The Weeds

The Weeds
CATEGORY: Society & Culture
In politics, you’re often told not to get lost in the weeds. But we love the weeds! That’s where politics becomes policy – the stuff that shapes our lives. Every Tuesday, Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and other voices dig into the weeds on important national issues, including healthcare immigration, and housing.
Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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ConGRADulations, fellow kidsHey, Weeds listeners: Today, we are bringing you an episode of Today, Explained that originally aired in early June. Ten months ago, the faculty of Cramer Hill Elementary set out to get their kids back on track…
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How the world became richDylan Matthews sits down with economic historians Jared Rubin and Mark Koyama to discuss their new book, How the World Became Rich. It tries to answer one of the hardest questions in history: Why, roughly 200 y…
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Does the US need a National Guard of nurses?Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox senior correspondent Dylan Scott (@dylanlscott) to discuss the shortage of nurses in the American health care workforce. The nursing shortage goes back many years,…
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The gun control stalemate, explainedDylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox politics reporter Nicole Narea (@nicolenarea) to talk about gun violence. They discuss the findings of three different research studies related to gun policy, whic…
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The Most Dangerous Branch: A well-regulated militiaThis episode originally published in October 2021 as the second installment of our “Most Dangerous Branch” miniseries about the Supreme Court. Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) talks with law…
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Immigration, democracy, and the rise of the Western far rightThis special episode of The Weeds was taped live at TruCon 2022! Join Dara Lind, Zack Beauchamp, and Jen Kirby for a live panel discussion about the state of global democracy. They discuss the complicated relat…
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The scourge of the “time tax”Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Annie Lowrey (@annielowrey), a staff writer at the Atlantic, to talk about why it’s so hard for people to get government benefits. Frequently called the “time tax,” th…
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Ukraine and the global food supply crisisDylan Matthews and Dara Lind talk with Washington Post economic columnist Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) about the global food supply crisis spinning out of the war in Ukraine. The crisis is so bad that the Unit…
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What the Alito leak means for Roe — and everything elseDara Lind sits down with Vox Supreme Court correspondent Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) for a deep dive into the leaked draft opinion on abortion written by Justice Samuel Alito. They discuss the text of the opini…
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The Most Dangerous Branch: Roe v. WadeThis episode originally published in October 2021 as the first installment of our “Most Dangerous Branch” miniseries about the Supreme Court. Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) talks with NYU…
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Why do we go to war?Dylan Matthews interviews economist Chris Blattman (@cblatts) about his new book Why We Fight, which examines the root causes of war and what can be done to stop it. In a wide-ranging discussion that touches on…
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Weeds Time Machine: The Clean Air ActBuckle up! The Weeds Time Machine is back. Today, Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and special guest Maureen Cropper, economist and professor at the University of Maryland, travel back in time to the 1970s to discuss…
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Tax time at the culture warsDylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Washington Post reporter Toluse Olorunnipa (@ToluseO) to talk more taxes for our hot! tax! policy! episodes this month. Today’s topic: Sen. Rick Scott’s 11-point plan…
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Taxes! Let’s get right Intuit.Weeds co-hosts Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox policy editor Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson) to talk about some hot! tax! policy! But mostly, why it’s so annoying to file our taxes every year. The t…
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The Great ExpirationDylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Washington Post columnist Christine Emba (@ChristineEmba) to discuss the end of Covid-era welfare programs. We just hit two years of the pandemic, and some of those so…
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The art of the gerrymanderDylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox Senior Politics Correspondent Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) for a dive deep into the newly redrawn 2022 congressional maps. They discuss what makes a fair map, the str…
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The myth of US energy independenceDylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Robinson Meyer (@robinsonmeyer), a staff writer at the Atlantic, to talk about the illusion of US energy independence. They discuss how the US produces its oil; the fr…
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Why it’s so hard to move in AmericaDylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Nick Buttrick (@NickButtrick), a psychologist at Princeton, to talk about interstate mobility in the US (or the lack thereof). They talk about why it is so hard…
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Russia's terrible invasionDylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Vox senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp to talk about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They discuss Ukraine’s surprising strength to date, plus Europe’s and Americ…
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A quick updateWe’re hitting snooze on Friday episodes, but they’re not going away forever. We’re just slowing things down while we work on some special projects. We’ll see you on Tuesday!Important Links:Send us an email at w…