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.
Iran is entering its fifth decade of taking hostages. One who made it out tells his story.
25 min
727
How the iPhone changed everything
In 2007, Steve Jobs introduced a product that would change our lives forever. The new season of Land of the Giants explores “The Apple Revolution.”
33 min
728
How Squid Game won Netflix
And whether the show’s message is being lost in the shuffle.
20 min
729
Covid little pill
Vox’s Umair Irfan explains how a new pill that might soon be authorized by the FDA could fill major gaps in treating Covid-19.
19 min
730
Why body cameras don’t work
Body cameras were supposed to bring greater transparency to law enforcement. The case of Ronald Greene suggests police departments are still learning how to use, and even abuse, a new tool.
26 min
731
The Fyre Festival of vaccine rollouts
The city of Philadelphia put an opportunistic 22-year-old in charge of its vaccine rollout. Nina Feldman of WHYY’s Half Vaxxed podcast explains how it went just as badly as you’d expect.
24 min
732
A vaccine for malaria
But also, should we kill all the mosquitoes?
16 min
733
Drill, baby, drill
An energy expert explains why offshore oil spills keep happening and whether they’ll ever stop.
24 min
734
The Facebook whistleblower
Facebook kicked off the week with an outage and followed that up today with a whistleblower testifying before Congress. The Wall Street Journal’s Jeff Horwitz explains how the company may have misled the public about the dangers of its social networks.
26 min
735
How do you do, fellow kids?
School’s been back for a month. Today, Explained spent a month checking in with Cramer Hill Elementary to find out how it’s going.
24 min
736
The $5,000 butt
The Brazilian butt lift isn’t just a cosmetic surgery; it’s a lifestyle. Vox’s Rebecca Jennings explains how influencers gave a decades-old procedure new life.
30 min
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The humanitarian crisis at Rikers Island
Twelve people at Rikers Island have died in custody so far this year. The pandemic is only part of the problem, explains Nick Pinto, who is covering the string of deaths for the Intercept.
29 min
738
Are boosters good science — or just good politics?
Former CDC Director Nancy Messonnier and former White House Covid-19 adviser Andy Slavitt join Sean at Code Conference in Los Angeles to explain the back and forth on vaccine booster shots.
33 min
739
Democrats play chicken
Moderates and progressives are threatening to vote down different parts of their own party’s agenda, all while a government shutdown looms. Vox’s Li Zhou explains why.
18 min
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Why is Guantanamo still open?
A former Defense Department adviser says President Biden might succeed where President Obama failed, and the man formerly known as “Detainee 441” speaks.
30 min
741
Free college for everyone!
President Biden wants to give Americans four more years of free school: two years of pre-K and two of community college. In a two-part series, Today, Explained’s Haleema Shah explores the challenges of expanding public education.
27 min
742
The cost of free preschool
President Biden wants to give Americans four more years of free school: two years of pre-K and two of community college. In a two-part series, Today, Explained’s Haleema Shah explores the challenges of expanding public education.
25 min
743
The disappearance of Gabby Petito
Vox’s Aja Romano explains why the internet stopped what it was doing to find one particular missing person.
20 min
744
Haitians at the southern border
Vox’s Nicole Narea explains the latest border crisis, and Ayibopost’s Widlore Mérancourt documents deported Haitians’ return to Port-au-Prince.
24 min
745
Xi Jinping cracks down on everything
Chinese President Xi Jinping has kicked off a "rectification" campaign that’s affecting every sector of Chinese society and business. Lily Kuo, the Washington Post's China bureau chief, explains.
20 min
746
Zemari Ahmadi
A US drone strike in Afghanistan was meant to take out an ISIS-K target. Reporting on the ground shows an aid worker and several children were killed. Matthieu Aikins, reporter at the New York Times, explains from Kabul.
27 min
747
Havana syndrome
The US military is redoubling its efforts to figure out what’s behind reports of mysterious sonic attacks. So is Vox’s Unexplainable podcast.
27 min
748
Another bite at the Apple
A California judge weighed in on whether Apple has a monopoly. NPR’s Bobby Allyn unpacks the ruling. Sen. Amy Klobuchar explains why she wants the government to get serious about regulating Big Tech.
20 min
749
Biden’s second shot
President Joe Biden is taking a new approach to fight the pandemic. Former acting CDC director Richard Besser explains the vaccine mandates and the booster shot debate.
22 min
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The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein has been dead for over two years, but his crimes and mysterious death still haunt his victims and friends. The Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown explains.