Explain It to Me

In the final episode of our series, America’s Public Health Experiment, Dylan, Dara, and Jerusalem discuss how the CDC and the FDA failed the American public in the early months of the pandemic. Plus, a white paper about excess deaths in the first year of Covid-19.References: How the experts botched masking adviceZeynep Tufekci on the case for masks (in March 2020)Inside the Fall of the CDCCan the CDC be fixed?How the CDC failed to detect Covid earlyScott Gottlieb on CDC versus FDA turf warsThe Government Asked Us Not To Release Records From The CDC’s First Failed COVID Test. Here They Are.Zeynep Tufekci in the Atlantic: ​​The CDC Is Still Repeating Its MistakesDylan Scott on FDA approval of controversial Alzheimer's drugWhite paper: Excess Deaths in the United States During the First Year of COVID-19What happened to drug deaths in 2020Hosts:Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, VoxJerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, VoxDara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublicaCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter 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

In the penultimate episode of our series America’s Public Health Experiment, Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks to Arnab Datta, senior counsel at Employ America, about automatic stabilizers: what they are and how they could help during a crisis that affects the economy, such as a global pandemic.References:Vox's Emily Stewart on Democrats abandoning automatic stabilizersRecession Ready: Fiscal Policies to Stabilize the American EconomyStructuring Federal Aid To States As An Automatic (And Autonomous) Stabilizer A Historic Decrease in PovertyGOP Governors Reject Extra Federal Unemployment PaymentsHost:Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, VoxCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter 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

Dylan and Jerusalem are joined by Vox Policy Editor Libby Nelson to talk about the current state of Covid-19 and schools. They discuss vaccine mandates, rapid testing – or a lack thereof – and teacher burnout. Plus, a white paper about college majors and GPA requirements. References:Why schools weren’t “back to normal” this yearThe pandemic caused huge levels of learning loss, especially in districts with less in-person schooling, and especially in poor countriesCan pandemics affect educational attainment? Evidence from the polio epidemic of 1916Some schools are going remote on Fridays to address “burnout”Schools cre closing classrooms on Fridays. Parents are furious.Do school closures and school reopenings affect community transmission of COVID-19? A systematic review of observational studies Quarantines are driving down attendanceThe “test to stay” alternative to quarantinesHow school districts have used their Covid relief fundsWhite Paper: “College Major Restrictions and Social Stratification”Hosts:Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, VoxJerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, VoxLibby Nelson (@libbyanelson), policy editor, VoxCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter 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

In the second episode of our series, America’s Public Health Experiment, Weeds co-host Dara Lind looks at two government agencies that went from quietly to loudly broken during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dara is joined by the Washington Post’s Jacob Bogage (@jacobbogage) and Jeremy McKinney (@McKJeremy) from the American Immigration Lawyers Association.Host:Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublicaCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter 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

Dara and Dylan talk to Jerusalem about her new article defending rent control laws. The three discuss the policy impacts of rent limits and the politics driving their adoption in large American cities. Finally, they discuss a new paper on declining fertility in 18th-century France.References:Jerusalem’s case for rent controlA poll of leading economists, who almost all oppose rent controlEconomist Rebecca Diamond on the effects of rent controlManhattan Institute fellow Michael Hendrix’s case against rent controlTime for revisionism on rent control? The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn by Suleiman OsmanReview of the literature by the Urban InstituteWhite paper: “The Cultural Origins of the Demographic Transition in France” by Guillaume BlancBlanc’s Twitter summary of his paperThe demographic transition for beginnersHosts:Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, VoxJerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, VoxDara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublicaCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter 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

German talks with Dr. Neeraj Sood, director of the Covid Initiative at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, about the US’s many failures on Covid-19 testing. They dive into the country’s original mistakes, then go into how lack of testing continues to plague America’s pandemic response. They conclude with what this means not just for the current pandemic but for future public health crises, too.Host:German Lopez (@germanrlopez), senior correspondent, VoxCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter 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

German, Jerusalem, and Dylan talk about an idea that has come to dominate national discussions of policing: defunding the police. They walk through the pros and cons of the idea as a policy proposal, then discuss how it’s affecting the politics of criminal justice. Finally, they discuss new research on discrimination against Black and Latinx renters.References:German’s article on police researchGerman’s article on guns and policingAustin’s defunding journeyStudy finding more police mean fewer homicidesStudy finding London police closures led to more violent crimeExpert survey finding most say more police funding would mean public safety improvements2020's protests led to state policing reforms, but not defundingPew on public opinion toward defunding the policeRogé Karma interviews Patrick Sharkey on The Ezra Klein ShowWhite paper: “Racial Discrimination and Housing Outcomes in the United States Rental Market”Jerusalem's article on discrimination against housing voucher recipientsHosts:Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, VoxGerman Lopez (@germanrlopez), senior correspondent, VoxJerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, VoxCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter 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

Dylan, Jerusalem, and Dara talk about the specific kind of inflation that’s roiling American politics: the heightened price of gas. They discuss how and why gas prices have shot up in recent months, and what it means for Joe Biden’s popularity and presidency. Plus, a white paper about the most important labor market of all: the global market for soccer (excuse me, football) players.References:Biden’s strongly worded letter on gas pricesBiden is tapping the strategic petroleum reserveReuters on why gas prices are highWhy OPEC isn’t lowering gas pricesEric Levitz on what Biden should do to combat inflationThe correlation between Biden’s popularity and gas pricesLasting Impacts of a Gas Price Shock during Teenage Driving YearsVoters who drive a lot are likelier to vote based on gas pricesPresidential approval is historically strongly affected by gas and food prices (and not due to media coverage)The collapse of New England’s Transportation and Climate InitiativeWhite paper: “Does Employing Skilled Immigrants Enhance Competitive Performance? Evidence from European Football Clubs”Mo Salah reduced prejudiceNewcastle Football Club controversyHosts:Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, VoxJerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, VoxDara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublicaCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter 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

Dylan talks to Chye-Ching Huang, the executive director of the Tax Law Center at NYU Law, about the many, many, many tax provisions in Democrats’ Build Back Better package. First they dive into the new tax benefits in the bill, from the expanded child tax credit to the $7,500 credit for electric cars. Then they talk about how the bill raises money through taxes, especially through higher taxes on high-income people and corporations. Then they talk about the future of taxes, like what will happen when most of the Trump tax cuts expire at the end of 2025. References:A breakdown of the components of the House Build Back Better billWhose taxes Build Back Better would raise and cutHuang’s testimony to Congress on Build Back BetterUChicago and Columbia researchers on the Child Tax Credit and employmentThe health care tax credit provisions of Build Back Better, explainedThe clean energy tax credits would help cut emissions by 40-50 percentThe bill’s minimum corporate tax plan and millionaire surtax, explainedHow rebuilding the IRS would boost tax complianceHost:Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, VoxCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter 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

Now that nearly 60 percent of the US population is fully vaccinated, Dylan, German, and Jerusalem discuss potential exit strategies for policies such as mask mandates and mandatory quarantines. They also talk about what an “endemic” Covid might be like in the US and which aspects of pandemic life might stick around. Finally, they discuss how better access to mental health care could affect crime.References:Mandate the vaccines, not masksThe case for ending school mask mandates at the end of the yearThe case for keeping mask mandatesEmily Oster on kids and masksThe Black Death and its Consequences for the Jewish Community in TàrregaAgainst “deep cleaning” surfaces for COVIDVaccines are coming along for children under 5Do booster shots make vaccinating the world harder?White paper of the week: Better access to outpatient psychiatric care reduces crimeCognitive-behavioral therapy reduced crime in LiberiaHosts:Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, VoxGerman Lopez (@germanrlopez), senior correspondent, VoxJerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, VoxCredits:Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineerLibby Nelson, editorial adviserAmber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcastsSign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletterWant to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices