The Weeds

Politics is how people achieve power. Policy is what they do with it. Every week on The Weeds, host Jonquilyn Hill and guests break down the policies that shape our lives, from abortion to financial regulations to affirmative action to housing. We dive deep and we get wonky, but we have fun along the way. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Politics
News Commentary
Social Sciences
51
Do assault weapons bans work?
Revisiting the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban.
40 min
52
Medicaid’s “Great Unwinding”
Medicaid’s continuous enrollment, discontinued.
42 min
53
Why Illinois wants to end cash bail
A look at the cost of pretrial justice and what it means for public safety.
48 min
54
The debt ceiling drama
Build back … budget?
38 min
55
What East Palestine can tell us about the rail ...
Railroad regulation, explained
40 min
56
How a 1996 US immigration policy changed everyt...
The most consequential immigration policy you’ve probably never heard of.
46 min
57
Will the Supreme Court ruin the internet?
The algorithm goes to court.
43 min
58
The Ukraine war: past, present, and future
Where Ukraine goes from here.
50 min
59
$14 trillion and no mules
A framework for paying reparations.
51 min
60
The Biden policy that could change your neighbo...
How Biden wants to revamp the Fair Housing Act.
47 min
61
Insulin is for the world
What some states are trying to do to lower the cost of insulin.
41 min
62
Weeds Time Machine: The Voting Rights Act
The legislative and judicial history of the VRA, explained.
50 min
63
Reintroducing The Weeds
1 min
64
The great American gerrymander
Our messy history with election maps, explained.
27 min
65
The scourge of the “time tax”
The miserable sludge of applying for government aid.
46 min
66
Climate optimism in 2023
Finally, some good climate news.
40 min
67
Our mental health doom loop
The revolving door of mental health care in the US.
42 min
68
The bipartisan bill that could protect elections
Why lawmakers are trying to reform a 135-year-old law.
41 min
69
The rebirth of industrial policy
Supply-side economics, explained.
36 min
70
It’s time to regulate crypto
The FTX crash, explained.
51 min
71
The Weeds’ weed episode
Let’s be blunt: Weed policy is complicated.
44 min
72
How to call an election
Hint: Let the math people do the work.
50 min
73
How to fix inflation
Hint: Let the Fed do the work.
55 min
74
Why scaring voters works
Republicans are hitting Democrats on crime. It’s working.
44 min
75
The most interesting issues on the ballot
The 2022 ballot initiatives, explained.
40 min