Matt, Dara and Ezra talk about the Trump administration's use of family detention as an alternative to family separation. Then they turn to a white paper that looks at racial attitudes and white privilege. References and further reading: Tara Golshan's piece on the latest immigration bill Politico piece on the Senate efforts to fix family separation "Racial attitudes in response to thoughts of White privilege" white paper Kate Manne's piece on Bernie Sanders' white male problem mentioned by Matt...
Jul 03, 2018•59 min•Ep. 215
Vox senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Matt and Dara to talk about the future of the Supreme Court without Justice Kennedy. References and further reading: NYT piece on Justice Kennedy's son's connections to the Trump family Dara's piece on the most likely picks for Kennedy's replacement Jane's piece on Senator Mike Lee Jane's piece on polling that show's Trump voters were motivated by the Supreme Court vacancy Examiner piece on overturning Roe v. Wade Learn more about your ad choices. ...
Jun 29, 2018•48 min•Ep. 214
Ezra returns from the wilds of book leave to talk about open borders with Dara and Matt. References and further reading: Dara's piece on the 1996 immigration bill "Trillion dollar bills on the sidewalk" white paper Bryan Caplan paper on open borders Ezra's interview with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 26, 2018•46 min•Ep. 213
While Sarah, Matt and Ezra are away Dara is joined by Dylan Matthews and Andrew Prokop to talk about the friction between how the Supreme Court says it makes its decisions, and the way everyone assumes it really works. Is it time for the Court to stop getting polite and start getting (legal) real(ist)? References and further reading: Andrew’s explainer on the gerrymandering decision The “efficiency gap,” explained by one of its creators Dylan on the public-sector union case Janus v. AFSCME Dara’...
Jun 22, 2018•55 min•Ep. 212
Senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Dara and Matt to talk about the ideological roots of Donald Trump's family separation policy. References and further reading: Dara's piece on "operation wetback" the immigration policy Donald Trump loves Jane's piece on Stephen Miller Jamelle Bouie's piece on Stephen Miller Politico piece about Trump possibly shutting down the government in September over border wall, mentioned by Jane Dara's piece on the number of families separated at the border dail...
Jun 19, 2018•49 min•Ep. 211
Sarah, Dara and Matt answer your questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 15, 2018•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 210
While Sarah and Matt are away Dara is joined by Vox.com congressional reporters Tara Golshan and Ella Nilsen to talk about immigration and family separation. Then she's joined by Vox.com criminal justice reporter German Lopez to talk about a white paper that looks at the effectiveness of 12- step programs. References and further reading: Ella's piece on Democrats trying to stop family separation at the border Tara's piece on the chaos in the House over immigration Sarah's piece on the missing ch...
Jun 12, 2018•52 min•Ep. 209
Sarah, Dara and Matt talk about the recent recall of Judge Aaron Persky, the California judge who sentenced former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner to six months when he was convicted of sexual assault in 2016. References and further reading: Julia Ioffe's piece on the Stanford professor who led the charge against Persky AP reporting on Persky's record as a judge Rachel Marshall's Vox.com piece on why the recall isn't a progressive victory John Pfaff Twitter thread on how elections impac...
Jun 08, 2018•43 min•Ep. 208
Dara, Sarah and Matt trace the Supreme Court Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling back to peyote and then discuss a Swedish study about lottery winners. References and further reading: Vox.com explainer on the Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling Vox.com piece about religious liberty in American history The Gallup poll on rates of support for gay marriage, mentioned by Sarah White paper on Swedish lottery winners Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 05, 2018•44 min•Ep. 207
Sarah and Matt are joined by Vox.com Congress reporter Tara Golshan to talk about missing children, separated families, and the latest immigration action on the Hill. References and other reading: Sarah's piece with an immigration expert explaining the 1,500 "missing" migrant children Sarah explainer on family separations Tara's piece on Republican moderates and immigration Dara's explainer on the family separation policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jun 01, 2018•52 min•Ep. 206
Libby Nelson, Vox.com news editor and former education reporter, joins Matt and Sarah to talk about the discipline practices and educational outcomes at so-called "no excuses" charter schools. Then they turn to a white paper that looks at lead poisoning and fertility. References and further reading: Illinois Public Radio story on Noble Academy Video of teacher at Success Academy ripping up student's homework Research mentioned by Libby on outcomes at the Harlem Children's Zone Upper West Side pa...
May 29, 2018•58 min•Ep. 205
Sarah and Matt talk about America’s rapidly falling birthrate, and a study on the long-term benefit of the 1980s Medicaid expansion. References and further reading: National Center for Health Statistics report on declining birth rates Vox's Julia Belluz's piece on the low birthrate trend NPR piece on the CDC report on declining fertility rates in the U.S. Sarah's piece on why teen births are declining Lyman Stone paper Sarah mentioned arguing that government interventions don't boost fertility N...
May 22, 2018•52 min•Ep. 204
Senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Dara and Matt to debate the “identity politics” backlash and the prospects for pluralism. References and further reading: Bari Weiss' piece on the 'intellectual dark web' Conor Friedersdorf's piece on how the left fuels the right's bigotry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 18, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 203
Sarah, Dara and Matt discuss the the exorbitant cost of prescription drugs and a white paper that looks at the correlation between counties that vote Republican and the number of low and high-skilled immigrants living in those communities. References and further reading: Dylan Scott's piece on the price of prescription drugs mentioned by Sarah The white paper on 'The Political Impact of Immigration: Evidence from the United States' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...
May 15, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 202
Vox.com senior political reporter Andrew Prokop joins Dara and Matt to explain the strange tale of Donald Trump’s lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who now seems to be in serious legal hot water. References and further reading: Andrew's piece on the corporations that hired Michael Cohen Andrew's piece on the Cohen's ties to Russia Andrew's Stormy Daniels explainer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 11, 2018•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 201
Sarah, Dara, and Matt analyze Trump’s drastic rollback of Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti and discuss new research on the never-ending “economic anxiety” debate. References and further reading: Dara's TPS explainer White paper on attitudes toward social change Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 08, 2018•58 min•Ep. 200
Vox's science reporter Brian Resnick joins Dara and Sarah to talk about psychiatry's Goldwater Rule, which has never met a test like Donald Trump. References and further reading: Brian's piece on why Trump's fitness for office is not a medical question Brian's explainer on the Goldwater Rule Sharon Begley's article Trump's mental health mentioned by Sarah Sarah's piece on fax machines Dara's piece on why the palace intrigue stuff matters to Trump Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...
May 04, 2018•51 min•Ep. 199
Vox's Dylan Matthews joins Sarah and Matt to break down the jobs guarantee debate and discuss research on a promising school desegregation initiative undermined by racist police practices. References and further reading Dylan's jobs guarantee explainer (with links to Stephanie Kelton's writing) Dylan's explainer of Sen. Cory Booker's jobs guarantee proposal (with links to Darrick Hamilton and Sandy Darity's writing) Bryce Covert's piece on the case for a jobs guarantee Gallup poll on workers get...
May 01, 2018•54 min•Ep. 198
Congressional reporter Ella Nilsen makes her Weeds debut joining Sarah and Matt to break down the botched nomination at the Veterans’ Administration, they also address the questions around the troubled agency’s future. References and further reading: Sarah's piece on the Ronny Jackson scandal Ella's piece on the controversy surrounding Jackson's nomination CNN piece on Ronny Jackson's alleged 'grab-and-go' clinic NY Times piece on the concierge emergency room Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Apr 27, 2018•52 min•Ep. 197
Sarah, Dara and Matt discuss a Republican farm bill that would impose work requirements on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) beneficiaries. Then they turn to a white paper on OxyContin and the heroin epidemic. References and further reading: Good Politico article summarizing the farm bill Marion Nestle's piece on the farm bill White paper on OxyContin's impact on the heroin epidemic German Lopez's piece on the OxyContin white paper Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...
Apr 24, 2018•59 min•Ep. 196
Zack Beauchamp joins Dara and Matt to explain the ever-expanding 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force and Trump's even more expansive legal rationale for bombing Syria. References and further reading: Vox's history of the AUMF A primer on the legal dispute in Doe v. Mattis Chesney primer on the Corker-Kaine Draft AUMF Who is Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 20, 2018•55 min•Ep. 195
Matt, Sarah and Dara work backward from James Comey through FBI history and discover an 18th-century demon hidden in the Constitution. No, really. References and further reading: Dara's piece on the tension between the rule of law and political leadership Recent PBS poll on how Americans view the FBI Max Weber, explained White paper on gender integration in the Norwegian military Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 17, 2018•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 194
Dylan Scott joins Sarah and Matt to talk about Paul Ryan's retirement, his legacy, and the Weedsiest health reform of all. References: Sarah's all-payer rate setting explainer Dylan's piece on Paul Ryan's legacy Melanie Mason's piece on California's healthcare bill RTI evaluation of all-payer rate setting Health Affairs evaluation on changes in hospital use in Maryland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 13, 2018•54 min•Ep. 193
Sirens galore, as the team races through Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt's many, many scandals and a white paper about unnecessary ambulance use. References: Trump's defense of Scott Pruitt A good explainer on the Pruitt scandal How EPA deregulations impact toxic air pollution Michael Grunwald's piece on Pruitt's rollback of Obama era environmental regulations Elaina Plott's pieces on Scott Pruitt and more Working paper on ambulance usage in New York Learn more about y...
Apr 10, 2018•54 min•Ep. 192
Dylan Matthews joins Sarah and Matt to break down the history of Sinclair Broadcast Group, its politics, and the regulatory favors that fueled its growth. References: Dylan's piece on the Sinclair media takeover Timothy Burke's Sinclair anchor mashup Alving Chang's piece on Sinclair media, see if your local news station is owned by Sinclair Martin and McCrain's paper on local news and national politics Good Mother Jones piece on Sinclair's local news takeover Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Apr 06, 2018•49 min•Ep. 191
Sarah, Dara, and Matt talk about the citizenship question, funding, and the potential consequences of a botched enumeration. Plus a weedsy dive into potential redistricting mischief, and research on Jose Canseco's malign influence on Major League Baseball. References: Dara's piece on the 2020 census Carlos Waters' video on the 2020 census The baseball white paper Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 03, 2018•54 min•Ep. 190
The Weeds/Worldly crossover event continues: Jennifer Williams tries to persuade Dara and Matt they're wrong about an Islamophobic shift in Trump's new cabinet, and the old-fashioned democracy-promoting hawkery of George W. Bush. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 30, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 189
Matt, Sarah and Ezra on a new, blockbuster study on racial mobility — and whether Mark Zuckerberg should shut down Facebook. References: Race and Economic Opportunity in the United States Dylan Matthews' piece Income Mobility Charts for Girls, Asian-Americans and Other Groups. Or, Make Your Own Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys Matt's case against Facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 27, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 188
Andrew Prokop, senior politics reporter for Vox.com, joins Dara and Matt to break down the scandal that’s rocking the worlds of technology and politics. References: The Jane Mayer piece on the Mercers Dara mentioned A study on Big Five personality attributes and voting behavior SCIENCE! on the Cambridge Analytica model A big five personality test you can do at home Andrew's Cambridge Analytica explainer Matt's good Facebook take Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...
Mar 23, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 187
An economics working paper finds that access to Naloxone, a drug to reverse opioid overdoses, may increase opioid abuse. Sarah and Ezra explain the paper that started a social media firestorm — and what it means for combating the opioid epidemic. References: Doleac and Mukherjee working paper A good summary of the debate from The Atlantic Health Affairs blog post Working paper from Daniel Rees People are dying because we misunderstand how those with addiction think A lifesaving drug for overdose...
Mar 20, 2018•46 min•Ep. 186
