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.
76
Why Illinois wants to end cash bail
A look at the cost of pretrial justice and what it means for public safety.
48 min
77
The debt ceiling drama
Build back … budget?
38 min
78
What East Palestine can tell us about the rail ...
Railroad regulation, explained
40 min
79
How a 1996 US immigration policy changed everyt...
The most consequential immigration policy you’ve probably never heard of.
46 min
80
Will the Supreme Court ruin the internet?
The algorithm goes to court.
43 min
81
The Ukraine war: past, present, and future
Where Ukraine goes from here.
50 min
82
$14 trillion and no mules
A framework for paying reparations.
51 min
83
The Biden policy that could change your neighbo...
How Biden wants to revamp the Fair Housing Act.
47 min
84
Insulin is for the world
What some states are trying to do to lower the cost of insulin.
41 min
85
Weeds Time Machine: The Voting Rights Act
The legislative and judicial history of the VRA, explained.
50 min
86
Reintroducing The Weeds
1 min
87
The great American gerrymander
Our messy history with election maps, explained.
27 min
88
The scourge of the “time tax”
The miserable sludge of applying for government aid.
46 min
89
Climate optimism in 2023
Finally, some good climate news.
40 min
90
Our mental health doom loop
The revolving door of mental health care in the US.
42 min
91
The bipartisan bill that could protect elections
Why lawmakers are trying to reform a 135-year-old law.
41 min
92
The rebirth of industrial policy
Supply-side economics, explained.
36 min
93
It’s time to regulate crypto
The FTX crash, explained.
51 min
94
The Weeds’ weed episode
Let’s be blunt: Weed policy is complicated.
44 min
95
How to call an election
Hint: Let the math people do the work.
50 min
96
How to fix inflation
Hint: Let the Fed do the work.
55 min
97
Why scaring voters works
Republicans are hitting Democrats on crime. It’s working.
44 min
98
The most interesting issues on the ballot
The 2022 ballot initiatives, explained.
40 min
99
The candidates haunting the GOP
It’s campaign spooky season.
40 min
100
AMERICA HAS A (POLLING) PROBLEM
Why are the polls so wrong so often?
51 min