Explain It to Me

Dylan talks to John M. Barry, distinguished scholar at Tulane University and author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, about the Spanish flu of 1918-1919, its parallels to Covid-19, and what that pandemic’s end tells us about how this one might end. References: The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter  Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 Tammi 202236min

Dylan, Jerusalem, and special guest Bryan Walsh discuss the slowing population growth in America, and what a smaller-than-expected America could mean. They also talk about which immigration and child care policies could speed up population growth. Finally, they discuss a paper on why Europe is so much more equal than America. References: The Great Population Slowdown How immigration could reverse population decline The rise of childlessness The climate case that it’s okay to have kids The link between fertility and income The complex relationship between housing prices and fertility Changes in abortion access in a post-Roe America Romania’s abortion ban and its effect on fertility Recent research on global fertility patterns and cohabitation What is the relationship between gender equality and fertility rates?  The Conservative Fertility Advantage White paper: “Why Is Europe More Equal than the United States?” A critique of the paper’s approach to health care Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Bryan Walsh (@bryanrwalsh), editor for Future Perfect, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter  Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Tammi 202253min

How does someone get radicalized? What do political scientists see as the building blocks of political violence? Is there anything we can do to stop radicalization? One year after the insurrection on January 6, 2021, Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks with Peter Neumann, a professor of security studies at King’s College in London, to answer these questions.  References: Vox’s Zack Beauchamp on where the crisis in American democracy might be headed Peter Neumann’s paper: The trouble with radicalization A Q&A with a French philosopher about the fear of replacement within white nationalism Colin Clarke writes for Politico on what happened after January 6 Northwestern University research about the perceived threat of a racial demographic shift in the US Hosts: Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter  Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Tammi 202256min

Dylan and Dara are joined by Vox’s Libby Nelson to talk about the policy merits and political implications of plans to cancel some or all student loans. They also discuss whether President Joe Biden has the power to cancel student debt unilaterally. And, Vox’s Jerusalem Demsas joins Dylan and Dara for a white paper about prisoners of war and genetics.  References: Brookings Institution’s Andre Perry on why student loan forgiveness isn't regressive How canceling student debt helps beneficiaries get out of other debt The racial justice case for student loan cancellation Luke Herrine arguing that the Department of Education can erase debt unilaterally Is there a secret memo saying Biden can erase the debt? David Leonhardt’s case against debt cancellation White Paper of the Week: “Health Shocks of the Father and Longevity of the Children's Children” Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson) policy editor, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter  Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

4 Tammi 202254min

Vox senior reporter Rebecca Leber (@rbleber) joins The Weeds to explain the problem of migration caused by climate change, such as that due to wildfires, rising seas, and crop failures. She explains how a warming planet is forcing people to move both in the US and internationally, and how policymakers are and aren’t adapting. Vox reporters Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas continue the conversation with ProPublica’s Dara Lind, discussing a new white paper arguing that social mobility in America rose in the 20th century. References: ProPublica’s feature on climate migration in Central America How climate change is driving up flood insurance premiums in Canarsie, Brooklyn NPR’s investigation into the federal government selling flood-prone houses to low-income families California is encouraging rebuilding in fire-prone regions The case for “managed retreat” from coastal areas A New York Times feature on how climate migration will reshape America The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck Why Greg Clark is pessimistic that social mobility even exists White Paper of the Week: Intergenerational Mobility in American History: Accounting for Race and Measurement Error, Zachary Ward Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Dara Lind (@DLind), immigration reporter, ProPublica Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter  Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Joulu 202158min

In the final episode of our series, America’s Public Health Experiment, Dylan, Dara, and Jerusalem discuss how the CDC and the FDA failed the American public in the early months of the pandemic. Plus, a white paper about excess deaths in the first year of Covid-19. References:  How the experts botched masking advice Zeynep Tufekci on the case for masks (in March 2020) Inside the Fall of the CDC Can the CDC be fixed? How the CDC failed to detect Covid early Scott Gottlieb on CDC versus FDA turf wars The Government Asked Us Not To Release Records From The CDC’s First Failed COVID Test. Here They Are. Zeynep Tufekci in the Atlantic: ​​The CDC Is Still Repeating Its Mistakes Dylan Scott on FDA approval of controversial Alzheimer's drug White paper: Excess Deaths in the United States During the First Year of COVID-19 What happened to drug deaths in 2020 Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublica Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter  Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Joulu 202156min

In the penultimate episode of our series America’s Public Health Experiment, Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks to Arnab Datta, senior counsel at Employ America, about automatic stabilizers: what they are and how they could help during a crisis that affects the economy, such as a global pandemic. References: Vox's Emily Stewart on Democrats abandoning automatic stabilizers Recession Ready: Fiscal Policies to Stabilize the American Economy Structuring Federal Aid To States As An Automatic (And Autonomous) Stabilizer  A Historic Decrease in Poverty GOP Governors Reject Extra Federal Unemployment Payments Host: Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter  Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

17 Joulu 202153min

Dylan and Jerusalem are joined by Vox Policy Editor Libby Nelson to talk about the current state of Covid-19 and schools. They discuss vaccine mandates, rapid testing – or a lack thereof – and teacher burnout. Plus, a white paper about college majors and GPA requirements.  References: Why schools weren’t “back to normal” this year The pandemic caused huge levels of learning loss, especially in districts with less in-person schooling, and especially in poor countries Can pandemics affect educational attainment? Evidence from the polio epidemic of 1916 Some schools are going remote on Fridays to address “burnout” Schools cre closing classrooms on Fridays. Parents are furious. Do school closures and school reopenings affect community transmission of COVID-19? A systematic review of observational studies  Quarantines are driving down attendance The “test to stay” alternative to quarantines How school districts have used their Covid relief funds White Paper: “College Major Restrictions and Social Stratification” Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson), policy editor, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter  Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 Joulu 202159min