It feels like mushrooms are everywhere these days, but why? Vox culture reporter Terry Nguyen explains why mushrooms are super versatile, and how the fungi took over food, wellness, and (of course) drugs. Read Terry’s story here. Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Quick Hits by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Support Vox Quick Hits by making a financial contribution to Vo...
Apr 19, 2021•8 min
The United States and China play leading roles in the global response to climate change: Together, they account for 43 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. And it’s not just actions within their borders that matter; they are highly influential in the world, too. Many industrialized countries look to the US for cues on climate action, and many developing countries look to China. Jariel Arvin (@jarielarvin), a fellow at Vox, discusses what the US and China are doing on climate, including Pr...
Apr 19, 2021•12 min
Arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin have wrapped after a brutal week for policing in America. Minnesota Public Radio’s Jon Collins shares his reporting from Minneapolis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 16, 2021•11 min
Perhaps the oddest film about the environment that you’ll ever see is Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!, a movie that layers metaphors and symbols into one very weird tale. Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson and critic at large Emily VanDerWerff dig into what the film means and why you should watch it. Read Alissa’s review of Mother! here. Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Looking for a new show or movie? Let us help you find it! No request is too vague...
Apr 16, 2021•13 min
Zack, Jenn, and Alex talk about President Joe Biden’s announcement that all remaining US troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021 — the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that launched the war. They discuss what the US withdrawal means for the near-term future of Afghanistan, why Biden finally made the tough call that his predecessors couldn’t (or wouldn’t), and what that decision tells us about how Biden sees the future of US military engagement abroad. Learn more about you...
Apr 16, 2021•9 min
The recent police crackdown on a tent camp in Los Angeles has left the city divided. One thing everyone agrees on is the dire need for lasting solutions to the growing homelessness crisis in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 15, 2021•10 min
Climate writer and Vox contributor David Roberts talks with Jessika Trancik, Associate Professor at the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society at M.I.T. They discuss many aspects of the vast undertaking to remake our world in response to the realities of climate change. They survey the technologies and innovations that are being deployed in this effort, and talk about what sorts of policy initiatives would be best-suited for the road ahead. While we might feel like our future will be full of s...
Apr 15, 2021•11 min
Scientists don’t understand why so many people suffer from Covid-19 symptoms for months, well after they stop testing positive. But that’s just the start of the mystery. There are other diseases that cast these long shadows, and they point to a major blind spot in medicine. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! [email protected] We read every email. Supp...
Apr 15, 2021•5 min
Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz’s sex scandal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 14, 2021•11 min
One of the top Oscar contenders is Judas and the Black Messiah, a film based on the true story of Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party. It features two break-out performances, but neither are nominated for Best Actor. Vox film critic Emily VanDerWerff unpacks why this likely happened and peels the curtain back on the nomination process. Support Vox Quick Hits by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 14, 2021•11 min
Matt, Dara, and Vox's Umair Irfan take on a white paper about indoor pollution and its effects on cognition. A bonus clip from the "White paper-palooza" episode of The Weeds (4/13/21). Resource: "The Impact of Indoor Climate on Human Cognition: Evidence from Chess Tournaments" by Steffen Künn, Juan Palacios, and Nico Pestel (Apr. 29, 2019) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 14, 2021•5 min
The US government is calling for an immediate pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccinations after six recipients (out of millions) developed blood clots. ProPublica’s Caroline Chen explains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 13, 2021•11 min
When a presidency ends, the National Archives and Records Administration's work begins. They play a key role in transferring millions of records and artifacts from the White House. And they even archive the Twitter accounts belonging to members of the previous administration. We first saw this happen with the Obama administration, and those archived accounts are still around. But President Trump has created a kind of thorny problem for the National Archives: how do you preserve the tweets of a p...
Apr 13, 2021•7 min
Democrats have the slimmest of majorities in the United States Senate, and it’s up to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to keep his caucus together. He has to manage moderates, such as Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, while at the same time dealing with progressives to his left. And, he’s up for reelection in 2022 and would rather not face a primary challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Vox reporter Li Zhou (@liszhou) recently interviewed Schumer. She and host Emily Stewart discuss the New York De...
Apr 13, 2021•11 min
Recode’s Rebecca Heilweil explains how proving you got the shot became controversial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 12, 2021•11 min
There are signs everywhere that this summer could be...the best ever? A post-pandemic world has some of us speculating this new season could look like the Roaring 20s meets the Summer of Love. Vox culture writers Terry Nguyen and Melinda Fakuade join host Rebecca Jennings to talk about the trends making us excited to re-emerge into society. Support Vox Quick Hits by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 12, 2021•11 min
George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in 2020 was a deeply traumatic moment for America, and Black Americans, in particular, were affected. Now, many people are living that pain as the trial for former police officer Derek Chauvin, who faces criminal charges in Floyd’s death, is underway. Vox race reporter Fabiola Cineas (@fabiolacineas) discusses what’s happening in the trial, the prosecution’s plan for using video and witness testimony to advance their case, and the impact those elements can hav...
Apr 12, 2021•9 min
Or maybe, after listening to this episode, it’ll be more like CICADAPALOOZA! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 10, 2021•10 min
Alissa loved Godzilla vs. Kong. She wishes she could have seen it on an IMAX screen. She breaks down the plot (spoiler-free!) and the most spectacular moments, shares her one major quibble with the film, and explains why, ultimately, Godzilla vs. Kong is the welcome, bombastic relief we all need right now. Read her review here. Godzilla vs. Kong (113 minutes) is available in theaters and on HBO Max. - Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. - Looking...
Apr 09, 2021•11 min
Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down the royal drama that has roiled the normally quiet kingdom of Jordan this week: The king has accused his half-brother, the former crown prince, of a vague conspiracy against the crown and has put him under house arrest. References: Alex wrote Vox’s explainer on the royal family feud. This is the audio of Prince Hamzah and the Jordanian general talking that Jenn mentioned. The New York Times has a good piece on the roots of the King Abdullah and Prince Hamzah split...
Apr 09, 2021•11 min
One of the biggest pop stars in the world is rerecording her first six albums at the artistic peak of her career. The Atlantic’s Shirley Li explains Swift’s gambit to reclaim her catalog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 09, 2021•11 min
This is The Best Money I Ever Spent, a series of personal essays about the purchases we make – big and small — that make an impact on our lives. When Max Ufberg and his girlfriend left New York for Pennsylvania at the beginning of the pandemic, they assumed it would be a quick trip. But as weeks became months, they splurged on a kayak and began to spend their downtime ambling through the very landscapes Max had once been so eager to leave behind. And he started to realize just how wrong he was a...
Apr 08, 2021•10 min
Writer and Vox contributor Anne Helen Petersen talks with poet and novelist Patricia Lockwood about the experience of being extremely online. They discuss Lockwood's book No One Is Talking About This, writing and religious upbringing, the parts of life perfectly suited to the internet, and the human experiences that glitch the system. Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Quick Hits b...
Apr 08, 2021•9 min
A group of students in Topeka, Kansas, discovered their high school was named after an exalted cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan. Then they tried to change it. Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Quick Hits by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support Vox Quick Hits by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/giv...
Apr 08, 2021•11 min
One of the most famous moral panics in history, the Satanic Panic, may have been at its peak in the 80s, but did it ever really go away? Vox culture writer Aja Romano walks up through the history of this fear of the occult from the Mason family to Lil Nas X. Read Aja Romano’s full story at Vox.com Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Quick Hits by subscribing in your favorite podcast...
Apr 07, 2021•10 min
Matt and Dara are joined by Vox's Dylan Scott to examine the portion of Biden's infrastructure plan designated for the "caretaking economy." Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Quick Hits by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support Vox Quick Hits by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Lea...
Apr 07, 2021•8 min
On Monday night, the Senate parliamentarian gave Democrats an unprecedented blessing. Vox’s Ella Nilsen and Li Zhou explain what they might do with it. Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Quick Hits by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support Vox Quick Hits by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givep...
Apr 06, 2021•9 min
One way that America can get “back to normal” is through what's called a digital vaccine passport. America is well underway with its covid vaccination rollout and while we still have a long way to go, more and more people are getting vaccinated. But while carrying a digital vaccine record sounds like a useful idea, experts warn of privacy issues and serious ethical concerns. Vox’s Rebecca Heilweil explains. References: Read Rebecca’s story here Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and...
Apr 06, 2021•8 min
President Joe Biden has a decision to make by May 1: whether to pull troops from Afghanistan or have them stay. There is no easy answer; both options could have serious consequences. But a decision has to be made. President Donald Trump made a deal with the Taliban that troops would leave by May 1, but in the end, Biden has to make the call. What would happen if the troops stay, and what would happen if they leave? Vox’s Alex Ward is here to discuss. He’s a White House reporter and a co-host of ...
Apr 06, 2021•10 min
Major League Baseball, Delta, and Coke are calling out Georgia for its new voting reforms, but some of these corporations were involved in crafting the legislation. WABE’s Emma Hurt explains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 06, 2021•11 min
