Explain It to Me

Latest Episodes:

The art of the gerrymander Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox Senior Politics Correspondent Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) for a dive deep into the newly redrawn 2022 congressional maps. They discuss what makes a fair map, the strategy behind gerrymandering, and what this could mean for the 2022 midterm elections. Plus, a white paper about the Voting Rights Act and Black electoral representation in Congress.

References:

Andrew’s explainer on the redistricting wars

The Supreme Court’s last ruling on partisan gerrymandering

An argument that the 2022 redistricting has featured “an unprecedented attack … on the political power of communities of color”

White Paper: "The Triumph of Tokenism: The Voting Rights Act and the Theory of Black Electoral Success"

“The US Senate considerably dilutes the voting power of African Americans”

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Dara Lind (@dlind), Weeds co-host, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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The myth of US energy independence Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Robinson Meyer (@robinsonmeyer), a staff writer at the Atlantic, to talk about the illusion of US energy independence. They discuss how the US produces its oil; the fracking boom and bust; and the country’s position in the global market. Plus, a white paper about carbon taxes and CO2 emissions in Sweden.

References:

Robinson’s piece about America’s “independence” from Russian oil

He was also on Today, Explained to talk about the US banning Russian oil imports

And, you can sign up for Rob’s newsletter here

Vox reporter Rebecca Leber busted a few myths about oil and gas prices

Biden’s administrative authority to lower gas prices

Russell Gold’s The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World

White Paper: “Carbon Taxes and CO2 Emissions: Sweden as a Case Study”

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Dara Lind (@dlind), Weeds co-host, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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Why it’s so hard to move in America Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Nick Buttrick (@NickButtrick), a psychologist at Princeton, to talk about interstate mobility in the US (or the lack thereof). They talk about why it is so hard to move; why some of those reasons, Jerusalem argues, are arbitrary; and what an immobile population means for American culture.

References:

Jerusalem’s article about why it’s so hard to move in America

Nick Buttrick’s research: The cultural dynamics of declining residential mobility

A paper from David Schleicher called Stuck! The Law and Economics of Residential Stagnation

Research from the Brookings Institution: US migration still at historically low levels

NBER paper: The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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Russia's terrible invasion Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Vox senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp to talk about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They discuss Ukraine’s surprising strength to date, plus Europe’s and America’s overwhelming economic response to the invasion. Plus, a white paper about how citizens in authoritarian regimes think about war.

References:

Vox’s podcast playlist: What to know about Russia and Ukraine

All of Vox’s written coverage on Russia and Ukraine

Zack’s piece on why Putin is attacking Ukraine

Adam Tooze on the economic war with Russia

Putin’s brother died in the siege of Leningrad

The real history of the Soviet-Pepsi submarine deal

WHITE PAPER: “Authoritarian Public Opinion and the Democratic Peace”

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox

Zack Beauchamp (@ZackBeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and mix engineer

Dara Lind, studio engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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A quick update Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

We’re hitting snooze on Friday episodes, but they’re not going away forever. We’re just slowing things down while we work on some special projects. We’ll see you on Tuesday!

Important Links:

Send us an email at weeds@vox.com
Check out The Weeds Facebook group
Sign up for our newsletter at vox.com/weedsletter

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Why San Francisco’s school board got booted Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

Dylan Matthews, Jerusalem Demsas, and Dara Lind discuss the recent school board recall election in San Francisco and also whether the Great Resignation is boosting inflation.

References:

Clara Jeffery's summary of why the recall succeeded

Former Green Party mayoral nominee Matt Gonzalez’s case for the recall

Former board president Gabriela López's post-mortem after she was recalled

López’s 2021 interview with the New Yorker on school renaming

The $87 million lawsuit

Lowell alum Justin Lai arguing in favor of the new admissions policies

The Asan American backlash against changing Lowell admissions (see also)

Students in selective exam schools don’t seem to reap many benefits

A review of exam schools nationwide

Putting “non-gifted” students in gifted classrooms helps them a lot

White Paper: The Effects of the “Great Resignation” on Labor Market Slack and Inflation

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox

Dara Lind (@dlind), Weeds co-host, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Democracy in crisis: The two-party problem Feb 18, 2022

Show notes

Vox Senior Correspondent Zack Beauchamp talks with political scientist Lee Drutman, author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop. They discuss the history of the two-party system in American politics, and examine a number of possible structural reforms that could work to get the U.S. out of the morass it's in, looking to several other countries' democracies for inspiration.

Host: Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Guest: Lee Drutman (@leedrutman), senior fellow, New America

References:

"How does this end?" by Zack Beauchamp (Vox; Jan. 3)
Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America (Oxford; 2020)
"Democracy in America? Partisanship, Polarization, and the Robustness of Support for Democracy in the United States" by Matthew H. Graham and Milan W. Svolik (American Political Science Review, 114 (2); May 2020)
"One way to reform the House of Representatives? Expand it" by Lee Drutman and Yuval Levin (Washington Post; Dec. 9, 2021)

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This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Editor: Amy Drozdowska
Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall

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The curse of the midterms Feb 15, 2022

Show notes

Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Vox’s Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) to talk about the midterm elections. More specifically, why the president’s party almost always loses seats in Congress. They discuss the theories of this phenomenon and what, if anything, can work on the margins. Plus, a white paper about Obamacare and the 2010 midterm elections.

References:

Why the president’s party almost always has a bad midterm

The political science of door-knocking and TV ads

White paper: “One Vote Out of Step? The Effects of Salient Roll Call Votes in the 2010 Election”

Dylan’s old, wrong article arguing that congressional position-taking doesn’t matter much

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer

Dara Lind, engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beijing, boycotts, and the enduring politics of the Olympics Feb 11, 2022

Show notes

Dylan Matthews talks with Victor Cha (@VictorDCha) about the international politics surrounding the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The US and several other countries are boycotting the games to protest China’s human rights record, which brings up the question: What does this boycott mean for US-China relations?

References:

Beyond the Final Score by Victor Cha

Cha on the politicization of the 2022 Games

Vox’s Jen Kirby on the Biden administration’s diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympics

Vox’s Bryan Walsh on the failure of the Games to promote international peace

Olympic sponsors are facing pressure over China’s human rights violations

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Affirmative action could be doomed (again). What comes next? Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and Jerusalem Demsas talk about affirmative action. They dig into the current Supreme Court case about Harvard’s admission rates and ask: How do we make sure our elite institutions adequately reflect the population? Plus, a white paper about the effects of education on mortality.

References: