Explain It to Me
Is my dentist scamming me? Why do political campaigns cost so much? Should Gen Z bother to save for retirement?
Explain It To Me is the hotline for all your unanswered questions. Sometimes explanations are hard to find, misinformation is rampant, and those internet searches and AI asks can come up empty. Call 1-800-618-8545 with what’s on your mind, and host Jonquilyn Hill will be your friendly guide to the answers you're looking for — and maybe even the ones you don’t expect. New episodes every Wednesday starting September 18.
Part of Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
226
Introducing Unexplainable
A new podcast from Vox about everything we don’t know.
28 min
227
An A.I. wrote this title
Vox's Kelsey Piper joins Matt to discuss the future of artificial intelligence research
51 min
228
The right to vote, constrained
Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Ian Millhiser to talk about the threats to voting rights in America, and the potential of H.R. 1
66 min
229
Facebook's shadow court
Kate Klonick joins Matt to talk about her investigation into Facebook's new content moderation board
45 min
230
How to destroy the suburbs
Vox's Jerusalem Demsas joins Matt and Dara to talk about the fight against exclusionary zoning
54 min
231
All organizing is local
Professor Lara Putnam talks about the local dynamics of grassroots progressive organizing
54 min
232
Covid-$1.9T
Vox's Emily Stewart sits down with Matt and Dara to unpack some of the lesser-analyzed aspects of the Covid relief bill
53 min
233
The problem of child care
Matt is joined by expert Melissa Boteach to break down the multi-dimensional economics of child care in America
43 min
234
The Antipope in Mar-a-Lago
Vox's Emily Stewart joins Matt and Dara to wonder about whether and how Trump will rear his head again
53 min
235
Rethinking immigration
Matt is joined by Ali Noorani, who says Americans need to change the way they think — and talk — about immigration
49 min
236
What's happening with the stimulus?
Vox's Ella Nilsen joins Matt and Dara to talk about the state of the Covid relief bill
54 min
237
The future of remote work
Economist Adam Ozimek joins Matt to discuss the post-pandemic future of remote work
53 min
238
Where are the vaccines?
Vox's German Lopez joins Matt and Dara to discuss what went — and is still going — wrong with vaccine distribution.
62 min
239
Filibusted
Matt is joined by Brookings' Molly Reynolds to get into the weeds on Senate filibuster and budget reconciliation procedure
64 min
240
Biden's immigration shuffle
Matt and Dara are joined by German Lopez to discuss the Biden administration's early immigration moves and policy signals
56 min
241
Freedom from markets
Author Mike Konczal joins Matt to talk about the history and future of public benefit programs in America
56 min
242
Biden's rescue plan
What's in Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid relief stimulus plan? Emily Stewart joins Matt and Dara to explain.
51 min
243
The Next Four Years: Fighting tech monopolies
Charlotte Slaiman joins Matt to discuss the ongoing antitrust cases against Google and Facebook, and the prospects for tech regulation in the Biden administration.
49 min
244
Will the GOP be Q-pilled or Coup-pilled?
Zack Beauchamp joins Matt and Dara to discuss the attempted overthrow of American democracy.
68 min
245
Unemployment Insurance in the pandemic, and beyond
Matt is joined by Employ America policy advisor Elizabeth Pancotti to discuss U.I.'s history, its recent expansion during the pandemic, and a vision for its future.
54 min
246
America's vaccine distribution needs a shot in ...
Umair Irfan joins Dara and Matt to discuss some challenges and obstacles to the Covid vaccine rollout
57 min
247
Best of: Homelessness and how to fix it
A look back at one of our favorite episodes from the archives
50 min
248
The Next Four Years: Beyond the student debt de...
New America’s Kevin Carey explains loan forgiveness and the deeper problems with American higher education
51 min
249
Build Back Exactly The Same
Dylan Matthews joins Matt and Dara to discuss Covid’s impact on poverty and the road to recovery
56 min
250
The Next Four Years: An optimistic climate agenda
Third Way’s Josh Freed and Jackie Kempfer explain a path forward for low-carbon policy in a time of divided government
66 min