Today, Explained

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News comes at you fast. Join us at the end of your day to understand it. Monday to Friday. All killer, no filler. Hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Featuring the finest explainers from Vox and more. Produced by Vox and Stitcher, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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Five years after Eric Garner

07.22.2019

After five years, a decision on the death of Eric Garner, who was put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer, creates further questions. The Washington Post's Wesley Lowery tries to answer them.

Today, Explained episodes:

07.22.2019 Five years after Eric Garner After five years, a decision on the death of Eric Garner, who was put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer, creates further questions. The Washington Post's Wesley Lowery tries to answer them.
07.19.2019 Holy shit On the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, Vox’s Brian Resnick says astronauts left something up there that could unlock the origins of life itself.
07.18.2019 "Send her back" An ugly, racist week in America came to a head last night with a chant at a Trump rally. The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer says this is a defining moment for American democracy.
07.17.2019 How to solve the asylum crisis On Tuesday, the Trump administration dramatically changed the rules governing asylum. A scholar who has helped shape US immigration policy since the 1980s explains why the rule change won't solve the crisis.
07.16.2019 The Prince of Blackwater Betsy DeVos’s baby brother made a name for himself running one of America's top mercenary companies. The Intercept's Matthew Cole explains how Blackwater founder Erik Prince has reinvented himself since falling out of favor with the US government.
07.15.2019 What raids? Immigrant communities across the United States spent the weekend on edge awaiting so-called "ICE raids." Reporter Tal Kopan explains what happened and immigration attorney Claudia Cubas describes the detention process.
07.12.2019 Don't stop, make it pop Your favorite young person’s favorite app is TikTok. Vox’s Rebecca Jennings has been spending too much time trying to understand it.
07.11.2019 The government will sleep in your bed This week, 22 UN ambassadors condemned China for detaining at least a million ethnic Uighurs in “reeducation camps.” After Gulchehra Hoja, a Uighur journalist, started reporting on the camps, over twenty of her relatives were imprisoned.
07.10.2019 A preexisting debate Obamacare is back in court. Vox’s Li Zhou explains how the healthcare bill might finally meet its maker and Ezra Klein explains why that might be great news for Democrats in 2020.
07.09.2019 The renegade general Libya’s ongoing civil war has escalated into one of its bloodiest moments yet—the bombing of a migrant detention center in Tripoli. Analyst Anas El Gomati explains why the likeliest culprit is a rogue Libyan general who worked with the CIA ...
07.08.2019 Switch to Mitch In the first Democratic debates, candidates seemed to be running against a powerful Republican who arrived long before Trump and will likely outlast him. NPR's Kelly McEvers explains the secret to Senator Mitch McConnell's dominance.
07.05.2019 Know your enemy (Part II) When people see Deeyah Khan's documentary about white supremacists they tell her, "The real problem is jihad. You should spend time with jihadists." She says, "I did."
07.03.2019 Know your enemy (Part I) Documentary filmmaker Deeyah Khan grew tired of receiving death threats from white supremacists so she traveled to a Detroit motel to meet up with one.
07.02.2019 Equal pay is the goooooaaaaaallllllllll! Team USA is having quite the World Cup, but the women made headlines even before the tournament started by suing the United States Soccer Federation.
07.01.2019 40 acres and a bill Slavery reparations were once an untouchable idea in American politics, but now presidential candidates openly support it. And for the first time ever, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has Congress considering it.
06.28.2019 Two days, Explained Twenty Democratic candidates. Two debates. Some awkward Spanish. Vox’s Ella Nilsen hits the highlights and Ezra Klein explains why Democrats should be worried.
06.27.2019 Supreme Count The Supreme Court dropped two doozies today. NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang details a ruling on the 2020 census before Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains how the Court finally weighed in on partisan gerrymandering.
06.26.2019 "Safe and sanitary" The Senate passed $4.6 billion in emergency aid for the crisis at the southwestern border today. Last night, the House passed its own version. Aid will help, but for lasting change Congress will have to deal with Flores.
06.25.2019 Republicans on the run A landmark cap-and-trade bill in Oregon is on life support after Republicans fled the state to avoid voting on it.
06.24.2019 The rise and fall of R. Kelly R. Kelly is facing new criminal charges, as well as investigations that involve the IRS, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security. Jim DeRogatis went from reviewing his music to documenting his alleged misdeeds against minors.
06.21.2019 Never forget The 9/11 first responders and Jon Stewart are fighting Congress for what they hope is the last time.
06.20.2019 Drone down Iran kicked off the day by blowing up a very expensive US surveillance drone. Vox's Alex Ward explains why tensions keep getting more tense.
06.19.2019 I see fake people Doctored videos of Nancy Pelosi and Mark Zuckerberg have Congress worried about the nation’s grasp on reality. Drew Harwell from the Washington Post explains how “deepfakes” might corrupt upcoming elections.
06.18.2019 Change for a 20? As Washington gears up for the 2020 elections, it's fighting over who should be on the $20 bill.
06.18.2019 After the ouster Sudanese protesters pulled off the impossible: ousting dictator Omar al-Bashir. Now, the protestors face a new adversary: al-Bashir's military. Reem Abbas reports on the latest from Khartoum.
06.14.2019 Little pink houses for nobody California is the most populous state in the country, but people increasingly can’t afford to live there. Single family zoning is partly to blame, but state legislators haven’t been able to dump the housing policy. Minneapolis has.
06.13.2019 Hong Kong in the streets Hundreds of thousands of people are protesting in Hong Kong. CNN’s Matt Rivers is on the scene and the BBC's Helier Cheung explains how British colonialism complicated everything.
06.12.2019 Guatemala’s corruption conundrum There are nearly twenty candidates vying to be president of Guatemala. Some are being investigated for corruption by the country’s watchdog court, the CICIG. But corruption isn’t the only problem facing Guatemala right now.
06.11.2019 Planting dreams Erica Alfaro just got her master’s degree. But underneath the cap and gown is the story of migrant farm workers, a teen pregnancy, and domestic abuse. Wil Del Pilar explains why it’s time for colleges to do more to cater ...
06.10.2019 Mushroom magic Denver and Oakland have become the first US cities to effectively decriminalize magic mushrooms. Michael Pollan, author of “How to Change Your Mind,” explains how taking a trip could help treat depression.
06.07.2019 My Brexit brings all the boys to the yard Right-wing politicians in the UK are under attack. Delicious, sticky attack.
06.05.2019 Crisis of faith Iraq’s Christian population has been fleeing the country en masse. The United States wants to help, so long as they don’t come here. (Transcript here.)
06.04.2019 The new secession Wealthy white residents are trying to secede from East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. The Atlantic’s Adam Harris says they’re part of a growing trend of school resegregation. (Transcript here.)
06.03.2019 It’s hard to ratify U-S-M-C-A President Trump wants his NAFTA replacement deal ratified. But President Trump appears to be standing in the way. (Transcript here.)
05.31.2019 Sex and branding Nxivm: sounds like a drug, looks like a cult. (Transcript here.)
05.30.2019 Agent Assange? Julian Assange was already in heaps of trouble when the United States indicted him under the Espionage Act last week. Now he (and journalism) might be put on trial. (Transcript here.)
05.29.2019 Mueller speaks Special counsel Robert Mueller made his first public statement about his investigation today. No questions. (Transcript here.)
05.28.2019 Hack to the Future Baltimore is under attack. Hackers have hijacked the city’s online services and are demanding $100,000 worth of bitcoin. ProPublica’s Renee Dudley explains how ransomware is threatening cities across the country.
05.24.2019 How to save a life Dylan Matthews, host of Vox's Future Perfect podcast, gave away his kidney because it felt like the right thing to do.
05.23.2019 "Keep our honor clean" President Trump is reportedly considering issuing a series of pardons for alleged war crimes in time for Memorial Day. Some see parallels to Nixon’s handling of the My Lai massacre.
05.22.2019 Tissue issues Stem cell clinics are popping up all over the United States. They're profitable and full of promises, but almost totally unregulated. ProPublica's Caroline Chen explores the shadier side of a booming business.
05.21.2019 The mother of all elections When you have 900 million eligible voters, elections take a little longer. After 39 days of polling, India’s will be over this week. Journalist Ashish Malhotra explains what’s at stake from New Delhi.
05.20.2019 How to kill a gram Today, a new definition of the kilogram officially takes effect. But it's just one piece in the massively complicated history of weight.
05.17.2019 All shows must die What do we say to the God of Death? Not today. Explained.
05.16.2019 The race to ban abortion The governor of Alabama signed the nation’s strictest anti-abortion bill into law. Vox’s Anna North explains what the legislation means and Sean Rameswaram speaks with Eric Johnston, the man who helped write it.
05.15.2019 Make America Trade Again President Trump's trade war with China just got a lot worse. Can you feel it? Vox's Matthew Yglesias says most Americans won't, but it's still bad for America.
05.14.2019 The fight for your face Today San Francisco could become the first American city to ban government agencies from using facial recognition technology. Vox’s Sigal Samuel explains how a cool sci-fi feature might now wreak havoc on civil liberties.
05.13.2019 Life sentence, no trial Terry Allen has been in prison for over 30 years without a conviction because of a little-known rule that was meant to reform the criminal justice system.
05.10.2019 Missile in a bottle After a long hiatus, Kim Jong-un is back to launching missiles. A lot of people are up in arms, but Vox's Alex Ward says North Korea's Supreme Leader is only interested in one of them.
05.09.2019 Uber but for strikes Uber drivers want some R-E-S-P-E-C-T. And it might actually be as easy as A-B-C.

Older episodes

Today, Explained

What's Today, Explained about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Today, Explained episodes:

Five years after Eric Garner

Holy shit

"Send her back"

How to solve the asylum crisis

The Prince of Blackwater

What raids?

Don't stop, make it pop

The government will sleep in your bed

A preexisting debate

The renegade general

Switch to Mitch

Know your enemy (Part II)

Know your enemy (Part I)

Equal pay is the goooooaaaaaallllllllll!

40 acres and a bill

Two days, Explained

Supreme Count

"Safe and sanitary"

Republicans on the run

The rise and fall of R. Kelly

Never forget

Drone down

I see fake people

Change for a 20?

After the ouster

Little pink houses for nobody

Hong Kong in the streets

Guatemala’s corruption conundrum

Planting dreams

Mushroom magic

My Brexit brings all the boys to the yard

Crisis of faith

The new secession

It’s hard to ratify U-S-M-C-A

Sex and branding

Agent Assange?

Mueller speaks

Hack to the Future

How to save a life

"Keep our honor clean"

Tissue issues

The mother of all elections

How to kill a gram

All shows must die

The race to ban abortion

Make America Trade Again

The fight for your face

Life sentence, no trial

Missile in a bottle

Uber but for strikes

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