Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about why Silicon Valley's technical marvels aren't visible in economic statistics, dive into the details of Donald Trump's surprisingly banal health plan, and tackle some new research on improving teaching by improving textbooks.This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today atSquarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off.This episode is also brought to you by Harry’s razors. Visit Harrys.com and enter WEEDS at ch...
Mar 11, 2016•1 hr 24 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Matt and Sarah discuss the results of Super Tuesday. Everyone is tired, so it gets a bit weird. Topics include whether Donald Trump is actually a moderate, how the election shows American politics is either polarizing or de-polarizing, and whether Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton would be a stronger general-election candidate. Oh, and Bernie Sanders has finally convinced Matt that free college —including for rich kids — is a good idea! This week’s episode of ...
Mar 02, 2016•1 hr 24 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast By popular demand, Sarah, Matt, and Ezra finally address the Trans Pacific Partnership before contemplating the GOP's ongoing self-immolation, and the real consequences of the war on Planned Parenthood.Today’s episode is brought to you by Harry’s razors. Visit Harrys.com and enter WEEDS at checkout to receive $5 off your first order.Today’s episode is also brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Weeds to stream Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries and hundred...
Feb 26, 2016•1 hr 9 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Sarah, Ezra, and Matt consider the case for reforming America's current practice of granting life tenure to Supreme Court Justices, discuss the political fight over replacing the late Justice Scalia, and ponder a 25 year-old work of political science that implies the United States is heading for a coup.Today’s episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Weeds for a special limited-time offer to stream hundreds of courses for free!This episode is also brough...
Feb 19, 2016•1 hr 6 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Sarah, Ezra, and Matt use the New Hampshire primary results as a lens through which to discuss Jonathan Rauch's case for "political realism" as a governing philosophy.This episode of The Weeds is brought to you by Squarespace. Start Building your website today at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off.This episode is also brought to you by Harry’s razors. Go to Harrys.com right now to get $5 off your first order with the promo code WEEDS. Learn more about your ad choi...
Feb 12, 2016•1 hr 13 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Who wins the 2016 election will hugely influence what type of policies Washington passes — and that's why Ezra, Sarah, and Matt devote this entire episode of The Weeds to dissecting the results of the Iowa caucus. We look at Bernie's surprising success, the declining strength of political parties, and how a Cruz administration would govern.For a limited time, The Great Courses Plus is offering The Weeds listeners a chance to stream The Fundamentals of Photography and hundreds of other courses fo...
Feb 02, 2016•1 hr 13 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast It’s one of the most fundamental disputes in Washington: what effect do taxes have on the economy? On this week's episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Matt, and Sarah work through some of the top papers to explain. Also on this episode: why a third party won't save American politics, and a new working paper that shows a surprising way to encourage students to attend high school.This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today atSquarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at ch...
Jan 29, 2016•1 hr 25 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast In this preview of Ezra's coming interview podcast, he interviews New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat. Douthat is the author of Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class, Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save Themselves, and Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics. He's also a fascinating political thinker with a skill that's rare in these polarized times: he's a conservative writing for an overwhelmingly liberal audience, and he's ab...
Jan 26, 2016•1 hr 13 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Matt, and Sarah dive into one of Bernie Sanders' favorite campaign trail arguments: that money causes more Congressional dysfunction than partisanship. Also on this episode: why the lead poisoning crisis in Flint matters, and a discussion of a (not so great) paper of the week on global inequality. This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. Just for a limited time The Great Courses Plus is offering our listeners a chance to stream this course: The Fun...
Jan 22, 2016•1 hr 13 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Matt, Sarah, and Ezra reflect on Obama's successes and failures, take a look at Hillary Clinton's new attack on Bernie Sanders, and consider some research on the new health law's surprising lack of impact on the labor market.This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today atSquarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 15, 2016•1 hr 20 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast America's immigration debate is peppered with terms like "path to citizenship" and "amnesty." Those catch phrases can mean vastly different things to different people — and on this week's episode of the Weeds, Vox's Dara Lind joins Sarah and Matt to explain. Also on this episode: understanding the family behind the armed stand-off in Oregon, and a new white paper that argues against increasing the minimum wage. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today atSq...
Jan 08, 2016•1 hr 18 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast In a very merry Christmas day episode of the Weeds, Ezra and Matt talk to Sarah about how why teen birth rate fell in half since the mid-2000s — and whether MTV's 16 and Pregnant might have anything to do with it. Also in this episode: an economic critique of Christmas presents and a deep dive into Hillary Clinton's pledge not to tax the middle class. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 25, 2015•1 hr 3 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Matt, Sarah, and Ezra lay out what is and isn't troubling about gentrification, break down congress' latest fiscal deal, and discuss a paper that explores why swing voting has become rare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 18, 2015•1 hr 16 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast In this special episode of The Weeds, Ezra interviews former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about what it's like to manage the most powerful economic policymaking institution in the world during a financial crisis. They also talk about Bernanke's views on the Republican party, what he learned from George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and what happened when he went to Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 15, 2015•41 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Ezra, Sarah, and Matt are reunited at last for a deep dive into why patients in and out of Obamacare are paying more for health insurance, the rising tide of Islamophobia in the presidential campaign, and a look at fascinating new research on the psychological depths of contemporary partisanship. Have you heard The Message? It’s an original science fiction podcast from Panoply and GE Podcast Theater. All of Season 1 is available now, so listen and find out why a 70-year-old alien recording seems...
Dec 11, 2015•1 hr 17 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Matt is joined by special guest stars Julia Belluz and Brad Plumer to discuss the science of eating fat, the Paris climate conference, and the public health implications of climate change. The Weeds is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful. Have you heard The Message? It’s an original science fiction podcast from Panoply and GE Podcast Theater. All of Season 1 is avail...
Dec 04, 2015•58 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Ezra, Sarah, and Matt discuss the flaws in the DC elite's favorite idea: raising the retirement age, consider how to respond to terrorist attacks (with a bonus digression about 19th century anarchist assassins), and debate a striking new data set that shows the baffling variation in how frequently different hospitals perform c-sections rather than traditional childbirths. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today at Squarespace.com. Enter offer c...
Nov 20, 2015•1 hr 14 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast On this week's episode of the Weeds, fellow Vox editor Dylan Matthews joins Sarah and Matt for what is certainly the most in-depth discussion of basic income ever broadcast. Would it really just work to give every American a base salary, regardless of whether they worked or not? Also on this episode: a recap of the best policy tussles in the Republican debate, and a fascinating white paper on why colleges don't punish cheaters — even when they get caught. This podcast is brought to you by Spotle...
Nov 13, 2015•1 hr 7 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Facts rarely seem to win any political debate — and on this episode of the Weeds, Matt, Ezra, and Sarah use political science research to explain why. Also: the case for softball debate questions and a troubling new study on rising death rates among white, middle-aged men. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace: Build it Beautiful. This episode is also brought to you by Au...
Nov 06, 2015•1 hr 8 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Ezra, Sarah, and Matt finally deliver the equivocal takes on gerrymandering that America has been waiting for, dive into the weeds of the big budget compromise, and tackle what may be the dorkiest policy issue of all time — the use of survey vs administrative data to measure household level poverty. Today’s episode of The Weeds is sponsored by the American Heart Association, which is urging lawmakers to save physical education. The average school gets just $764 every year for physical...
Oct 30, 2015•1 hr 13 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In this week's episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Matt, and Sarah dive head first into a new Brookings white paper about income inequality (and how to not to fix it). We also imagine what a Joe Biden administration could have been, with a commander-in-chief who considers Republicans friends rather than enemies. This episode of The Weeds is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace: Build it Beautif...
Oct 23, 2015•52 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast On this week's episode, Ezra, Sarah, and Matt debate a little known Obamacare program, learn all about Nordic economies, and take on a new white paper forcing health economists to rethink deductibles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 16, 2015•1 hr 22 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast In a special edition of The Weeds, Ezra interviews Arthur Brooks —head of the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, a New York Times columnist, a major influence on Jeb Bush, and a surprisingly snappy dresser. Really. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 15, 2015•54 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast In the second episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Sarah, and Matt debate whether nationalized health care could work in America, what solutions are really needed to solve the country's mass shooting issue — and introduce an exciting new, regular segment: white paper of the week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 09, 2015•1 hr 3 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast In this first episode of the new Vox.com podcast the weeds, Ezra Klein, Sarah Kliff, and Matthew Yglesias look at why Hillary Clinton is trying to gut a major part of Obamacare, how Donald Trump's tax plan made Matt sad, and whether American politics is becoming structurally biased towards outsiders like Trump and away from insiders like Bush. It gets real nerdy, real fast. This episode was sponsored by Audible.com. For a free audio book and a 30 day free trial, head to Audible.com/WEEDS Learn m...
Oct 02, 2015•56 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast 
