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.

News
Daily News
Politics
351
Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Thee Stallion is everywhere, including in court trying to convince the world she was shot by the rapper Tory Lanez. Vox’s Fabiola Cineas and Northwestern University professor Moya Bailey explain why so many are struggling to see Thee Stallion as a victim.
23 min
352
Throwing soup at art
Tensions are simmering in London as climate protesters turn up the heat on their soup-flinging activism. Rishi Sunak’s government is attempting to keep the situation from boiling over.
23 min
353
Art-ificial intelligence
Between chatbots and image generators, artificial intelligence has gotten scary good lately. The Verge’s James Vincent explains what’s behind the latest wave of AI-powered creations.
23 min
354
Hint of crime
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 targeted by lawyer Spencer Sheehan, who wants Big Food to stop misrepresenting its products.
23 min
355
R-E-S-P-E-C-T (for Marriage Act)
Sen. Tammy Baldwin managed to rally bipartisan support for a marriage equality bill, but she’s the first to admit the legislation is “humble.” An activist wonders if there’s an overemphasis on the institution of marriage.
23 min
356
The prisoner swap for Brittney Griner
US officials are sending the “Merchant of Death” — a notorious arms dealer named Viktor Bout — back to Russia in exchange for the WNBA star’s release. We revisit our conversation with author Douglas Farah, author of “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible.”
23 min
357
Power-tripping sheriffs
A growing number of county sheriffs believe they hold ultimate power in their jurisdictions. Some have even stopped enforcing state and federal laws they deem unconstitutional. The Marshall Project’s Maurice Chammah explains.
23 min
358
The Moscow murders
Investigators are still trying to solve the brutal November killings of four college students in Moscow, Idaho. Making their work harder: the hordes of online sleuths who’ve latched on to the case.
23 min
359
Digging tunnels for cars
Elon Musk created The Boring Company to fix traffic, but his fantasy of underground Tesla tunnels is running on empty. Curbed’s Alissa Walker and author Paris Marx explain.
23 min
360
8 billion humans
The United Nations says humanity has reached 8 billion, but Western nations are worried about population decline. Africa isn’t, though. The continent is about to shape the rest of the century.
23 min
361
China’s biggest protests since Tiananmen Square
The protests in China might force the government to back down from its extreme Covid restrictions and ramp up its extreme surveillance programs. The Wall Street Journal’s Josh Chin explains.
23 min
362
Disney’s boomerang CEO
Disney’s board wished upon a star and brought back former CEO Bob Iger, who replaced his own replacement, the now-axed CEO Bob Chapek. The Hollywood Reporter’s Kim Masters explains.
23 min
363
Nancy podcast
Democrats vote on new leadership this week, meaning Nancy Pelosi is out. Time’s Molly Ball explains why the country might really miss her.
23 min
364
Can you spare some climate change?
In a UN-brokered agreement, more than 190 countries agreed to pay for “loss and damage” caused by climate change. But determining who owes what — and for what and to whom — will be a real challenge.
23 min
365
NASA wants to live in space
NASA’s Artemis mission is the first step toward a long-term human settlement on the moon. Vox’s Unexplainable examines whether humans are even capable of living far from Earth for an extended period of time.
30 min
366
Little influencers, big business
Parents are turning their kids into influencers on social media. What could go wrong?
23 min
367
Gen Z in the House
Florida’s Maxwell Frost, 25, is the first member of Generation Z elected to Congress. He tells us what he plans to get done.
23 min
368
Ticketmaster (Taylor’s Version)
It’s me, Ticketmaster. I’m the problem, it’s me.
23 min
369
World Cup: How 2 B a legend
Pelé. Maradona. Ronaldo. Soccer’s greats are so good, they’re typically known by one name. How winning the World Cup can turn a player into a legend.
23 min
370
Pushing the Russians back
In its biggest victory yet, Ukraine retook its vital port city, Kherson. The Guardian’s Luke Harding calls Russia’s retreat a turning point in the war — but a long, cold winter awaits.
23 min
371
An inconvenient glacier
While the world’s leaders are meeting at COP27 to discuss climate change, Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier is melting. The world’s coastlines face catastrophic consequences. Rolling Stone’s Jeff Goodell went to see it with his own eyes.
23 min
372
The FTX cryptocalypse
With the collapse of one of its largest exchanges, crypto’s having its very own Lehman Brothers moment. Semafor’s Liz Hoffman explains the repercussions for the real world.
23 min
373
The tech boom is over
Mark Zuckerberg fired 11,000 employees at Meta. Elon Musk axed half his staff at Twitter. Other tech giants are slashing jobs and eliminating perks, too. Recode’s Peter Kafka says the era of big tech growth is over.
23 min
374
World Cup: They built this city
The people who built Qatar’s stadiums, hotels, and transit systems were employed under the country’s exploitative migrant worker system. Officials promised things would change before the World Cup, but a one-time worker says it’s only better on paper.
23 min
375
A vaccine for RSV
A respiratory virus called RSV has a lot of kids in critical condition and hospitals overwhelmed. Vox public health reporter and epidemiologist Keren Landman explains newfound hope for a vaccine.
23 min