Explain It to Me

Latest Episodes:

Nobody has babies anymore (except Sarah) May 22, 2018

Show notes

Sarah and Matt talk about America’s rapidly falling birthrate, and a study on the long-term benefit of the 1980s Medicaid expansion. References and further reading: National Center for Health Statistics report on declining birth rates Vox's Julia Belluz's piece on the low birthrate trend NPR piece on the CDC report on declining fertility rates in the U.S. Sarah's piece on why teen births are declining Lyman Stone paper Sarah mentioned arguing that government interventions don't boost fertility NY Times piece Matt referenced on American women having fewer children then they'd like Dylan Matthew's piece explaining the child allowance plan The white paper on Medicaid coverage and economic mobility Converge with Casey Newton is a new conversational game show from The Verge. Listen to the first episode today, and subscribe wherever you're enjoying this podcast.

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Caught in the Intellectual Dark Web May 18, 2018

Show notes

Senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Dara and Matt to debate the “identity politics” backlash and the prospects for pluralism. References and further reading: Bari Weiss' piece on the 'intellectual dark web' Conor Friedersdorf's piece on how the left fuels the right's bigotry

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Drugs! (But not the fun kind) May 15, 2018

Show notes

Sarah, Dara and Matt discuss the the exorbitant cost of prescription drugs and a white paper that looks at the correlation between counties that vote Republican and the number of low and high-skilled immigrants living in those communities. References and further reading: Dylan Scott's piece on the price of prescription drugs mentioned by Sarah The white paper on 'The Political Impact of Immigration: Evidence from the United States'

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The many scandals of Michael Cohen May 11, 2018

Show notes

Vox.com senior political reporter Andrew Prokop joins Dara and Matt to explain the strange tale of Donald Trump’s lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who now seems to be in serious legal hot water. References and further reading: Andrew's piece on the corporations that hired Michael Cohen Andrew's piece on the Cohen's ties to Russia Andrew's Stormy Daniels explainer

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Did you read the memo about the TPS reports? May 08, 2018

Show notes

Sarah, Dara, and Matt analyze Trump’s drastic rollback of Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti and discuss new research on the never-ending “economic anxiety” debate. References and further reading: Dara's TPS explainer White paper on attitudes toward social change

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Should psychiatrists diagnose Trump? Should journalists? May 04, 2018

Show notes

Vox's science reporter Brian Resnick joins Dara and Sarah to talk about psychiatry's Goldwater Rule, which has never met a test like Donald Trump. References and further reading: Brian's piece on why Trump's fitness for office is not a medical question Brian's explainer on the Goldwater Rule Sharon Begley's article Trump's mental health mentioned by Sarah Sarah's piece on fax machines Dara's piece on why the palace intrigue stuff matters to Trump

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What if the government guaranteed everyone a job? May 01, 2018

Show notes

Vox's Dylan Matthews joins Sarah and Matt to break down the jobs guarantee debate and discuss research on a promising school desegregation initiative undermined by racist police practices. References and further reading Dylan's jobs guarantee explainer (with links to Stephanie Kelton's writing) Dylan's explainer of Sen. Cory Booker's jobs guarantee proposal (with links to Darrick Hamilton and Sandy Darity's writing) Bryce Covert's piece on the case for a jobs guarantee Gallup poll on workers getting a sense of identity from their jobs White paper on school integration "risks and benefits"

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Ambien for all, Ronny Jackson and the VA, explained Apr 27, 2018

Show notes

Congressional reporter Ella Nilsen makes her Weeds debut joining Sarah and Matt to break down the botched nomination at the Veterans’ Administration, they also address the questions around the troubled agency’s future. References and further reading: Sarah's piece on the Ronny Jackson scandal Ella's piece on the controversy surrounding Jackson's nomination CNN piece on Ronny Jackson's alleged 'grab-and-go' clinic NY Times piece on the concierge emergency room

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Speaker Ryan had a farm bill (E-I-E-I-O) Apr 24, 2018

Show notes

Sarah, Dara and Matt discuss a Republican farm bill that would impose work requirements on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) beneficiaries. Then they turn to a white paper on OxyContin and the heroin epidemic. References and further reading: Good Politico article summarizing the farm bill Marion Nestle's piece on the farm bill White paper on OxyContin's impact on the heroin epidemic German Lopez's piece on the OxyContin white paper

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Boiling the frogs of war Apr 20, 2018

Show notes

Zack Beauchamp joins Dara and Matt to explain the ever-expanding 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force and Trump's even more expansive legal rationale for bombing Syria. References and further reading: Vox's history of the AUMF A primer on the legal dispute in Doe v. Mattis Chesney primer on the Corker-Kaine Draft AUMF Who is Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben?

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