Vox Quick Hits

Washington’s hottest policy fight is over raising the minimum wage to $15. Emily Stewart explains the Democrats’ effort to get it through Congress.

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Conspiracy theories have always existed, but the internet has made it easier for them to spread faster and mutate more. Before, someone could float a strange theory to a neighbor. Now, it’s to all their friends on Facebook. Vox culture reporter Aja Romano discusses the history of conspiracy theories, how the internet has accelerated the anti-vaccination movement and QAnon, and what can be done to help get people out of the rabbit holes they’ve fallen into.

References: 

Read Aja’s explainer on conspiracy theories

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Thirty years ago, Eugene, Oregon, figured out an alternative to the police. They called it CAHOOTS. Seriously.

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Earlier this month, the internet was in a frenzy over a hair crisis, involving Gorilla Glue. But the situation is a little more complicated than just an extremely bad hair day. What happens to everyday people who become famous overnight?

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Joe Biden is the type of guy who can tell which way the political winds are blowing — and right now, that means taking a big, bold swing at boosting the economy. Democrats are pushing a nearly $2 trillion stimulus package through Congress, arguing that the real risk is doing too little, not too much, to help steer the country through the Covid-19 crisis. It’s quite a shift from deficit concerns of the past. Vox’s Ella Nilsen discusses the Democratic Party’s more progressive turn on the economy and whether it will last. 

References: 

Emily and Ella wrote about Biden’s big economic plans

And Emily also wrote about what’s in the stimulus plan

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Vaccinations have been accelerating in the US, and cases are down. But we’re still a long way away from herd immunity. Vox’s German Lopez explains the reasons why as many as 30% of Americans may not want to get the vaccine.

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Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson and critic-at-large Emily VanDerWerff recommend two movies and two TV shows that are up for a Golden Globe this weekend: The Great on Hulu, Sound of Metal on Amazon, Perry Mason on HBO, and Another Round on digital rental platforms.

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Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down why the Biden administration hasn’t yet reentered the Iran nuclear deal. They explain that the process of rejoining is more complicated than it might seem, but that it’s still likely the deal will come back eventually. They then debate the pros and cons of rejoining the accord and how well the Obama foreign policy team — many of whom have joined the Biden administration — handled the pact. One point of agreement: The Trump administration’s Iran policy failed.

References:

Alex wrote about the impending US-Iran talks over the nuclear deal.

Vox has a great visual explainer on the Iran deal.

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Vox’s German Lopez explains why he feels optimistic about the end of the pandemic even though 500,000 Americans have died, the virus is mutating, and it’s going to take a long time to vaccinate the world.

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Nabil Ayers wasn’t looking for trouble; he just wanted to drive around the country with his bandmates making music. They had other ideas, though, which came to a head when they were busted by cops for carrying an entire tour’s worth of weed. 

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