Explain It to Me
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Explain It to Me episodes

  • The problem of child care

    Melissa Boteach of the National Women's Law Center joins Matt to have a discussion about the role of child care in the economy, which has been "made visible" in the Covid-19 pandemic, and exposed the economically marginalized care workers who perform this essential work in an industry on the verge of collapse.


    Resources:

    House Hearing on Child Care During COVID-19 (Feb. 19, 2021)

    "How COVID-19 Relief for the Care Economy Fell Short in 2020" by Julie Kashen (Jan. 27, 2021)

    "The COVID Relief Package Must Include Much-Needed Tax Credit Expansions for Women & Families" by Kathryn Menefee (Feb. 16, 2021)

    "Undervalued: A Brief History of Women's Care Work and Child Care Policy in the United States" by Julie Vogtman (2017)


    Guest:

    Melissa Boteach (@mboteach), Vice President for Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning, National Women's Law Center


    Host:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    47 min
  • The Antipope in Mar-a-Lago

    Vox's Emily Stewart joins Matt and Dara to wonder about whether and how Trump may rear his head in politics again, and about the future of the Republican party (zombie Paul Ryanism, or dynastic Trumpism?). Plus, a new study about the EITC is examined that leads to a broader discussion about the role of "nudges."


    Resources:

    White paper


    Hosts:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

    Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

    Emily Stewart (@EmilyStewartM), Business and Politics reporter, Vox


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    56 min
  • Rethinking immigration

    Immigration advocate Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum joins Matt to discuss the future of immigration in America, including the oncoming "grey tsunami," the consequences of Trump's border and asylum policies, and the effects of the way we speak about immigration on immigration policy.


    Resources:

    "Room to Grow: Setting Immigration Levels in a Changing America" by Ali Noorani & Danilo Zak (Feb. 3, 2021)

    One Billion Americans by Matt Yglesias (2020)

    One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle over American Immigration, 1924-1965 by Jia Lynn Yang (2020)


    Guest:

    Ali Noorani (@anoorani), President & CEO, National Immigration Forum


    Host:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    53 min
  • What's happening with the stimulus?

    White House reporter Ella Nilsen joins Matt and Dara to talk about the current state of the Covid-19 relief bill, and the implications of the debate for both Congress and the Biden Administration. Plus, research on the correlation between SNAP benefit timing and college entrance exam scores.


    Resources:

    "The Senate vote-a-rama gets Democrats closer to approving Covid-19 relief on their own" by Li Zhou & Ella Nilsen, Vox (Feb. 4, 2021)

    "The Biden stimulus is admirably ambitious. But it brings some risks, too." by Larry Summers, Washington Post (Feb. 4, 2021)

    White paper


    Hosts:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

    Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

    Ella Nilsen (@ella_nilsen), White House reporter, Vox


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    58 min
  • The future of remote work

    Economist Adam Ozimek from Upwork joins Matt to discuss the future of remote work, post-pandemic. They discuss the implications for migration, local governance, and the elusive concept of work/life balance.

    Resources:

    "Economist Report: Future Workforce" by Adam Ozimek (Dec. 2020)


    Guest:

    Adam Ozimek (@ModeledBehavior), Chief Economist, Upwork


    Host:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    57 min
  • Where are the vaccines?

    Vox Senior Correspondent German Lopez joins Matt and Dara to discuss what went — and is still going — wrong with vaccine distribution, as well as to talk through some new research about the effects of implementing eviction moratoria on the spread of Covid-19.


    Resources:

    "What Biden can do to fix America's Covid-19 vaccine mess" by German Lopez, Vox (Jan. 22, 2021)

    "'We crushed it': How did West Virginia become a national leader in Covid vaccination?" by Laura Strickler and Lisa Cavazuti, NBC News (Jan. 31, 2021)

    White paper


    Hosts:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

    Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

    German Lopez (@germanrlopez), Senior Correspondent, Vox


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    1 hr 4 min
  • Filibusted

    Matt is joined by author Molly Reynolds of the Brookings Institution to talk about the intricacies of the Senate filibuster, budget reconciliation, and the Byrd rule, with a view toward the prospect of getting legislation through a divided Senate.

    Resources:

    U.S. Senate rules on filibuster and cloture

    "The history of the filibuster" by Sarah Binder, Brookings

    Exceptions to the Rule: The Politics of Filibuster Limitations in the U.S. Senate by Molly E. Reynolds (2017).


    Guest:

    Molly Reynolds (@mollyereynolds), Senior Fellow, Brookings


    Host:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    1 hr 7 min
  • Biden's immigration shuffle

    Vox Senior Correspondent German Lopez joins Matt and Dara to discuss some of the motivations, obstacles, and oppositions to the Biden administration's early signals on immigration policy, as well as a white paper on a natural experiment in the effects of a reduction in the number of police staff on crime.


    Resources:

    "Biden's sweeping immigration bill, explained" by Nicole Narea, Vox (Jan. 20, 2021)

    "Biden's flurry of first-day executive actions, explained" by German Lopez, Vox (Jan. 20, 2021)

    UPDATE: "A Texas judge just blocked Biden's 100-day pause on deportations" by Nicole Narea, Vox (Jan. 26, 2021)

    White paper


    Hosts:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

    Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

    German Lopez (@germanrlopez), Senior Correspondent, Vox


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    1 hr
  • Freedom from markets

    Matt is joined by author Mike Konczal, Director of Progressive Thought at the Roosevelt Institute, and author of the new book Freedom from the Market. They talk about the past, present, and future of public affordances in America, and discuss the shifts in political imagination that could inaugurate a new era of public programs in the earnest interest of benefitting Americans.

    Resources:

    Mike's new book, Freedom from the Market: America's Fight to Liberate Itself from the Grip of the Invisible Hand, on sale here.

    Read an excerpt: "When Medicare Helped Kill Jim Crow" by Mike Konczal, The Nation (Jan. 19, 2021).


    Guest:

    Mike Konczal (@rortybomb), Director, Progressive Thought, Roosevelt Institute


    Host:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    1 hr 1 min
  • Biden's rescue plan

    Vox business and politics reporter Emily Stewart joins Matt and Dara to unpack what's in Biden's giant stimulus package, and to examine how the new Congress will handle the massive imperatives of economic recovery, on the eve of the commencement of the Biden administration.

    Resources:

    "Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 stimulus plan, explained" by Emily Stewart, Vox (Jan. 14, 2021)

    "Legislative Process 101 — The Senate's Byrd Rule"

    White paper


    Hosts:

    Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

    Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

    Emily Stewart (@EmilyStewartM), Business and Politics Reporter, Vox


    Credits:

    Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer.


    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.

    Follow Us: Vox.com

    Facebook group: The Weeds

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

    56 min

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