Today, Explained

Hosted by Noel King

Sean Rameswaram

Today, Explained is Vox’s award-winning daily news explainer show. Every weekday, hosts Noel King and Sean Rameswaram take on one essential news story that defines our moment, and bring listeners the context they need to understand it. Through on the ground reporting, discussions with journalists, academics, policymakers, and more, the Today, Explained team helps us understand every story and why it matters.

Today, Explained looks beyond its own newsroom to find the best sources and guests to tell each story. Sometimes that’s a Vox journalist with expertise on the topic, but often it’s a journalist from another news organization, or a local public radio reporter, or a person on the ground living the story themselves.

Today, Explained is the winner of the 2021 Webby Award for Best News & Politics Podcast and the Podcast Academy’s Ambies Award for Best News Podcast. The show has been featured in The Atlantic, Vulture, Reader’s Digest and more.

Your phone is banned, fellow kids

Educators and politicians across the nation are banning cellphones in classrooms. Today, Explained’s Miles Bryan visits a school in Philadelphia to find out how kids feel about it. This episode was reported and produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Photo by Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The return of easy money

The Federal Reserve is set to make its first interest rate cut since the pandemic ended. Marketplace's Kimberly Adams explains how the move could impact the US economy and politics. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette and Miranda Kennedy, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Ohio pet panic

No, Haitian immigrants aren’t eating anyone’s pets. USA Today-Ohio’s Erin Glynn and the Verge’s Gaby Del Valle explain why Republicans are talking about it anyway. This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Photo by REBECCA NOBLE/AFP via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We can't trust photos anymore

This week Apple announced its first AI iPhone with features that will make it even easier to edit your photos. But manipulating reality worries photojournalists like Fred Ritchin, who says these advancements pose a lot of ethical questions. This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Rob Byers, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Synthetic image created by DreamStudio in response to this text prompt from Fred Ritchin: "A photograph of a soldier in the Vietnam War taking a selfie." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Stop the steel

Once the world's largest corporation, the now-struggling US Steel wants to sell itself to Japan's Nippon Steel. The United Steelworkers oppose the deal, and President Biden is backing the union. The Washington Post's David Lynch explains how the steel giant's future became an election-year issue. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Rob Byers, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Photo by Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Who took debait?

A conservative and a liberal wrangle over how the Harris-Trump debate should have gone. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy and Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Matt Collette, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Pope’s big bet on China

One of the most significant parts of Pope Francis’s Asia tour might be a country he isn’t visiting: China, home to 10 million Catholics, with whom the Vatican has long dreamed of strengthening ties. This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/pool/AFP via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Revenge of the regulators

The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov by French authorities is part of a broader shift away from the free speech absolutism long championed by Big Tech. The Washington Post’s Will Oremus explains. This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by David Pierce. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Photo Illustration by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Antibiotics for coral reefs

Vox’s Benji Jones takes us diving in a coral reef to learn how scientists are trying to save them. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Photo by Jenny Adler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How sanctions backfire

American sanctions can destroy a country’s economy. The unintended consequences are massive in places like Venezuela and Syria. Jeff Stein of the Washington Post explains why the US is so committed to a mistake. This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Amina Al-Sadi and Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Photo credit: Federico Parra via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices