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.
The pandemic changed how we think about work. In this repodcast, Vox’s Anna North says it might be time to change how much we work, too.
24 min
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Good news
2021 was better than 2020. Here's proof.
16 min
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Vanessa Nakate’s climate optimism
Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate has been ridiculed, erased, and let down by the world's most powerful people. She explains how she remains hopeful for her movement and our planet.
24 min
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We scored Biden’s first year
The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos evaluates President Biden’s first year in office and whether Biden managed to lower the temperature after the January 6 insurrection.
26 min
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Who killed Malcolm X?
Nearly 60 years after the assassination of Malcolm X, some of the men wrongly put in prison for killing him are finally being redeemed. Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, from the documentary series "Who Killed Malcolm X?", explains whether the true killers will ever be brought to justice.
30 min
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The blood diamond of batteries
Cobalt is powering the electric vehicle revolution, but much of the world’s supply is mined under deadly conditions in Congo. Journalist Nicolas Niarchos explains Congo's resource curse.
27 min
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(Some) omicron answers
Thanks to South Africa, the world now has some data on omicron’s severity, transmissibility, and whether or not the vaccines will protect us from it.
21 min
733
Operation Flex
A bodybuilder posing as a Muslim convert was welcomed into a California mosque. When he showed signs of extremism, members reported him to the FBI, only to learn that he was their informant. Now, their story is before the Supreme Court.
31 min
734
Why we still can't predict tornadoes
Most people get about eight minutes' advance warning of a tornado. This episode of Vox’s Unexplainable podcast explores how scientists need to confront more of these storms, head on.
20 min
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The new meth
While the nation’s attention has been focused on the opioid crisis, a new, more dangerous form of methamphetamine has swept across the country.
19 min
736
The fastest economic collapse ever
That’s what the United Nations says is taking place in Afghanistan right now.
22 min
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Are you vaxxed, fellow kids?
Today, Explained returns to Cramer Hill Elementary School to explore the challenges of vaccinating children against Covid-19.
27 min
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The shooter's parents
The mass killing at Oxford High School in Michigan may seem comparable to those that preceded it, but the aftermath has taken several new turns.
21 min
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Africa wants its stuff back
The world’s most illustrious museums are finally having to reckon with the stolen art in their collections.
20 min
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C is for Culture War
Big Bird got vaccinated, an Asian-American Muppet moved in, and conservatives got really mad at Sesame Street.
25 min
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What happened to Peng Shuai
A tennis star accused a former top Chinese official of sexual assault. Then she vanished. Now her case is changing sports in China.
27 min
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Unraveling Roe
The Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains how the Court could undo Roe v. Wade without overruling it.
18 min
743
Space trash
Russia blew up a satellite and almost put the International Space Station in a precarious position. Recode’s Rebecca Heilweil explains how humans are trashing space. A space environmentalist (!) explains what cleanup might look like.
21 min
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Omicron
AA-muh-kraan or OH-muh-kraan
20 min
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Salmonella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh
A deadly salmonella strain is spreading through American poultry, and there’s not much the government can do to stop it. ProPublica’s Bernice Yeung explains.
21 min
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Kyle Rittenhouse and the “self-defense” defense
After the Chicago Tribune’s Stacy St. Clair runs through the Rittenhouse trial and verdict, legal scholar Eric Ruben explains how “self-defense” can apply to shooting unarmed people in public.
27 min
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The Future of Work: Retirement should be fun
But somehow it got very scary.
29 min
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Why it's hard to find rapid tests in the US
And why they're easy to find in Europe (though they don't seem to be helping much at the moment).
24 min
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Is Zillow really buying all the houses?
No. Vox's Jerusalem Demsas disproves a popular internet conspiracy theory.
23 min
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Belarus manufactures a migrant crisis
Belarus is promising migrants passage to Europe knowing the EU will turn them away.