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Today, Explained

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Mar 13, 2018 • 21min

Rexit

Twitter. That’s how Secretary of State Rex Tillerson found out he was fired today. The news came on the heels of Tillerson calling Russia “an irresponsible force of instability”. He hands over the reins to CIA director Mike Pompeo - who is now in charge of planning a historic U.S.-North Korea meeting. Vox’s Zack Beauchamp describes Tillerson’s rocky relationship with Trump, and Ezra Klein reflects on this administration’s high turnover. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 12, 2018 • 17min

The United States vs. California

Donald Trump takes his first trip to California as president tomorrow. Making matters awkward, his administration sued the Golden State last week over SB 54, a law that limits how much the state helps federal immigration agents. KQED reporter Marisa Lagos explains the legal battle, and Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims talks about being stuck in the middle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 9, 2018 • 17min

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

After months of name calling and test missiles, Donald Trump will be the first sitting United States president to meet with a North Korean leader. Vox’s Yochi Dreazen lays out what to expect from the historic meeting. Plus, he shares some negotiation tips for President Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 8, 2018 • 20min

The Disability Belt

Out of the ten counties with the most adults on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), nine voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. But in the president’s new budget, he’s calling for $72 billion in cuts to the program over the next ten years. It's a “thin piece of duct tape that’s keeping everything together,” according to Vox’s Dylan Matthews, who traveled to Tennessee to talk to people on SSDI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 7, 2018 • 18min

That'll Teach 'Em

An historic walkout in West Virginia ended yesterday. Teachers managed to shut down every single public school in the state for nine days to demand higher pay. Oklahoma, Arizona and Kentucky may be next. Sean Rameswaram speaks with West Virginia Public Broadcasting reporter Dave Mistich and Harrison County math teacher Cathy Drummond Pizzino to find out exactly how the state’s educators pulled off their big win. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 6, 2018 • 20min

What's the Deal with Steel?

President Trump announced that he's okay with a trade war late last week and he's got the tariff proposals to prove it: 25% for steel, 10% for aluminum. It’s another campaign promise fulfilled, but the decision flies in the face of Republicans in Congress and most of Trump’s own advisors. (Economic advisor Gary Cohn even quit today.) Vox’s Matthew Yglesias explains the impact of these tariffs, and the chances they could spark a trade war with our allies. He also hums a little ditty about steel. We run with it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 5, 2018 • 3min

Inclusion Riders, Explained

Quick bonus episode! Frances McDormand won the Academy Award for Best Actress last night for her performance in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” In her memorable acceptance speech, she asked all the nominated women to stand up and left them with two words: “inclusion rider.” Vox’s Caroline Framke explains how inclusion riders could force Hollywood to change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 5, 2018 • 20min

President for Life

China's National People's Congress opened its annual two-week meeting today. The country’s parliament is expected to change China’s constitution to allow President Xi Jinping to abolish term limits. Sean Rameswaram speaks to Fordham professor Carl Minzner and The New Yorker’s Jiayang Fan to find out what it means that the leader of one fifth of the world's population just decided he’s never stepping down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 2, 2018 • 19min

The Gun Problem No One Wants to Talk About

It was a week of whiplash in the national fight over gun control. First, major retailers like Dick’s and Walmart raised the gun-buying age from 18 to 21, and companies like Delta dropped their NRA discounts. But then pro-gun rights legislatures pushed back. Vox’s German Lopez walks Sean Rameswaram through the many debates. He says the reason the country is stalled is because we haven’t begun to have the right conversation about guns. Sean and Vox’s Dylan Matthews talk about the elephant in the room. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 1, 2018 • 19min

The Deep Fake

There’s a new kind of algorithm that allows you to take a video of one person and map the face of another person onto his or her body. Not surprisingly, it’s being used to map celebrities’ faces onto the bodies of porn stars having sex. Vox’s Aja Romano tells Sean Rameswaram how “deepfakes” are spreading across the internet. Plus computer scientist Peter Eckersley explores how the same technology could tear our society apart in bigger ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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