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
26
Why we can’t stop talking about Harvard
What’s really going on in higher ed.
36 min
27
Are unions making a comeback?
The labor movement’s big year.
33 min
28
Why are so many kids missing school?
Chronic absenteeism, from the barriers to the solutions.
34 min
29
Can Black churches lead the way on teen mental ...
A Black mental health researcher’s long, difficult crusade
42 min
30
The Devil wears fast fashion
Can we make the garment industry better?
37 min
31
Barack Obama on AI, free speech, and the future...
President Obama sits down with The Verge’s Nilay Patel
45 min
32
Why everything is (still) so expensive
A charcuterie board, in THIS economy?
39 min
33
BDS and the history of the boycott
Do boycotts even work?
43 min
34
Will school choice change the future of education?
School choice, parental rights, and the future of public education
42 min
35
The sandwich generation: Caring for kids and se...
Baby boomers are aging. Their kids aren’t ready.
34 min
36
Why your health insurance is tied to work
The wartime policy that changed health insurance forever
41 min
37
Conservative socialism?
A conservative makes the case for democratic socialism.
52 min
38
How (not) to budget
The no-good-very-bad federal budget problem
42 min
39
NYC’s not-so-sudden migrant surge
What New York City tells us about our broken immigration system.
48 min
40
What’s up, doc(ket)?
It’s (already) time for a new SCOTUS preview.
40 min
41
Who protects workers from extreme heat?
Why we need a federal heat standard
43 min
42
Why isn’t school lunch free?
School is back. So is lunch debt.
34 min
43
Trump’s RICO problem
How a law targeting organized crime trapped Trump
43 min
44
Biden messed with Texas
The Texas buoy border battle
40 min
45
Biden wants YOU (to go to therapy)
Finding a therapist sucks. President Biden wants to make it easier.
37 min
46
A new era for birth control
The Pill (OTC version)
47 min
47
Who broke student loans?
The debt that just won’t quit.
48 min
48
Expecting: Weed and Pregnancy
The unknowns of weed and pregnancy
39 min
49
It's an HOA world; you're just living in it
Don’t like your HOA? Good luck. We dive into how HOAs became an unnecessary necessary evil and why these tiny unregulated governments are likely here to stay.
47 min
50
The Republican plot to defund public libraries
Move over book bans — why not just get rid of libraries?
44 min