Today, Explained

As Meta launches its Twitter competitor, The Verge’s David Pierce says that we are watching the end of the social internet in real time.

This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Michael Raphael with help from Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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President Biden and other world leaders say it’s too dangerous to admit Ukraine into NATO while it’s at war with Russia. But, to the dismay of allies, the US will send cluster bombs to the front.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard with help from Amanda Lewellyn and Hady Mawajdeh, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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Everyone is fighting about “equity.” If only they could define it. Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains.

This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Haleema Shah, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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A rancher in the Pacific Northwest scammed two companies out of $244 million. In this episode we first served in February, KUOW’s Anna King — host of the Ghost Herd podcast — explains how Cody Easterday went from ranching royalty to prison.

This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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Inflation happens for a lot of reasons that can be hard for even economists to fully grasp. But — as we learned this spring in an episode we’re rerunning today — there’s also a more straightforward reason prices keep going up: greedy corporations are using inflation as an excuse to jack up prices.

This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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The chemical manufacturer 3M will pay $10 billion to settle claims it contaminated drinking water with “forever chemicals.” Good thing we already spoke with Barbara Moran, WBUR’s climate and environmental correspondent, who explained these non-stick chemicals that stick around forever.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Haleema Shah, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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For the second time this month, huge sections of the US are blanketed by wildfire smoke. Vox’s Rebecca Leber and climate journalist Jeff Goodell say we’re gonna have to get used to it.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard with help from Miles Bryan, Hady Mawajdeh, and Amanda Lewellyn, engineered by Michael Raphael, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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The Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard and UNC. The ruling is likely to reshape affirmative action in America.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Miles Bryan, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Michael Raphael, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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The three biggest private employers in North America are Walmart, Amazon, and a security firm you’ve maybe never heard of: Allied Universal. Time’s Alana Semuels explains the rise of poorly trained and poorly paid private security guards across America.

This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Michael Raphael, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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How “woke” went from Marcus Garvey to Childish Gambino to Ron DeSantis.

This episode was produced by Siona Peterous, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

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