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.

Education
Society & Culture
Politics
276
Dianne Feinstein, please listen to this episode!
Ezra and Matt discuss the past and future of the US Senate.
60 min
277
After RBG
Vox’s judiciary expert Ian Milhiser joins the panel to explain Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legacy and the future of American jurisprudence
54 min
278
By the People: How to rig an election
America’s voter suppression problem
63 min
279
One Billion Americans
Ezra and Matt discuss the early days of blogging, Twitter, climate change, and Matt's case for having 1 billion Americans.
88 min
280
How Trump closed the border
Rep. Veronica Escobar joins Jane, Dara, and Matt to talk about Texas politics and the use of the pandemic as a pretext to clamp down on asylum.
56 min
281
The definitive case against the filibuster
Ezra joins Matt to workshop his latest article — and save American democracy.
49 min
282
Steal this podcast
Meredith Haggerty joins Jane and Matt to debate looting and corporate cooptation of social justice.
52 min
283
LAW AND ORDER
Matt and Ezra discuss why crime is rising in certain American cities, and the country's growing housing crisis.
59 min
284
Trump sells out
Dara, Jane, and Matt discuss Jane’s argument that the GOP establishment changed Trump more than he changed the party
61 min
285
The Trump Show
Ezra and Matt on the GOP convention and the politics of "law and order".
53 min
286
The Cut: Optimism
Avery explores what optimism means in 2020, and why some people are better at conjuring it, and how those who aren’t can change their own mindset.
29 min
287
Trump's peddling a fake Covid-19 cure
Jane, Dara, and Matt on convalescent plasma, FDA reform, and the politics of science
47 min
288
Democratic convention special
Ezra and Matt stay up late to review Joe Biden's big speech and the Democrats' big week
62 min
289
WTF is happening with USPS
Jane, Dara, and Matt on the health and history of the postal service, the political games being played, and what it means for November's election.
49 min
290
What the hell is the Republican party doing?
Ezra and Matt on Republican policy nihilism and the Kamala Harris pick.
55 min
291
What is the economy, stupid?
Vox's Emily Stewart joins Dara and Jane to discuss the relationship between "the market" and the "real economy."
39 min
292
Veepstakes
Ezra and Matt on Susan Rice, Kamala Harris, and Trump’s increasingly chaotic authoritarianism.
47 min
293
The stimulus standoff
Jane, Dara, and Matt on the congressional deadlock over economic aid.
53 min
294
The Great Awokening
John McWhorter joins Matt to discuss the changing way we talk about racism in America.
67 min
295
Trafficking, and trafficking panics
Dara, Jane, and Matt on Wayfair, massage parlors, and reality.
47 min
296
The evidence on crime and policing
Texas A&M's Jennifer Doleac joins Matt to explain what we know (and don't know) about criminal justice.
53 min
297
Bad for the Jews?
Dara, Jane, and Matt on Nick Cannon, Louis Farrakhan, and antisemitic conspiracy theories.
56 min
298
Biden reloaded
Ezra and Matt on Joe Biden’s unification strategy with the left.
62 min
299
School’s out for Covid
Jane, Dara, and Matt on the school reopening debate and the political consequences of HIV/AIDS.
55 min
300
The Covid resurgence
Ezra and Matt on how America failed while the world made progress on the pandemic
48 min