Should I give up flying for the environment’s sake? Is it ethical to stay on Twitter and Facebook if I don’t like the owners’ politics? If a DNA test shows that my dad isn't my biological dad, should I tell him? There are no bad questions. But there are some that are really hard to answer. Those are the ones Vox senior reporter Sigal Samuel likes to tackle. This week on Explain It to Me, she tells host Jonquilyn Hill how she goes about answering your ethical and philosophical questions in her column, Your Mileage May Vary. 

This episode was made in partnership with Vox's Future Perfect team.

Have questions you can’t answer? Call Explain It to Me at 1-800-618-8545, or submit them here. 

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Sigal’s column, Your Mileage May Vary

You can’t optimize your way to being a good person

The Future Perfect newsletter

Share your quandaries with Sigal here 

Credits:

Jonquilyn Hill, host

Cristian Ayala, engineer

Caitlin PenzeyMoog, fact checker

Carla Javier, supervising producer

Jorge Just, editor

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After seeing someone make an illegal left turn, Mike joked to his daughter that they should do a citizen’s arrest. She had no idea what he was talking about, and now Mike wants to know: wait, are citizen’s arrests actually a real-life thing, or just something he saw on TV? And if they are real, how do they work? And what do they say about crime and policing in our country? This week on Explain It to Me, host Jonquilyn Hill talks to Stanford Law School professor David Sklansky to find out. He’s the author of the new book Criminal Justice in Divided America.

We want to know what’s on your mind! Call us at 1-800-618-8545 and leave us a voicemail with your name and your question — we may answer it in a future episode.

Credits:

Jonquilyn Hill, host

Patrick Boyd, engineer

Kim Eggleston, fact checker

Carla Javier, supervising producer

Jorge Just, editor

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When it gets cold outside, we get colds inside. We also get the flu. And RSV. And — lately — norovirus. We all know that washing our hands helps defend against illness. But with what? There’s too many kinds of soap, and not all of them will keep you healthy in every situation. Should you up the ante with antibacterial or does bar soap set the bar? This week on Explain It to Me, host Jonquilyn Hill breaks down the suds and bubbles with Vox senior reporter Keren Landman, MD. 

Read more:

Wait, should I bother using antibacterial soap?

You’ve never heard of the Covid booster with the fewest side effects

Put down that cough medicine

We want to answer your questions in future episodes. Call us at 1-800-618-8545, fill out this form, or send us an email at [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Credits:

Jonquilyn Hill, host

Sofi LaLonde, producer

Andrea Kristinsdottir, engineer

Caitlin PenzeyMoog, fact-checker

Carla Javier, supervising producer

Jorge Just, editor

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Cuffing season. Or is it? That’s the question Antares asked this week. She told her lovelorn friend he’ll have better luck on dating apps once the temperatures drop, but then she wondered… is that actually true? This week on Explain It to Me, host Jonquilyn Hill goes on a journey to find out if Cuffing Season is real. She speaks with artist Musa Murchison, Alison Gemmill of the Hopkins Population Center, Michael Kaye of OKCupid, and Devyn Simone of Tinder to find out.

We’re working on some great episodes, and want to answer more of your questions in the new year! Leave us a voicemail at 1-800-618-8545, fill out this form, or send us a voice memo at [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Credits:

Jonquilyn Hill, host and producer

Sofi LaLonde, producer

Cristian Ayala, engineer

Caitlin PenzeyMoog and Kim Eggleston, fact-checkers

Carla Javier, supervising producer

Jorge Just, editor

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Are hush puppies racist? Why do we celebrate weddings with a multi-tiered, super fancy, sometimes not particularly tasty, very expensive cake? Can a dairy-intolerant person actually drink a glass of A2 milk? 

These three questions came from listeners. Just not our listeners. They came to Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley, hosts of Gastropod, a show that investigates the history and science behind the foods we eat. Our host Jonquilyn Hill called them up to ask about the show, and play an episode from their Ask Gastropod series. 

Check out Gastropod.

Let us know what questions you want us to look into for future episodes of Explain It to Me: Call 1-800-618-8545, email us at [email protected], or fill out this form.

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Adulthood comes with a lot of perks: You can set your own bedtime or eat candy for breakfast. But there is at least one thing that’s easier to do as a kid: making friends. That’s why Claire called us this week — she’s moved to a new city and wants to know: How do adults make new friends? Jonquilyn Hill chats with Vox senior reporters Allie Volpe and Keren Landman, MD, who share some tools to break the ice and find friends who align with where you are in life right now.

And now it’s your turn. After listening to the episode, call us up and help answer this week’s question: What is your advice for making a new friend? Give us a call and tell us your story: 1-800-618-8545.

Read more:

Is making friends as an adult really hard, or is it just me?

These apps promise to help you make new friends. Could it work for me?

Bumble for Friends

Hey! VINA

Timeleft

Credits:

Jonquilyn Hill, host

Sofi LaLonde, producer

Cristian Ayala, engineer

Caitlin PenzeyMoog, fact-checker

Carla Javier, supervising producer

Jorge Just, editor

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Earlier this month, millions of voters got to pick a president: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. But what if we had a totally different kind of election system, one where you could rank a bunch of people you’d like as president, instead of being forced to choose between just two viable options? Listener William wants to know: Why hasn’t ranked-choice voting taken off? And could it be the fix for our super polarized politics? Jonquilyn Hill goes to Vox senior correspondent Dylan Matthews for some lunch ordering strategy, Hollywood trash talk, and, most importantly, answers.  

Is there something you’re dying to figure out? Send us your questions! Call 1-800-618-8545.

Read More:

Can ranking candidates fix elections?

Credits:

Jonquilyn Hill, host

Sofi LaLonde, producer

Cristian Ayala, engineer

Caitlin PenzeyMoog, fact checker

Carla Javier, supervising producer

Jorge Just and Natalie Jennings, editors

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Listener Piper called us up with this question, “Why do some people have a harder time than others distinguishing their left and right?”

When our friends at the Vox podcast Unexplainable heard it they were so intrigued that they created a whole game show around it and invited our very own Explain It to Me host Jonquilyn Hill to play along.

Why do some people struggle to tell their left from their right? What makes someone a lefty? And why does life have this weird rule about only having either left- or right-handed molecules? 

Check out Unexplainable wherever you get your podcasts.

If you have a question — something you’d like us to explain to you — give us a call at 1-800-618-8545. You can also send us your question here. 

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Wow, what a week. The country has a new president-elect, and our listeners have a ton of questions about what comes next. Why did Latino voters swing right? How will Democrats respond? What’s going to happen to Donald Trump’s court cases? Will Trump really do all the things he said he would during the campaign? Host Jonquilyn Hill sits down with Vox correspondents Christian Paz, Ian Millhiser, and Zack Beauchamp to answer all that and more.

Submit your questions — about politics, or, if you need a break, about anything else — by calling 1-800-618-8545. You can also submit them here.

Credits:

Jonquilyn Hill, host

Sofi LaLonde and Gabrielle Berbey, producers

Cristian Ayala, engineer

Carla Javier, supervising producer

Caity PenzeyMoog, Anouck Dussaud, and Sarah Schweppe, fact checkers

Jorge Just, Julia Longoria, and Natalie Jennings, editors 

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The US elections are officially upon us. And we have the Vox newsroom standing by to answer your questions and reflect on your experiences. All you have to do is ask! Leave a voicemail at 1-800-618-8545 or send a voice memo to [email protected] and check back here Friday morning for our election special. 

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