With two months left in the Trump presidency, the US is reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan in an attempt to end America's longest war. But Biden will still inherit the conflict.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Retail was struggling. Then came the virus. Recode’s Jason Del Rey explains how the American mall will never be the same, and how the machines might save retail.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An ethnic conflict in Ethiopia has thrown the Horn of Africa into disarray and could upset order on the continent.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid-19 is surging across the United States, just in time for cold weather and major holidays. North Dakota is doing particularly badly. Vermont may offer hope.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oregon decriminalized all drugs. Red states and blue states are doing the same with weed. It’s the culmination of a failed drug war.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A weekend of protests, violence, and enmity in DC revealed what Donald Trump has planned post-presidency.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid-19 is surging (again). Schools are closing (again). Kids are learning online (again). And more American parents than ever are turning to homeschool (for the very first time). Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

California tried to strengthen labor rights for gig workers. Uber, Lyft, and their food-delivering cohorts responded with a $200 million propaganda offensive.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a fraught Election Week, cable news is finally cutting away from President Trump’s falsehoods. Erik Wemple, media critic for the Washington Post, explains why it might not last. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 45th president of the United States has thus far refused to acknowledge the 46th. Political scientist Zeynep Tufekci explains this latest test of America’s democracy. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices