Explain It to Me

This week, Ezra, Sarah, and Matt discuss the flaws in the DC elite's favorite idea: raising the retirement age, consider how to respond to terrorist attacks (with a bonus digression about 19th century anarchist assassins), and debate a striking new data set that shows the baffling variation in how frequently different hospitals perform c-sections rather than traditional childbirths. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Weeds, fellow Vox editor Dylan Matthews joins Sarah and Matt for what is certainly the most in-depth discussion of basic income ever broadcast. Would it really just work to give every American a base salary, regardless of whether they worked or not? Also on this episode: a recap of the best policy tussles in the Republican debate, and a fascinating white paper on why colleges don't punish cheaters — even when they get caught. This podcast is brought to you by Spotless, a sexy and bold drama laced with dark humor from Esquire Network. Learn more about Spotless by downloading ‘Coming Clean’ a roundtable podcast that goes behind the scenes of TV’s best dark dramas, and tune into the Spotless series premiere November 14 at 10/9c on Esquire Network. Today’s episode of The Weeds is sponsored by the American Heart Association, which is urging lawmakers to save physical education. The average school gets just $764 every year for physical education. Go to heart.org/LetThemPlay to learn more and take action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Facts rarely seem to win any political debate — and on this episode of the Weeds, Matt, Ezra, and Sarah use political science research to explain why. Also: the case for softball debate questions and a troubling new study on rising death rates among white, middle-aged men. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace: Build it Beautiful. This episode is also brought to you by Audible, with over 180,000 audiobooks and spoken-word audio products. Get a free audiobook of your choice at www.audible.com/weeds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Ezra, Sarah, and Matt finally deliver the equivocal takes on gerrymandering that America has been waiting for, dive into the weeds of the big budget compromise, and tackle what may be the dorkiest policy issue of all time — the use of survey vs administrative data to measure household level poverty. Today’s episode of The Weeds is sponsored by the American Heart Association, which is urging lawmakers to save physical education. The average school gets just $764 every year for physical education. Go to heart.org/LetThemPlay to learn more and take action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Matt, and Sarah dive head first into a new Brookings white paper about income inequality (and how to not to fix it). We also imagine what a Joe Biden administration could have been, with a commander-in-chief who considers Republicans friends rather than enemies. This episode of The Weeds is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today at Squarespace.com.  Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace: Build it Beautiful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week's episode, Ezra, Sarah, and Matt debate a little known Obamacare program, learn all about Nordic economies, and take on a new white paper forcing health economists to rethink deductibles.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a special edition of The Weeds, Ezra interviews Arthur Brooks —head of the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, a New York Times columnist, a major influence on Jeb Bush, and a surprisingly snappy dresser. Really. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the second episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Sarah, and Matt debate whether nationalized health care could work in America, what solutions are really needed to solve the country's mass shooting issue — and introduce an exciting new, regular segment: white paper of the week!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this first episode of the new Vox.com podcast the weeds, Ezra Klein, Sarah Kliff, and Matthew Yglesias look at why Hillary Clinton is trying to gut a major part of Obamacare, how Donald Trump's tax plan made Matt sad, and whether American politics is becoming structurally biased towards outsiders like Trump and away from insiders like Bush. It gets real nerdy, real fast. This episode was sponsored by Audible.com. For a free audio book and a 30 day free trial, head to Audible.com/WEEDS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices