was president. The red-eyed bugs come out looking f...
Florida man’s unhushed money
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The hush money trial has exposed the ecosystem that once protected former president Donald Trump. Journalist Andrea Bernstein tells us what its like i...
What fixes medical debt
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's gotten so bad in America, people are crowdfunding their doctor bills. Vox's Dylan Scott and associate professor Nora Kenworthy explain an imperfe...
Separation of church and church
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Leaders of the United Methodist Church, one of the largest Christian denominations in the US, gathered in North Carolina to hash out a disagreement th...
The real victims of Baby Reindeer
10 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Netflix show Baby Reindeer is a hit. It's been viewed 56 million times. The writer claims it's a true story. Others call it slanderous fiction. T...
Biden’s breaking point on Gaza
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
President Joe Biden says the US won’t supply further weapons if Israel is going to use them in Rafah. Axios reporter Barak Ravid explains what that ...
Kendrick, Drake, and the last great rap beef
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The best rapper in the world is beefing with the biggest rapper in the world. The Ringer’s Charles Holmes explains what their feud says about the st...
Israel, Gaza, and Eurovision
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The pop music competition is facing boycott calls over Israel’s participation. Switched on Pop’s Charlie Harding and historian Tess Megginson expl...
Is divesting from Israel possible?
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, but it’s hard. Inside Higher Ed’s Josh Moody and UC Merced’s Charlie Eaton explain. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by A...
The tourist tax
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Venice is drowning in tourists. A new fee for day-trippers is the latest tool aimed at keeping overtourism at bay. This episode was produced by Amanda...
Paramount’s looking for a deal they can’t refuse
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Media behemoth Paramount Global is struggling. Stock prices are down. The CEO was just ousted. And the head of this family business is ready to cash o...
One Flu Over The Cowcow’s Nest
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Avian flu, which recently leapt from chickens to cows, has now been detected in milk. Vox’s Keren Landman and Kenny Torrella explain how worried hum...
North America’s biggest city is running out of water
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Officials say “Day Zero” is imminent in Mexico City. A walk through the city reveals the historical roots of the water crisis, its present-day cha...
The failed promise of egg freezing
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Egg freezing was once hailed as a reproductive game changer, but as Vox's Anna North reports, it might not live up to the hype. This episode was produ...
Honey, We Saved the Bees
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of bees died because of colony collapse disorder over the past few decades, but America’s honeybee population has now rocketed to an all-ti...
The TikTok “ban” is law
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that would ban the app unless it’s sold to an American company. Vox’s Christian Paz explains. This epis...
Columbia’s free-speech fight
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daily Spectator news editor Sarah Huddleston reports on the protests at her university. AAUP President Irene Mulvey explains the stakes for campus fre...
Florida man wants immunity
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You can beat the heat if you beat the charges too. Vox’s Ian Millhiser previews the Donald Trump immunity case going before the Supreme Court this w...
Just in: Trudeau’s plan to fight populism
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Canadian-American podcast host Sean Rameswaram goes one-on-one with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to find out how he might win over Gen Zed. ...
Feeling Bluey
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bluey delights children and reduces their grown-ups to tears. But the latest episode has fans young and old wondering whether the ride is coming to an...
The great American squatter panic
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Politicians and conservative news outlets say there’s an epidemic of people moving into a stranger’s house and refusing to leave. Curbed’s Bridg...
How car ownership got so expensive
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Drivers are increasingly paying sticker price or more for a new car. Then there are sky-high insurance rates and mortgage-level car payments. Vox’s ...
Florida man’s first criminal trial begins
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The first of former President Donald Trump's four criminal trials began this week. Vox's Andrew Prokop explains what's at stake, and Vox's Abdallah Fa...
Why Iran attacked Israel
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Economist’s Gregg Carlstrom explains. Jerusalem-based journalist Noga Tarnopolsky explores whether the unprecedented attack hurts or helps Benja...
America at war, now in theaters
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The new movie Civil War delivers a sensational story about political polarization spilling into mass violence. If that seems reckless, it’s what apo...
Speaker Johnson's next test
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Congress is back in session and the House speakership is once again on the line. The New Yorker’s David Kirkpatrick explains how Mike Johnson got th...
Prosecuting parents
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Oxford, Michigan, school shooter's parents will serve up to 15 years in prison. Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents held criminally ...
The man with a pig kidney
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A pig’s kidney was just transplanted into a human. But Vox’s Dylan Matthews says we shouldn't need the pigs. This episode was produced by Victoria...
Is college still worth it?
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
More and more Americans feel like college isn’t a good deal anymore. One state thinks it’s found a way to turn things around. This episode was rep...
The Sephora kids
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tweens are shopping for trendy, expensive skincare products. Gen Z worries it’s “aging like milk.” Are today’s young people too afraid of look...
Israel’s attack on World Central Kitchen
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Kalin explains what happened, and Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk lays out what this means for Ga...
Project 2025
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump arrived at the White House in 2017 without a lot of plans to actually govern. The conservative Heritage Foundation wants to make sure tha...
The fight for control of Disney’s kingdom
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
CEO Bob Iger is fighting off activist investor Nelson Peltz, who argues the company spends too much on message-based “woke” programming and is cam...
Making taxes less taxing
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The IRS finally has a brand-new, totally free tax-filing software for you. But not everyone’s excited about it. This episode was produced by Victori...
The kids are all home
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Living with your parents is so hot right now, with more adults doing it now than at any other time in the modern era. First, we hang out with a member...
Buy a house? In this economy?
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Home affordability hasn’t been this bad in decades. Wall Street Journal housing reporter Nicole Friedman explains the economic forces shaping the ma...
The Baltimore bridge collapse
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Key Bridge disaster is yet another reminder of the vulnerability of global shipping. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Jesse Alejandro ...
Why ISIS attacked Moscow
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Moscow terror attack could mark the beginning of an even more brutal phase in Russia’s war in Ukraine — even if Ukraine had nothing to do with...
Spoiler alert: RFK’s VP
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Kennedy Jr. is set to announce his running mate this week. To mark the occasion, Semafor’s Dave Weigel explains whether third-party options c...
Beyoncé country
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Beyoncé has a new country album. The first single has already broken records and drawn criticism from those who think of country music as a “white”...
Can Caitlin Clark fix college sports?
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The biggest star of this year’s March Madness basketball tournament isn’t one of the male players, explains SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell. The W...
Can Congress ban TikTok?
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Probably not. Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio and Kate Ruane from the Center for Democracy and Technology explain. This episode was produced by Amanda ...
How gangs took over Haiti
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Haiti’s latest crisis is being driven by something new: The country’s gangs have united, and they are demanding political power. Financial Times j...
Conned into the Russian army
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Desperately low on troops for its protracted war with Ukraine, the Russian military is relying on men from countries like India to fill its ranks. Jou...
Live from SXSW: Noel King interviews Charlamagne tha God and Angela Rye
17 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this no-holds-barred interview from the SXSW stage, Vox's Noel King asks comedian and radio host Charlamagne tha God and political commentator Ange...
Hollywood’s still not back
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Covid and last year’s strikes delivered a one-two punch that the entertainment industry still hasn’t recovered from. Entertainment journalists Mar...