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
76
Insulin is for the world
What some states are trying to do to lower the cost of insulin.
41 min
77
Weeds Time Machine: The Voting Rights Act
The legislative and judicial history of the VRA, explained.
50 min
78
Reintroducing The Weeds
1 min
79
The great American gerrymander
Our messy history with election maps, explained.
27 min
80
The scourge of the “time tax”
The miserable sludge of applying for government aid.
46 min
81
Climate optimism in 2023
Finally, some good climate news.
40 min
82
Our mental health doom loop
The revolving door of mental health care in the US.
42 min
83
The bipartisan bill that could protect elections
Why lawmakers are trying to reform a 135-year-old law.
41 min
84
The rebirth of industrial policy
Supply-side economics, explained.
36 min
85
It’s time to regulate crypto
The FTX crash, explained.
51 min
86
The Weeds’ weed episode
Let’s be blunt: Weed policy is complicated.
44 min
87
How to call an election
Hint: Let the math people do the work.
50 min
88
How to fix inflation
Hint: Let the Fed do the work.
55 min
89
Why scaring voters works
Republicans are hitting Democrats on crime. It’s working.
44 min
90
The most interesting issues on the ballot
The 2022 ballot initiatives, explained.
40 min
91
The candidates haunting the GOP
It’s campaign spooky season.
40 min
92
AMERICA HAS A (POLLING) PROBLEM
Why are the polls so wrong so often?
51 min
93
Abbott and DeSantis: Stunt queens or policy mak...
Could relocating migrants in the US be a policy solution?
44 min
94
The fastest growing voting bloc in America
What do we know about how Latinos and Hispanics will vote in 2022 and beyond?
54 min
95
Who decides how we’ll save the future?
The case for – and against – longtermism
60 min
96
Vitamin X
The wild and unregulated west of dietary supplements.
32 min
97
It’s a policy team takeover!
Student loans, inflation, and back-to-school (oh my!)
38 min
98
The rebirth of industrial policy
And a new era of industrialism.
46 min
99
Could the war on terror be over?
What Zawahiri’s death means for US foreign policy.
59 min
100
The new politics of abortion
Let’s talk about Kansas.
41 min