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
201
How Barnes & Noble survived
The bookseller has gone from big-box villain to company on the brink of bankruptcy to bright spot in the mostly dismal retail space. The Verge’s Nilay Patel and prosecutor Brendan Ballou explain the unlikely story of its apparent turnaround.
23 min
202
EU vs. AI
The EU has advanced first-of-its-kind AI regulation. The Verge’s Jess Weatherbed tells us whether it will make a difference, and Columbia University’s Anu Bradford explains the Brussels effect.
23 min
203
Why millennials dread motherhood
American policy failures and bad PR have made millennials dread motherhood. Vox’s Rachel Cohen and Momfluenced author Sara Petersen explain.
23 min
204
An oily climate deal
Semafor’s Tim McDonnell says what made COP28 successful was the same thing that made climate activists skeptical about the conference: its host was an oil executive.
23 min
205
Long live your dog
A drug that aims to increase life expectancy for dogs is getting closer to market. But pet ethicists aren’t sure it’s great news for man’s best friend.
23 min
206
The fight over campus antisemitism
Three elite university presidents walk into Congress for a hearing on antisemitism. Only two still have their jobs. New York magazine reporter Nia Prater tells us what happened, and a Harvard professor of Jewish history explains why he thinks resignations won’t make campuses safer.
23 min
207
A concrete solution to climate change
Concrete is one of the world’s biggest sources of carbon emissions. Tech companies, including a startup co-founded by former NBA star Rick Fox, are looking to change that.
23 min
208
Are movies too long now?
No, movies aren’t getting longer. Even though, yes, it definitely does feel like they are. Slate’s Sam Adams makes it make sense.
23 min
209
Get the lead out
The Biden administration wants all lead pipes ripped up. It’ll take billions of dollars and rarely seen cooperation among government agencies. We ask UC Berkeley’s David Sedlak and American University’s Karen Baehler whether the plan is a pipe dream.
23 min
210
Still hot and bothered
Earlier this year the FDA approved a game-changing drug to treat hot flashes, a symptom of menopause. But menopause is much more than just hot flashes, as health writer Jancee Dunn explains. We talked to her in May about why a transition that happens to half the world’s population still feels like a mystery.
23 min
211
They paved paradise
In our quest to accommodate parked cars, we’ve paved over downtowns, polluted the planet, and made it damn near impossible to get anywhere without driving. In May we talked to Slate’s Henry Grabar, who explained Big Parking — and how electric cars might offer an opportunity to finally try something new.
23 min
212
How Palestine went global
People with no direct connection to the Middle East have taken to seeing the Palestinian cause as an anti-colonial struggle connected to their own experience. Columbia historian Rashid Khalidi explains why “decolonization” is resonating worldwide.
23 min
213
The Golden Bachelor was actually good
72-year-old Gerry Turner has handed out his final rose on ABC’s The Golden Bachelor. In a season full of gendered tropes about love and marriage (like most of the Bachelor franchise), it also brought the audience a new and earnest appreciation for love after 60.
23 min
214
Kissinger’s long goodbye
Noted American diplomat and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is revered by few, reviled by many, and now he’s dead. Vox’s Jonathan Guyer explains why the world was fixated on him for decades after he left the White House.
23 min
215
The American politics of Israel
The Israel-Hamas war is dividing the previously united Democrats and uniting the recently fractured Republican party. Semafor’s David Weigel explains what that means going into 2024.
23 min
216
Taking Tuesday
Package theft is on the rise, and it affects everyone, from the retailer, to shippers, to consumers. So maybe it’s time to take a cue from Gen Z and go back to the mall.
23 min
217
The hostage deal (brought to you by Qatar)
After 50 days of the Israel-Hamas war, both sides took a breather to save lives. And it couldn’t have happened without Qatar.
23 min
218
Chaos at OpenAI
It’s been a wild few days at OpenAI, whose board fired CEO Sam Altman on Friday only to rehire him late Tuesday. Vox reporter Sigal Samuel explains what happened at the company behind ChatGPT — and what it tells us about the future of AI.
23 min
219
How Cassie sued Diddy
Sean "Diddy" Combs is the latest high-profile figure to be accused of sexual assault under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, a law that expires this week.
22 min
220
Inside the occupied West Bank
With the world focused on Gaza, Israeli settlers and soldiers are increasing attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. Writer Nathan Thrall and journalist Dalia Hatuqa explain the decades of tension that shape life in the West Bank.
23 min
221
F1: Gears and Loathing in Las Vegas
Formula 1 spent half a billion dollars to return to Las Vegas. Jalopnik’s Elizabeth Blackstock explains how a lackluster season and this weekend’s nothingburger race threaten F1's American dreams.
23 min
222
Speaker Johnson’s first test
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, infamous election denier, moved to the middle to make a budget deal with Democrats. But he promised the real fight is still to come.
25 min
223
Who can fix 150% inflation?
That’s what voters are trying to figure out as they prepare for this weekend’s runoff election between Peronist insider Sergio Massa and unorthodox economist Javier Milei. The Economist’s Ana Lankes previews Argentina’s unusual presidential contest.
23 min
224
A call from Gaza
People are desperately trying to escape Gaza as the siege on the strip continues. Mohammed Ghalaieny, a Palestinian British man, tells us why he is choosing to stay, even as other foreign nationals escape through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
23 min
225
China’s soft (and fluffy) power
Panda diplomacy couldn’t fix the US and China’s tense relationship. Perhaps a meeting between Presidents Biden and Xi can bring back that fuzzy feeling. Ian Johnson of the Council on Foreign Relations and Panda Nation author E. Elena Songster explain.
23 min