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.
Martin Kenyon was one of the first people to get the Covid-19 vaccine this week. He talks about his experience, and an epidemiologist explains how to talk to the “vaccine hesitant” people in your life.
21 min
1127
No coup for you!
Joe won. And won. And won. Rudy can fail. And fail. And fail.
22 min
1128
How Melbourne eradicated Covid-19
Melbourne, Australia, had a first wave. Then it had a second wave. Then it decided it was done with Covid-19.
18 min
1129
It’s beginning to look a lot like stimulus
In an end-of-year plot twist, Congress is working on a fresh bipartisan stimulus bill.
22 min
1130
A woman’s work is never done
Millions of women left the workforce as Covid-19 forced school closures, but that doesn’t mean they have less on their plates. Is government-funded child care the answer?
20 min
1131
God-given right?
The Supreme Court ruled that New York State can’t limit how many people gather in church, even during a pandemic. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains why this is one of the most significant religious liberty cases in the last 30 years.
21 min
1132
America Offline
Low-income students are dropping out of college because many don’t have a reliable way to get online. Vox’s Emily Stewart says the solution is simple: Give everybody the internet.
18 min
1133
The key to the Cabinet
President-elect Biden has started announcing his Cabinet nominees, but Matthew Yglesias says the most important positions aren’t the ones you’d think.
20 min
1134
What if developing a vaccine was the easy part?
Covid-19 vaccines are coming out faster than many thought possible. But distributing the vaccines could be an even tougher challenge.
15 min
1135
Unexplainable
Scientists all over the world are searching for dark matter: an invisible, untouchable substance that holds our universe together. But they haven’t found it. Are they chasing a ghost?
31 min
1136
Withdrawing won’t end the war
With two months left in the Trump presidency, the US is reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan in an attempt to end America's longest war. But Biden will still inherit the conflict.
19 min
1137
All the mall things
Retail was struggling. Then came the virus. Recode’s Jason Del Rey explains how the American mall will never be the same, and how the machines might save retail.
20 min
1138
The peacemaker’s civil war
An ethnic conflict in Ethiopia has thrown the Horn of Africa into disarray and could upset order on the continent.
18 min
1139
Badlands
Covid-19 is surging across the United States, just in time for cold weather and major holidays. North Dakota is doing particularly badly. Vermont may offer hope.
19 min
1140
America said yes to drugs
Oregon decriminalized all drugs. Red states and blue states are doing the same with weed. It’s the culmination of a failed drug war.
23 min
1141
MAGAlomaniac
A weekend of protests, violence, and enmity in DC revealed what Donald Trump has planned post-presidency.
20 min
1142
(Home)school is cool
Covid-19 is surging (again). Schools are closing (again). Kids are learning online (again). And more American parents than ever are turning to homeschool (for the very first time).
23 min
1143
They fought the Lyft and the Lyft won
California tried to strengthen labor rights for gig workers. Uber, Lyft, and their food-delivering cohorts responded with a $200 million propaganda offensive
19 min
1144
Fox & Frenemies
After a fraught Election Week, cable news is finally cutting away from President Trump’s falsehoods.
18 min
1145
No concession!
The 45th president of the United States has thus far refused to acknowledge the 46th.
21 min
1146
Biden’s coronavirus plan
And some big vaccine news, too.
24 min
1147
Joe Biden wins
And Kamala Harris, too.
29 min
1148
What happened to Congress?
Vox’s Ella Nilsen explains why Democrats are waving goodbye to the blue wave.
19 min
1149
President Biden?
Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains the latest election math, and Ezra Klein argues that, despite record-setting turnout, it wasn’t a great night for American democracy.
27 min
1150
Today (should be a holiday), Explained
This Election Day, voter turnout is projected to break records in the United States, but it won’t get anywhere close to Australia’s. Professor Lisa Hill explains what happens when you make voting mandatory.