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
26
Football's future is flag
Football is by far the most popular sport in the US, but that isn’t stopping the NFL from investing in one of the least popular sports in the US.
23 min
27
The dark side of surrogacy
The case of a California couple who had more than 20 kids via surrogacy before being charged with child abuse illustrates how a lack of regulation can lead to chaos.
23 min
28
The West Bank’s boiling point
Violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank — largely perpetrated by young militant Jewish settlers — have drawn international condemnation, but to little effect.
23 min
29
Why the right turned on Indians
A surge of hate against Indian immigrants and Indian Americans has broken out of the far-right influencer sphere and into mainstream Republican politics.
23 min
30
When Dems take the House
Hakeem Jeffries will almost certainly be the next Democratic speaker of the House. What will he and his party do with all that power?
23 min
31
Mass-produced fashion slop
How algorithms and instant fashion killed style — and how to get it back.
27 min
32
The GOP strategy: Ignore Trump
Can a Republican candidate run for governor in a red state without bringing up Donald Trump a single time? We went to Ohio to find out. 
19 min
33
Gas station opioids
Drugs like kratom and 7-OH are widely available at corner stores and smoke shops. They've remained largely unregulated until now.
23 min
34
What happened at Cornell
24 min
35
The limits of free speech
A recent law-school graduate in Texas is facing disciplinary action over her “overexuberant” response to Charlie Kirk’s murder.
24 min
36
The coming oil shock
You might not use diesel to fill up your car, but it fuels the US economy, and President Trump’s solution to lower diesel prices might just make things worse.
24 min
37
Our AI Cold War
The worries in China over AI are not the same as the worries in the US, but both countries agree they want to win the AI race for themselves.
23 min
38
The end of etiquette
It’s not just about being nice. Manners allow us to peacefully coexist at work, in transit, and out in the wider world.
27 min
39
The AI election
Polling says less than 1 percent of voters consider AI a top concern this election cycle. Michigan congressional candidate Will Lawrence sees things differently.
26 min
40
Everything is gambling now
From live auction sites like Whatnot to games like Monopoly Go!, mobile apps are now designed to addict kids as well as adults.
23 min
41
Why we're still arming Israel
A majority of Americans have a negative view of Israel. Trump wants to send a massive shipment of bombs to the country anyway.
23 min
42
Ruining a young woman’s life for sport
It’s called the “burnerverse": an online community of anonymous college sports fans who mostly trash talk other teams, except when things turn very, very dark.
25 min
43
What the AI doom debate misses
Some top AI thinkers warn that the technology could kill us all. But it could also save us.
23 min
44
Trump’s temper tantrum
President Trump got so mad about his name not being on the Kennedy Center he threatened to demolish it. We try to understand his obsession.
23 min
45
We should party more
We’re lonely, isolated, and bored. The solution may be as simple as an invite and killer playlist.
27 min
46
Latino voters swing back
Latino voters swung hard to the right in 2024. Now, they’re giving Dems another look.
30 min
47
Miss Piggy, feminist diva
From Miss Piggy to the Housewives, depictions of women who refuse to be anything but larger than life has revolutionized the way culture views the other side of middle age.
23 min
48
Speaking up for Gaza
It's not just Macklemore. A new documentary on atrocities in Gaza has enraged the Israeli government... and some pro-Palestinian activists.
23 min
49
Good news about Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s research has stalled for decades. That’s finally changing.
23 min
50
Our Great Big AI Freakout
Fears of impending AI doom have burst into the mainstream. They still might not be enough for Washington to regulate AI.
23 min