Explain It to Me

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Dylan Scott to examine the $400 billion portion of Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan that is designated for the "caretaking economy." Is this merely an expansion of Medicaid? Does it actually address fundamental structural issues in the economics of long-term care? Plus, some research is examined that helps illustrate the power of "defaults" in ACA-type health insurance marketplaces.Resources:"White House unveils $2 trillion infrastructure and climate plan, setting up giant battle over size and cost of government" by Jeff Stein, Juliet Eilperin, Michael Laris and Tony Romm, Washington Post (Apr. 1, 2021)"How Biden's infrastructure plan could leave child care behind" by Anna North, Vox (Apr. 3, 2021)"Joe Biden is stretching Obamacare as far as it can go" by Dylan Scott, Vox (Mar. 29, 2021)"Exclusive: Nearly 7 million uninsured Americans qualify for free health insurance" by Dylan Scott, Vox (Apr. 1, 2021)White paperHosts:Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.comDara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublicaDylan Scott (@dylanlscott), Policy Reporter, VoxCredits:Erikk Geannikis, Editor and ProducerAs the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcastsAbout VoxVox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us: Vox.comFacebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Alyssa Rosenberg, cultural critic and opinion columnist at the Washington Post, to talk about the intersection of criticism and politics. Should J.K. Rowling's recent anti-trans political statements retroactively alter the critical appraisal of Harry Potter? Can one be a fan of a cop show like Brooklyn Nine-Nine without committing to the show's interior politics? And can a show operate without interior politics when it, like David Simon's The Wire, confronts problems in policing at the institutional level — but happens to be a sitcom?Resources:"Why the world's most powerful people just want to podcast and make TV shows" by Alyssa Rosenberg, Washington Post (Mar. 25, 2021)"'I was appalled to be tarred as misogynist': Variety critic hits back at Carey Mulligan's sexism accusations" by Catherine Shoard, The Guardian (Jan. 28, 2021)Guest:Alyssa Rosenberg (@AlyssaRosenberg), Opinion columnist covering culture, Washington PostHost:Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.comCredits:Erikk Geannikis, Editor and ProducerAs the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcastsAbout VoxVox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us: Vox.comFacebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox Senior Correspondent Ian Millhiser to discuss the future of judicial appointments in Biden Administration — starting with the spate of appointees announced on Tuesday, just as we began taping. They also discuss some new research about the historical roadshow of the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation around the country, and how this correlated with an uptick in racial violence in roadshow localities in the ensuing years.Resources:"What Biden's first list of judicial nominees tells us about his approach to the courts" by Ian Millhiser, Vox (Mar. 30, 2021)The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court is Reshaping America by Ian Millhiser (Mar. 30, 2021)White paperHosts:Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.comDara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublicaIan Millhiser (@imillhiser), Senior Correspondent, VoxCredits:Erikk Geannikis, Editor and ProducerAs the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcastsAbout VoxVox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us: Vox.comFacebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by political scientist and author Ruy Teixeira to talk about how Democratic messaging has gone wrong, and how to get it right.Resources:"Immigrant Neighborhoods Shifted Red as the Country Chose Blue" by Weiyi Cai and Ford Fessenden, New York Times (Dec. 20, 2020)"The Five Deadly Sins of the Left" by Ruy Teixeira, American Compass (Oct. 13, 2020)"'Hidden Tribes,' the new report centrists are using to explain away polarization, explained" by Zack Beauchamp, Vox (Oct. 22, 2018)Guest:Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow, Center for American ProgressHost:Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.comCredits:Erikk Geannikis, Editor and ProducerAs the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcastsAbout VoxVox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us: Vox.comFacebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox Politics and Policy Fellow Jerusalem Demsas to talk about gun violence and mass shootings in America. They discuss the recent shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, talk through the difference between real policy solutions and more superficial ones, and discuss several non-productive but entrenched aspects of the media landscape surrounding mass shootings, gun violence, and progressive reforms. Then, they take on some new research on the correlation between political polarization in a society and the presence of a "charismatic leader."Resources:"The long history of anti-Asian hate in America, explained" by Li Zhou, Vox (updated Mar. 5, 2021)"The history of tensions — and solidarity — between Black and Asian American communities, explained" by Jerusalem Demsas and Rachel Ramirez, Vox (Mar. 16, 2021)"America's gun problem, explained" by German Lopez, Vox (updated Mar. 23, 2021)"Here's What's Actually Being Done To Address Anti-Asian Racism" by Lydia Wang, Refinery29 (updated Mar. 19, 2021)White paperHosts:Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.comDara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublicaJerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), Politics and Policy Fellow, VoxCredits:Erikk Geannikis, Editor and ProducerAs the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcastsAbout VoxVox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us: Vox.comFacebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Skanda Amarnath from Employ America joins Matt to talk about inflation. They discuss how the Fed tracks markers of inflation, the difference between cyclical and asymmetric inflation, and talk about whether or not to give into Larry Summers's fears about an "overheated" economy in our recovery.Resources:"Inflation: The Good, The Bad, and The Transitory" by Skanda Amarnath and Alex Williams (Feb. 12, 2021)Guest:Skanda Amarnath (@IrvingSwisher), Director of Research & Analysis, Employ AmericaHost:Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.comCredits:Erikk Geannikis, Editor and ProducerAs the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcastsAbout VoxVox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us: Vox.comFacebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox Senior Correspondent Ian Millhiser to examine the current state of affairs at the southern border, and to evaluate the Biden administration's immigration response more generally. Then, some research is discussed that examines (pre-Covid) data on the correlation between life expectancy and both race and educational attainment.Resources:Statement by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas Regarding the Situation at the Southwest Border (Mar. 16, 2021)"Biden to Announce Broad Plan to Reverse Trump Immigration Policies" by Michael D. Shear, New York Times (Jan. 19, 2021)"Death in the prime of life: Covid-19 proves especially lethal to younger Latinos" by Akilah Johnson, Washington Post (Mar. 15, 2021)White paperHosts:Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.comDara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublicaIan Millhiser (@imillhiser), Senior Correspondent, VoxCredits:Erikk Geannikis, Editor and ProducerAs the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcastsAbout VoxVox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us: Vox.comFacebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unexplainable is a new podcast from Vox about everything we don’t know. Each week, the team look at the most fascinating unanswered questions in science and the mind-bending ways scientists are trying to answer them. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Learn more: vox.com/unexplainable Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unexplainable/id1554578197Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0PhoePNItwrXBnmAEZgYmt?si=Y3-2TFfDT8qHkfxMjrJL2g Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vox's Kelsey Piper joins Matt to talk about the future of artificial intelligence and AI research. Should AI research be more heavily regulated, or banned? What kind of future will the continued development of AI bring us? Will AI turn out to be more like Skynet, or... like Philip Morris?Resources:"The case for taking AI seriously as a threat to humanity" by Kelsey Piper, Vox/Future Perfect (Updated Oct. 15, 2020)Guest:Kelsey Piper (@KelseyTuoc), Staff Writer, VoxHost:Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.comCredits:Erikk Geannikis, Editor and ProducerAs the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcastsAbout VoxVox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us: Vox.comFacebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox Senior Correspondent Ian Millhiser to talk through the several ongoing legal challenges being initiated by the GOP to curtail and hinder the right to vote in America. They talk through what has become of the Voting Rights Act, H.R. 1, as well as landmark Supreme Court cases of the past few decades — including the ones yet to be decided. Then, some research is discussed that examines the effect of private equity on nursing home patient welfare. Spoiler alert: Matt glimpses the abyss.Resources:"The new Republican war on voting rights, explained" by Ian Millhiser, Vox (Mar. 9, 2021)White paperHosts:Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.comDara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublicaIan Millhiser (@imillhiser), Senior Correspondent, VoxCredits:Erikk Geannikis, Editor and ProducerAs the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcastsAbout VoxVox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us: Vox.comFacebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices