Today, Explained

While it might feel as though nothing could be worse than last night’s presidential debate, Vox’s Ezra Klein explains what could happen if President Trump loses the election and refuses to leave office.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee first garnered attention after being questioned about her Catholic faith. Vox’s Ian Millhiser says that attention likely motivated her nomination.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That's how much "billionaire" President Trump paid in federal income taxes his first year in office, according to reporting from the New York Times.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the three officers who shot at Breonna Taylor’s apartment was indicted ... for endangering her neighbors. Tessa Duvall from the Louisville Courier-Journal explains. And Vox’s Fabiola Cineas says the ruling isn’t surprising.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With mounting concerns over the politicization of federal health agencies, Dr. Anthony Fauci explains why Americans should still trust the vaccine approval process.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do a bus driver, a teacher, a McDonald’s employee, and a project manager with a conference on her calendar all have in common?

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Republicans appear ready to fill the seat left vacant by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the end of the year. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains Democrats’ last defense.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The fight over Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat has already begun, but let’s not forget to celebrate her legendary life.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colleges reopened. Outbreaks followed. Robert J. Jones, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, explains why he still thinks bringing students back was the right decision.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A whistleblower complaint alleges immigrants being detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Georgia have been subjected to involuntary procedures — including hysterectomies. Vox’s Nicole Narea explains.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 16 seasons of wildfires, Glen Haydon has figured out how to cope. For everyone else, there’s an app for that.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trillions spent on the environment, caregiving, manufacturing, and the racial wealth gap: Vox’s Dylan Matthews explains how Biden wants to “Build Back Better.”

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Vox Media is conducting an audience survey to better serve you. It takes no more than five minutes, and it really helps out the show. Find it here: voxmedia.com/podsurvey.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vox’s Ella Nilsen says the implausible is now looking possible.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The pandemic hasn’t stopped Americans from dating, hooking up, or tying the knot. In fact, lockdown has been helping people get down.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A chief political rival of Vladimir Putin has been poisoned in what Foreign Policy’s Amy MacKinnon says is a watershed moment for Russia.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some people think it’s the only way out of the pandemic. Those people are very wrong.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the election draws near, of fake news you must steer clear. For you (and your uncle), this episode is here.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

*But that doesn’t necessarily mean you should go see one.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vox’s Emily Stewart clears up the mystery of the market, and Ella Nilsen offers an update on the stimulus that has collapsed into stalemate.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ventilation is key to reopening office buildings safely. But The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson says many workers aren’t going back, even when it’s safer.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the company made an “operational mistake” in its handling of Kenosha militia groups. The Verge’s Casey Newton explains whether that has implications for November’s election.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The actor Chadwick Boseman died of cancer on Friday, but because of Black Panther he’ll live forever.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All summer long, we have been explaining complex news stories to kids. In our final summer camp journey to the Island of Explained, we tackle the fight for racial justice in the United States.

Go to vox.com/todayexplainedkids for a discussion guide on implicit bias and the role it plays in our communities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The GOP proved that laws were made to be broken at its 2020 convention.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times by police and the protests escalated all the way to the NBA. Gina Barton, investigative reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, explains.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Being an optimist can seem ridiculous right now, but in the inaugural episode of The Cut podcast, host Avery Trufelman is searching for some well-grounded positivity. She finds it in conversation with Cheer’s La’Darius Marshall.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid’s hottest new treatment is plasma. Vox’s Umair Irfan explains why, and where the world stands on a vaccine.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Republican National Convention gets underway, a bonkers (and dangerous) conspiracy theory is gaining a foothold inside the GOP. President Trump appears to be okay with it.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Democrats proved a virtual convention doesn't have to be a downer. Especially when Rhode Island brings calamari.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ProPublica's Eric Umansky explains how the New York Police Department's Civilian Complaint Review Board has struggled for decades to hold the NYPD to account.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Schools in the US are reopening even though kids play a key role in community transmission of Covid-19. Georgia Public Broadcasting reporter Ellen Eldridge explains how going back to school in her state became a national controversy.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 19th Amendment’s centenary is today, but the fight for universal suffrage in the United States continues.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The House of Representatives is cutting its vacation short to block changes at the United States Postal Service that could affect the integrity and outcome of the election. Rep. Gerry Connolly explains why he's going a step further and calling for the postmaster general to resign.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After hearing from kids around the world who are grappling with serious boredom, Noam Hassenfeld and Byrd Pinkerton venture deep into the belly of a whale to learn how to have fun in quarantine.

Go to vox.com/todayexplainedkids for some laugh out loud activities that will help you say goodbye to boredom.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The coronavirus is complicating our relationships with family, friends, and strangers. But it’s also making us better at life??

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2020 census is fighting a losing battle against the coronavirus and President Trump. NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang explains how a decade of money and power are at stake.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Biden picked Harris. Vox’s Fabiola Cineas explains the role race is already playing in the election, and Ezra Klein argues Donald Trump is making things easy for his opponents.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The longtime leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, is facing nationwide protests and accusations that he stole Sunday’s election. His opponent, a 37-year-old homemaker who entered the race in place of her imprisoned husband, has fled the country.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump wants to resolve the congressional deadlock over stimulus relief by himself. Vox’s Li Zhou rummages through the mixed bag.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump is threatening to ban TikTok, but Microsoft might be able to stop the clock. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The state saw Covid-19 coming. It still became an outbreak epicenter. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A chemical blast has made a very bad situation worse for Lebanon. Journalist Habib Battah explains from Beirut. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A worsening pandemic. A poll worker shortage. A hobbled postal service. Russian hacking. Donald Trump. Vox’s Ella Nilsen explains the many obstacles facing the United States as Election Day nears. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Washington Post columnist named Karen explains her feelings about “Karen.” A University of Arizona linguist named Sonja explains BIPOC and the capitalization of “Black” and “White.” Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Election Day on the Island of Explained! Will the candidate with the most votes win, or will the island’s Electoral College determine a different leader? Go to vox.com/todayexplainedkids for a discussion guide and election activities, including how to craft the perfect persuasive speech.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The leaders of Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Google testified before Congress on Wednesday in what The Verge’s Casey Newton says might have been the most important Webex in human history.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some people walk away from Covid-19 feeling fine. Others are dealing with a long list of lingering health issues.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Democrats and Republicans have a $2 trillion disagreement on how to relieve Americans from the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Bethel, Ohio, a Black Lives Matter rally became a standoff between armed bikers and peaceful protesters. BuzzFeed’s Anne Helen Petersen explains. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Baseball’s back, but fans won’t get the chance to boo the cheating Astros. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices