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**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:

An A.I. wrote this title Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

Vox's Kelsey Piper joins Matt to talk about the future of artificial intelligence and AI research. Should AI research be more heavily regulated, or banned? What kind of future will the continued development of AI bring us? Will AI turn out to be more like Skynet, or... like Philip Morris?

Resources:

"The case for taking AI seriously as a threat to humanity" by Kelsey Piper, Vox/Future Perfect (Updated Oct. 15, 2020)

Guest:

Kelsey Piper (@KelseyTuoc), Staff Writer, Vox

Host:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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.

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The right to vote, constrained Mar 10, 2021

Show notes

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox Senior Correspondent Ian Millhiser to talk through the several ongoing legal challenges being initiated by the GOP to curtail and hinder the right to vote in America. They talk through what has become of the Voting Rights Act, H.R. 1, as well as landmark Supreme Court cases of the past few decades — including the ones yet to be decided. Then, some research is discussed that examines the effect of private equity on nursing home patient welfare. Spoiler alert: Matt glimpses the abyss.

Resources:

"The new Republican war on voting rights, explained" by Ian Millhiser, Vox (Mar. 9, 2021)

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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

Facebook's shadow court Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

Kate Klonick, law professor at St. John's University, joins Matt to talk about her investigation into Facebook's secret content moderation board. She talks about her inside-Silicon-Valley reporting, the problems of regulating content in general, and why Facebook both is and is not like a newsstand.

Resources:

"Inside the Making of Facebook's Supreme Court" by Kate Klonick, The New Yorker (Feb. 12, 2021)

"The New Governors: The People, Rules, and Processes Governing Online Speech" by Kate Klonick, Harvard Law Review (Mar. 2017)

Guest:

Kate Klonick (@Klonick), Assistant Professor of Law, St. John's University

Host:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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

How to destroy the suburbs Mar 03, 2021

Show notes

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox Politics and Policy Fellow Jerusalem Demsas to talk about how to take on America's housing problem, exclusionary and discriminatory zoning restrictions, message against NIMBYs, and ultimately, to sue and destroy the suburbs. Then, research is analyzed that confronts the effects of rising prescription drug prices on patient behavior.

Resources:

"America's racist housing rules really can be fixed" by Jerusalem Demsas, Vox (Feb. 17, 2021)

"How to convince a NIMBY to build more housing" by Jerusalem Demsas, Vox (Feb. 24, 2021)

"How George Floyd's death is fueling a push for affordable housing in mostly White parts of D.C." by Paul Schwartzmann, Washington Post (March 1, 2021)

"Homeowners and Opposition to Housing Development" by William Marble and Clayton Nall (Feb. 6, 2020)

"HUD can't fix exclusionary zoning by withholding CDBG funds" by Jenny Schuetz, Brookings (Oct. 15, 2018)

"Stuck! The Law and Economics of Residential Stability" by David Schleicher, Yale Law Journal (Vol. 127, 2017)

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGhee (2021)

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), Politics and Policy Fellow, Vox

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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

All organizing is local Feb 26, 2021

Show notes

Author, researcher, and University of Pittsburgh professor of history Lara Putnam sits down with Matt to talk about the structure of local progressive political organization. They talk about the recent history of these movements in the wake of the 2016 election, the effect of these groups on downballot races in Pennsylvania and nationally, and look to the future of these groups in the Biden era.

Resources:

"Democrats are surging in special elections, and that's not what we've been used to in recent years" by Daniel Donner, Daily Kos (Sept. 27, 2017)

"The Other Infrastructure Program: Progressive Organizing" by Lara Putnam, The American Prospect (Feb. 22, 2021)

"Let's Organize—and Not Scapegoat Leaders" by Michael Podhorzer, The American Prospect (Feb. 17, 2021)

"Organizing Power: Theda Skocpol and Caroline Tervo"

Guest:

Lara Putnam (@lara_putnam), UCIS Research Professor, University of Pittsburgh

Host:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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

Covid-$1.9T Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

Vox's Emily Stewart joins Matt and Dara to unpack what's in the Covid relief bill, now that it's out of committee. They talk about state & local relief, UI extensions, the $15 minimum wage, and why Congress is perma-hamstrung to effect real change. Plus, some research is analyzed about popular trading app Robin Hood, and its possible affect on stock prices.

Resources:

"The year that Congress just gave people money" by Dylan Matthews, Vox (Feb. 5, 2021)

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Emily Stewart (@EmilyStewartM), Business and Politics reporter, Vox

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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 problem of child care Feb 19, 2021

Show notes

Melissa Boteach of the National Women's Law Center joins Matt to have a discussion about the role of child care in the economy, which has been "made visible" in the Covid-19 pandemic, and exposed the economically marginalized care workers who perform this essential work in an industry on the verge of collapse.

Resources:

House Hearing on Child Care During COVID-19 (Feb. 19, 2021)

"How COVID-19 Relief for the Care Economy Fell Short in 2020" by Julie Kashen (Jan. 27, 2021)

"The COVID Relief Package Must Include Much-Needed Tax Credit Expansions for Women & Families" by Kathryn Menefee (Feb. 16, 2021)

"Undervalued: A Brief History of Women's Care Work and Child Care Policy in the United States" by Julie Vogtman (2017)

Guest:

Melissa Boteach (@mboteach), Vice President for Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning, National Women's Law Center

Host:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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 Antipope in Mar-a-Lago Feb 17, 2021

Show notes

Vox's Emily Stewart joins Matt and Dara to wonder about whether and how Trump may rear his head in politics again, and about the future of the Republican party (zombie Paul Ryanism, or dynastic Trumpism?). Plus, a new study about the EITC is examined that leads to a broader discussion about the role of "nudges."

Resources:

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Emily Stewart (@EmilyStewartM), Business and Politics reporter, Vox

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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

Rethinking immigration Feb 12, 2021

Show notes

Immigration advocate Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum joins Matt to discuss the future of immigration in America, including the oncoming "grey tsunami," the consequences of Trump's border and asylum policies, and the effects of the way we speak about immigration on immigration policy.

Resources:

"Room to Grow: Setting Immigration Levels in a Changing America" by Ali Noorani & Danilo Zak (Feb. 3, 2021)

One Billion Americans by Matt Yglesias (2020)

One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle over American Immigration, 1924-1965 by Jia Lynn Yang (2020)

Guest:

Ali Noorani (@anoorani), President & CEO, National Immigration Forum

Host:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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

What's happening with the stimulus? Feb 10, 2021

Show notes

White House reporter Ella Nilsen joins Matt and Dara to talk about the current state of the Covid-19 relief bill, and the implications of the debate for both Congress and the Biden Administration. Plus, research on the correlation between SNAP benefit timing and college entrance exam scores.

Resources:

"The Senate vote-a-rama gets Democrats closer to approving Covid-19 relief on their own" by Li Zhou & Ella Nilsen, Vox (Feb. 4, 2021)

"The Biden stimulus is admirably ambitious. But it brings some risks, too." by Larry Summers, Washington Post (Feb. 4, 2021)

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Ella Nilsen (@ella_nilsen), White House reporter, Vox

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and 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

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