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.
Gas is expensive and Europeans want us to stay home. How can you still make use of that precious PTO?
26 min
52
The gas price vote
Will high gas prices actually change how people vote? We went to Pennsylvania to find out.
25 min
53
TV is getting dumber
We revisit an episode about how our shrinking attention spans are changing TV.
23 min
54
The Lindsay Clancy murder trial
A Massachusetts jury is weighing whether a woman should be convicted in the deaths of her three young children or found not guilty based on her defense of postpartum psychosis.
25 min
55
The communist comeback
There's a new Red Scare bubbling up in politics. Just how real is the communist threat?
23 min
56
“It must suck to be young”
Young people used to vote reliably blue. But they're burnt out on politics as usual, which means their votes are up for grabs.
23 min
57
Weapons of mass infection
A new book imagines the chaos that could unfold if a biological weapon were released — either accidentally or on purpose.
23 min
58
Going broke on wellness
Americans spend billions on healthcare products, from green powders and cold plunges to costly gym memberships. Last summer we asked: what good do they do?
27 min
59
Fantasy draft: 2028 presidential race
Journalists Astead Herndon, Don Lemon, and Kara Swisher hold a fantasy draft to find out who has the best shot at becoming president in 2028.
40 min
60
Dad, where’s my inheritance?
When boomers die, they’ll leave trillions to their adult children. Some of those kids say they should get that money now.
23 min
61
The culture wars turn deadly
The US is intentionally losing a fight against HIV that could be won.
23 min
62
The scandal undoing the ICC
The International Criminal Court has a lot on its hands. The chief prosecutor was ousted over abuse allegations, the Trump administration is on the warpath, and Netanyahu and Mamdani are fighting over an arrest warrant.
25 min
63
AI just went rogue
OpenAI recently briefly lost control of an AI agent during a contained security test. After years of warnings, AI is now outsmarting its masters.
23 min
64
The Trump-Saudi-Israel drama
The US and Saudi Arabia signed a nuclear deal but Israel hates it.
23 min
65
The perimenopause moment
Women’s health and hormones have been misunderstood by the medical establishment for decades. That’s changing.
26 min
66
The Boomer politicians who won't retire
Democratic Congressman James Clyburn turned 86 years old this week. He has no plans to retire.
33 min
67
America’s best hot dog
Chef José Andrés explains what makes the winning wiener. A DC hot dog vendor respectfully disagrees.
23 min
68
Our tick nightmare
Ticks are exponentially expanding their territory, using us for their next blood meal. We must fight back.
23 min
69
The truth about Iran
The on-again, off-again war is on again. But we still don't know the point of it all or how it will end.
23 min
70
Defunding Israel
Democrats in Congress voted in shocking numbers to cut aid to Israel.
23 min
71
Trump's 2020 obsession
President Trump has a midterm message that Republicans hate and Democrats love.
23 min
72
What's in a name?
Jalen and Olivia and Liam and Ailany. We look at what makes a name top the popularity charts.
26 min
73
Progressives take on the Rust Belt
First there was New York, then Colorado. But can a progressive candidate win in the Rust Belt?
29 min
74
Parasite (2026)
Cyclospora can cause explosive diarrhea that can last a month. But you don’t need to swear off vegetables.
23 min
75
Vance vs. Rubio 2028
The Republican front-runners for the 2028 presidential nomination represent two competing visions for post-Trump conservatism.