What do a bus driver, a teacher, a McDonald’s employee, and a project manager with a conference on her calendar all have in common?

Republicans appear ready to fill the seat left vacant by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the end of the year. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains Democrats’ last defense.

The fight over Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat has already begun, but let’s not forget to celebrate her legendary life.

Colleges reopened. Outbreaks followed. Robert J. Jones, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, explains why he still thinks bringing students back was the right decision.

A whistleblower complaint alleges immigrants being detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Georgia have been subjected to involuntary procedures — including hysterectomies. Vox’s Nicole Narea explains.

After 16 seasons of wildfires, Glen Haydon has figured out how to cope. For everyone else, there’s an app for that.

Trillions spent on the environment, caregiving, manufacturing, and the racial wealth gap: Vox’s Dylan Matthews explains how Biden wants to “Build Back Better.”

Vox’s Ella Nilsen says the implausible is now looking possible.

The pandemic hasn’t stopped Americans from dating, hooking up, or tying the knot. In fact, lockdown has been helping people get down.

A chief political rival of Vladimir Putin has been poisoned in what Foreign Policy’s Amy MacKinnon says is a watershed moment for Russia.

Some people think it’s the only way out of the pandemic. Those people are very wrong.

As the election draws near, of fake news you must steer clear. For you (and your uncle), this episode is here.

*But that doesn’t necessarily mean you should go see one.

Vox’s Emily Stewart clears up the mystery of the market, and Ella Nilsen offers an update on the stimulus that has collapsed into stalemate.

Ventilation is key to reopening office buildings safely. But The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson says many workers aren’t going back, even when it’s safer.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the company made an “operational mistake” in its handling of Kenosha militia groups. The Verge’s Casey Newton explains whether that has implications for November’s election.

The actor Chadwick Boseman died of cancer on Friday, but because of Black Panther he’ll live forever.

All summer long, we have been explaining complex news stories to kids. In our final summer camp journey to the Island of Explained, we tackle the fight for racial justice in the United States.

The GOP proved that laws were made to be broken at its 2020 convention.

Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times by police and the protests escalated all the way to the NBA. Gina Barton, investigative reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, explains.

Being an optimist can seem ridiculous right now, but in the inaugural episode of The Cut podcast, host Avery Trufelman is searching for some well-grounded positivity. She finds it in conversation with Cheer’s La’Darius Marshall.

Covid’s hottest new treatment is plasma. Vox’s Umair Irfan explains why, and where the world stands on a vaccine.

As the Republican National Convention gets underway, a bonkers (and dangerous) conspiracy theory is gaining a foothold inside the GOP. President Trump appears to be okay with it.

The Democrats proved a virtual convention doesn't have to be a downer. Especially when Rhode Island brings calamari.

ProPublica's Eric Umansky explains how the New York Police Department's Civilian Complaint Review Board has struggled for decades to hold the NYPD to account.

Schools in the US are reopening even though kids play a key role in community transmission of Covid-19. Georgia Public Broadcasting reporter Ellen Eldridge explains how going back to school in her state became a national controversy.

The 19th Amendment’s centenary is today, but the fight for universal suffrage in the United States continues.

The House of Representatives is cutting its vacation short to block changes at the United States Postal Service that could affect the integrity and outcome of the election. Rep. Gerry Connolly explains why he's going a step further and calling for the postmaster general to resign.

After hearing from kids around the world who are grappling with serious boredom, Noam Hassenfeld and Byrd Pinkerton venture deep into the belly of a whale to learn how to have fun in quarantine.

The coronavirus is complicating our relationships with family, friends, and strangers. But it’s also making us better at life??

The 2020 census is fighting a losing battle against the coronavirus and President Trump. NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang explains how a decade of money and power are at stake.

Biden picked Harris. Vox’s Fabiola Cineas explains the role race is already playing in the election, and Ezra Klein argues Donald Trump is making things easy for his opponents.

The longtime leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, is facing nationwide protests and accusations that he stole Sunday’s election. His opponent, a 37-year-old homemaker who entered the race in place of her imprisoned husband, has fled the country.

President Trump wants to resolve the congressional deadlock over stimulus relief by himself. Vox’s Li Zhou rummages through the mixed bag.

President Trump is threatening to ban TikTok, but Microsoft might be able to stop the clock.

The state saw Covid-19 coming. It still became an outbreak epicenter.

A chemical blast has made a very bad situation worse for Lebanon. Journalist Habib Battah explains from Beirut.

A worsening pandemic. A poll worker shortage. A hobbled postal service. Russian hacking. Donald Trump. Vox’s Ella Nilsen explains the many obstacles facing the United States as Election Day nears.

A Washington Post columnist named Karen explains her feelings about “Karen.” A University of Arizona linguist named Sonja explains BIPOC and the capitalization of “Black” and “White.”

It’s Election Day on the Island of Explained! Will the candidate with the most votes win, or will the island’s Electoral College determine a different leader?

The leaders of Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Google testified before Congress on Wednesday in what The Verge’s Casey Newton says might have been the most important Webex in human history.

Some people walk away from Covid-19 feeling fine. Others are dealing with a long list of lingering health issues.

Democrats and Republicans have a $2 trillion disagreement on how to relieve Americans from the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus.

In Bethel, Ohio, a Black Lives Matter rally became a standoff between armed bikers and peaceful protesters. BuzzFeed’s Anne Helen Petersen explains.

Baseball’s back, but fans won’t get the chance to boo the cheating Astros.

The United States has now confirmed 4 million cases of Covid-19. Some Americans still don’t want to wear a mask.

Joe Biden is tacking to the left and embracing a historic climate plan. Vox’s David Roberts explains whether it stands a chance.

The most popular host in the history of cable news returned from a week-long vacation after his head writer was exposed as a raging bigot. The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple explains why the scandal won’t stick.

They came in military camouflage and unmarked vans. Now the state of Oregon is suing the federal government over its policing tactics. Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Conrad Wilson explains.

We return to the magical Island of Explained with a microbiologist and a talking moth to find out what it will take to produce a coronavirus vaccine.

Eviction bans and expanded unemployment benefits are expiring, leaving millions of Americans at risk of losing their homes by the end of the summer.

California once looked like an example of how to handle the pandemic. Now it’s a warning for other states looking to reopen.

The District of Columbia's football team is abandoning the name it adopted almost a century ago. Paul Chaat Smith, a curator at the National Museum of the American Indian, hopes the country is at long last ready to reckon with its past.

President Trump commuted Roger Stone’s sentence in what Vox’s Andrew Prokop says is a particularly troubling variety of political corruption.

The Trump administration announced it would send a million international students home this week. But Vox’s Nicole Narea says the students are collateral in a bigger political play.

The Supreme Court issued its remaining decisions today for the 2020 term, including the biggie: Trump’s tax returns.

President Trump says students and teachers must return to the classroom. Reality says this is going to be the toughest reopening yet.

239 scientists have signed a letter urging the WHO to warn people about airborne transmission of the coronavirus.

How Netflix has upended tech, Hollywood, and how we spend our free time.

Turns out it’s just as biased as people are.

Russia allegedly paid the Taliban to attack US soldiers in Afghanistan. But President Trump’s response may be the real scandal.

Police across the country have responded to recent protests with military tactics and equipment. The Washington Post’s Alex Horton investigated how two military helicopters were used as a show of force against protesters in the nation’s capital.

Hospitals are stretched to their breaking point in Texas, Arizona, and other states where Covid-19 cases are rising sharply. Vox’s Dylan Scott says the US could be in store for more lockdowns. And more reopenings. And more lockdowns…

There hasn’t been an arrest in the case in the three months since police shot and killed Taylor in her home in Louisville, Kentucky. But now the “Justice for Breonna” movement has the potential to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

America is undergoing a new racial reckoning. The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer explains why this time is different.

President Jair Bolsonaro called it the "sniffles" and recommended hydroxychloroquine. Now the country has over a million confirmed cases. Reporter Gustavo Ribeiro explains how Brazil could become the next epicenter.

With the wave of protests came waves of arrests and record-breaking donations to bail funds across the US, but reformers hope for a reckoning of one of the only for-profit bail systems in the world.

Attorney General William Barr tried to quietly push out the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan on Friday night. Then everybody noticed.

The celebration of emancipation is as vital today as ever.

In a major decision from the Supreme Court, DACA lives to fight another day. But it's not in the clear yet.

There are two ways to do it: safely or not so safely. Guess which one we’re heading toward in the United States?

Some are calling six blocks of a Seattle neighborhood the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. KUOW’s Casey Martin spent a week within its loosely guarded walls.

The Supreme Court of the United States has decided the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

After 33 seasons, the reality TV show Cops was canceled this week. Should scripted police dramas follow?

Vox’s Dylan Scott says it’s hard to tell because the United States is riding 50 different Covid-19 waves.

The United States has a policing problem and Congress wants to fix it. Vox’s Li Zhou explains whether the Democrats’ new bill will go anywhere.

Minneapolis City Council member Alondra Cano explains what the city wants to do and what might get in the way.

Pandemic, protests, and the best poll numbers yet for Joe Biden.

Two mothers talk to their teenage sons about race and police brutality in the United States.

It’s not what you think.

Even after Derek Chauvin was captured on video killing George Floyd, he could still get his job back. BuzzFeed’s Melissa Segura explains how.

President Trump wants to blame the unrest on antifa. Vox’s Zack Beauchamp explains why he can’t.

Professor Ibram X. Kendi explains how the protests and unrest are a result of black America’s living nightmare and what it will take to wake up.

The former police officer who killed George Floyd has been charged with murder. But Floyd’s case is just one of many recent incidents of police brutality in Minneapolis. The Marshall Project’s Simone Weichselbaum explains why police reform hasn’t worked in the city.

It could take years for all the Covid-19 deaths to be counted properly. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias explains why the Trump administration is pushing for an undercount.

While most of the world was distracted by the pandemic, China unveiled a law to strip Hong Kong of its autonomy, setting off a new wave of protests in the city.

For the first time in almost a decade, an American rocket is launching people into space. The Verge’s Loren Grush explains why the launch could fundamentally alter the future of spaceflight.

Sean and Noam break down all the original songs in Today, Explained's back catalog.

President Trump would like to.

Reopening America’s parks could help fight the pandemic. It’s a good time to rethink streets, too.

Ezra Klein has some thoughts.

Elon Musk fought the law and Elon won. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Graduate? In this economy!? The Atlantic's Annie Lowrey explains the economic reality new graduates face and Sean offers one graduating senior a commencement speech.

Facebook has agreed to pay a $52 million settlement to its content moderators. Reporting by The Verge’s Casey Newton was a game changer.

Dozens of children have fallen ill with an inflammatory syndrome that may be linked to Covid-19. Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Kevin Friedman explains.

Two white men are accused of killing a black jogger. Georgia state Rep. Jasmine Clark wants to change the laws that could be used to defend them.

While the world was distracted by a pandemic, a ragtag team of Americans and Venezuelans attempted to overthrow President Maduro.

Think you’ve been having exceptionally strange dreams lately? Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barrett says it’s not a figment of your imagination.

Dr. Richard Besser, former head of the Centers for Disease Control, explains how states can reopen without putting lives in danger. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

The Kingdom of Sweden watched the world lock down and decided to do the opposite. Swedish journalist Nathalie Rothschild explains. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.