Explain It to Me

We did it, y’all – we made it to Election Day! And if you’re like us, tonight you’ll be glued to your TV and constantly refreshing Vox.com waiting for the returns to come in. We’re pretty used to knowing the winner that same night, but in 2020, we had to wait days before a winner was announced. So this got us thinking: How do news networks know when to make a call? And how has that changed through the years? We talked to three experts to find out.

References:

The 2022 midterm elections, explained

When will we know results in the 2022 midterm elections?

How elections are called and what “projected winner” means, explained (November 2020)

How we call races | AP

EXPLAINER: Why do the media call races in US elections? | AP News

Hosts:

Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer

Cristian Ayala, engineer 

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

A.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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With only a week to go until the US midterm elections, inflation is the issue at the top of most voters’ minds. As Democrats and Republicans make their cases for who can get prices to come down, one thing remains true: High prices are not going to go away overnight. Economists Mike Konczal (@rortybomb) of the Roosevelt Institute and Michael Strain (@MichaelRStrain) of the American Enterprise Institute discuss how we got here and the least painful way out of this.

References:

Is the cure for inflation worse than the disease?

Today, Explained: The devil’s bargain on inflation

To beat inflation, the Fed might have to trigger a recession

What aren't we doing to fix inflation? 

Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Won’t Make Inflation Worse—Even If It Adds $400 Billion To Deficit, Goldman Says 

Hosts:

Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill) 

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer

Efim Shapiro, engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

A.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts 

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

Midterm elections are around the corner, and while voters are concerned about the economy, inflation, and abortion, there’s one other issue jumping to the top of the list: crime. Rising crime comes up in campaigns like clockwork, but during this election season, it's making a particular mark on two key Senate races: Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Vox’s Nicole Narea (@nicolenarea) and Li Zhou (@liszhou) explain.

References:

The 2022 midterm elections, explained

2021 crime rates are a big mystery

Hosts:

Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill) 

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer

Efim Shapiro, engineer 

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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

The midterm elections are three weeks away, and candidates aren’t the only ones on the ballot. Voters across the country will decide new laws and policy through ballot initiatives, which can include proposals like legalizing recreational marijuana, funding in-state college tuition, and raising taxes to fight climate change. But how do these issues get on the ballot in the first place, and will they stay there? Vox policy editor Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson) explains.

References:

The 2022 midterm elections, explained

Two states, two visions for the future of labor 

The states where the midterms will directly decide the future of abortion access 

New Mexico voters are set to weigh in on a constitutional ballot measure for early childhood education this November

Sample ballot lookup — Ballotpedia 

VOTE411 

Hosts:

Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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

The midterm elections are four weeks away. Senate control is on the line, and races in battleground states are tightening. Few things say “close election” like an October surprise. The one getting the latest buzz this election cycle comes from Georgia, courtesy of Republican senatorial candidate Herschel Walker. Vox politics reporter Li Zhou (@liszhou) explains the race, and Rutgers professor David Greenberg (@republicofspin) tells us the origin of the October surprise.

References:

Herschel Walker is an epically flawed candidate. He could still win. 

Hosts:

Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

A.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

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

Pollsters are starting to panic. There’s headline after headline after headline ahead of the midterms on whether this election cycle’s polling is accurate or not. How does polling actually work? Is it really representative of how voters are feeling and what the outcome will be on Election Day? And when it comes to Democrats, why is polling so wrong? Amy Walter, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, explains why polls are complicated, lessons to learn from past elections, and what we could expect this November.

References:

Which Midterm Polls Should We Be Taking With a Grain of Salt?

Pollsters fear they’re blowing it again in 2022

Hosts: Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

A.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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

US immigration policy is complicated. And when Republican Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis chartered buses and planes to relocate migrants to “blue cities,” it raised a ton of legal questions. But it also ignited the age-old question about our immigration system: Why is it so complicated? Weeds veteran Dara Lind (@DLind) explains.

References:

Why Ron DeSantis is baiting Biden on the border 

Opinion | Ron DeSantis Is Making an Asylum Crisis of His Own

Host:

Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill), Vox senior producer 

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

A.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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For the September issue of The Highlight, the Vox politics team examined the fastest growing voting bloc in the country: Latino voters. But the 32 million voters that make up the Latino electorate are not a monolithic group. In today’s episode, we’ll look at the intricacies and nuances of the Latino voting bloc and what might happen in the 2022 midterm elections.

References:

Ruben Gallego's ready for a fight — even if the Democratic Party isn't 

Yes, most Latinos are Christian. No, that doesn't make them anti-abortion. 

Latino voters are being flooded with even more misinformation in 2022 

The full September issue of The Highlight from Vox

Hosts:

Marin Cogan (@marincogan), senior correspondent

Christian Paz (@realcpaz), senior politics reporter

Nicole Narea (@nicolenarea), politics reporter

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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How do we make life better for future generations? Who gets to make those decisions? These are tough questions, and today’s guest, philosopher William MacAskill (@willmacaskill), tries to help us answer them.

References: 

What We Owe the Future by William MacAskill

Effective altruism's most controversial idea 

How effective altruism went from a niche movement to a billion-dollar force

Effective altruism’s longtermist goals for the future don’t hurt people in the present 

Hosts:

Bryan Walsh (@bryanrwalsh)

Sigal Samuel (@sigalsamuel)

Credits:

Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer

Libby Nelson, editorial adviser

A.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

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

Today on The Weeds, we are sharing an episode of another Vox podcast, Unexplainable, that originally aired in June 2022. 

Millions of Americans take dietary supplements — everything from vitamins and minerals to weight-loss pills and probiotics. But because supplements are loosely regulated in the US, their makers don't have to prove that they work, or even that they are safe.

Full transcript available here.

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