Explain It to Me

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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:

Tucker Carlson vs the free market Jan 11, 2019

Show notes

Jane, Dara, and Matt explain the argument over economic populism that’s roiling the conservative world

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Ask Weeds Anything Jan 08, 2019

Show notes

Matt, Sarah, and Dara take questions from our audience Book Recommendations: The Field of Blood by Joanne B. Freeman Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life by Kathleen Dalton Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou Stories: The 17 saddest moments of Jeb Bush’s very sad campaign by Dara Lind Despite congressional pressure, Amtrak can’t get its story straight on train-boarding rules by Matthew Yglesias Do No Harm by Sarah Kliff

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New year, no government Jan 04, 2019

Show notes

Dara, Jane, and Matt explain why a shutdown is not The Purge and delve into the all-important difference between slats, bollards, and walls

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Classic Weeds: The great white panic Jan 01, 2019

Show notes

Jane Coaston joins Dara, Ezra, and Matt to talk about the racial panic tearing America apart and also salt. References and further reading: Ezra's piece on the changing demographics in America Identity Crisis book mentioned by Ezra Salt white paper This episode is a rebroadcast from July of 2018.

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The Weeds Year-End Spectacular Dec 28, 2018

Show notes

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt share what they learned in 2018, predictions for 2019, and their favorite research of the year. Links: Matt's white paper pick Sarah's white paper pick Ezra's white paper pick Sarah’s ER opus Ezra on white threat

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Congress actually did something important Dec 21, 2018

Show notes

Jane, Dara, and Matt analyze the substance and political context of the big bipartisan criminal justice reform bill. References and further reading: German Lopez explains the First Step Act Jane’s piece on Kanye West’s meeting with President Trump James Forman Jr. examines why many African American leaders supported the war on crime

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Bernie and Biden and Beto, oh my! Dec 18, 2018

Show notes

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt decide it’s not too soon to start talking about the 2020 election. Plus — Obamacare litigation forever! References and further reading: Matt’s explainer on the Democratic field for 2020 Matt’s piece on Joe Biden’s policy ideas A previous episode of The Weeds on the Obamacare lawsuit Ezra’s piece on the Texas ruling against Obamacare

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A big, beautiful podcast about the border wall Dec 14, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Dara, and Jane discuss what happens when engineering crushes dreams. Links: For an in-depth read on the border wall, here's a great explainer. The GAO report Dara cited can be found here. And here's the Atlantic article that Matt mentioned about the ICE crackdown

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A Weeds farewell to Paul Ryan Dec 11, 2018

Show notes

Jane, Ezra, and Matt consider Paul Ryan’s legacy and new research on crime and the minimum wage. References and further reading: Ezra’s piece on House Speaker Paul Ryan’s legacy Matt’s essay following the announcement of Paul Ryan’s retirement Ted Cruz’s confusing tweet of Beto O’Rourke speaking on the shooting of Botham Jean A white paper examines the effects on criminal recidivism when states increase minimum wages Annie Lowrey’s piece in the Atlantic on a jobs guarantee

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Pod Save the US-Saudi alliance? Dec 07, 2018

Show notes

Special guest Tommy Vietor of Crooked Media’s Pod Save the World joins Dara and Matt to break down the anti-Saudi backlash sweeping Washington.

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