Explain It to Me

Last month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a new mental health policy that lowers the threshold for involuntary commitments for psychiatric care. While the Adams administration argues this shift is a solution for growing crime and homelessness numbers, critics argue it’s a step in the wrong direction. What’s the history behind involuntary holds, and what does it say about mental health policy in America?References:988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline SAMHSA Introducing the "Designed to Fail" series | Mental Health America America's Long-Suffering Mental Health System Hosts:Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)Credits:Sofi LaLonde, producer Cristian Ayala, engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserA.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcastsWant to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the 2022 midterm elections mostly over, members of Congress are back on the Hill to wrap up loose legislative ends. One of the bipartisan bills floating through the lame-duck session is the Electoral Count Reform Act, a bill that would add protections to the presidential transfer of power. So, what exactly does this legislation do to protect elections, and is it enough? Hosts:Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)Credits:Sofi LaLonde, producerCristian Ayala, engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserA.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcastsWant to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(Originally aired August 2022) Vox senior correspondent Dylan Matthews sits down with Felicia Wong (@FeliciaWongRI), president and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, to talk about a new era of industrial policy. They discuss the theory of modern supply-side economics, the passage of the Inflation Reduction and CHIPS acts, and how much common ground exists between the political left and the right.Hosts:Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, VoxCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineerA.M. Hall, editorial director Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world of cryptocurrency is infamously unregulated, but what happens when a major crypto exchange crashes, uprooting almost the entire crypto ecosystem, and there’s no regulatory body in charge? You have the FTX crash of 2022. And it’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room: why don’t we have a regulation framework for crypto? It seems like an obvious solution, but as The Verge’s Liz Lopatto (@mslopatto) and financial regulation expert Yesha Yadav explain, it’s not as simple as it sounds. References:Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himselfThe collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried’s shocking downfallHow FTX played both parties and almost won Washington Man who cleaned up Enron says FTX is worse Binance to sell rest of FTX token holdings as Alameda CEO defends firm's financial condition Hosts:Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)Credits:Sofi LaLonde, producerPatrick Boyd, engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserA.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsWant to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let’s be blunt: Weed policy is complicated. As with many elections in the past decade, recreational marijuana was on the ballot again during the 2022 midterm elections. After Colorado and Washington voted to legalize recreational use in 2012, more and more states have decided to ride the green wave. And recent moves by the Biden administration signal the federal government may finally come around to decriminalizing marijuana. But do these policies have any power? References:Marijuana election results: Maryland and Missouri vote to legalize cannabis by ballot measurePresident Biden’s pardons for marijuana possession, explained Federal marijuana legalization is stopped in its tracksHosts:Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)Credits:Sofi LaLonde, producerCristian Ayala, engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserA.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsWant to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We did it, y’all – we made it to Election Day! And if you’re like us, tonight you’ll be glued to your TV and constantly refreshing Vox.com waiting for the returns to come in. We’re pretty used to knowing the winner that same night, but in 2020, we had to wait days before a winner was announced. So this got us thinking: How do news networks know when to make a call? And how has that changed through the years? We talked to three experts to find out.References:The 2022 midterm elections, explainedWhen will we know results in the 2022 midterm elections?How elections are called and what “projected winner” means, explained (November 2020)How we call races | APEXPLAINER: Why do the media call races in US elections? | AP NewsHosts:Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)Credits:Sofi LaLonde, producerCristian Ayala, engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviserA.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsWant to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this podcast, economists discuss inflation and its impact on the US economy. They explore potential solutions and the risks of a recession. They also analyze the impact of fiscal policy, including the American Rescue Plan, on inflation. The podcast delves into the effectiveness of the Inflation Reduction Act and explores strategies to improve the supply side of the economy. The debate over the inflationary effect of student loan forgiveness is also discussed. The podcast advises voters to focus on longer-term issues rather than short-term inflation concerns.

Midterm elections are around the corner, and while voters are concerned about the economy, inflation, and abortion, there’s one other issue jumping to the top of the list: crime. Rising crime comes up in campaigns like clockwork, but during this election season, it's making a particular mark on two key Senate races: Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Vox’s Nicole Narea (@nicolenarea) and Li Zhou (@liszhou) explain.References:The 2022 midterm elections, explained2021 crime rates are a big mysteryHosts:Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill) Credits:Sofi LaLonde, producerEfim Shapiro, engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviserA.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcastsWant to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The midterm elections are three weeks away, and candidates aren’t the only ones on the ballot. Voters across the country will decide new laws and policy through ballot initiatives, which can include proposals like legalizing recreational marijuana, funding in-state college tuition, and raising taxes to fight climate change. But how do these issues get on the ballot in the first place, and will they stay there? Vox policy editor Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson) explains.References:The 2022 midterm elections, explainedTwo states, two visions for the future of labor The states where the midterms will directly decide the future of abortion access New Mexico voters are set to weigh in on a constitutional ballot measure for early childhood education this NovemberSample ballot lookup — Ballotpedia VOTE411 Hosts:Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)Credits:Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserA.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcastsWant to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The midterm elections are four weeks away. Senate control is on the line, and races in battleground states are tightening. Few things say “close election” like an October surprise. The one getting the latest buzz this election cycle comes from Georgia, courtesy of Republican senatorial candidate Herschel Walker. Vox politics reporter Li Zhou (@liszhou) explains the race, and Rutgers professor David Greenberg (@republicofspin) tells us the origin of the October surprise.References:Herschel Walker is an epically flawed candidate. He could still win. Hosts:Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill)Credits:Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserA.M. Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices