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
Taxing traffic
New York City wants to be the first in the nation to implement congestion pricing to charge people for driving during peak hours. New Jersey says…
- Today, Explained
Everybody’s moving to Florida
We’re not just talking snowbirds. The Sunshine State is the fastest growing in the nation despite, you know, climate change. Vox’s Marin Cogan and Umair Irfan…
- Today, Explained
Autoworkers slam the brakes
The United Auto Workers union is on strike at three different factories. We ask the Wall Street Journal's Nora Eckert what the union workers want, and…
Today, ExplainedBlame Capitalism: Profit over everything
Economist Milton Friedman published an essay in 1970 arguing that the job of a corporation was solely to make money for its shareholders. General Electric CEO…
- Today, Explained
From North Korea with Love
Kim Jong Un took a bulletproof train to visit Vladimir Putin in Russia this week. Jenny Town at the Stimson Center explains how the two leaders have little to…
- Today, Explained
New variant just dropped
Seems like everyone’s got Covid again. Vox’s in-house epidemiologist, Dr. Keren Landman, delivers the good news and the bad news about Pirola. This episode was…
- Today, Explained
In Google we antitrust
Google is headed to court over allegations its search engine violates federal antitrust law. The Verge’s Adi Robertson breaks down the case, and David Pierce…
- Today, Explained
Hunter becomes the hunted
Hunter Biden is set to be indicted this month. The WSJ’s Aruna Viswanatha goes over the evidence with us, and Politico’s Jonathan Lemire looks at what it all…
Today, ExplainedBlame Capitalism: Souring on the system
Capitalism has entered its villain era. In a new series running Fridays this month, we look at how Americans came to blame it for just about everything. This…
- Today, Explained
From Pac-12 to Pac-2
The Pac-12 college football conference has lost nearly all its teams now that schools like USC and Colorado have announced they’re leaving for rival leagues…
- Today, Explained
Why American sunscreen sucks
Better sunscreen exists, you just can’t get it in the US. Amanda Mull and Elise Hu explain why. This episode was produced by Jon Ehrens, edited by Miranda…
- Today, Explained
The new Cold War
The Cold War started earlier than we think — and maybe never ended at all. Historian Calder Walton says understanding the US-Soviet conflict prepares us for…
- Today, Explained
…We’re trusting it anyway
Tech companies are racing to make new, transformative AI tools, with little to no safeguards in place. This is the second episode of “The Black Box,” a…
- Today, Explained
We don’t know how AI works…
The researchers who create and study tech like ChatGPT don’t understand exactly how it’s doing what it does. This is the first episode of “The Black Box,” a…
- Today, Explained
#SeAcabo: Spain’s World Cup reckoning
Saying “it’s over,” Spain’s World Cup-winning women are using an unwelcome kiss to try to end sexism in sports. This episode was produced by Haleema Shah with…
- Today, Explained
The Real Housewives of Today, Explained
Taking cues from striking actors and writers, reality TV stars are lobbying for better treatment from networks like Bravo and Netflix. This episode was…
- Today, Explained
Why top Republicans want to bomb Mexico
Long-shot presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said he would send US forces into Mexico “on day one.” Longer-shot presidential candidate Will Hurd explains why…
- Today, Explained
China’s young and restless
China’s ambitious youth planned to cash in on their country’s meteoric rise on the world stage. Instead, many of these 20-somethings are disillusioned and…
- Today, Explained
America is so Messi
With Lionel Messi, footy may have finally arrived in the United States. The Athletic’s Tom Bogert and Men in Blazers founder Roger Bennett explain how the…
- Today, Explained
Death of a Hot Dog Salesman
Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, the caterer-turned-warlord who recently attempted to overthrow Russia’s government, has apparently died in a plane…
- Today, Explained
The other eight debate
Fox News desperately wants you to watch tonight’s Republican presidential debate. The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple explains why, and Vox’s Christian Paz has a…
- Today, Explained
Back to school loans
President Biden can’t stop, won’t stop trying to forgive student debt, even as borrowers are shortly expected to resume payments. The Washington Post’s…
- Today, Explained
Why Russians still support the war
Putin's war is hurting Russians, too. Writer Masha Gessen and researcher Jade McGlynn explain why public opinion doesn't reflect that. This episode was…
- Today, Explained
After the Green Rush
Adelanto, California, was broke. Could legalizing marijuana cultivation offer a fix? Reporter David Weinberg’s podcast Dreamtown details how the path to…
- Today, Explained
RoboCab
The San Francisco Standard’s Liz Lindqwister reports from San Francisco, where people are flipping her off for hailing rides in robotaxis. The Verge’s Andrew…
- Today, Explained
Florida man indicted (again) (again) (again)
Oft-indicted former President Donald Trump is at it again. Stephen Fowler, host of Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Battleground: Ballot Box podcast, explains the…
- Today, Explained
Why Maui burned
Hawaii’s landscape has been rapidly changing for the last 200 years thanks to plantations, tourism, and climate change. A reporter and climatologist explain…
- Today, Explained
A postpartum pill
The FDA’s approval of a new pill that treats postpartum depression could be yet another signal that we are living in a golden age of medicine. This episode was…
- Today, Explained
Suing big food
Tostitos chips without real lime. Root beer made with fake vanilla. Instant mac and cheese that isn’t so instant. These products are among the hundreds…
- Today, Explained
The Rikers takeover
Today a federal judge hears arguments on whether New York City Mayor Eric Adams should be stripped of control of the jails on Rikers Island. Gothamist’s Matt…
- Today, Explained
Shein trouble
The Chinese apparel company Shein is a favorite of Gen Z shoppers and the latest frontier in US-China tensions. Vogue Business editor Hilary Milnes explains…
- Today, Explained
ESPN 4 SALE
Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company is looking for a “strategic partner” to invest in the massive sports network, which has been struggling in an era of…
- Today, Explained
Hot topic
When it comes to climate policy, President Biden has accomplished more than any of his predecessors. But activists want more: They want him to declare a…
- Today, Explained
The air-istocracy
Private jets aren’t what they used to be. AOC is calling out Hollywood executives for having too many, and European nations are trying to ban them. People are…
- Today, Explained
Battlechips
Semiconductors are used in just about every piece of technology. The US wants to limit what China can do with them. Alex W. Palmer explains the latest front in…
- Today, Explained
Florida man indicted (again) (again)
The latest unprecedented is about January 6, but does the American public still care about January 6? This episode was produced by Siona Peterous with help…
- Today, Explained
Where did the recession go?
A much-dreaded recession doesn’t actually seem to be materializing. We called up some experts — economics reporters Tracy Alloway and Greg Ip, plus our boss…
- Today, Explained
Will “parental rights” mobilize Muslims?
Some Muslim parents wanted their kids to opt out of reading schoolbooks with LGBTQ characters and themes. Today, Explained reporter Haleema Shah explains what…
- Today, Explained
Music’s nostalgia-industrial complex
A lot of our new hit music sounds just like our parents’ old hit music. Pitchfork’s Jayson Greene says you should blame publishing companies. This episode was…
- Today, Explained
Sound of Freedom
The Wall Street Journal’s John Jurgensen explains how Sound of Freedom, an action-drama about fighting child sex trafficking, beat Tom Cruise and Indiana Jones…
- Today, Explained
A third nuclear superpower
For decades, a delicate strategy of deterrence kept Russia and the US from nuclear war. With China upping its nuclear ambitions, things are about to get a lot…
- Today, Explained
Inside the AI factory
We are used to thinking of artificial intelligence as knowledge generated by machines. The Verge’s Josh Dzieza pulls back the curtain on the vast network of…
- Today, Explained
I want you! (to fight the culture war)
The defense bill is the latest piece of legislation to be weaponized by the far-right Freedom Caucus. It’s also the latest test for House Speaker Kevin…
- Today, Explained
Barbie Dreampodcast
Is Barbie a toy commercial doubling as the first installment of an inevitable Mattel Cinematic Universe? Or does it have something important to say? Barbie’s…
- Today, Explained
Bidenomics
A lot of Americans are still feeling iffy about the economy, but Joe Biden’s so proud of how things are going that he’s stuck his name on it. The Washington…
- Today, Explained
Is ethical investing a sham?
Republican presidential candidates have a bone to pick with ESG investments. So does James Surowiecki, contributing writer at The Atlantic. This episode was…
- Today, Explained
Inside the Actors Strike
The actors are officially on strike. Vox senior correspondent and critic Alissa Wilkinson breaks down what SAG-AFTRA is afta, and the New Yorker’s Michael…
- Today, Explained
Vacation ... all I ever wanted?
🎵 Now that I’m away, I wish I had stayed. 🎵 Vox’s Allie Volpe explains why travel feels like such a mess right now (and how to make it a bit better). And the…
- Today, Explained
The Joshua Generation
A group of evangelical Christians raised their children to become influential in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and in the Supreme Court. Now, as adults…
- Today, Explained
Disaster unpreparedness
Vermont just got slammed with flash floods, road closures, and evacuations. Harvard’s Juliette Kayyem says the storm reveals how unprepared the US is for the…
- Today, Explained
Can Threads unravel Twitter?
As Meta launches its Twitter competitor, The Verge’s David Pierce says that we are watching the end of the social internet in real time. This episode was…
- Today, Explained
NATO to Ukraine: Not yet
President Biden and other world leaders say it’s too dangerous to admit Ukraine into NATO while it’s at war with Russia. But, to the dismay of allies, the US…
- Today, Explained
Why everyone’s mad about equity
Everyone is fighting about “equity.” If only they could define it. Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt…
- Today, Explained
Where’s the beef?
A rancher in the Pacific Northwest scammed two companies out of $244 million. In this episode we first served in February, KUOW’s Anna King — host of the Ghost…
- Today, Explained
Excuseflation
Inflation happens for a lot of reasons that can be hard for even economists to fully grasp. But — as we learned this spring in an episode we’re rerunning today…
- Today, Explained
Even more forever chemicals
The chemical manufacturer 3M will pay $10 billion to settle claims it contaminated drinking water with “forever chemicals.” Good thing we already spoke with…
- Today, Explained
Smokeshow
For the second time this month, huge sections of the US are blanketed by wildfire smoke. Vox’s Rebecca Leber and climate journalist Jeff Goodell say we’re…
- Today, Explained
Supreme Court: Race need not apply
The Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard and UNC. The ruling is likely to reshape affirmative action in America. This…
- Today, Explained
Mall cop nation
The three biggest private employers in North America are Walmart, Amazon, and a security firm you’ve maybe never heard of: Allied Universal. Time’s Alana…
- Today, Explained
Woke, woke, woke, woke, woke
How “woke” went from Marcus Garvey to Childish Gambino to Ron DeSantis. This episode was produced by Siona Peterous, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by…