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 future of remote work Feb 05, 2021

Show notes

Economist Adam Ozimek from Upwork joins Matt to discuss the future of remote work, post-pandemic. They discuss the implications for migration, local governance, and the elusive concept of work/life balance.

Resources:

"Economist Report: Future Workforce" by Adam Ozimek (Dec. 2020)

Guest:

Adam Ozimek (@ModeledBehavior), Chief Economist, Upwork

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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Facebook group: The Weeds

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Where are the vaccines? Feb 03, 2021

Show notes

Vox Senior Correspondent German Lopez joins Matt and Dara to discuss what went — and is still going — wrong with vaccine distribution, as well as to talk through some new research about the effects of implementing eviction moratoria on the spread of Covid-19.

Resources:

"What Biden can do to fix America's Covid-19 vaccine mess" by German Lopez, Vox (Jan. 22, 2021)

"'We crushed it': How did West Virginia become a national leader in Covid vaccination?" by Laura Strickler and Lisa Cavazuti, NBC News (Jan. 31, 2021)

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

German Lopez (@germanrlopez), 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

Filibusted Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

Matt is joined by author Molly Reynolds of the Brookings Institution to talk about the intricacies of the Senate filibuster, budget reconciliation, and the Byrd rule, with a view toward the prospect of getting legislation through a divided Senate.

Resources:

U.S. Senate rules on filibuster and cloture

"The history of the filibuster" by Sarah Binder, Brookings

Exceptions to the Rule: The Politics of Filibuster Limitations in the U.S. Senateby Molly E. Reynolds (2017).

Guest:

Molly Reynolds (@mollyereynolds), Senior Fellow, Brookings

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

Biden's immigration shuffle Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

Vox Senior Correspondent German Lopez joins Matt and Dara to discuss some of the motivations, obstacles, and oppositions to the Biden administration's early signals on immigration policy, as well as a white paper on a natural experiment in the effects of a reduction in the number of police staff on crime.

Resources:

"Biden's sweeping immigration bill, explained" by Nicole Narea, Vox (Jan. 20, 2021)

"Biden's flurry of first-day executive actions, explained" by German Lopez, Vox (Jan. 20, 2021)

UPDATE: "A Texas judge just blocked Biden's 100-day pause on deportations" by Nicole Narea, Vox (Jan. 26, 2021)

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

German Lopez (@germanrlopez), 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

Freedom from markets Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

Matt is joined by author Mike Konczal, Director of Progressive Thought at the Roosevelt Institute, and author of the new book Freedom from the Market. They talk about the past, present, and future of public affordances in America, and discuss the shifts in political imagination that could inaugurate a new era of public programs in the earnest interest of benefitting Americans.

Resources:

Mike's new book, Freedom from the Market: America's Fight to Liberate Itself from the Grip of the Invisible Hand, on sale here.

Read an excerpt: "When Medicare Helped Kill Jim Crow" by Mike Konczal, The Nation (Jan. 19, 2021).

Guest:

Mike Konczal (@rortybomb), Director, Progressive Thought, Roosevelt Institute

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

Biden's rescue plan Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

Vox business and politics reporter Emily Stewart joins Matt and Dara to unpack what's in Biden's giant stimulus package, and to examine how the new Congress will handle the massive imperatives of economic recovery, on the eve of the commencement of the Biden administration.

Resources:

"Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 stimulus plan, explained" by Emily Stewart, Vox (Jan. 14, 2021)

"Legislative Process 101 — The Senate's Byrd Rule"

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.

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 Next Four Years: Fighting tech monopolies Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

Matt is joined by antitrust and competition policy expert Charlotte Slaiman to discuss the ongoing antitrust cases against Google and Facebook, the basics of antitrust litigation, and their outlook for the future of regulatory efforts to rein in the power of Big Tech through pro-competition policy.

Resources:

"Only Regulation Can Jumpstart Competition in Big Tech" by Gene Kimmelman and Charlotte Slaiman, Fortune (July 16, 2019)

"FTC Sues Facebook for Illegal Monopolization" (December 9, 2020)

"Colorado Attorney General leads multistate lawsuit seeking to end Google's illegal monopoly in search market" (December 17, 2020)

Guest:

Charlotte Slaiman (@CharlottesWWWeb), Competition Policy Director, Public Knowledge

Host:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer.

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

Will the GOP be Q-pilled or Coup-pilled? Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Vox Senior Correspondent Zack Beauchamp joins Matt and Dara to discuss some of the potential political ramifications of the insurrection of 1/6/21, as well as what this event might portend for addressing questions of police reform.

Resources:

"Capitol police officer praised as hero for diverting mob from Senate chamber" by Randi Richardson, NBC News (Jan. 11, 2021)

"I experienced the heinous assault on Capitol; now, time to face reality" op-ed by Rep. Peter Meijer, Detroit News (Jan. 9, 2021)

"Outgoing Capitol Police chief: House, Senate security officials hamstrung efforts to call in National Guard" by Carol D. Loennig, Aaron C. Davis, Peter Hermann and Karoun Demirjian, Washington Post (Jan. 10, 2021)

"Several Capitol police officers suspended, more than a dozen under investigation over actions related to rally, riot" by Aaron C. Davis, Rebecca Tan and Beth Reinhard, Washington Post (Jan. 11, 2021)

"What the police really believe" by Zack Beauchamp, Vox (July 7, 2020)

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer.

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

Unemployment Insurance in the pandemic, and beyond Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

Matt is joined by Employ America policy advisor Elizabeth Pancotti for a detailed discussion about unemployment insurance. They take on the recent expansion of the benefits, explain some of the difficulties in distributing them, and outline a possible road toward meaningful reform.

Resources:

"Bennet Unveils Sweeping Proposal to Strengthen Unemployment Insurance Amidst Coronavirus Pandemic" (March 24, 2020)

Guest:

Elizabeth Pancotti (@ENPancotti), policy advisor, Employ America

Host:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer

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

America's vaccine distribution needs a shot in the arm Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

Umair Irfan joins Dara and Matt to discuss some challenges and obstacles to prioritization and distribution of the Covid vaccine, in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Resources:

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Umair Irfan (@umairfan), Science Reporter, Vox

Credits:

Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer

The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production

Want to support The Weeds? Please make 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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