Explain It to Me

Latest Episodes:

An Interview with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell Sep 21, 2016

Show notes

The Weeds' Sarah Kliff heads to Capitol Hill to interview Secretary Burwell on all things health care. They talked about how to pay doctors to provide better care, the current state of the Obamacare marketplaces, and what she's learned about management running the federal government's largest agency.

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Best Census Ever, the Trump Foundation, and Class Discrimination Sep 14, 2016

Show notes

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt get deep into the weeds of the latest Census report on income and poverty, briefly consider Donald Trump's ridiculous charity, and discuss new research into class-based employment discrimination.

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Gender Wage Gap and the Mystery of State Legislatures Sep 08, 2016

Show notes

Reunited after many summer vacations, Sarah, Ezra, and Matt take a deep dive into Claudia Goldin's theory of the gender pay gap and possible remedies. Plus hot new research that proves nobody cares about state government.

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EpiPen Prices, the Clinton Foundation, and Lead Exposure Aug 31, 2016

Show notes

Why did EpiPen's price skyrocket 400 percent over the past decade? Sarah and Matt dive into the complex world of American drug pricing to find out. Also on this episode: understanding why the Clinton Foundation gets so much scrutiny, and a white paper of the week that shows how problematic a small level of lead exposure can be.

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Obamacare Update and Aging America Aug 24, 2016

Show notes

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt are all together for a gloriously in-the-weeds discussion of the success and failure of the Affordable Care Act plus some hot new research with bad news for the future of economic growth.

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Think Tanks, Transition, and What Drives Trumpkins Aug 18, 2016

Show notes

Ezra and Matt talk about conflicts of interest in think tank funding, Hillary Clinton's transition team, and the biggest study yet of who supports Donald Trump and why.

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Trump's tax plan, democratic legitimacy, and the Freakonomics of decisionmaking Aug 12, 2016

Show notes

Ezra is joined by Dara Lind and Libby Nelson to talk about Donald Trump's new tax plan — how it shows the difference between Trump and reform conservatives, between the Donald and Ivanka, between Democrats and Republicans, and the similarities between Trump and Paul Ryan. The trio also talks about what happens when elections lose legitimacy, and mull over a fascinating new paper by Steven Levitt — yes, the Freakonomics economist — that could change how you make decisions.

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Interview with Atul Gawande Aug 03, 2016

Show notes

With Ezra and Matt on summer vacation, Sarah is left to her own devices — and decides to share a fantastic interview from the Ezra Klein Show with surgeon and writer Atul Gawande. Atul talks about the fascinating academic work he has in progress, attempting to improve end-of-life care and make hospitals safer, and how he became a writer in the first place.

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DNC-Palooza Jul 28, 2016

Show notes

With Matt dispatched to Philadelphia, Sarah and Ezra are left to make sense of the Democratic National Convention. They discuss why it feels so different from the Republican National Convention last week, why it matters that a woman was just nominated for president, and whether Sanders could inspire a Tea Party of the left.

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Republican Convention Special Jul 22, 2016

Show notes

Matt, Sarah, and Ezra take a deep dive into the many detailed policies proposals discussed at the RNC in Cleveland.

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