Today, Explained

A thrice-married, nightclub-loving cricket star just won Pakistan’s election. Mehreen Zahra-Malik explains why the military backed Imran Khan and Brookings’ Madiha Afzal explains why democracy in Pakistan never seems to last long. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Trump administration stirred up a flurry of trade disputes that threatened to put farmers in the red. Then it threw out a lifesaver: $12 billion in emergency relief. A farmer in Minnesota tells us what she really thinks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What’s up with the Parkland teens? Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School inspired over a million people to march for gun control a few months ago, but it’s been relatively quiet since. Turns out they’ve been busier than ever. David Hogg speaks to Sean Rameswaram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The White House has proposed stripping the Endangered Species Act of key provisions - the same legislation that helped save the grizzly bear, bald eagle and humpback whale. But Congressional Republicans say protecting some critters is hurting farmers and businesses in big ways. Vox’s Umair Irfan explains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What a week. President Trump sided with President Putin, then he didn’t, then he did, then he didn’t again. Vox’s Alex Ward tries to keep up.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1971, a professor locked a bunch of young men in a basement to understand evil. The results were explosive. This summer, it all came crashing down. Vox’s Brian Resnick explains what’s going on with the Stanford Prison Experiment. (Transcript here.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the most brutal murder cases in American history has been reopened. The Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery explains how Emmett Till’s family might finally find justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bernie Sanders, Sarah Palin, and Dick Cheney walk into an interview. Sacha Baron Cohen is waiting for them. Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff explains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vladimir Putin flatly denied Russian interference in the United States’s 2016 elections and President Trump refused to call him out. Former ambassador Nicholas Burns says it’s a sad day for America. Then Vox’s Andrew Prokop digs into the fresh indictments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Republicans control the White House, Congress and most state legislatures. Pod Save America’s Dan Pfeiffer explains how Democrats can dig themselves out of this hole. ************************************************************* CORRECTION: In this episode, we incorrectly state that the majority of white millennials voted for Donald Trump. Trump won the youngest white demographic (ages 18-29), but...

Breastmilk. Research says it’s the best, so why did the U.S. threaten to shut down a breastfeeding proposal at the World Health Assembly? Vox’s Julia Belluz says it all boils down to baby formula, the $70 billion industry lurking in the shadows. ******************************************* Are you pregnant? Have you ever been? Vox wants to provide more explainers on women's health and would love yo...

British Prime Minister Theresa May is losing cabinet members left and right. She can’t figure out how to Brexit. BBC's Rob Watson says the UK's breakup with the European Union is turning into its biggest political crisis since the Second World War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett Kavanaugh is President Trump’s pick to replace Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court. The New York Times Magazine’s Emily Bazelon says the nomination was decades in the making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tonight the president announces who might replace Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court. During his campaign, he promised he would choose pro-life justices to dismantle the abortion case Roe v. Wade. Mary Ziegler, author of "After Roe", explains what the country might look like if the 1973 decision is overturned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s official: Scott Pruitt will no longer lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Vox’s Umair Irfan explains why it doesn’t really matter who replaces him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the clock strikes twelve tonight, the US government plans to hit Chinese goods with $34 billion in tariffs. China plans to lash back. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias explains who this trade war will hurt the most. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#AbolishICE has gone from an online murmur to a national movement, but a lot of Americans are confused about what exactly Immigration and Customs Enforcement does. Vox’s Dara Lind explains the short history of the controversial agency and what it might mean to see it dissolved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Mexico’s next president: Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Call him AMLO. He’s a leftist, a populist, and wasn’t shy about calling Donald Trump a “neo-fascist”. Professor Carlos Bravo Regidor explains how AMLO went from losing the presidency twice to winning it in a landslide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s travel ban this week, making it all but impossible for the citizens of seven countries to enter the United States. One of those countries is Yemen, which the United Nations says is undergoing the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet. International Crisis Group’s Joost Hiltermann explains how things got so bad, and why they could get a lot worse. Learn...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to become the youngest woman to ever serve in Congress this November. The 28-year-old Democratic Socialist defeated ten-term Representative Joe Crowley in a massive upset for the Democratic Party. Vox’s Kay Steiger explains whether socialism is the future of the left. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 30 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement today. Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick explains what the departure of the swing vote means for the Court and the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s travel ban. Emily Bazelon from The New York Times Magazine explains the opinion, a fiery dissent, and how the justices used this case to undo one of the Court’s most racist decisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 32-year-old from Santa Monica, California, helped President Trump conceive of the most divisive immigration policy in decades. The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins explains how Stephen Miller went from high school troll to West Wing advisor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bill and Melinda Gates are messing with nature. But they’re doing it to save the world. This week, their foundation gave away millions to make malaria-carrying mosquitoes extinct before long. On the way, they’ll have to tweak some DNA. Vox’s Joss Fong explains. ****************************************************** Check out the Vox Video on the ethical debate over using genetically modified mosqu...

President Trump signed an executive order which aims to end his own policy of family separation at the border. Yeah... it's confusing. Martha Mendoza from the Associated Press tries to parse it out, and immigration lawyer Anne Chandler explains the chaos families are still experiencing at the border. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices