Education
**Explain It to Me**

Should I buy a house? Why do I say “like” so much? Should Gen Z bother to save for retirement?
Explain It to Me is the hotline for the issues that matter to your life. Send us your questions about health, personal finance, relationships, and anything else that matters to you. Host Jonquilyn Hill will take you on a journey to find the answers, whether it’s to the halls of Congress or the local bar. You’ll get the answers you were looking for, and sometimes ones you didn’t expect — and always with a dose of humor. New episodes every Sunday. Part of Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Latest Episodes:

The coming climate exodus Oct 12, 2021

Show notes

Vox senior reporter Rebecca Leber (@rebleber) joins The Weeds to explain the problem of migration caused by climate change, such as that due to wildfires, rising seas, and crop failures. She explains how a warming planet is forcing people to move both in the US and internationally, and how policymakers are and aren’t adapting. Vox reporters Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas continue the conversation with ProPublica’s Dara Lind, discussing a new white paper arguing that social mobility in America rose in the 20th century.

References:

ProPublica’s feature on climate migration in Central America

How climate change is driving up flood insurance premiums in Canarsie, Brooklyn

NPR’s investigation into the federal government selling flood-prone houses to low-income families

California is encouraging rebuilding in fire-prone regions

The case for “managed retreat” from coastal areas

A New York Times feature on how climate migration will reshape America

The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

Why Greg Clark is pessimistic that social mobility even exists

White Paper of the Week: Intergenerational Mobility in American History: Accounting for Race and Measurement Error, Zachary Ward

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox

Dara Lind (@DLind), immigration reporter, ProPublica

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer & 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

The Most Dangerous Branch: Roe v. Wade Oct 08, 2021

Show notes

Vox Supreme Court correspondent Ian Millhiser talks with NYU professor Melissa Murray (@ProfMMurray) about the future of reproductive freedom. The Supreme Court started its new term this week, and with six conservative judges on the bench, Republicans are likely to win a generational victory overruling Roe v. Wade.

Resources:

Texas’s radical anti-abortion law explained

The staggering implications of the Supreme Court’s Texas anti-abortion ruling

“Race-ing Roe: Reproductive Justice, Racial Justice, and the Battle for Roe v. Wade

Hosts:

Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, Producer & Engineer

Libby Nelson, Editorial Advisor

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

Yes, vaccine mandates work Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

Dylan, German, and Jerusalem talk about vaccine mandates. They discuss the evidence supporting vaccine requirements, the United States’ history with inoculation campaigns, and the patchwork nature of America’s many public health measures. Plus, a white paper about elite universities.

References:

This is a good summary of the evidence supporting vaccine mandates

Here is the Homevoter Hypothesis Dylan mentioned

The NIMBY lawsuit against UC Berkeley and the NIMBY war against Georgetown’s expansion

German mentioned two vaccination studies: this one and this one

This week’s white paper about elite universities

Leopold Aschenbrenner on the case for smaller universities

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

German Lopez (@germanrlopez), senior correspondent, Vox

Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer & 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

How genes impact your life Oct 01, 2021

Show notes

Dylan and Jerusalem are joined by Kathryn Paige Harden, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss her new book The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality. They talk about what geneticists have learned about the impact of genes on income and education inequality, the social implications of this research and its potential misuse, and why genetics should leave us humbled by the huge effect of luck in our lives.

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, 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

The debt ceiling’s threat to America Sep 28, 2021

Show notes

Dylan, German, and Dara discuss the debt ceiling: the current crisis, what the debt ceiling even is, and how the debt ceiling has become a politically polarized issue. They also talk about why the debt ceiling is bad for democracy. Plus, a white paper about Canadian bread cartels.

Resources:

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s estimate of when we’ll hit the debt ceiling

Congressional Research Service’s history of the debt ceiling

Janet Yellen on the costs of breaching the debt ceiling

Neil Buchanan and Michael Dorf on why breaching the debt ceiling is the “least illegal” option

The trillion dollar coin (and the Obama rejection of it) explained

Steven Schwarcz on using special investment tools to evade the debt ceiling

Matt Yglesias on the “Honduras scenario” for American democracy failing

"Hub and Spoke Cartels: Theory and Evidence from the Grocery Industry" by Robert Clark, Ignatius Horstmann, Jean-François Houde

Netflix documentary on the Canadian maple syrup cartel

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), Senior Correspondent, Vox

German Lopez (@germanrlopez), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, Producer & Engineer

Libby Nelson, Editor

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

AMA time with Dylan, German, and Jerusalem Sep 24, 2021

Show notes

Dylan, German, and Jerusalem sit down to answer listener questions. In our first AMA episode of the post-Matt-Yglesias Weeds era, the trio discusses constitutional amendments, climate change, how we could fix global poverty, influential books, and more.

Resources:

Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit

Gang of Five: Leaders at the Center of the Conservative Ascendancy by Nina J. Easton

The Collaborator: The Trial and Execution of Robert Brasillach by Alice Kaplan

Night by Elie Wiesel

The Cult of Pharmacology: How America Became the World’s Most Troubled Drug Culture by Richard DeGrandpre

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Cochrane

The Journalist’s Resource, the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy

Jim Tankersley, the New York Times (@jimtankersley)

Victoria Guida, Politico (@vtg2)

Eric Levitz, New York magazine (@ericlevitz)

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), policy reporter, Vox

German Lopez (@germanrlopez), senior correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Amber Hall, deputy editorial director, talk podcasts

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

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

Means testing our patience Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

Dylan, German, and Jerusalem discuss means testing and work requirements after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) suggested their inclusion in one of Biden's legacy priorities: the expanded child tax credit. Right now Democrats in Congress are trying to hammer out a 10-year, $3.5 trillion budget that includes an extension of the federal child tax credit; expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing aids; additional resources for home care workers; a slew of climate change measures; and much more.

Resources:

“The Time Tax” by Annie Lowrey (The Atlantic; July 27, 2021)

“We’re Still Here” by Jennifer Silva

“‘Neoliberalism has really ruptured’: Adam Tooze on the legacy of 2020” by Zack Beauchamp (Vox.com; September 9, 2021)

“Are we automating racism?” by Joss Fong (Vox.com; March 31, 2021)

“AIs Islamophobia problem” by Sigal Samuel (Vox.com; September 18, 2021)

White Paper: “New Evidence on Redlining by Federal Housing Programs in the 1930s” by Price V. Fishback, Jonathan Rose, Kenneth A. Snowden, and Thomas Storrs

Hosts:

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), Senior Correspondent

Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), Policy Reporter, Vox

German Lopez (@germanrlopez), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, Producer & Engineer

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

Ezra, Matt, and Sarah Try (Again) to Podcast Sep 17, 2021

Show notes

For Matt’s last episode of The Weeds, Ezra Klein and Sarah Kliff return for a look at why health care and drug costs in the US keep rising, how subsidizing industries leads to higher consumer costs, and what both political parties can do about it. It gets real nerdy just as fast as the last time these three co-hosted. We also learn about the first print piece Matt ever published, and he shares some feelings about pseudo-Cyrillic.

Resources:

“How the US made affordable homes illegal” by Jerusalem Demsas (Vox Media; Aug 17, 2021)

“Building housing — lots of it — will lay the foundation for a new future” by Matt Yglesias (Vox Media; Sep 23, 2020)

“The true story of America’s sky-high prescription drug prices” by Sarah Kliff (Vox Media; May 10, 2018)

"The real reason American health care is so expensive" by Liz Scheltens, Mallory Brangan, and Ezra Klein (Vox Media; Dec 1, 2017)

White Paper: “Cost Disease Socialism: How Subsidizing Costs While Restricting Supply Drives America’s Fiscal Imbalance” by Steven Teles, Samuel Hammond, Daniel Takash (Niskanen Center; Sep 9, 2021)

Guest:

Ezra Klein (@ezraklein), Columnist, The New York Times

Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff), Investigative Reporter, The New York Times

Host:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits:

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Producer & Engineer

Erikk Geannikis, Producer, Talk Podcasts

Sofi LaLonde, Producer, The Weeds

Efim Shapiro, Engineer

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.

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

About Vox

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us: Vox.com

Facebook group: The Weeds

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

The Weeds Will Live Forever Sep 14, 2021

Show notes

Matt, Dara, Jerusalem, and German use Matt’s last Tuesday episode to discuss life expectancy in the US. They explore paternalistic policy decisions, the misnomer of “deaths of despair,” and the longevity of The Weeds. US life expectancy is compared to that of European and Asian nations, and the US numbers are disaggregated and examined up close.

Resources:

“Why Americans Die So Much” by Derek Thompson (The Atlantic; Sep 12, 2021)

“Inequality in Mortality between Black and White Americans by Age, Place, and Cause, and in Comparison to Europe, 1990-2018” by Hannes Schwandt et al. (NBER; Sep 2021)

“The Great Divide: Education, Despair and Death” by Anne Case and Angus Deaton (NBER; Sep 2021)

The Insider by Michael Mann (Touchstone Pictures; 1999)

“Immigration and improvements in American life expectancy” by Arun S. Hendi and Jessica Y. Ho (Science Direct; Sep 2021)

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), Policy Reporter, Vox

German Lopez (@germanrlopez), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Producer & Engineer

Erikk Geannikis, Producer, Talk Podcasts

Sofi LaLonde, Producer

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.

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

About Vox

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us: Vox.com

Facebook group: The Weeds

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

The Federal Reserve's regulatory issues Sep 10, 2021

Show notes

Matt is joined by Mike Konczal, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis and Progressive Thought at the Roosevelt Institute and author of Freedom From the Market. They explore Jerome Powell’s tenure as Fed Chair, the relationship between interest rates and unemployment numbers, and ways to use monetary policy to create an equitable society.

Resources:

“Fed Up” by Matthew Yglesias (Democracy Journal; Spring 2011)

“Disparities in Wealth by Race and Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances” by Neil Bhutta et al. (The Federal Reserve; Sep 28, 2020

Guest:

Mike Konczal (@rortybomb), Director, Roosevelt Institute Macroeconomic Analysis and Progressive Thought, Author, Freedom From the Market

Host:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits:

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Producer & Engineer

Erikk Geannikis, Producer, Talk Podcasts

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.

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

About Vox

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us: Vox.com

Facebook group: The Weeds

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

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