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.
101
Does the US need a National Guard of nurses?
The country doesn’t have enough nurses. This could be one way to fix that.
40 min
102
The gun control stalemate, explained
There is no panacea for mass shootings.
42 min
103
The Most Dangerous Branch: A well-regulated mil...
With six conservative judges on the bench this term, the Supreme Court could rule in favor of the most sweeping gun rights laws yet.
63 min
104
Immigration, democracy, and the rise of the Wes...
The Weeds live at TruCon 2022
70 min
105
The scourge of the “time tax”
The miserable sludge of applying for government aid.
48 min
106
Ukraine and the global food supply crisis
What happens when the global breadbasket is empty?
41 min
107
What the Alito leak means for Roe — and everyth...
The draft opinion, explained.
54 min
108
The Most Dangerous Branch: Roe v. Wade
What does the future of abortion rights look like?
68 min
109
Why do we go to war?
An expert on why wars start and how to prevent them.
44 min
110
Weeds Time Machine: The Clean Air Act
How the landmark environmental policy changed America.
43 min
111
Tax time at the culture wars
Why Sen. Rick Scott’s 11-point plan to save America scares Mitch McConnell.
50 min
112
Taxes! Let’s get right Intuit.
Why filing your taxes is so annoying.
46 min
113
The Great Expiration
Saying goodbye to the Covid-era social safety net
51 min
114
The art of the gerrymander
Why a fair electoral map is more complicated than it looks
49 min
115
The myth of US energy independence
How can America call itself energy independent when it still relies on foreign oil?
49 min
116
Why it’s so hard to move in America
The cultural cost of high housing prices
40 min
117
Russia's terrible invasion
And what the US can do about it
64 min
118
A quick update
A brief message from Dylan about our spring schedule
1 min
119
Why San Francisco’s school board got booted
What a local election can say about our national political climate.
48 min
120
Democracy in crisis: The two-party problem
Just how worried should we be about the future of American democracy?
54 min
121
The curse of the midterms
Yes, Democrats should be worried.
55 min
122
Beijing, boycotts, and the enduring politics of...
What does a diplomatic boycott actually do?
34 min
123
Affirmative action could be doomed (again). Wha...
A conservative-leaning Supreme Court could mean the end of affirmative action.
36 min
124
It’s not about Ukraine. It’s about Putin.
It’s not about Russia, either.
48 min
125
Think of the children
What two studies about early childhood poverty interventions can tell us about pediatric brain development
41 min