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, Vox CEO Jim Bankoff — to figure out what’s going on.

Some Muslim parents wanted their kids to opt out of reading schoolbooks with LGBTQ characters and themes. Today, Explained reporter Haleema Shah explains what happened when their fight went national.

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.

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 at the box office. Writer Meg Conley explains the murky truth behind the movie.

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 more complicated.

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 human labor that powers AI.

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 McCarthy.

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 multitudes, explained.

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 Post’s Jeff Stein explains “Bidenomics.”

Republican presidential candidates have a bone to pick with ESG investments. So does James Surowiecki, contributing writer at The Atlantic.

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 Schulman explains how one of Netflix’s first original shows was an early warning sign.

🎵 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 New Yorker’s Agnes Callard makes the case against travel altogether.

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, the "Joshua generation" are reckoning with their upbringing.

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 present moment, when natural disasters are more frequent and more intense than ever before.

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.

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 will send cluster bombs to the front.

Everyone is fighting about “equity.” If only they could define it. Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains.

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 Herd podcast — explains how Cody Easterday went from ranching royalty to prison.

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 — there’s also a more straightforward reason prices keep going up: greedy corporations are using inflation as an excuse to jack up prices.

The chemical manufacturer 3M will pay $10 billion to settle claims it contaminated drinking water with “forever chemicals.” Good thing we already spoke with Barbara Moran, WBUR’s climate and environmental correspondent, who explained these non-stick chemicals that stick around forever.

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 gonna have to get used to it.

The Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard and UNC. The ruling is likely to reshape affirmative action in America.

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 Semuels explains the rise of poorly trained and poorly paid private security guards across America.

How “woke” went from Marcus Garvey to Childish Gambino to Ron DeSantis.

Yevgeny Prigozhin rose from hot dog seller to top chef to Russia’s leading mercenary. Journalist Paul Wood and Harvard’s Timothy Colton explain why he turned on Vladimir Putin this weekend.