Explain It to Me

It's everybody's birthday! No, seriously. Taurus Matt Yglesias is joined by two people who also share a May 18th birthday: Vox's Libby Nelson and The Atlantic's Derek Thompson. They discuss the confusing range of public health and policy directives that have been issued to the American people over the 15+ months of the Covid pandemic. Plus, some research is discussed that evaluates the outcome of the recent rollout of universal preschool in Boston. Resources: "The CDC's Big Mask Surprise Came Out of Nowhere" by Derek Thompson (May 14, The Atlantic) "The CDC Is Still Repeating Its Mistakes" by Zeynep Tufekci (Apr. 28, The Atlantic) "Are Outdoor Mask Mandates Still Necessary?" by Derek Thompson (Apr. 19, The Atlantic) White paper Hosts: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson), Deputy Policy Editor, Vox Derek Thompson (@DKThomp), Staff writer, The Atlantic Credits: Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter. The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production. Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts About Vox Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com Facebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Maj 20211h 10min

Matt is joined by New York Times education reporter Dana Goldstein to talk about what Biden's American Families Plan will do to bolster and expand public education access in this country. They talk about the plan for universal preschool, free community college, and also talk about how the administration has been involved in pandemic-related school reopening decisions behind the scenes. Resources: "Schools Are Open, but Many Families Remain Hesitant to Return" by Dana Goldstein (New York Times, May 9) The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession by Dana Goldstein (Anchor; 2015) "Biden Directs Education Funding to Community Colleges, a Key Lifeline" by Stephanie Saul and Dana Goldstein (New York Times, Apr. 28) Learning in Public: Lessons for a Racially Divided America from My Daughter's School by Courtney E. Martin (Little, Brown; August 2021) Guest: Dana Goldstein (@DanaGoldstein), national correspondent, New York Times Host: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com Credits: Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter. The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production. Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts About Vox Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com Facebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 Maj 202157min

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox Politics and Policy Fellow Jerusalem Demsas to talk about homelessness, and the policies that have failed to even properly confront this problem. They talk about the decline of SRO housing, the progressives who seem to oppose any way to help out, and the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. Then, some research is discussed that takes a look at how Italian workers responded to a 2011 pension reform. Resources: "Iowa is making it harder to be a low-income renter" by Jerusalem Demsas (Vox, May 5) "Homeless Reflect on Life in a New York City Hotel Room, One Year Later" by Claudia Irizarry Aponte (The City, May 10) "The effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom, explained" by Jerusalem Demsas (Vox, Apr. 26) White paper Hosts: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), Politics and Policy Fellow, Vox Credits: Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter. The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production. Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts About Vox Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com Facebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Maj 20211h 3min

Matt is joined by Makena Kelly of The Verge to talk about some recent stories at the intersection of policy and tech. She discusses the Facebook Oversight Board's ambivalent "ruling" on Trump's ban from the platform, Apple's ongoing antitrust court battles, and the prospect for a sweeping antitrust overhaul foreshadowed by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI). Resources: "Facebook's Trump ban can stay in place, says Oversight Board" by Makena Kelly and Adi Robertson (The Verge, May 5) "As Epic v. Apple approaches the courtroom, Valve is getting sued over Steam too" by Sean Hollister (The Verge, May 1) "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox" by Lina M. Khan (Yale Law Journal, Jan. 2017) "Facebook's shadow court" (The Weeds, March 5) "Apple Accused of 'Power Grab' in Senate App Store Hearing" by David McLaughlin and Anna Edgerton (Bloomberg, Apr. 21) Guest: Makena Kelly (@kellymakena), policy reporter, The Verge Host: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com Credits: Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter. The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production. Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts About Vox Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com Facebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Maj 202144min

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Andrew Prokop to talk about the very notion of a president's "first hundred days," whether or not it is a useful or important metric for their performance. Andrew talks about the history of the term, originating with F.D.R., and our hosts evaluate some of the recent lines of comparison between Biden and Roosevelt that have been floating around in the discourse lately. Plus, some research is analyzed that examines the effect of the channel placement of Fox News in certain areas, and Republican performance in federal elections. Resources: "The myth of a president's 'first 100 days'" by Andrew Prokop, Vox (Apr. 29, 2021) "Biden's first 100 days, explained in 600 words" by German Lopez, Vox (Apr. 30, 2021) White paper Hosts: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica Andrew Prokop (@awprokop), Senior Politics Correspondent, Vox Credits: Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter. The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production. Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts About Vox Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com Facebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Maj 20211h 8min

Matt is joined by Rachel Silverman, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, who talks about the extreme dangers and high prevalence of lead contamination globally. Despite the manifest health benefits that would be served by Biden's plans to finally replace lead pipes in the U.S., this is marginal compared to the lead poisoning occurring due to unregulated electronics recycling, traditional ceramics glazing, and by bright, yellow turmeric. Resources: "Biden Wants to Eliminate Lead Poisoning in American Children. We Propose an Even More Ambitious Goal: Global Eradication" by Susannah Hares, Rachel Silverman, and Lee Crawfurd (Apr. 20, 2021) "Your old phone is full of untapped precious metals" by Bianca Nogrady, BBC (Oct. 18, 2016) "Ground Turmeric as a Source of Lead Exposure in the United States" by Whitney Cowell, Thomas Ireland, Donna Vorhees, and Wendy Heiger-Bernays, Public Health Reports (May-Jun 2017) Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution by Beth Gardiner (U. Chicago, 2019) "New evidence that lead exposure increases crime" by Jennifer L. Doleac, Brookings Institution (June 1, 2017) Guest: Rachel Silverman (@rsilv_dc), policy fellow, Center for Global Development Host: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com Credits: Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter. The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production. Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts About Vox Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com Facebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

30 Apr 202147min

Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Andrew Prokop, author of an in-depth revelatory profile on America's swingiest Senator: Mr. Manchin in the Middle. Andrew brings Manchin's history as a legislator to bear in discussion, shedding light on what Manchin's policy goals as a legislator in this Congress might be (if he has any, that is), what his governing ideology might be beyond the mere politics of his re-election, and why, ultimately, he is being so weird about the filibuster right now. Joe, if you're out there: please get in touch. Also, some research is discussed that explores the connection between the partisan identity of members of the so-called "deep state" (non-political-appointee civil servants) and their performance at their jobs. Resources: "Joe Manchin wants to save Democrats from themselves" by Andrew Prokop, Vox (Apr. 27, 2021) White paper Hosts: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica Andrew Prokop (@awprokop), Senior Politics Correspondent, Vox Credits: Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter. The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production. Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts About Vox Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com Facebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Apr 20211h 5min

Matt is joined by professor and transit researcher Eric Goldwyn to talk about why transit projects in the U.S. often fail. They discuss several high-profile cases, including the Second Avenue subway line in New York, the Green Line Extension in Boston, and the DC Streetcar. Why do cities spearhead redundant transit lines on top of existing rights-of-way? Why do cities in other countries spend so much less per mile on transit than American cities do? And, how can the political opposition to mass transit be met, to build the more accessible and environmentally-conscious transit infrastructure of the future? Resources: The Transit Costs Project "The Boston Case: The Story of the Green Line Extension" by Eric Goldwyn, Alon Levy, and Elif Ensari (Dec. 9, 2020) "Costly Lessons from the Second Avenue Subway" by Eric Goldwyn, New York Review of Books (Sep. 22, 2020) Guest: Eric Goldwyn (@ericgoldwyn), Program Director at the Marron Institute of Urban Management and Associate Professor in the Transportation and Land-Use program, NYU Marron Institute. Host: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com Credits: Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter. The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production. Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts About Vox Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com Facebook group: The Weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

23 Apr 20211h 2min