Explain It to Me

Ezra returns from the wilds of book leave to talk about open borders with Dara and Matt. References and further reading: Dara's piece on the 1996 immigration bill "Trillion dollar bills on the sidewalk" white paper Bryan Caplan paper on open borders Ezra's interview with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While Sarah, Matt and Ezra are away Dara is joined by Dylan Matthews and Andrew Prokop to talk about the friction between how the Supreme Court says it makes its decisions, and the way everyone assumes it really works. Is it time for the Court to stop getting polite and start getting (legal) real(ist)? References and further reading: Andrew’s explainer on the gerrymandering decision The “efficiency gap,” explained by one of its creators  Dylan on the public-sector union case Janus v. AFSCME Dara’s piece on Trump v. Hawaii, the travel ban case  Sonia Sotomayor endorsed legal realism before joining the Court  KENNEDYWATCH, 2018 Edition Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Dara and Matt to talk about the ideological roots of Donald Trump's family separation policy. References and further reading: Dara's piece on "operation wetback" the immigration policy Donald Trump loves Jane's piece on Stephen Miller Jamelle Bouie's piece on Stephen Miller Politico piece about Trump possibly shutting down the government in September over border wall, mentioned by Jane Dara's piece on the number of families separated at the border daily Dara's piece on how asylum officers are being told to implement Sessions' new rule Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah, Dara and Matt answer your questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While Sarah and Matt are away Dara is joined by Vox.com congressional reporters Tara Golshan and Ella Nilsen to talk about immigration and family separation. Then she's joined by Vox.com criminal justice reporter German Lopez to talk about a white paper that looks at the effectiveness of 12- step programs. References and further reading: Ella's piece on Democrats trying to stop family separation at the border Tara's piece on the chaos in the House over immigration Sarah's piece on the missing children and family separation Miriam Jordan's NYT piece on transitional foster care placements for migrant children White paper on the effectiveness of 12-step programs German's piece on Alcoholics Anonymous Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah, Dara and Matt talk about the recent recall of Judge Aaron Persky, the California judge who sentenced former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner to six months when he was convicted of sexual assault in 2016. References and further reading: Julia Ioffe's piece on the Stanford professor who led the charge against Persky AP reporting on Persky's record as a judge Rachel Marshall's Vox.com piece on why the recall isn't a progressive victory John Pfaff Twitter thread on how elections impact judicial behavior German Lopez's piece on incarceration rates from 1985-2010 Laura McGann's piece on men in #metoo exile Wesley Lowery's piece on widespread unsolved murders in major American cities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dara, Sarah and Matt trace the Supreme Court Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling back to peyote and then discuss a Swedish study about lottery winners. References and further reading: Vox.com explainer on the Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling Vox.com piece about religious liberty in American history The Gallup poll on rates of support for gay marriage, mentioned by Sarah White paper on Swedish lottery winners Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Matt are joined by Vox.com Congress reporter Tara Golshan to talk about missing children, separated families, and the latest immigration action on the Hill. References and other reading: Sarah's piece with an immigration expert explaining the 1,500 "missing" migrant children Sarah explainer on family separations Tara's piece on Republican moderates and immigration Dara's explainer on the family separation policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Libby Nelson, Vox.com news editor and former education reporter, joins Matt and Sarah to talk about the discipline practices and educational outcomes at so-called "no excuses" charter schools. Then they turn to a white paper that looks at lead poisoning and fertility. References and further reading: Illinois Public Radio story on Noble Academy Video of teacher at Success Academy ripping up student's homework Research mentioned by Libby on outcomes at the Harlem Children's Zone Upper West Side parents mad about school integration plan White paper on lead poisoning and fertility Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Matt talk about America’s rapidly falling birthrate, and a study on the long-term benefit of the 1980s Medicaid expansion. References and further reading: National Center for Health Statistics report on declining birth rates Vox's Julia Belluz's piece on the low birthrate trend NPR piece on the CDC report on declining fertility rates in the U.S. Sarah's piece on why teen births are declining Lyman Stone paper Sarah mentioned arguing that government interventions don't boost fertility NY Times piece Matt referenced on American women having fewer children then they'd like Dylan Matthew's piece explaining the child allowance plan The white paper on Medicaid coverage and economic mobility Converge with Casey Newton is a new conversational game show from The Verge. Listen to the first episode today, and subscribe wherever you're enjoying this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices