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, ExplainedHappy Juneteenth!
It's Juneteenth! What is this holiday that hardly anyone fully understands? UCLA's Brenda Stevenson explains the history, and argues that the celebration of…
Today, Explained2,000
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 tolerance policy…
Today, ExplainedLittle summer vampires
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 of…
Today, ExplainedMo Salah will make you care about soccer
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 Mohamed…
Today, ExplainedThe Sessions Doctrine
On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it harder for Central Americans fleeing gang violence or women escaping domestic violence to gain asylum in the…
Today, ExplainedHow do you solve a problem like Korea?
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 Yorker’s…
Today, ExplainedWill work for healthcare
Good news for poor Americans: Medicaid is expanding in several states. Bad news for poor Americans: Medicaid is expanding in several states with work…
Today, ExplainedRiding in cars without boys
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 professor Madawi…
Today, ExplainedYou're tariffing us apart
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 slapped…
Today, ExplainedPardon me
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, but many…
Today, ExplainedWhen your president acts like a dictator
Nicaragua is spiraling into a state of national catastrophe, as clashes between police and student protesters over the past two months have left more than 100…
Today, ExplainedYou can't have your cake
Today the Supreme Court issued a decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, or as it’s colloquially known, the “gay cake”…
Today, Explained2 Big 2 Fail
Congress is rolling back the bank regulations implemented after the 2008 financial crisis. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias explains why, and what it means for the…
Today, ExplainedWhy does everyone hate George Soros?
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 most hated…
Today, ExplainedRoseanne gets canned
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. Today…
Today, ExplainedWe've updated our privacy policy
You know those privacy policy emails flooding your inbox lately? Turns out those are thanks to the European Union’s crackdown on websites that collect your…
Today, ExplainedThe poorest rich country in the world
Venezuela has been crippled by poverty, starvation, five-figure inflation, and on Sunday, an election that many countries didn’t recognize as legit…
Today, ExplainedWe'll never have Singapore
President Trump cancelled his historic Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today. The announcement comes after a North Korean official called…
Today, ExplainedKneecapped
Today the National Football League released a statement saying players will be fined if they kneel during the national anthem. It’s the ultimate response to a…
Today, ExplainedArbitration Nation
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 decided that…
Today, ExplainedIreland's great divide
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 and…
Today, ExplainedA cynic's guide to the royal wedding
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!) England’s…
Today, ExplainedGo ahead. Legalize it.
This week, the Supreme Court of the United States fundamentally changed... sports. It struck down a 1992 law that prevented states from legalizing sports…
Today, ExplainedHawaii versus the volcano
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 the air. The…
Today, ExplainedWhat you need to know about Gaza
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 the…
Today, ExplainedJordan Peterson explains himself
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 unpacks…
Today, Explained#MeToo's big betrayal
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 movement…
Today, ExplainedDial C for Cohen
Stormy D, AT&T, and nine Fabergé eggs. The investigation into the president’s personal lawyer keeps getting more colorful. This week, it was confirmed that a…
Today, ExplainedNo deal!
President Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Everyone else - including France, Russia, China, even Iran - has…
Today, Explained"We tortured some folks"
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 organization would be…
Today, ExplainedThis is America
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. Tens of…
Today, ExplainedThe $5,751 ice pack
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 fees” to…
Today, ExplainedToo Juul for school
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…
Today, ExplainedNowhere to go
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 arrived…
Today, ExplainedGolden State Killer opens Pandora's box
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 the…
Today, ExplainedThere's something about Sean
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, the Fox News…
Today, ExplainedJust call us "Korea"
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 unification and…
Today, ExplainedOh, SNAP!
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 force over…
Today, ExplainedDon't drink the water
Four years ago today, Flint, Michigan switched water supplies to save a few million dollars. To date, that decision has cost over $400 million. Governor Rick…
Today, ExplainedSEE YOU IN COURT
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 exceeds the…
Today, ExplainedToo little, too latte?
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 the…
Today, ExplainedYes we cannabis
Today Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a plan to decriminalize marijuana federally. But the debate over legalization rages on at the local level…
Today, Explained"I don't get confused"
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 said…
Today, ExplainedCongress just broke the Internet
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 alters…
Today, ExplainedThe $43,000 phone booth
Scott Pruitt, the embattled head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is facing a host of new scandals: a $43,000 soundproof phone booth, a security detail…
Today, ExplainedWhy did the U.S. just bomb Syria?
President Trump and United States allies bombed chemical weapons facilities in Syria on Friday. The attacks came in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s use…
Today, ExplainedMile-high mutiny
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 calling…
Today, ExplainedHe said, she said, she said, she said....
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, accusing Cosby…
Today, ExplainedThe raid
President Trump today called the raid on the office of his personal lawyer Michael Cohen “unthinkable.” Vox’s Zachary Fryer-Biggs explains what the FBI was…
Today, ExplainedWhat's my wage again?
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 Economic Policy…
Today, Explained1, 2, 3, 4... I declare a trade war
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. First, the U.S…
Today, ExplainedIt’s never too late to understand the war in Syria
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 estimated 400,000…
Today, ExplainedThey're not gonna take it
The West Virginia teacher strike has ended, but walkouts are just getting started in Kentucky and Oklahoma, where lawmakers are scrambling to pass bills that…
Today, Explained20 shots and a cell phone
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 Sacramento…
Today, ExplainedMark Zuckerberg Explains Himself
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg seldom gives interviews, but in the wake of the massive Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, he made an exception to speak with…
Today, ExplainedGerrymandering 101
The Supreme Court is currently deliberating two cases that could reshape the entire country’s political maps. At issue is partisan gerrymandering—the practice…
Today, ExplainedQuitting the Border Patrol
Mexican-American Francisco Cantú never expected to become a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. But for nearly four years, Cantú both detained and rescued migrants…
Today, ExplainedChief Wahoo Strikes Out
It’s Opening Day — peanuts, cracker jack, and for some, racism. Sundance, a Native American activist, has been protesting the Cleveland Indians mascot, Chief…
Today, ExplainedThe New Abortion Wars
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 restrictions…
Today, ExplainedBolton's Back
President Trump announced John Bolton will be his new National Security Advisor just as the White House prepares for historic talks with North Korea. Just last…