Explain It to Me

Matt is joined by Vox's Libby Nelson and Jerusalem Demsas for a conversation about the rising cost of master’s programs, their usefulness in today’s economy, and their role as federally subsidized job training. Matt, Libby, and Jerusalem reflect on their varied educational paths and discuss the effectiveness of student loan forgiveness for higher ed. This week’s white paper illuminates the downstream consequences of raising pollution standards for battery recycling in the United States.

“‘Financially Hobbled for Life’: The Elite Master’s Degrees That Don’t Pay Off” by Melissa Korn and Andrea Fuller (The Wall Street Journal; July 8, 2021)

The Masters Trap, Part Two, Part Three by Anne Helen Peterson (Culture Studies; July 2021)

“Graduate programs have become a cash cow for struggling colleges. What does that mean for students?” by Jon Marcus (PBS Newshour; September 18, 2017)

“Master’s degree programs surge at nation’s colleges and universities” by Nick Anderson (The Washington Post; May 25, 2013)

White Paper: “North-South Displacement Effects of Environmental Regulation: The Case of Battery Recycling” (NBER; August 2021)

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson), Deputy Policy Editor

Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), Policy Reporter, Vox

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Producer & Engineer

Erikk Geannikis, Producer, Talk Podcasts

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.

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

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Matt is joined by reporter Spencer Ackerman, author of the new book Reign of Terror. Ackerman explains the ways in which America’s approach to domestic white terrorism differs from its approach to international threats. They discuss the treatment of Timothy McVeigh after the Oklahoma City bombing, and the way in which it primed the political and cultural response to 9/11 and the War on Terror. Ackerman also argues that the unlawful and immoral approach of the government laid the groundwork for Trump's presidency.

Reign of Terror by Spencer Ackerman (Penguin Random House; Aug 10, 2021)

The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins (Public Affairs; May 19, 2020)

"Second Inaugural Address" by George W. Bush (January 20, 2005)

State of Exception by Giorgio Agamben (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press; 2005)

Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman), author, reporter, and publisher of Forever Wars on Substack, contributing editor at the Daily Beast.

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Producer & Engineer

Erikk Geannikis, Producer, Talk Podcasts

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

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.

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Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's German Lopez for a conversation about student learning loss. They focus on the policy decisions that led to school shutdowns during the pandemic, the consequences for different demographics, and alternative solutions for future crises. In this week’s white, paper the concept of associating a monetary value with life is explored through re-enlistment bonuses paid out by the military.

“COVID-19 and education: The lingering effects of unfinished learning” by Emma Dorn, Bryan Hancock, Jimmy Sarakatsannis, and Ellen Viruleg (McKinsey & Company; July 27, 2021)

“Learning Loss and Educational Inequalities in Europe: Mapping the Potential Consequences of the COVID-19 Crisis” by Zsuzsa Blaskó, Patricia da Costa, and Sylke V. Schnepf (Institute of Labor Economics; April 2021)

“Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic” by Per Engzell, Arun Frey, and Mark D. Verhagen (PNAS; April 27, 2021)

“Is Summer Learning Loss Real?” by Paul T. von Hippel (Education Next; June 4, 2019)

White Paper: “The Heterogeneous Value of a Statistical Life: Evidence from U.S. Army Reenlistment Decisions” by Kyle Greenberg, et al. (NBER; July 2021)

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

German Lopez (@germanrlopez), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Producer & Engineer

Erikk Geannikis, Producer, Talk Podcasts

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

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.

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Matt is joined by author and CEO Suzanne Nossel for a discussion about how to reconcile a robust defense of free speech with the advancement of an inclusive and progressive society. They explore the risks associated with a censorious culture, and look at the effects on social media, retail, and school environments.

Dare to Speak by Suzanne Nossel (HarperCollins Dey Street; July 2020)

Suzanne Nossel (@SuzanneNossel), CEO, PEN America; author, Dare to Speak

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Producer & Engineer

Erikk Geannikis, Producer, Talk Podcasts

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

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.

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Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Jerusalem Demsas for a conversation about pre-K and day care programs. They discuss the impacts of pre-K programs on socioeconomics, diversity, and political behavior. Plus, some historical research is considered on a Norwegian program of rural education expansion.

"Exploring New Research on Pre-K Outcomes" by Adrienne Fischer, Tom Keily and Matt Weyer (Education Commission of The States; May 2020)

"Growing the Economy Through Affordable Child Care" by Rasheed Malik (Center for American Progress; May 24)

White paper: "The Making of Social Democracy: The Economic and Electoral Consequences of Norway’s 1936 Folk School Reform" (NBER; July 2021)

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), Policy Reporter, Vox

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Producer & Engineer

Erikk Geannikis, Producer, Talk Podcasts

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

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.

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Matt is joined by Liza Reed of the Niskanen Center to talk about energy policy, electricity transmission, and how America's complex system of power grids really function.

"Transmission Stalled: Siting Challenges for Interregional Transmission" by Liza Reed (April 14)

Summary of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPA)

Liza Reed (@LizaBevin), Research Manager, Low Carbon Technology Policy, Niskanen Center

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Erikk Geannikis (@erikk38), Producer

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Engineer

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

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.

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Facebook group: The Weeds

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Vox's Jerusalem Demsas joins Matt and Dara on a time machine trip back to a WW1-era Supreme Court decision that shaped land use policy, zoning, and racial discrimination in housing. Discussion of Buchanan (and the related Euclid case decided nine years later) leads our hosts to talk a lot about the interrelated histories of zoning and racism in twentieth-century America.

Buchanan v. Warley, 245 US 60 (1917)

Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Company, 272 US 365 (1926)

"The racial origins of zoning: Southern cities from 1910–1940" by Christopher Silver (Planning Perspectives; May 8, 2007)

"Prelude to Euclid: The United States Supreme Court and the Constitutionality of Land Use Regulation, 1900-1920" by Joseph Gordon Hylton (Washington University Journal of Law & Policy; January 2000)

"Race, Ethnicity, and Discriminatory Zoning" by Allison Shertzer, Tate Twinam, and Randall P. Walsh (NBER; 2018)

"The National Rise in Residential Segregation" by Trevon Logan & John Parman (NBER; Feb. 2015)

"The Impact of Zoning on Housing Affordability" by Edward L. Glaeser & Joseph Gyourko (NBER; March 2002)

American Society of Planning Officials Report on Rooming Houses (1957)

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), Policy reporter, Vox

Erikk Geannikis (@erikk38), Producer

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Engineer

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

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.

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Matt is joined by economist Julia Coronado to talk about inflation, markets, and employment in the pandemic recovery economy. They discuss housing, new and used car markets, and possible strategies toward achieving full employment.

"Economic Outlook and Risks to Inflation" by Julia Coronado (presentation to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Advisory Panel; April 9)

"Here's Who Will Be Left Behind in the Housing Boom" by Ali Wolf (New York Times; July 13)

Julia Coronado (@jc_econ), Founder and President, MacroPolicy Perspectives; Clinical Professor of Finance, UT Austin

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Erikk Geannikis (@erikk38), Producer

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Engineer

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

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.

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Vox's Li Zhou joins Dara and Matt for another spin in the time machine, to talk about the policy that shaped how immigration largely still works in America. They discuss the history and context of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (a.k.a. the Hart-Celler Act), and the previous discriminatory immigration policies that preceded it. Our hosts also discuss how this piece of legislation shaped — and still shapes — the way immigration in America takes place today.

One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965 by Jia Lynn Yang (W.W. Norton; 2021)

"Unintended Consequences of US Immigration Policy: Explaining the Post-1965 Surge from Latin America" by Douglas S Massey and Karen A. Pren (Popul Dev Rev.; 2012)

"Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065: Views of Immigration's Impact on U.S. Society Mixed" (Pew Research Center, 2015)

"Who Was Shut Out? Immigration Quotas, 1925-1927" (GMU/Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1929)

Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America by Mae M. Ngai (Princeton; 2014)

"Why income inequality is growing at the fastest rate among Asian Americans" by Natalie Zhang (CNBC; May 26)

The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee (Simon & Schuster; 2015)

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Li Zhou (@liszhou), Politics and policy reporter, Vox

Erikk Geannikis (@erikk38), Producer

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Engineer

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

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.

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Matt is joined by Education Week reporter and editor Andrew Ujifusa to talk about the ill-defined and somewhat facetious debate over critical race theory. But really, this conversation is about the schools, and all sorts of issues facing them: pandemic learning loss, re-opening plans, and the perennial debates over how best to serve all students, particularly students of color.

We are conducting an audience survey to better serve you. It takes about five minutes, and it really helps out the show. Please take our survey here: vox.com/survey

"'Stop CRT' Bill, Votes in Congress Add to Political Drama Over Critical Race Theory" by Andrew Ujifusa (Education Week; July 15)

"How to Manufacture a Moral Panic: Christopher Rufo helped incite an uproar over racism education with dramatic, dodgy reporting" by Sarah Jones (New York; July 11)

"Randi Weingarten Rips CRT Critics for 'Trying to Stop Us From Teaching Students Accurate History'" by John Nichols (The Nation; July 9)

Andrew Ujifusa (@AndrewUjifusa), Assistant Editor, Education Week

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Erikk Geannikis (@erikk38), Producer

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Engineer

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

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.

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Facebook group: The Weeds

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