Today, Explained

The Supreme Court ruled that New York state can’t limit how many people gather in church, even during a pandemic. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains why this is one of the most significant religious liberty cases in the last 30 years. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Low-income students are dropping out of college because many don’t have a reliable way to get online. Vox’s Emily Stewart says the solution is simple: Give everybody the internet. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President-elect Biden has started announcing his Cabinet nominees, but Matthew Yglesias says the most important positions aren’t the ones you’d think. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid-19 vaccines are coming out faster than many thought possible. But distributing the vaccines could be an even tougher challenge. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scientists all over the world are searching for dark matter: an invisible, untouchable substance that holds our universe together. But they haven’t found it. Are they chasing a ghost? We want to hear your feedback on Unexplainable! Email us at todayexplained@vox.com or let us know on Twitter @today_explained Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

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

And some big vaccine news, too. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-And Kamala Harris, too. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vox’s Ella Nilsen explains why Democrats are waving goodbye to the blue wave. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains the latest election math, and Ezra Klein argues that, despite record-setting turnout, it wasn’t a great night for American democracy. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Election Day, voter turnout is projected to break records in the United States, but it won’t get anywhere close to Australia’s. Professor Lisa Hill explains what happens when you make voting mandatory. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains how Joe Biden — or President Trump — could win 270 electoral votes. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the final episode of our five-part series, New York Magazine’s Rebecca Traister and Vox’s Ezra Klein explain how four years of the Trump presidency have changed the American people and their politics. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the fourth of our five-part series, Vox’s Dylan Scott explains how a president with no plan on health care evolved into a president with no plan for the pandemic. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Election turnout is on track to be the highest in a century. Farmers, essential workers, prisoners, and two ladies named Ruth explain their 2020 presidential pick. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pandemic or not, the highest court in the land won’t extend Wisconsin’s deadline for mailed ballots. Good thing it’s not a swing state. Oh, wait ... Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices