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.
51
Your student loan bill is due
The Trump administration has a warning for student loan borrowers in default: Pay up, or we'll take it out of your paycheck.
23 min
52
China is winning
When President Donald Trump took office, he promised to be tough on China. One year later, China's global position is stronger than ever.
23 min
53
Why everyone is sick right now
How this season’s flu got supercharged — and why viruses may make you healthier.
26 min
54
AI music is here
Most of us don't even realize it, but we're increasingly hearing AI music in the wild.
23 min
55
An ICE shooting in Minnesota
First there was a fraud scandal involving the Somali community in Minnesota. Then, Trump sent in ICE. Now a woman is dead and people want answers.
23 min
56
Deported to a country you've never heard of
How the Trump administration is using "third country deportations" to expel asylum seekers.
23 min
57
Trump’s World Cup
The biggest sporting event is coming to North America this year. Here’s what it means that President Trump will get to host the world.
23 min
58
What’s next for Venezuela
President Trump says the US will "run Venezuela." Here’s what that looks like from Caracas, given the US's history in the region.
23 min
59
Internet bad
Once a place of serendipity and discovery, the internet now thrives on feeding us toxic rage bait designed to piss us off. Can we get the good internet back?
26 min
60
Are boyfriends embarrassing?
We investigate.
25 min
61
The cocaine comeback
Demand for cocaine around the world has exploded. Production is at record highs. Law enforcement can barely keep up. Cocaine is back in a big way.
23 min
62
A sit-down with Zohran Mamdani
New York City's Democratic socialist mayor takes office on January 1. Can he follow through on all those campaign promises? We ask him.
23 min
63
The rise of baby Botox
More people are getting facial injections — and they're starting younger too.
23 min
64
How to fix blue cities
This year Abundance went from a bestselling book to a political practice powering Democrats from New York to Seattle.
26 min
65
The Epstein Files are still a "cover-up"
The Trump administration was ordered to release all the Epstein Files. They didn’t. Lawmakers say they are breaking the law.
23 min
66
Is your brain lying to you?
Our brain constructs the world we hear, see, and feel — but tinnitus shows how that superpower can backfire.
26 min
67
Your pop music is influenced by God
Popular music went more Christian this year, but religion has had a long history of influencing secular sounds.
23 min
68
JD Vance is just getting started
From Twitter feuds to memes to providing cover for President Trump, the vice president had a big year. Up next, the midterms. And then — the presidency?
23 min
69
AI: 1 — Humanity: 0
President Trump's new executive order makes it harder for states to regulate AI, giving a powerful industry even more power.
23 min
70
The Price is Rigged
23 min
71
GOP women are over it
Some Republican women in the House are so frustrated with the leadership of speaker Mike Johnson that they're turning on him.
23 min
72
Let AI replace you
If AI handles all our busy work and optimizes our resources, it may also give us the one thing there never seems to be enough of: time.
25 min
73
Pop culture is conservative now
Why books, movies, music, and fashion all took a turn to the right.
22 min
74
The ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ economy
Trump calls the idea of “affordability” a hoax. Nonetheless, he pressured the Fed to fix it. It's just one example of Trump prizing loyalty over economic expertise.
23 min
75
Everyone’s fired now
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a case that could give President Donald Trump the power to fire…just about anyone.
23 min