Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Vox’s Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) to talk about the midterm elections. More specifically, why the president’s party almost always loses seats in Congress. They discuss the theories of this phenomenon and what, if anything, can work on the margins. Plus, a white paper about Obamacare and the 2010 midterm elections.

References:

Why the president’s party almost always has a bad midterm

The political science of door-knocking and TV ads

White paper: “One Vote Out of Step? The Effects of Salient Roll Call Votes in the 2010 Election”

Dylan’s old, wrong article arguing that congressional position-taking doesn’t matter much

Hosts:
Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox
Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox

Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Dara Lind, engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial adviser
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

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The curse of the midterms

Politics is how people achieve power. Policy is what they do with it. Every week on The Weeds, host Jonquilyn Hill and guests break down the policies that shape our lives, from abortion to financial regulations to affirmative action to housing. We dive deep and we get wonky, but we have fun along the way. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
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Our next chapter

If you went to public school in America, you most likely got a serving of milk with your lunch. The National School Lunch Program has been in operation for decades, serving tens of millions of school-aged kids cow’s milk with their lunches. But it turns out, there’s more supply than demand: According to USDA findings in 2019, students threw away about 41 percent of the milk served in schools. So why do schools keep serving it? Today on The Weeds: Why the US government loves milk. 

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Credits:
Jonquilyn Hill, host
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Cristian Ayala, engineer
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts

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How we Got Milk

Pretty much everyone is unhappy with food delivery these days. Prices are rising for customers; workers are barely making minimum wage; and restaurants feel gauged by delivery apps. Today on The Weeds: how the gig economy turned sour, and how you can still order your favorite food without feeling guilty. Vox senior reporter Whizy Kim explains.

Read More:
Food delivery fees have soared. How much of it goes to workers? 

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Credits:
Jonquilyn Hill, host
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Cristian Ayala, engineer
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts

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Those pesky delivery fees

Do you think crime is on the rise? You aren’t the only one. According to Gallup, over 75 percent of Americans think crime is up from last year. The crime rate, though, has actually been falling. So why do so many Americans think crime is getting worse? Vox policy correspondent Abdallah Fayyad joins Weeds host Jonquilyn Hill to discuss the disconnect and what the numbers tell us.

Read More:
Lawmakers are overreacting to crime 
The shoplifting scare might not have been real — but its effects are 
The cruel consequences of America’s aging prison population - Vox 

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We want to know what you’re curious about.


Credits:
Jonquilyn Hill, host
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Cristian Ayala, engineer
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts

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Panic! At The Drugstore

Last week, the US Drug Enforcement Administration announced a move to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, after the Biden administration requested a review in late 2022. For decades, cannabis has been classified as Schedule I alongside drugs like heroin and LSD—and research on its effects and medical use has been limited. While rescheduling could lead to more clinical research on marijuana, the future is currently hazy. Today on The Weeds: what rescheduling cannabis means for medical research, and why it still might not be enough to push past the barriers that still exist. 

Read More:
Marijuana could be classified as a lower-risk drug. Here’s what that means. - Vox 
What marijuana reclassification means for the United States 

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We want to know what you’re curious about.


Credits:
Jonquilyn Hill, host
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Cristian Ayala, engineer
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts

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

Please take a second to help us learn more about you! vox.com/podcastsurvey
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The curse of the midterms

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