Explain It to Me

Latest Episodes:

Colin Kaepernick, the most important election issue in the world Sep 07, 2018

Show notes

Jane, Dara, and Matt get ready for some football. References and further reading: Jane's explainer of the NFL protests Jane's piece on Nike's new "Just Do It" campaign Jane's piece "Nike has made billions selling rebellion to young people"

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

What’s at stake in the midterms Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

Jane, Dara, and Matt kick off the unofficial beginning of campaign season by asking what happens if Democrats win in November and what if they lose? References and further reading: Matt's piece on the House Republican list of investigations that could happen if Dems win David Mayhew's Divided We Govern, mentioned by Matt Dara's piece on where DACA stands now

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

America picked a lousy time to turn its back on refugees Aug 31, 2018

Show notes

In an unexpectedly globe-hopping episode of The Weeds, Dara and Worldly co-host Zack Beauchamp examine the ripple effects of Trump’s America First attitude toward the refugee crisis. References and further reading: Politico article about how the Trump administration is slow walking refugee resettlement for 2018 with rumors of even lower levels for 2019 Trump's turn away from global leadership on refugee issues The disqualifying comments of Trump's nominee to lead the International Organization for Migration BBC piece on the regional Venezuelan conflict Zack's Today, Explained episode about Hungary Washington Post piece about the dire situation in Syria right now NY Times piece on Trump ending funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency Dara's Worldly episode

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

John McCain vs. the idea of John McCain Aug 28, 2018

Show notes

Vox politics editor Laura McGann joins Dara and Matt to talk about John McCain's legacy and Donald Trump's response to his death, then Dara and Matt tackle a white paper that looks at the connection between financial decisions and partisanship. References and further reading: Matt's piece about John McCain's death Laura's piece on John McCain's ties to Sarah Palin Ryan Lizza's piece on the 2013 immigration plan, mentioned by Dara White paper: Partisanship and Risky Financial Decisions

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

The art of the squeal Aug 24, 2018

Show notes

Jane, Dara, and Matt talk about Paul Manafort’s guilty verdict, Michael Cohen’s guilty plea, and what comes next for Donald Trump. References and further reading: Dara's piece about Donald Trump's tweets and what they say about his relationship with Manafort and Cohen Matt's piece about Trump's Fox & Friends interview Jane's piece on how the right is spinning the Cohen and Manafort news Ken White's tweet thread, mentioned by Dara

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

Elizabeth Warren’s plan to save/destroy capitalism Aug 21, 2018

Show notes

Dara, Ezra, and Matt discuss a big idea to make the economy great again. References and further reading: Matt's piece on Elizabeth Warren's corporate accountability bill Matt's piece on Kevin Williamson's attack on Warren's accountability bill The Varieties of Capitalism, book mentioned by Matt David Ciepley's writing on corporations, mentioned by Dara Dylan Matthews' piece on co-determination , mentioned by Ezra Sam Hammond's piece on Warren's bill, mentioned by Ezra and Dara Aaron Klein's analysis of Warren's accountability plan, mentioned by Ezra

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

We’re not gonna pay rent Aug 17, 2018

Show notes

Jane Coaston joins Matt and Dara to talk about exploding housing costs in America’s coastal cities and what we can do about them. References and further reading: Jeff Stein's piece on rent and housing

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

Lordy, Omarosa has tapes Aug 14, 2018

Show notes

Emily Stewart joins Dara and Matt to talk about the perhaps-unbelievable book everyone’s talking about, and the dysfunctional White House that spawned it. References and further reading: Emily's piece on Omarosa's recording of John Kelly Emily's highlights from Omarosa's book Unhinged Maggie Haberman tweet confirming that earlier secret White House tapings were not Omarosa, mentioned by Dara White paper "Unemployment, Temporary Work, and Subjective Well-Being: The Gendered Effect of Spousal Labor Market Insecurity"

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

#FakeScience Aug 10, 2018

Show notes

Senior health correspondent Julia Belluz and science reporter Brian Resnick join Dara and Matt to discuss the replication crisis in scientific studies. References and further reading: Brian's piece on the marshmallow test John P. A. Ioannidis' "Most Published Research Findings Are False," mentioned by Julia Scientists tired to replicate 100 psychological studies, 40% passed, mentioned by Brian Scientists also tried to replicate 100 economic studies, 60% passed Vox's survey of 270 scientists about the biggest problems in science, mentioned by Brian Julia's piece on Amy Cuddy and power posing NY Times magazine feature on Amy Cuddy, mentioned by Dara Julia's piece on 'big paper towels' campaign against hand dryers Mars chocolate study, mentioned by Julia

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

The Great Twitter Wars of 2018 Aug 07, 2018

Show notes

Jane Coaston and Dylan Matthews join Ezra to discuss the Sarah Jeong fracas, the Ben Shapiro-Mark Duplass meltdown, the problems with Twitter, the ways partisan dehumanize each other, and more. References and further reading: The context for Sarah Jeong's "goblins" tweet The context for Sarah Jeong's "cut white people" tweet German Lopez's piece on what makes people less racist Brian Resnick's piece on reducing prejudice William F. Buckley supporting segregation Zack Beauchamp's piece in defense of Sarah Jeong Ezra's demographics piece David French's piece on Sarah Jeong W.E.B Du Bois' The Soul's of Black Folks Ashley Jardina's Washington Post piece on white identity Jamelle Bouie's newsletter Political Tribes by Amy Chua Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? by Dr. Martin Luther King White paper Party Animals? Party Identity and Dehumanization That time Dylan got owned on Twitter by Sen. Ben Sasse

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