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 pop music competition is facing boycott calls over Israel’s participation. Switched on Pop’s Charlie Harding and historian Tess Megginson explain why the apolitical event keeps getting political.
23 min
152
Is divesting from Israel possible?
Yes, but it’s hard. Inside Higher Ed’s Josh Moody and UC Merced’s Charlie Eaton explain.
23 min
153
The tourist tax
Venice is drowning in tourists. A new fee for day-trippers is the latest tool aimed at keeping overtourism at bay.
24 min
154
Paramount’s looking for a deal they can’t refuse
Media behemoth Paramount Global is struggling. Stock prices are down. The CEO was just ousted. And the head of this family business is ready to cash out. Puck’s Matthew Belloni explains what comes next.
23 min
155
One Flu Over The Cowcow’s Nest
Avian flu, which recently leapt from chickens to cows, has now been detected in milk. Vox’s Keren Landman and Kenny Torrella explain how worried humans should be about the outbreak.
23 min
156
North America’s biggest city is running out of ...
Officials say “Day Zero” is imminent in Mexico City. A walk through the city reveals the historical roots of the water crisis, its present-day challenges, and the potential solutions.
23 min
157
The failed promise of egg freezing
Egg freezing was once hailed as a reproductive game changer, but as Vox's Anna North reports, it might not live up to the hype.
23 min
158
Honey, We Saved the Bees
Millions of bees died because of colony collapse disorder over the past few decades, but America’s honeybee population has now rocketed to an all-time high. The Washington Post's Andrew Van Dam explains how.
23 min
159
The TikTok “ban” is law
President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that would ban the app unless it’s sold to an American company. Vox’s Christian Paz explains.
22 min
160
Columbia’s free-speech fight
Daily Spectator news editor Sarah Huddleston reports on the protests at her university. AAUP President Irene Mulvey explains the stakes for campus free speech.
23 min
161
Florida man wants immunity
You can beat the heat if you beat the charges too. Vox’s Ian Millhiser previews the Donald Trump immunity case going before the Supreme Court this week, and lawyer Jeffrey Green explains Trump’s role in a related case involving January 6 defendants.
23 min
162
Just in: Trudeau’s plan to fight populism
Canadian-American podcast host Sean Rameswaram goes one-on-one with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to find out how he might win over Gen Zed.
25 min
163
Feeling Bluey
Bluey delights children and reduces their grown-ups to tears. But the latest episode has fans young and old wondering whether the ride is coming to an end. Vulture’s Kathryn VanArendonk speculates.
25 min
164
The great American squatter panic
Politicians and conservative news outlets say there’s an epidemic of people moving into a stranger’s house and refusing to leave. Curbed’s Bridget Read and Semafor’s David Weigel explain what’s actually happening.
23 min
165
How car ownership got so expensive
Drivers are increasingly paying sticker price or more for a new car. Then there are sky-high insurance rates and mortgage-level car payments. Vox’s Marin Cogan explains how we got here.
23 min
166
Florida man’s first criminal trial begins
The first of former President Donald Trump's four criminal trials began this week. Vox's Andrew Prokop explains what's at stake, and Vox's Abdallah Fayyad explains how he might (or might not) pay the mounting legal bills.
23 min
167
Why Iran attacked Israel
The Economist’s Gregg Carlstrom explains. Jerusalem-based journalist Noga Tarnopolsky explores whether the unprecedented attack hurts or helps Benjamin Netanyahu.
23 min
168
America at war, now in theaters
The new movie Civil War delivers a sensational story about political polarization spilling into mass violence. If that seems reckless, it’s what apocalyptic films have done forever. The LA Times’s Mark Olsen and Northeastern University’s Nathan Blake explain.
23 min
169
Speaker Johnson's next test
Congress is back in session and the House speakership is once again on the line. The New Yorker’s David Kirkpatrick explains how Mike Johnson got the gavel and whether he’ll be able to keep it.
23 min
170
Prosecuting parents
The Oxford, Michigan, school shooter's parents will serve up to 15 years in prison. Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents held criminally liable for a mass school shooting in the US, but they likely won't be the last.
23 min
171
The man with a pig kidney
A pig’s kidney was just transplanted into a human. But Vox’s Dylan Matthews says we shouldn't need the pigs.
23 min
172
Is college still worth it?
More and more Americans feel like college isn’t a good deal anymore. One state thinks it’s found a way to turn things around.
23 min
173
The Sephora kids
Tweens are shopping for trendy, expensive skincare products. Gen Z worries it’s “aging like milk.” Are today’s young people too afraid of looking old? Allure editor-in-chief Jessica Cruel and Vox correspondent Rebecca Jennings explain.
23 min
174
Israel’s attack on World Central Kitchen
The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Kalin explains what happened, and Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk lays out what this means for Gazans.
23 min
175
Project 2025
Donald Trump arrived at the White House in 2017 without a lot of plans to actually govern. The conservative Heritage Foundation wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again.