A groundbreaking new study claims to have found a way for a fully paralyzed person to communicate entirely via thought. But the scientists behind it have a checkered past.

For thousands of years, there have been four basic tastes recognized across cultures. But thanks to Kumiko Ninomiya (aka the Umami Mama), scientists finally accepted a fifth. As part of its Making Sense series, Vox’s Unexplainable podcast explores whether there could be even more.

There is growing support for psychedelics as performance enhancers, mood boosters, and a shortcut to therapy. The science is mixed.

The US southern border remains closed to asylum seekers on account of Covid-19, unless you happen to be Ukrainian.

And in Texas, they’re trying to unionize.

The Oscars were bordering on irrelevancy until Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage.

One month in, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t going according to plan. Historian and retired Army colonel Andrew Bacevich explains how it might end.

As Poland welcomes almost 2 million Ukrainians in, it’s spending $4 million on a wall to keep Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans out. Vox’s Sigal Samuel explains the myth of the “deserving” refugee.

The Russian military may have committed war crimes in its brutal attack on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. International law expert Philippe Sands explains how Vladimir Putin could be held accountable.

A bill to make daylight saving time permanent slipped through the Senate. Now, the real fight for time begins.

President Biden insists he won’t send American troops to join Ukraine’s war with Russia. Veterans like Alexander Szokoly joined the fight anyway.

With its neighbor distracted by domestic culture wars, North Korea is making new moves.

The furor over Florida’s latest culture-war legislation has Disney, among the state’s largest employers, turning red.

Millions of people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s war begin. We check back in with Kurii Vasyl, who stayed behind, and his niece Yulya, who fled.

The coronavirus pandemic isn’t over, but certain corners of Congress don’t want to spend a penny more on it. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel argues for $100 billion in new spending to fight Covid-19.

Americans bet more than $50 billion on sports last year, and that record will likely be broken in 2022 as more states legalize the practice. A professional named Captain Jack and a novice named Emily Stewart explain the perils and glory of betting on the game.

The BBC is bringing back shortwave radio broadcasts to counter censorship and disinformation in Russia and Ukraine. Professor D.W. Stupples explains.

Russia has threatened to let the International Space Station plummet. The Verge’s Loren Grush explains the Star Wars.

The world watched in horror as tens of thousands fled Afghanistan last August. Today, Explained’s Haleema Shah meets with an evacuee still stuck in immigration limbo.

Gas prices hit a record high in the United States today. Then the White House put an embargo on Russian oil. The Atlantic's Robinson Meyer explains.

The US and EU are denying a handful of Russian banks access to SWIFT, a key tool in the global financial system.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy went from a middling peacetime president to a heroic wartime president. Kyiv Independent’s Oleksiy Sorokin explains from an undisclosed location in western Ukraine.

Gov. Greg Abbott has instructed child protection officials to investigate the parents of transgender children. Dallas Morning News reporter Lauren McGaughy explains why.

And how the fight might end.

It depends a lot on where they get their news.