Right-wing coffee shops are popping up across the country, proving yet again that America can make pretty much anything political. One sells blends such as “The Don” and “Sleepy Joe Decaf.” Another offers concealed-carry permit classes. Many have Donald Trump-themed decor and products. Reporter Luke Winkie discusses the MAGA coffee trend and why Republicans are looking for a conservative-leaning version of Starbucks. Learn More: Read Luke’s story on right-wing coffee here. – Tell Me More is host...
May 18, 2021•15 min
Thanks to Afterpay and Klarna, it’s easier than ever to buy in installments. Now, the model is coming for necessities. The buy now pay later concept isn’t new, but as startups make it more popular, what might be the unforeseen consequences, and why might Americans be particularly susceptible to going into more and more debt? Terry Nguyen wrote about this for The Goods. Read the full story: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2021/5/11/22429014/buy-now-pay-later-pandemic-expansion Enjoyed this episode?...
May 17, 2021•10 min
This weekend, Vox critic-at-large Emily VanDerWerff and film critic Alissa Wilkinson recommend you dive into the first few episodes of Amazon Prime Video’s 10-episode miniseries The Underground Railroad. Directed by Moonlight director Barry Jenkins, the series adapts Colson Whitehead’s award-winning novel about a young woman escaping slavery by traveling on a literal underground railroad, with a train and everything. The series is a mesmerizing adaptation of a wonderful novel, and it’s one of th...
May 14, 2021•10 min
Lumber mania is sweeping North America. Prices are skyrocketing, and lumber supplies are scarce. It’s making building or renovating a home more expensive and has turned a stick of wood into a hot commodity at places like Home Depot and Lowe’s. The internet has taken notice of America’s lumber frenzy and has turned it into a bit of a meme on places like TikTok and Twitter. Paul Jannke, principal at Forest Economic Advisors, explains the current supply-demand crunch going on in lumber and whether ...
May 13, 2021•16 min
If you haven’t been fat, you might not know what it’s like to fly as a fat person. To walk past rows of passengers who meet your face with dread, disgust, or fear. To hear your body loudly derided in your presence. To be removed from a flight and required to rebook, sometimes without a refund, and nearly always without legal recourse. This week on The Best Money I Ever Spent, Aubrey Gordon, the writer behind ‘Your Fat Friend’ and the co-host of the Maintenance Phase, explains how a simple device...
May 12, 2021•11 min
The term “Asian American” applies to more than 50 ethnic groups and people who speak upwards of 100 languages. While it’s served Asian Americans to build political power, it’s also left many people feeling marginalized and erased. Lumping such a diverse group together masks the different ways people experience the economy, culture, and society. The Indian American experience is quite different from, say, the Burmese American experience. Vox reporter Li Zhou discusses the inadequacy of the term “...
May 11, 2021•11 min
Whether or not you grew up watching the hit TV teen drama, Dawson’s Creek, you are probably familiar with a gif of the titular Dawson, played by James Van Der Beek, sobbing all over the internet. Why did this become a thing and what was the backstory behind it’s existence in the first place? Vox’s Constance Grady interviewed showrunners, editors, and TV critics to find the answers. Read the full story. Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscrib...
May 10, 2021•13 min
Vox critic-at-large Emily VanDerWerff and film critic Alissa Wilkinson recommend FX’s groundbreaking series Pose, which recently started its third and final season. The show dramatizes the lives of members of New York City’s drag ball community in the late 1980s and early ’90s. It’s a fundamentally warm and optimistic celebration of found family, but it’s also not afraid to look at the terrible things that can happen to queer people in our culture, particularly during that time period. Seasons 1...
May 07, 2021•9 min
Tell Me More is Vox Quick Hits exclusive series, hosted by Vox reporter Emily Stewart and produced by Sofi LaLonde. America’s high-flying housing market might mean you’ll be renting forever — or, at least, for quite some time. Housing prices have soared during the pandemic as people have rushed to buy homes to escape cities and secure space for themselves and their families. Big companies have scooped up houses as well, sometimes outcompeting would-be homebuyers. As a result, more people may be ...
May 06, 2021•11 min
A caller from Austin, TX wants to check out some books from her local library, but is finding that many titles are on hold. Vox book critic, Constance Grady recommends some under the radar hits that will likely be available a local public library. Constance recommends: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis Cakes and Ale by William Somerset Maugham The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah If you are looking for a book recommendation, you can email Const...
May 05, 2021•5 min
A rumor has taken hold among some Republicans that President Joe Biden wants to curtail America’s meat consumption — a rumor that, to be clear, isn’t true. The White House has no plans to limit people to eating certain amounts of beef as part of its climate proposal. However, that doesn’t mean meat has a positive impact on the environment. Food-related emissions, including those resulting from meat production, are a major contributor to climate change. Vox senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp deb...
May 04, 2021•15 min
Let’s be clear: All the available vaccines are worth taking and public health officials have avoided comparing them, because the best coronavirus vaccine is whichever one you can get. But that hasn’t stopped people from inventing their own perceptions about what it means to be part of the Moderna Mafia or the Pfizer Pham. Vox contributor Luke Winkie (@luke_winkie) explains why we do this. Read the story. Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Quick Hits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscr...
May 03, 2021•9 min
We’ve been hunkered down at home for more than a year and, for many families, that’s meant finding common ground in viewing habits. This week on What to Watch, Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson and critic at large Emily VanDerWerff help Stasi, a California mom with two tweens (ages 10 and 12). Stasi says it has been tough to find things to watch as a family — the options are either too juvenile or too mature, and very few hit that sweet spot right in middle. So she wants to know: What should they...
Apr 30, 2021•17 min
Questionable facts and numbers plague the conversation around sustainability and fashion, and that makes the industry harder to regulate. Sustainable fashion expert and journalist Alden Wicker found out why and how the average person can help. Read Alden’s full story 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 or specific. Email [email protected]. We read...
Apr 28, 2021•13 min
The House of Representatives recently voted to make Washington, DC, the 51st state in the union, something many residents have wanted for a long time. Even though momentum is building, the bill probably isn’t going anywhere in the Senate unless Democrats get rid of or change the filibuster rules. Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas) discusses what DC not being a state means for the people who live there as well as politics and polling around the issue. Learn more: Read Jerusal...
Apr 27, 2021•11 min
You may have noticed that shorts are getting shorter, legs are the new abs, and it’s now socially acceptable to thirst over men with huge thighs on the internet. Vox senior culture reporter, Alex Abad-Santos (@alex_abads) explains why this summer is all about men’s thighs and why we should care. Read Alex’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...
Apr 26, 2021•9 min
For months, the primary tools we had to combat Covid-19 outbreaks were testing, distancing, and masks. Now there’s a new and highly effective tool: vaccines. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has asked the White House for more vaccines and resources to address the state’s Covid spike. Thus far, the Biden administration is sticking to its plan of distributing vaccines according to population, whatever case rates in certain areas may be. Vox senior correspondent German Lopez (@germanrlopez) discusses...
Apr 26, 2021•11 min
Film critic Alissa Wilkinson and critic-at-large Emily VanDerWerff do an epic speed run through the eight films nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars (Sunday, April 25, on ABC). In this Best Picture Battle Royale, Alissa and Emily go head to head and each make a case for four films — why these films deserve to win Best Picture and why you should watch them before the big night. (Spoiler alert: Not all of them are worth your time!) Read more about the nominees: Judas and the Black Messiah Mank...
Apr 23, 2021•16 min
Or at least 30 percent of it. Support this show by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 23, 2021•16 min
Twelve of Europe’s richest soccer teams tried, and failed, to create their own elite tournament in a naked money grab. Worldly’s Alex Ward, arguably Vox’s top soccer fan, explains why the move angered basically everyone and the scheme failed — for now. References: Alex wrote an explainer on the Super League and how the fans killed it. Support Worldly by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 23, 2021•11 min
In a very special Earth Month episode, Zack, Jenn, and Alex use Nigeria as a case study to uncover the deep reasons why it’s so hard for the world to quit fossil fuels. Nigeria is a country deeply threatened by climate change, but it’s also one with a major oil industry that hopes to lift millions out of poverty — a feat that has never been done without some degree of reliance on dirty energy. The team explains how these barriers affect the prospects for mitigating climate change in both Nigeria...
Apr 23, 2021•13 min
Listen to the Atlantic’s Robinson Meyer explain the arguments and then decide for yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 22, 2021•16 min
Vox environmental reporter Benji Jones talks with journalist and author Michelle Nijhuis about her book Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction. They talk about the history of the conservation movement and its many characters, the standout successes and ugly truths, and why, even with millions of species under threat, there's still reason to hope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 22, 2021•11 min
Highlighting Earth Week with an essay by London-based writer Grace Linden about the $219 air filter she bought her parents after the historic fires in California and the pandemic. Read Grace's essay 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. This episode was made by: Editor: Alanna Okun (@alanna) Producer: Schuyler Swenson Engin...
Apr 22, 2021•8 min
Norway has lapped the world in adopting electric vehicles. Christina Bu explains how they did it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 21, 2021•13 min
In the spirit of Earth Week, Vox book critic, Constance Grady shares some favorite books that inspired her to start her own garden: reads about what makes gardens look good and what emotional needs they can provide for us. Constance recommends: Down to Earth by Monty Don Essential Earthman by Henry Mitchell “The Rosary” an essay from How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee If you are looking for a book recommendation, you can email Constance Dot Grady at Vox dot com. Be sure to ...
Apr 21, 2021•8 min
Vox's Dylan Scott joins Matt and Dara to talk about South Korea's response to Covid-19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 21, 2021•8 min
In 2019, David Wallace-Wells wrote a book called The Uninhabitable Earth. Just two years later, he’s feeling hopeful — thanks to the world’s biggest polluters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 20, 2021•15 min
The environmental cost of growing marijuana is quite a bit higher than you might think, especially when growing indoors. America’s legal marijuana production industry consumes enough electricity to power nearly 100,000 homes every year. According to one estimate, if Colorado would shift all of its marijuana production to outdoors, it would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 percent annually. Dharna Noor (@dharnanoor), a staff writer at Earther, discusses the surprising environmental impa...
Apr 20, 2021•12 min
And other items from the lunch menu of 2050. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 19, 2021•13 min
