Today, Explained

Around 80,000 people died of the flu last season. Despite that, Sean doesn’t want to get the flu shot. Luckily, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health is here to hit him with some hard and fast facts. And history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paul Whelan went to Moscow for a wedding. The Russians arrested him, and today charged him with espionage. Amie Ferris-Rotman, Moscow correspondent for the Washington Post, explains how Russia might be using him as leverage to win back one of its own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Day 12 of the government shutdown. Vox’s Li Zhou explains what that means for the country and Matthew Yglesias argues that the core issue of the wall is fundamentally dumb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you like this trailer, then you're going to love this show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why even answer the phone anymore? All your questions about all those pesky automated phone calls are answered in this holiday rebroadcast. 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 in this holiday rebroadcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We called it! Sean Rameswaram attends a "Black Panther"-themed engagement party and speaks to Evan Narcisse, writer of the "Rise of the Black Panther" comic books, in this holiday rebroadcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Florida millionaire created a system to rape or abuse at least 80 young girls for years. The current Secretary of Labor may have helped him get away with it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is officially planning her exit from politics. The Guardian’s Kate Connolly explains how an awkward scientist became the most powerful woman in the world and defined a global immigration crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Trump Foundation is shutting down. The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold shares a series of increasingly unbelievable stories about the charity's shenanigans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The North Korea summit. Brexit chaos. The brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The hosts of Vox's Worldly podcast look back on the biggest international stories of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tumblr is removing adult content from its platform today. Vox’s Aja Romano says it's about much more than banning “female-presenting nipples". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"The House That Jack Built" opens in select theaters across the country today, but it’s not the version director Lars von Trier wanted you to see. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) put the kibosh on the director’s cut. Some say it’s censorship, but Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson explains how the MPAA is trying to save Hollywood from itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

After 20 years, Speaker Paul Ryan is set to leave the House of Representatives in early January. Ezra Klein says Paul Ryan’s legacy would be a big let down to… Paul Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One man in North Carolina may have swung an election by defrauding voters. But North Carolina is interested in stopping a different type of voter fraud. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump is looking to fill some key positions. One pick is a former attorney general, another comes from "Fox & Friends". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Except it doesn't. Vox's Andrew Prokop explains why the latest pieces of Robert Mueller's puzzle are bad news for President Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canada arrested a Chinese executive at the request of the United States this week. It may set off a whole new Cold War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There used to be one Trump Tower controversy. Now there are two. Donald Trump Jr. is in the middle of both of them. The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold explains what Don Jr. has been up to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wisconsin Republicans are scrambling to pass last-minute measures that would strip the incoming Democratic governor of a lot of his powers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge’s Casey Newton explains the pros and cons of staying on Facebook after the latest scandal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George H. W. Bush went from a record-breaking 89 percent approval rating after the Gulf War to losing his re-election bid to an upstart from Arkansas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Chinese scientist says he has genetically engineered two human babies, with another on the way. Is this the beginning of the end? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nancy Pelosi is now officially the nominee for Speaker of the House. Time's Molly Ball explains who's happy and who's mad about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump and both parties actually agree on something: mandatory minimum sentences are too harsh. Can they fix them? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices