Today, Explained

Yevgeny Prigozhin rose from hot dog seller to top chef to Russia’s leading mercenary. Journalist Paul Wood and Harvard’s Timothy Colton explain why he turned on Vladimir Putin this weekend.

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

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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Deep-sea explorer G. Michael Harris has been down to the wreck of the Titanic 14 times. He begged his friend PH Nargeolet not to get on the OceanGate Titan submersible before it imploded in the sea earlier this week. He explains why he saw this coming.

This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn and edited by Amina Al-Sadi. It was engineered by Michael Raphael and fact-checked by Laura Bullard and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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Despite US concerns over the decline of Indian democracy and human rights, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is getting a prestigious state dinner from the Biden administration. Sadanand Dhume and Irfan Nooruddin explain.

This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Michael Raphael, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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A group in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will pay remote workers $10,000 to move there. Vox’s Rani Molla explains why the city is banking on a digital workforce — and whether the program leaves longtime Tulsans behind.

This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, 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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States want to restrict kids’ access to harmful content online via age verification systems. New York Times reporter Natasha Singer explains how a wave of new legislation could dramatically reshape the internet.

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

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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For decades, American schools have taught reading with an approach that doesn’t work very well. Emily Hanford of the podcast “Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong” explains how things are starting to change.

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

We're taking Monday off for Juneteenth and will be back with a new episode on Tuesday, June 20.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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The PGA Tour wanted nothing to do with a rival Saudi-funded golf tour, but like Silicon Valley and the White House, it couldn’t resist the Kingdom’s influence. A sports guy (Rick Maese of the Washington Post) and a foreign policy guy (Jonathan Guyer of Vox) explain.

This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Michael Raphael, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

Read more: How Saudi money returned to Silicon Valley (Vox)

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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Held v. Montana, a first-of-its-kind climate lawsuit, pits young people — and their constitutionally enshrined right to a clean environment — against a state with pro-fossil fuel policies.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Michael Raphael, and hosted by Noel King. Today’s episode was also produced in partnership with the team who make Vox’s The Weeds podcast, Sofi LaLonde, Cristian Ayala, Anouck Dussaud, A.M. Hall, and Jonquilyn Hill.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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The entrepreneur is running a longshot campaign for the GOP nomination on an “American nationalist,” anti-“woke capitalism” platform. Semafor’s Dave Weigel explains why so many Republicans now think they have a chance at the crown.

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

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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Bad visual effects in movies may have less to do with technology and more to do with workers being underpaid and overworked. Vulture senior reporter Chris Lee explains in this episode of Into It.

This episode was produced for Into It by Travis Larchuk and Jordana Hochman with help from Today, Explained's Siona Peterous, Laura Bullard, and Patrick Boyd.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

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