It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Cuffing season. Or is it? That’s the question Antares asked this week.... more

Are hush puppies racist? Why do we celebrate weddings with a multi-tiered, super fancy, sometimes not particularly tasty, very expensive... more

Adulthood comes with a lot of perks: You can set your own bedtime or eat candy for breakfast. But there... more

Earlier this month, millions of voters got to pick a president: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. But what if we... more

Listener Piper called us up with this question, “Why do some people have a harder time than others distinguishing their... more

Wow, what a week. The country has a new president-elect, and our listeners have a ton of questions about what... more

The US elections are officially upon us. And we have the Vox newsroom standing by to answer your questions and... more

Listener Sommer calls in to ask why she can buy foods in her grocery store that other countries have banned.... more

“We are hitting the PANIC button.” Does that wording sound familiar? You’ve probably seen it on your phone. This week... more

From the moment Carolina graduated from college and started her first real job, the financial advice came pouring in. It... more

Listener Siobhan is very much in love. So in love that she and her boyfriend will probably walk down the... more

Listener David runs 5K fundraisers for his local zoo. And he wants to know: Is he doing the right thing?... more

Much to the chagrin of English teachers everywhere, people use the word “like”…a lot. Listener Allison calls the hotline to... more

Matt wants to know how to tell if he’s being scammed by his dentist. To find the answer, we open... more

Life is complicated, and here at Vox, we love to explain it. Enter Explain It to Me: your go-to hotline... more

We have some exciting news to share: There are some big changes coming to this feed, and we need your... more

If you went to public school in America, you most likely got a serving of milk with your lunch. The... more

Pretty much everyone is unhappy with food delivery these days. Prices are rising for customers; workers are barely making minimum... more

Do you think crime is on the rise? You aren’t the only one. According to Gallup, over 75 percent of... more

Last week, the US Drug Enforcement Administration announced a move to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, after the... more

Something is happening in Connecticut. Back in 2021, the state legislature passed a measure that would create something called baby... more

If you’ve never used Amazon, you almost definitely know someone who has. Amazon is pretty much everywhere. In the three... more

America is in the midst of a homelessness crisis. With little affordable housing and limited space at shelters, many people... more

Since the Dobbs decision almost two years ago, reproductive rights have been at the center of our national consciousness. Two... more

Earlier this year, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos have the same rights as children. The decision sent shockwaves... more

What if you weren’t allowed to have more than $2,000 at any given time? Could you make it work? For... more

America is in the midst of a child care crisis. The cost of child care has skyrocketed to the point... more

Four years after a pandemic pause, some colleges and universities are again requiring applicants to submit standardized test scores. Inside... more

2024 is a big year for elections, not just in the US but globally: More than 50 countries will be... more

Political philosopher Ingrid Robeyns believes that there should be a maximum amount of money and resources that one person can... more

There are a host of health disparities across the racial divide. Black people are more likely to develop chronic diseases... more

Romantic relationships are in a weird place right now. Statistically things are shifting, but the numbers are particularly stark for... more

According to the Eviction Lab, about 7.6 million Americans every year face the threat of eviction, and a disproportionate number... more

It’s an election year, and there are so many different policy discussions we could be having: affordable child care, housing,... more

The Earth was its hottest in recorded history in 2023. Our winters are shorter, our summers hotter, and our natural... more

To no one’s surprise, former president Donald Trump handily won the Republican Iowa caucuses this week. Despite his recent bout... more

Harvard and elite institutions like it have been in the news a lot lately. Following the outbreak of war in Gaza,... more

2023 was a big year for unions. WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought Hollywood to a standstill, and the UAW made... more

Nearly four years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and years after school reopenings, schools still face a major... more

It’s hard to get Americans to agree on any topic these days, but a majority of them do agree on... more

Most of us love a bargain, but when it comes to our wardrobe, there’s a high cost for those cheap... more

This episode of Decoder with Nilay Patel originally ran in early November. Patel and former President Barack Obama discuss AI... more

If you are frustrated with how expensive everything feels right now, you’re not alone. Inflation has fallen from last year’s... more

If you turn on the news, or scroll through your social media feed of choice, there’s a good chance you’ll... more

The school choice movement is having a moment again. Charter schools and voucher programs have been around for decades, but... more

The struggles of caretaking are nothing new, but there’s a trend emerging as baby boomers get older: More and more... more

Open enrollment is around the corner, which means soon it will be time to pick your health insurance again. And... more

What will American politics look like after Trump? Sean Illing is joined by Sohrab Ahmari to discuss his new book,... more

Congress narrowly avoided a government shutdown when it passed a bill funding the government for the next 45 days. And... more

Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the current migrant crisis would “destroy the city.” Since April... more

Summer is over, school is back, and the Supreme Court is getting ready for a new term. The term starts... more

No matter where you live in the US, this summer was hot. Extremely hot. Temperatures soared all over the country,... more

The problem of school lunch debt is not a new one. But during the early days of the Covid-19 public... more

In case you missed it, Donald Trump was indicted once again, this time for his attempts to overturn the results... more

In early July, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott installed a chain of buoys and barbed wire in the Rio Grande as... more

Finding a therapist can be exhausting. Between connecting with a clinician you like and locating someone who takes your insurance,... more

For the first time ever in America, a birth control pill will be available over the counter. In July 2023,... more

Last month, the Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. Student loan debt these days weighs in... more

Many states have extremely punitive policies around cannabis and pregnancy. But researchers don't actually have great data on cannabis's harms. This... more

If you’re buying a new home, there’s a good chance it’s part of a homeowners association. HOAs are a form... more

A popular saying is that public libraries are the last bastion of true democracy. But in recent months, Republican state... more

In this live taping of The Weeds from TruCon 2023, host Jonquilyn Hill sits down with Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US... more

For many Black children, their first encounter with the discrimination that will trail them their whole lives comes from the... more

Do Montanans have a constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment? According to the state constitution they do. And... more

Summer is around the corner, which means the latest rulings from this Supreme Court are as well. Two cases will... more

The first child labor law in America went on the books almost 200 years ago, and federal labor protections were... more

In recent years, there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures across the... more

Question: What is the world’s largest habitat? Here’s a hint: It also takes up about half of the Earth’s surface.... more

On this week’s episode of The Weeds, we sit down with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to talk about transportation policy... more

It’s been 10 days since a federal judge in Texas issued an unprecedented ruling that nullified the 2000 Food and... more

Sean Illing speaks with Matthew Jones, historian of science and technology, and co-author (with data scientist Chris Wiggins) of the... more

After the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville in late March, President Biden once again called for reinstating the... more

On April 1, 2023, a Covid-era Medicaid policy called continuous enrollment will end. The policy allowed recipients to retain their... more

This month, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case examining the Safe-T Act. The legislation would bring... more

You’ve probably heard by now that President Joe Biden released his 2024 budget proposal. You’ve also probably heard that it... more

On the evening of February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed outside of East Palestine, Ohio.... more

Almost 30 years ago, President Bill Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act into law. This policy... more

On Tuesday, February 21, the Supreme Court will hear two cases that could dramatically change the way we use the... more

It’s been almost one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Since the invasion, thousands have died, millions have been displaced, and... more

Paying the price. One of the typical questions asked during conversations about reparations is how to pay for them. Fabiola... more

One of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation in American history is the Fair Housing Act of 1968.... more

When insulin was discovered in 1923, the scientists sold the patent for only a dollar, hoping to make it accessible... more

Buckle up for another trip in the Weeds Time Machine! Today, we are going back in time to 1965 to... more

Politics is how people achieve power. Policy is what they do with it. Every week on The Weeds, host Jonquilyn Hill... more

Gerrymandering shapes our political maps, which in turn shape our policies. While there are concerns about how hyperpartisan voting maps... more

(Originally aired May 2022) Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Annie Lowrey (@annielowrey), a staff writer at the... more

In 2022, we saw a lot of climate change news. Europe hit record-high temperatures, Pakistan was devastated by flooding, and... more

Last month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a new mental health policy that lowers the threshold for involuntary... more

With the 2022 midterm elections mostly over, members of Congress are back on the Hill to wrap up loose legislative... more

(Originally aired August 2022) Vox senior correspondent Dylan Matthews sits down with Felicia Wong (@FeliciaWongRI), president and CEO of the... more

The world of cryptocurrency is infamously unregulated, but what happens when a major crypto exchange crashes, uprooting almost the entire... more

Let’s be blunt: Weed policy is complicated. As with many elections in the past decade, recreational marijuana was on the... more

We did it, y’all – we made it to Election Day! And if you’re like us, tonight you’ll be glued... more

With only a week to go until the US midterm elections, inflation is the issue at the top of most... more

Midterm elections are around the corner, and while voters are concerned about the economy, inflation, and abortion, there’s one other... more

The midterm elections are three weeks away, and candidates aren’t the only ones on the ballot. Voters across the country... more

The midterm elections are four weeks away. Senate control is on the line, and races in battleground states are tightening.... more

Pollsters are starting to panic. There’s headline after headline after headline ahead of the midterms on whether this election cycle’s... more

US immigration policy is complicated. And when Republican Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis chartered buses and planes to relocate... more

For the September issue of The Highlight, the Vox politics team examined the fastest growing voting bloc in the country:... more

How do we make life better for future generations? Who gets to make those decisions? These are tough questions, and... more

Today on The Weeds, we are sharing an episode of another Vox podcast, Unexplainable, that originally aired in June 2022.  Millions... more

Join editor Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson) and reporters Rachel Cohen (@rmc031) and Madeleine Ngo (@maddiengo) for a summer policy wrap-up. Inflation,... more

Vox senior correspondent Dylan Matthews sits down with Felicia Wong (@FeliciaWongRI), president and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, to talk... more

Vox senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp and Vox senior foreign writer Jonathan Guyer discuss the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri,... more

In a surprise to many, last week Kansas overwhelmingly voted down an anti-abortion ballot initiative. If abortion rights can win... more

As the Earth swelters through yet another record-breaking summer, a surprise push for climate legislation on Capitol Hill gave us... more

Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and special guest Ari Ne’eman (@aneeman) fire up the Weeds Time Machine for a special episode... more

Dara Lind is joined by Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) to discuss the major decisions handed down by the... more

Vox Supreme Court correspondent Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) speaks with Michele Goodwin, a law professor, bioethicist, and leading expert on reproductive... more

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox senior reporter Keren Landman, M.D., (@landmanspeaking) to discuss the extremely high... more

Hey, Weeds listeners: Today, we are bringing you an episode of Today, Explained that originally aired in early June.  Ten months... more

Dylan Matthews sits down with economic historians Jared Rubin and Mark Koyama to discuss their new book, How the World... more

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox senior correspondent Dylan Scott (@dylanlscott) to discuss the shortage of nurses... more

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox politics reporter Nicole Narea (@nicolenarea) to talk about gun violence. They... more

This episode originally published in October 2021 as the second installment of our “Most Dangerous Branch” miniseries about the Supreme... more

This special episode of The Weeds was taped live at TruCon 2022! Join Dara Lind, Zack Beauchamp, and Jen Kirby... more

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Annie Lowrey (@annielowrey), a staff writer at the Atlantic, to talk about... more

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind talk with Washington Post economic columnist Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) about the global food supply crisis... more

Dara Lind sits down with Vox Supreme Court correspondent Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) for a deep dive into the leaked draft... more

This episode originally published in October 2021 as the first installment of our “Most Dangerous Branch” miniseries about the Supreme... more

Dylan Matthews interviews economist Chris Blattman (@cblatts) about his new book Why We Fight, which examines the root causes of... more

Buckle up! The Weeds Time Machine is back. Today, Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and special guest Maureen Cropper, economist and... more

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Washington Post reporter Toluse Olorunnipa (@ToluseO) to talk more taxes for our... more

Weeds co-hosts Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox policy editor Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson) to talk about some... more

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Washington Post columnist Christine Emba (@ChristineEmba) to discuss the end of Covid-era... more

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox Senior Politics Correspondent Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) for a dive deep into... more

Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Robinson Meyer (@robinsonmeyer), a staff writer at the Atlantic, to talk about... more

Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Nick Buttrick (@NickButtrick), a psychologist at Princeton, to talk about interstate mobility... more

Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Vox senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp to talk about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.... more

We’re hitting snooze on Friday episodes, but they’re not going away forever. We’re just slowing things down while we work... more

Dylan Matthews, Jerusalem Demsas, and Dara Lind discuss the recent school board recall election in San Francisco and also whether the... more

Vox Senior Correspondent Zack Beauchamp talks with political scientist Lee Drutman, author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop. They discuss... more

Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Vox’s Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) to talk about the midterm elections. More specifically,... more

Dylan Matthews talks with Victor Cha (@VictorDCha) about the international politics surrounding the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The US and several... more

Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and Jerusalem Demsas talk about affirmative action. They dig into the current Supreme Court case about... more

Dylan Matthews talks with Mark Galeotti (@MarkGaleotti), director of Mayak Intelligence, about what’s going on in Ukraine. They discuss in... more

Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and Vox policy editor Libby Nelson discuss the findings of two recent studies on early childhood... more

Dara Lind talks with professor Gabriel Winant of the University of Chicago about the new Bureau of Labor Statistics report... more

Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas talk with Emily Rong Zhang, a PhD candidate in political science at Stanford and a... more

Jerusalem Demsas and Dylan Matthews talk with Joey Politano (@JosephPolitano), economics blogger and self-described "mid-tier take-haver," to go over one... more

Weeds co-hosts Jerusalem Demsas and Dara Lind talk with Robinson Meyer (@yayitsrob), staff writer at the Atlantic, about the climate... more

Dylan talks to John M. Barry, distinguished scholar at Tulane University and author of The Great Influenza: The Story of... more

Dylan, Jerusalem, and special guest Bryan Walsh discuss the slowing population growth in America, and what a smaller-than-expected America could... more

How does someone get radicalized? What do political scientists see as the building blocks of political violence? Is there anything... more

Dylan and Dara are joined by Vox’s Libby Nelson to talk about the policy merits and political implications of plans... more

Vox senior reporter Rebecca Leber (@rbleber) joins The Weeds to explain the problem of migration caused by climate change, such... more

In the final episode of our series, America’s Public Health Experiment, Dylan, Dara, and Jerusalem discuss how the CDC and... more

In the penultimate episode of our series America’s Public Health Experiment, Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks to Arnab Datta,... more

Dylan and Jerusalem are joined by Vox Policy Editor Libby Nelson to talk about the current state of Covid-19 and... more

In the second episode of our series, America’s Public Health Experiment, Weeds co-host Dara Lind looks at two government agencies... more

Dara and Dylan talk to Jerusalem about her new article defending rent control laws. The three discuss the policy impacts... more

German talks with Dr. Neeraj Sood, director of the Covid Initiative at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for... more

German, Jerusalem, and Dylan talk about an idea that has come to dominate national discussions of policing: defunding the police.... more

Dylan, Jerusalem, and Dara talk about the specific kind of inflation that’s roiling American politics: the heightened price of gas.... more

Dylan talks to Chye-Ching Huang, the executive director of the Tax Law Center at NYU Law, about the many, many,... more

Now that nearly 60 percent of the US population is fully vaccinated, Dylan, German, and Jerusalem discuss potential exit strategies... more

Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks with the Atlantic’s Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) about how the future of remote work could... more

Dylan, Jerusalem, and Dara discuss congressional Democrats’ efforts to uncap the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, and how the... more

Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser talks to law professor Nicholas Bagley about the pandemic — and how the courts are... more

Dylan, German, and Dara talk about Facebook and the controversy surrounding it in recent weeks. They cover just how much... more

America’s housing market is failing to meet the needs of most Americans. Rents have skyrocketed, homeownership is slipping out of... more

Dylan, German, and Jerusalem get together to discuss one of the world’s least likely but most interesting utopian ideas: open... more

Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser talks with law professor Joseph Blocher and historian Carol Anderson about the Second Amendment, the... more

Dylan, German, and Dara talk about the whopping 5.4 percent inflation rate the Consumer Price Index estimated last week, what... more

Joe Biden has proposed a landmark $400 billion expansion of funding for home and community-based services (HCBS), the part of... more

Vox senior reporter Rebecca Leber (@rebleber) joins The Weeds to explain the problem of migration caused by climate change, such... more

Vox Supreme Court correspondent Ian Millhiser talks with NYU professor Melissa Murray (@ProfMMurray) about the future of reproductive freedom. The... more

Dylan, German, and Jerusalem talk about vaccine mandates. They discuss the evidence supporting vaccine requirements, the United States’ history with... more

Dylan and Jerusalem are joined by Kathryn Paige Harden, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin,... more

Dylan, German, and Dara discuss the debt ceiling: the current crisis, what the debt ceiling even is, and how the... more

Dylan, German, and Jerusalem sit down to answer listener questions. In our first AMA episode of the post-Matt-Yglesias Weeds era,... more

Dylan, German, and Jerusalem discuss means testing and work requirements after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) suggested their inclusion in one... more

For Matt’s last episode of The Weeds, Ezra Klein and Sarah Kliff return for a look at why health care... more

Matt, Dara, Jerusalem, and German use Matt’s last Tuesday episode to discuss life expectancy in the US. They explore paternalistic... more

​​Matt is joined by Mike Konczal, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis and Progressive Thought at the Roosevelt Institute and author of... more

Vox's Dylan Matthews joins Matt and Jerusalem to talk about whether the Federal Reserve can use monetary policy to fight... more

​​Matt is joined by David Shor, Head of Data Science at OpenLabs R&D, to discuss the causes and implications of... more

Matt, Dara, and German use this week’s episode to explore the infrastructure bill before Congress. They focus on broadband access... more

Matt is joined by Vox’s Nicole Narea for a discussion on the complex situation facing Afghan refugees following the United... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's German Lopez to talk about the Biden administration’s plan to authorize third doses... more

Matt is joined by The Atlantic’s Elizabeth Bruenig. They discuss J.D. Vance’s attacks on the parental status of liberal politicians... more

Matt is joined by Vox's Libby Nelson and Jerusalem Demsas for a conversation about the rising cost of master’s programs,... more

Matt is joined by reporter Spencer Ackerman, author of the new book Reign of Terror. Ackerman explains the ways in... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's German Lopez for a conversation about student learning loss. They focus on the... more

Matt is joined by author and CEO Suzanne Nossel for a discussion about how to reconcile a robust defense of... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Jerusalem Demsas for a conversation about pre-K and day care programs. They discuss... more

Matt is joined by Liza Reed of the Niskanen Center to talk about energy policy, electricity transmission, and how America's... more

Vox's Jerusalem Demsas joins Matt and Dara on a time machine trip back to a WW1-era Supreme Court decision that... more

Matt is joined by economist Julia Coronado to talk about inflation, markets, and employment in the pandemic recovery economy. They... more

Vox's Li Zhou joins Dara and Matt for another spin in the time machine, to talk about the policy that... more

Matt is joined by Education Week reporter and editor Andrew Ujifusa to talk about the ill-defined and somewhat facetious debate... more

Vox's Dylan Matthews joins Matt and Dara for another step into Weeds Time Machine: a visit to the past to... more

Matt is joined by Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer, author of the new book The Cruelty Is the Point. They... more

Vox's Libby Nelson joins Matt and Dara on the first episode of the Weeds Time Machine: a visit to the... more

Vox film critic and culture reporter Alissa Wilkinson joins Matt and Dara to take a break from politics (sort of)... more

Matt is joined by deputy editor of New York magazine and author David Wallace-Wells to talk about the new evidence... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's German Lopez to talk through some of the lessons we seem not to... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Dylan Scott to learn about aducanumab, the new drug that was recently approved... more

Matt is joined by Emily Hamilton of the Mercatus Center to talk about the way that zoning and land use... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Emily Stewart to talk about the state of the economy right now. They... more

Matt sits down with John Pfaff, professor and author of Locked In, an influential and important 2017 book about mass... more

Matt is joined by Vox's Libby Nelson and Jerusalem Demsas for a conversation about the rising cost of master’s programs,... more

Matt is joined by author and Harvard Kennedy School professor Maya Sen to talk about the state of the American... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Dylan Matthews to talk about what the Covid vaccine development process has taught... more

Matt is joined by economist and NYU faculty fellow Morgan Williams, Jr. to talk about his research on policing and... more

It's everybody's birthday! No, seriously. Taurus Matt Yglesias is joined by two people who also share a May 18th birthday:... more

Matt is joined by New York Times education reporter Dana Goldstein to talk about what Biden's American Families Plan will... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox Politics and Policy Fellow Jerusalem Demsas to talk about homelessness, and the policies... more

Matt is joined by Makena Kelly of The Verge to talk about some recent stories at the intersection of policy... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Andrew Prokop to talk about the very notion of a president's "first hundred... more

Matt is joined by Rachel Silverman, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, who talks about the extreme... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Andrew Prokop, author of an in-depth revelatory profile on America's swingiest Senator: Mr.... more

Matt is joined by professor and transit researcher Eric Goldwyn to talk about why transit projects in the U.S. often... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Dylan Scott to talk about his new Pandemic Playbook project from Vox, exploring... more

Matt is joined by author and podcast host Julia Galef to talk about her new book The Scout Mindset. They... more

It's an all white paper episode, folks. Vox climate reporter Umair Irfan joins Matt and Dara to take on three... more

Matt is joined by Faiz Shakir, a top adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders and the former manager of his 2020... more

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Dylan Scott to examine the $400 billion portion of Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure... more

Matt is joined by Alyssa Rosenberg, cultural critic and opinion columnist at the Washington Post, to talk about the intersection... more