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
1
A safety net’s poverty trap
What would you do if you could only save $2,000?
31 min
2
Let’s fix child care together
The real issue blocking universal child care? Politics.
40 min
3
Bringing back the SAT
Four years after a pandemic pause, some colleges and universities are again requiring applicants to submit standardized test scores.
23 min
4
The AI election
Will we be able to spot the deepfakes this election season?
38 min
5
The case for banning...millionaires?
Sean talks with political philosopher Ingrid Robeyns, whose new book Limitarianism makes the case for imposing limits on personal wealth.
51 min
6
How racism ages Black people
Racism and the long-term health effects of weathering
34 min
7
Skipping the broom
Why the marriage rate for Black women is falling
38 min
8
Eviction: the scarlet E
What we can learn about eviction from Black women and children
37 min
9
Let’s fix retirement together
An economist’s take on policy fanfiction
40 min
10
How to be a (realistic) climate optimist
A data scientist who’s cautiously optimistic about the climate
37 min
11
How celebrity fandom explains Trump
When “stanning” goes mainstream.
39 min
12
Why we can’t stop talking about Harvard
What’s really going on in higher ed.
36 min
13
Are unions making a comeback?
The labor movement’s big year.
33 min
14
Why are so many kids missing school?
Chronic absenteeism, from the barriers to the solutions.
34 min
15
Can Black churches lead the way on teen mental ...
A Black mental health researcher’s long, difficult crusade
42 min
16
The Devil wears fast fashion
Can we make the garment industry better?
37 min
17
Barack Obama on AI, free speech, and the future...
President Obama sits down with The Verge’s Nilay Patel
45 min
18
Why everything is (still) so expensive
A charcuterie board, in THIS economy?
39 min
19
BDS and the history of the boycott
Do boycotts even work?
43 min
20
Will school choice change the future of education?
School choice, parental rights, and the future of public education
42 min
21
The sandwich generation: Caring for kids and se...
Baby boomers are aging. Their kids aren’t ready.
34 min
22
Why your health insurance is tied to work
The wartime policy that changed health insurance forever
41 min
23
Conservative socialism?
A conservative makes the case for democratic socialism.
52 min
24
How (not) to budget
The no-good-very-bad federal budget problem
42 min
25
NYC’s not-so-sudden migrant surge
What New York City tells us about our broken immigration system.
48 min