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...
5 Sep 202425min
How Trump wins
Donald Trump hasn’t yet figured out how to run a disciplined campaign against Kamala Harris. In the meantime, he’s leaning into the weird. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Amina Al-...
4 Sep 202425min
The silent war
The story of Army specialist Austin Valley highlights a crisis the US military can’t seem to solve: More service members die by suicide than in combat. A veteran psychologist told Congress what to do ...
3 Sep 202430min
Equal-opportunity murderball
For the first time, a woman is playing on the US wheelchair rugby team at the Paralympics. It’s a sign of progress in the complicated arena of co-ed sports. This episode was produced by Haleema Shah w...
30 Aug 202425min
Israel vs. Hezbollah
The two are on the brink of starting a regional war. An analyst and a negotiator say without a ceasefire in Gaza, the Middle East could spin out of control. This episode was produced by Victoria Chamb...
29 Aug 202427min
Minion Jesus
A meme of a Minion being crucified went viral on TikTok in a very unusual way. Today, Explained’s Laura Bullard investigated and connected the dots all the way to the 2024 election. This episode was p...
28 Aug 202426min
Hackers probably stole your Social Security number
Vox’s Adam Clark Estes explains why that might be a good thing. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea ...
27 Aug 202425min
Stuck in space
Bloomberg’s Loren Grush explains how two astronauts got stuck on the International Space Station and astronaut Cady Coleman tells us why she is jealous of them. This episode was produced by Avishay Ar...
26 Aug 202425min
