View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

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:

Democratic convention special Aug 21, 2020

Show notes

Ezra and Matt stay up late to review Joe Biden's big speech and the Democrats' big week.

Resources:

"Obama’s Convention Speech Is the First Time I Have Seen Him Scared" by Jonathan Chait, NY Mag

"The tragedy of Hillary Clinton" by Ezra Klein, Vox

Hosts:

Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior correspondent, Vox

Ezra Klein (@ezraklein), Editor-at-large, Vox

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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

WTF is happening with USPS Aug 18, 2020

Show notes

Jane, Dara, and Matt on the health and history of the postal service, the political games being played, and what it means for November's election.

Resources:

"The Post Office Mess Is Meant to Exhaust You. Don’t Let It." by Charlie Warzel, New York Times

"On the Post Office 'sabotage'" by Jay Caruso, The Monday Notice

"Why We Should Love The Post Office" by Addison Del Mastro, The American Conservative

"USPS badly needs an overhaul, but not smack in the middle of the Trump-Biden campaign" by Paul Brandus, USA Today

"State officials rush to shore up confidence in Nov. 3 election as voters express new fears about mail voting" by Amy Gardner and Seung Min Kim, WaPo

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Statement

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Jane Coaston (@cjane87), Senior politics correspondent, Vox

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration reporter, ProPublica

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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

What the hell is the Republican party doing? Aug 14, 2020

Show notes

Ezra and Matt on Republican policy nihilism and the Kamala Harris pick.

Resources:

"Kamala Harris Is Biden’s Choice for Vice President" by Alexander Burns and Katie Glueck, NYT

"How inequality and white identity politics feed each other" with Paul Pierson and Jacob Hacker, Ezra Klein Show podcast

Hosts:

Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior correspondent, Vox

Ezra Klein (@ezraklein), Editor-at-large, Vox

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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

What is the economy, stupid? Aug 11, 2020

Show notes

Vox's Emily Stewart joins Dara and Jane to discuss the relationship between "the market" and the "real economy."

Resources:

"The Stock Market Is an Engine of Civic Destruction" by Libby Watson, New Republic

"Who gets to be reckless on Wall Street?" by Emily Stewart, Vox

Hosts:

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration reporter, ProPublica

Jane Coaston (@cjane87), Senior politics correspondent, Vox

Emily Stewart (@EmilyStewartM), Reporter, Vox

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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

Veepstakes Aug 07, 2020

Show notes

Ezra and Matt on Susan Rice, Kamala Harris, and Trump’s increasingly chaotic authoritarianism.

Resources:

"What we know about Joe Biden’s possible vice presidential picks" by Ella Nilsen, Vox

"Harris allies granted call with Biden campaign after Dodd blowup" by Christopher Cadelago & Natasha Korecki, Politico

"Think the world is on fire? Obama’s national security adviser says things are better than ever." by Zack Beauchamp, Vox

"How inequality is changing the Republican Party — and breaking American politics" by Ezra Klein, Vox

Hosts:

Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior correspondent, Vox

Ezra Klein (@ezraklein), Editor-at-large, Vox

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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 stimulus standoff Aug 04, 2020

Show notes

Jane, Dara, and Matt on the congressional deadlock over economic aid.

Resources:

"“The jobs aren’t there”: Why cutting off enhanced unemployment benefits would leave workers in the lurch" by Li Zhou, Vox

"Senate GOP Coronavirus Bill Has Some Good Provisions but Needs Serious Work" by Adam Michel, Rachel Greszler, Lindsey M. Burke, & Brian Finch, Heritage Foundation

"The Zombie Reaganism Trap" by Peter Spiliakos, National Review

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Jane Coaston (@cjane87), Senior politics correspondent, Vox

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration reporter, ProPublica

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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 Great Awokening Jul 31, 2020

Show notes

John McWhorter joins Matt to discuss the changing way we talk about racism in America.

Resources:

"“Latinx” is growing in popularity. I made a comic to help you understand why." by Terry Blas, Vox

"Racist Police Violence Reconsidered" by John McWhorter, Quillette

"The Virtue Signalers Won’t Change the World" by John McWhorter, The Atlantic

"The Dehumanizing Condescension of White Fragility" by John McWhorter, The Atlantic

"‘This Is How We Lost to the White Man’" by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic

"The Case for Reparations" by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic

Ibram X. Kendi wants to redefine racism, The Ezra Klein Show, VMPN

Guest:

John McWhorter (@JohnHMcWhorter), Professor at Columbia University / Host of the Lexicon Valley podcast, Slate

Hosts:

Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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

Trafficking, and trafficking panics Jul 28, 2020

Show notes

Dara, Jane, and Matt on Wayfair, massage parlors, and reality.

Resources:

"The modeling industry is filled with exploitation—this labor activist is fighting back" by Sara Ziff, Fast Company

"American Airlines Reportedly Accused a Black Social Worker of Kidnapping the White Child In Her Care. Now She's Suing." by Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason

"Sen. Josh Hawley Says He 'Took on an Asian Trafficking Ring' and 'Freed a Dozen Women in Sex Slavery.' That's Not True." by Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason

"Trump has turned the war on trafficking into a war on immigrants" by Melissa Gira Grant & Debbie Nathan, The Appeal

"ICE Agents Fight Sex Trafficking by Paying Potential Victims for Hand Jobs" Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason

"'White slavery': the origins of the anti-trafficking movement" by Laura Lammasniemi, Open Democracy

"Baltimore Mayor Says Men in White Vans Are Snatching Young Girls for Sex Trafficking" Lenore Skenazy, Reason

"The allure of child trafficking conspiracy theories" Ben Sixsmith, Spectator

"The Making of “The Trafcking Problem”" by Ine Vanwesenbeeck

"American Fringes: How the extremes define our society" by Nick Fouriezos

"The bogus claim that 300,000 U.S. children are ‘at risk’ of sexual exploitation" by Glenn Kessler, WaPo

Polaris Statement on Wayfair Sex Trafficking Claims

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Jane Coaston (@cjane87), Senior politics correspondent, Vox

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration reporter, ProPublica

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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 evidence on crime and policing Jul 24, 2020

Show notes

Texas A&M's Jennifer Doleac joins Matt to explain what we know (and don't know) about criminal justice.

Resources:

"How to Fix Policing" by Jennifer Doleac, Niskanen Center

"How to Make a Police Force More Diverse" by Jennifer Doleac, Bloomberg

"Changing Police Recruitment Messages Attracts a Larger and More Diverse Applicant Pool" by Jennifer Doleac, CCJ

"Making Fair and Respected Cops: Procedural Justice Training in Chicago Proves Successful" by Jennifer Doleac, CCJ

"Encouraging desistance from crime" by Jennifer Doleac

"The Unintended Consequences of “Ban the Box”: Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes When Criminal Histories Are Hidden" by Jennifer Doleac (Texas A&M) & Benjamin Hansen (Univ. or Oregon)

Guest:

Jennifer Doleac (@jenniferdoleac), Economics professor, Texas A&M / Host of the Probable Causation podcast

Hosts:

Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior correspondent, Vox

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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

Bad for the Jews? Jul 21, 2020

Show notes

Dara, Jane, and Matt on Nick Cannon, Louis Farrakhan, and antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Resources:

"The conspiracy theories behind the anti-Semitic violence in New York" by Jane Coaston, Vox

"Nick Cannon let go by ViacomCBS over anti-Semitic comments" by Lisa Respers France, CNN

"Calling out racism and anti-Semitism is a responsibility" by David Love, CNN

"Black Demagogues and Pseudo-Scholars" by Henry Louis Gates Jr., NYT

"July 20, 1992: Bias Is Poison" by Henry Louis Gates Jr., NYT

"Why Tamika Mallory Won’t Condemn Farrakhan" by Adam Serwer, The Atlantic

White paper

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Jane Coaston (@cjane87), Senior politics correspondent, Vox

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration reporter, ProPublica

Credits:

Jeff Geld, (@jeff_geld), 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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Explain It to Me

Hosts:

Credits:

Hosts:

Credits:

Hosts:

Credits:

Hosts:

Credits:

Hosts:

Credits:

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Explain It to Me

Hosts:

Credits:

Hosts:

Credits:

Hosts:

Credits:

Hosts:

Credits:

Hosts:

Credits:

Related Podcasts

1

2

3

4

5

6