Shows / Today, Explained
Today, Explained
Today, Explained is Vox's daily news explainer podcast. Hosts Sean Rameswaram and Noel King will guide you through the most important stories of the day. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Episodes
- Today, Explained
The last good day on the internet
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 Charlie Warzel…
- Today, Explained
A win for democracy in India
India's prime minister suffered a humiliating win this week. Vox's Zack Beauchamp explains a shocking election. This episode was produced by Peter…
- Today, Explained
Immigration lemonade
When it comes to immigration solutions, the federal government is handing out lemons. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is making lemonade. This episode was produced…
- Today, Explained
Our immigration identity crisis
Americans hold contradictory views on immigration: They’re more supportive of it than ever before, while also calling it the nation’s most divisive political…
- Today, Explained
The backlash to America’s racial reckoning
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 Cineas…
- Today, Explained
Florida man convicted
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. This show was…
- Today, Explained
Can Mexico’s first woman president fix Mexico?
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 cartel…
- Today, Explained
Chasing the storm
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 extreme those…
- Today, Explained
The Hamas org chart
Seven months in, Israel has not “eliminated” Hamas leadership. Newsweek’s Tom O’Connor introduces them, and Mairav Zonszein from International Crisis Group…
- Today, Explained
America’s shellfish behavior
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 another…
- Today, Explained
How to steal a team
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’s fans are…
- Today, Explained
Red Lobster’s bankrupt-sea
The seafood chain found itself deep in the red after a disastrous unlimited shrimp promotion. Wall Street Journal restaurant reporter Heather Haddon explains…
- Today, Explained
The AI hype machine
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 journalist…
- Today, Explained
Weed did it, Joe
The federal government has moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous controlled substance. Politico cannabis policy reporter Natalie Fertig explains…
- Today, Explained
Is Russia winning now?
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 difference…
- Today, Explained
Amazon’s garbage book factory
Vox senior correspondent Constance Grady went inside the seedy underbelly of online self-publishing and lived to tell the tale. This episode was produced by…
- Today, Explained
Cicada time
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 for love…
- Today, Explained
Florida man’s unhushed money
The hush money trial has exposed the ecosystem that once protected former president Donald Trump. Journalist Andrea Bernstein tells us what its like inside the…
- Today, Explained
What fixes medical debt
It's gotten so bad in America, people are crowdfunding their doctor bills. Vox's Dylan Scott and associate professor Nora Kenworthy explain an imperfect…
- Today, Explained
Separation of church and church
Leaders of the United Methodist Church, one of the largest Christian denominations in the US, gathered in North Carolina to hash out a disagreement that’s…
- Today, Explained
The real victims of Baby Reindeer
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. The…
- Today, Explained
Biden’s breaking point on Gaza
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 means for…
- Today, Explained
Kendrick, Drake, and the last great rap beef
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 state of…
- Today, Explained
Israel, Gaza, and Eurovision
The pop music competition is facing boycott calls over Israel’s participation. Switched on Pop’s Charlie Harding and historian Tess Megginson explain why the…
- Today, Explained
Is divesting from Israel possible?
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 Amina Al-Sadi…
- Today, Explained
The tourist tax
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…
- Today, Explained
Paramount’s looking for a deal they can’t refuse
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 out…
- Today, Explained
One Flu Over The Cowcow’s Nest
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 humans should…
- Today, Explained
North America’s biggest city is running out of water
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 challenges, and…
- Today, Explained
The failed promise of egg freezing
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 produced by…
- Today, Explained
Honey, We Saved the Bees
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-time high…
- Today, Explained
The TikTok “ban” is law
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 episode was…
- Today, Explained
Columbia’s free-speech fight
Daily Spectator news editor Sarah Huddleston reports on the protests at her university. AAUP President Irene Mulvey explains the stakes for campus free speech…
- Today, Explained
Florida man wants immunity
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 week, and…
- Today, Explained
Just in: Trudeau’s plan to fight populism
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. This…
- Today, Explained
Feeling Bluey
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 end…
- Today, Explained
The great American squatter panic
Politicians and conservative news outlets say there’s an epidemic of people moving into a stranger’s house and refusing to leave. Curbed’s Bridget Read and…
- Today, Explained
How car ownership got so expensive
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 Marin Cogan…
- Today, Explained
Florida man’s first criminal trial begins
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 Fayyad…
- Today, Explained
Why Iran attacked Israel
The Economist’s Gregg Carlstrom explains. Jerusalem-based journalist Noga Tarnopolsky explores whether the unprecedented attack hurts or helps Benjamin…
- Today, Explained
America at war, now in theaters
The new movie Civil War delivers a sensational story about political polarization spilling into mass violence. If that seems reckless, it’s what apocalyptic…
- Today, Explained
Speaker Johnson's next test
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 the gavel and…
- Today, Explained
Prosecuting parents
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 liable…
- Today, Explained
The man with a pig kidney
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 Chamberlin…
- Today, Explained
Is college still worth it?
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 reported and…
- Today, Explained
The Sephora kids
Tweens are shopping for trendy, expensive skincare products. Gen Z worries it’s “aging like milk.” Are today’s young people too afraid of looking old? Allure…
- Today, Explained
Israel’s attack on World Central Kitchen
The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Kalin explains what happened, and Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk lays out what this means for Gazans. This…
- Today, Explained
Project 2025
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 that doesn’t…
- Today, Explained
The fight for control of Disney’s kingdom
CEO Bob Iger is fighting off activist investor Nelson Peltz, who argues the company spends too much on message-based “woke” programming and is campaigning for…
- Today, Explained
Making taxes less taxing
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 Victoria…
- Today, Explained
The kids are all home
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 of Gen Z…
- Today, Explained
Buy a house? In this economy?
Home affordability hasn’t been this bad in decades. Wall Street Journal housing reporter Nicole Friedman explains the economic forces shaping the market. And…
- Today, Explained
The Baltimore bridge collapse
The Key Bridge disaster is yet another reminder of the vulnerability of global shipping. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Jesse Alejandro Cottrell…
- Today, Explained
Why ISIS attacked Moscow
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 it. It's…
- Today, Explained
Spoiler alert: RFK’s VP
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 can move the…
- Today, Explained
Beyoncé country
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” genre…
- Today, Explained
Can Caitlin Clark fix college sports?
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 Wall Street…
- Today, Explained
Can Congress ban TikTok?
Probably not. Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio and Kate Ruane from the Center for Democracy and Technology explain. This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn…
- Today, Explained
How gangs took over Haiti
Haiti’s latest crisis is being driven by something new: The country’s gangs have united, and they are demanding political power. Financial Times journalist Joe…
- Today, Explained
Conned into the Russian army
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. Journalist…