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.

News
Daily News
Politics
101
Texas blame game
23 min
102
Our complicated relationship with the flag
Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar openly celebrate the American flag. But a lot of Black Americans feel differently. What does that tell us about identity today?
27 min
103
Disney's America
23 min
104
Make America Uninsured Again
23 min
105
Unmasking ICE
23 min
106
Porn on the docket
The Supreme Court has a long history of taking on cases about porn, including one they decided on Friday. Vox's Ian Millhiser explains how that history of First Amendment rulings once meant the justices had to watch porn in a basement.
23 min
107
Can we ever know our dogs?
So many of us believe we understand what our pets are feeling. Are we fooling ourselves?
27 min
108
Swole Girl Summer
Weightlifting is the fastest growing sport among women. It's challenging how we think about who is allowed to be strong and what fitness really means.
23 min
109
Wars have rules
The legal architecture that would define and prosecute what’s happening in Gaza is failing. Reporter Suzy Hansen explains how 80 years of international humanitarian law is being tested. And professor Omer Bartov thought calling Israel's offensive in Gaza a genocide immediately after the October 7 attacks was inaccurate. He’s changed his mind.
23 min
110
Burrito now, pay later
Americans are turning to "buy now, pay later" apps for purchases as small as a burrito—it’s a symptom of a larger national addiction to debt.
23 min
111
Elon Musk presents: Taxis
Elon Musk and Tesla launched their long-delayed robotaxi service this weekend in Texas. The Verge's Andrew Hawkins explains why so much is riding on its success.
23 min
112
America First (unless Iran...)
Vox's Josh Keating and author Vali Nasr explain what bombing Iran won’t accomplish.
23 min
113
Sleepaway camp's nostalgia economy
Unpacking the American rite of passage that so many children love — but that isn't right for everyone.
27 min
114
Elon’s Boring town
23 min
115
Five boroughs. One mayor. Mad drama.
23 min
116
Iran, Israel, and Trump
23 min
117
America the extreme
22 min
118
Let's fight over bike lanes
A caller asks why it's so hard to make biking safe in LA. We bike around different US cities to get the answer.
27 min
119
The big business of small streamers
23 min
120
Palantir has your info
The Trump administration wants to merge all of our data across government agencies. And it's asked a controversial company to help.
23 min
121
Elon and Trump need space
Vox’s Joshua Keating explains why the US government can’t have a big, beautiful breakup with Elon Musk. And now that he’s left DOGE, Elaine Kamarck from Brookings explains what happens to it.
25 min
122
Trump's other big breakup
President Trump recently blew up his alliance with the conservative legal group that helped him remake the judiciary. But the group’s leader is already moving on.
23 min
123
Fire and ICE in Los Angeles
President Trump sent in the National Guard to quell protests caused by ICE raids. LA Times reporter Rachel Uranga covered the chaos, which Mark Krikorian from the Center for Immigration Studies defends.
23 min
124
The recession indicator game
Press-on nails, new music from Katy Perry, and an uptick in Klarna purchases: signs of an economic downturn or no?
27 min
125
AI Video Killed the Video Star
23 min