Emily Stewart joins Dara and Matt to talk about the perhaps-unbelievable book everyone’s talking about, and the dysfunctional White House that spawned it.

References and further reading:

Emily's piece on Omarosa's recording of John Kelly

Emily's highlights from Omarosa's book Unhinged

Maggie Haberman tweet confirming that earlier secret White House tapings were not Omarosa, mentioned by Dara

White paper "Unemployment, Temporary Work, and Subjective Well-Being: The Gendered Effect of Spousal Labor Market Insecurity"

Senior health correspondent Julia Belluz and science reporter Brian Resnick join Dara and Matt to discuss the replication crisis in scientific studies.

References and further reading:

Brian's piece on the marshmallow test

John P. A. Ioannidis' "Most Published Research Findings Are False," mentioned by Julia

Scientists tired to replicate 100 psychological studies, 40% passed, mentioned by Brian

Scientists also tried to replicate 100 economic studies, 60% passed

Vox's survey of 270 scientists about the biggest problems in science, mentioned by Brian

Julia's piece on Amy Cuddy and power posing

NY Times magazine feature on Amy Cuddy, mentioned by Dara

Julia's piece on 'big paper towels' campaign against hand dryers

Mars chocolate study, mentioned by Julia

Jane Coaston and Dylan Matthews join Ezra to discuss the Sarah Jeong fracas, the Ben Shapiro-Mark Duplass meltdown, the problems with Twitter, the ways partisan dehumanize each other, and more.

References and further reading:

The context for Sarah Jeong's "goblins" tweet

The context for Sarah Jeong's "cut white people" tweet 

German Lopez's piece on what makes people less racist

Brian Resnick's piece on reducing prejudice

William F. Buckley supporting segregation

Zack Beauchamp's piece in defense of Sarah Jeong

Ezra's demographics piece

David French's piece on Sarah Jeong

W.E.B Du Bois' The Soul's of Black Folks

Ashley Jardina's Washington Post piece on white identity

Jamelle Bouie's newsletter

Political Tribes by Amy Chua

Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? by Dr. Martin Luther King

White paper Party Animals? Party Identity and Dehumanization

That time Dylan got owned on Twitter by Sen. Ben Sasse

Andrew Prokop joins Dara and Matt to talk about Paul Manafort’s trial and what it means for the larger Russia investigation.

References and further reading:

Andrew's piece on the trials of Paul Manafort

Andrew's breakdown of the opening statements at Manafort's trial

Franklin Foer's profile of Manafort, mentioned by Andrew

Jane Coaston joins Dara, Ezra, and Matt to talk about the racial panic tearing America apart and also salt.

References and further reading:

Ezra's piece on the changing demographics in America

Identity Crisis book mentioned by Ezra

Salt white paper

Congressional reporter Tara Golshan joins Dara and Matt to break down Trump’s kinda sorta trade deal with the EU and ongoing trade tensions with China”

References and further reading:

Tara's piece on Trump's mischaracterization of the US trade deficit

Politico Europe rundown of the trade deal, mentioned by Matt

The Weeds has been nominated for this year's People's Choice Podcast Awards! Cast your vote for The Weeds for free before Tuesday, July 31st at podcastawards.com.

Matt, Dara and Ezra talk about Republicans, Trump and Russia. Plus: A research paper reveals how Dara lost on College Jeopardy.

References and further reading:

Politico Playbook piece mentioned by Matt, "GOP to the world: What would you like us to do?"

Law Review paper "Separation of Parties, Not Powers"

The Weeds has been nominated for this year's People's Choice Podcast Awards! Cast your vote for The Weeds for free before Tuesday, July 31st at podcastawards.com.

Senior criminal justice reporter German Lopez joins Dara and Matt to talk about the high number of unsolved homicides in America.

References and further reading:

Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy

German's reporting on the violent crime clearance rate in America

Study referenced by Dara that looked at community cooperation from Secure Communities (a massive federal immigration enforcement program)

In-depth reporting on the low murder clearance rate across the US from The Washington Post

Anthony Braga study on Boston's approaches to solving homicides mentioned by German

Dara, Ezra, and Matt discuss President Trump's remarkable performance in Helsinki and new research on employers colluding to hold down pay.

Links:

Dara mentioned Quinta Jurecic's piece tying Trump in Helsinki to Trump on Charlottesville.

Here's the Ari Fleischer tweet Ezra referenced.

Ezra walked through what we know about Trump's dealings with Russia. Here's that rundown (and more analysis) in text form.

Trump tweeted during recording — here's the full text Matt read.

Matt mentioned Adam Entous's New Yorker piece on Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Emirates.

The 2015 Morning Joe interview Ezra mentioned. Joe Scarborough says Putin has a record of killing journalists and political opponents, and invading countries. Trump responds, "At least he's a leader."

White paper: "Theory and Evidence on Employer Collusion in the Franchise Sector" (Alan B. Krueger, Orley Ashenfelter)

More on the news about the no-poaching agreement in Washington state.

Dylan Scott joins Dara and Matt to talk about the Trump administration’s latest moves to destabilize health insurance markets.

Dylan's piece on risk adjustment payments, and another piece on the Trump administration’s latest steps to undermine the Affordable Care Act.

Dylan also specifically referenced Nicholas Bagley. Read him on risk adjustments here.

Dara, Ezra, and Matt break down what we know about Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court

References and further reading:

Paper about Norwegian immigrants, mentioned by Matt

"Twice a Stranger: The Mass Expulsions that Forged Modern Greece and Turkey" good book with background on the refugee paper

Staff writer Zeeshan Aleem joins Dara and Matt to break down what's really happening with Trump and trade, and how much it matters.

References and further reading:

Zeeshan's piece on the US-China trade war

Matt, Dara and Ezra talk about the Trump administration's use of family detention as an alternative to family separation. Then they turn to a white paper that looks at racial attitudes and white privilege.

References and further reading:

Tara Golshan's piece on the latest immigration bill

Politico piece on the Senate efforts to fix family separation

"Racial attitudes in response to thoughts of White privilege" white paper

Kate Manne's piece on Bernie Sanders' white male problem mentioned by Matt

Kate Manne's book "Down Girl" mentioned by Matt

Professor Ashley Jardina's dissertation on white identity and American politics mentioned by Ezra

Michael Tesler's book “Post-Racial or Most-Racial?" mentioned by Ezra

Vox senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Matt and Dara to talk about the future of the Supreme Court without Justice Kennedy.

References and further reading:

NYT piece on Justice Kennedy's son's connections to the Trump family

Dara's piece on the most likely picks for Kennedy's replacement

Jane's piece on Senator Mike Lee

Jane's piece on polling that show's Trump voters were motivated by the Supreme Court vacancy

Examiner piece on overturning Roe v. Wade

Ezra returns from the wilds of book leave to talk about open borders with Dara and Matt.

References and further reading:

Dara's piece on the 1996 immigration bill

"Trillion dollar bills on the sidewalk" white paper

Bryan Caplan paper on open borders

Ezra's interview with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti

While Sarah, Matt and Ezra are away Dara is joined by Dylan Matthews and Andrew Prokop to talk about the friction between how the Supreme Court says it makes its decisions, and the way everyone assumes it really works. Is it time for the Court to stop getting polite and start getting (legal) real(ist)?

References and further reading:

Andrew’s explainer on the gerrymandering decision

The “efficiency gap,” explained by one of its creators 

Dylan on the public-sector union case Janus v. AFSCME

Dara’s piece on Trump v. Hawaii, the travel ban case 

Sonia Sotomayor endorsed legal realism before joining the Court 

KENNEDYWATCH, 2018 Edition

Senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Dara and Matt to talk about the ideological roots of Donald Trump's family separation policy.

References and further reading:

Dara's piece on "operation wetback" the immigration policy Donald Trump loves

Jane's piece on Stephen Miller

Jamelle Bouie's piece on Stephen Miller

Politico piece about Trump possibly shutting down the government in September over border wall, mentioned by Jane

Dara's piece on the number of families separated at the border daily

Dara's piece on how asylum officers are being told to implement Sessions' new rule

Sarah, Dara and Matt answer your questions.

While Sarah and Matt are away Dara is joined by Vox.com congressional reporters Tara Golshan and Ella Nilsen to talk about immigration and family separation. Then she's joined by Vox.com criminal justice reporter German Lopez to talk about a white paper that looks at the effectiveness of 12- step programs.

References and further reading:

Ella's piece on Democrats trying to stop family separation at the border

Tara's piece on the chaos in the House over immigration

Sarah's piece on the missing children and family separation

Miriam Jordan's NYT piece on transitional foster care placements for migrant children

White paper on the effectiveness of 12-step programs

German's piece on Alcoholics Anonymous

Sarah, Dara and Matt talk about the recent recall of Judge Aaron Persky, the California judge who sentenced former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner to six months when he was convicted of sexual assault in 2016.

References and further reading:

Julia Ioffe's piece on the Stanford professor who led the charge against Persky

AP reporting on Persky's record as a judge

Rachel Marshall's Vox.com piece on why the recall isn't a progressive victory

John Pfaff Twitter thread on how elections impact judicial behavior

German Lopez's piece on incarceration rates from 1985-2010

Laura McGann's piece on men in #metoo exile

Wesley Lowery's piece on widespread unsolved murders in major American cities

Dara, Sarah and Matt trace the Supreme Court Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling back to peyote and then discuss a Swedish study about lottery winners.

References and further reading:

Vox.com explainer on the Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling

Vox.com piece about religious liberty in American history

The Gallup poll on rates of support for gay marriage, mentioned by Sarah

White paper on Swedish lottery winners

Sarah and Matt are joined by Vox.com Congress reporter Tara Golshan to talk about missing children, separated families, and the latest immigration action on the Hill.

References and other reading:

Sarah's piece with an immigration expert explaining the 1,500 "missing" migrant children

Sarah explainer on family separations

Tara's piece on Republican moderates and immigration

Dara's explainer on the family separation policy

Libby Nelson, Vox.com news editor and former education reporter, joins Matt and Sarah to talk about the discipline practices and educational outcomes at so-called "no excuses" charter schools. Then they turn to a white paper that looks at lead poisoning and fertility.

References and further reading:

Illinois Public Radio story on Noble Academy

Video of teacher at Success Academy ripping up student's homework

Research mentioned by Libby on outcomes at the Harlem Children's Zone

Upper West Side parents mad about school integration plan

White paper on lead poisoning and fertility

This episode comes from Vox.com international news podcast, Wordly. Matt and Sarah will be back on Tuesday with a brand new episode of The Weeds.

On a special all-North Korea episode of Worldly, Yochi, Jenn, and Zack talk about President Trump’s surprise cancellation of his planned summit with Kim Jong Un — a decision Trump announced literally as the Worldly crew was sitting down to record the podcast. Trump scrapped the meeting in a strangely personal letter to Kim that alternated between reading like the world’s worst breakup note and threatening to use America’s “massive and powerful” nuclear arsenal against the North. We would put jokes down here but it all happened too fast and we’re still processing.

References:

Trump’s letter to Kim Jong Un canceling the North Korea summit

Here’s a piece with more helpful background on the lead-up to this summit collapse, and a longer C-SPAN clip where Trump answered some questions about his thoughts on the summit.

We pulled clips of both National Security Adviser John Bolton and Vice President Mike Pence speaking about the Libya model.

Jenn mentioned Pete Hegseth on Fox News suggesting that Kim Jong Un “probably doesn't love being the guy that has to murder his people all day long. Probably wants normalization." 

Zack mentioned that many international relations scholars see status as a motivator for countries’ actions. 

Zack and Yochi went back and forth on previous talks with North Korea.

Jenn mentioned Pompeo’s meeting with Kim. Here’s a piece about Kim asking for US investment in North Korea’s economy, and what Pompeo communicated about those meetings.

Talking about concessions North Korea has made, Jenn brought up the recent explosion at a North Korean nuclear test site.

Sarah and Matt talk about America’s rapidly falling birthrate, and a study on the long-term benefit of the 1980s Medicaid expansion.

References and further reading:

National Center for Health Statistics report on declining birth rates

Vox's Julia Belluz's piece on the low birthrate trend

NPR piece on the CDC report on declining fertility rates in the U.S.

Sarah's piece on why teen births are declining

Lyman Stone paper Sarah mentioned arguing that government interventions don't boost fertility

NY Times piece Matt referenced on American women having fewer children then they'd like

Dylan Matthew's piece explaining the child allowance plan

The white paper on Medicaid coverage and economic mobility

Converge with Casey Newton is a new conversational game show from The Verge. Listen to the first episode today, and subscribe wherever you're enjoying this podcast.

Senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Dara and Matt to debate the “identity politics” backlash and the prospects for pluralism.

References and further reading:

Bari Weiss' piece on the 'intellectual dark web'

Conor Friedersdorf's piece on how the left fuels the right's bigotry

Sarah, Dara and Matt discuss the the exorbitant cost of prescription drugs and a white paper that looks at the correlation between counties that vote Republican and the number of low and high-skilled immigrants living in those communities.

References and further reading:

Dylan Scott's piece on the price of prescription drugs mentioned by Sarah

The white paper on 'The Political Impact of Immigration: Evidence from the United States'

Vox.com senior political reporter Andrew Prokop joins Dara and Matt to explain the strange tale of Donald Trump’s lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who now seems to be in serious legal hot water.

References and further reading:

Andrew's piece on the corporations that hired Michael Cohen

Andrew's piece on the Cohen's ties to Russia

Andrew's Stormy Daniels explainer

Sarah, Dara, and Matt analyze Trump’s drastic rollback of Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti and discuss new research on the never-ending “economic anxiety” debate.

References and further reading:

Dara's TPS explainer

White paper on attitudes toward social change 

Vox's science reporter Brian Resnick joins Dara and Sarah to talk about psychiatry's Goldwater Rule, which has never met a test like Donald Trump.

References and further reading:

Brian's piece on why Trump's fitness for office is not a medical question

Brian's explainer on the Goldwater Rule

Sharon Begley's article Trump's mental health mentioned by Sarah

Sarah's piece on fax machines

Dara's piece on why the palace intrigue stuff matters to Trump

Vox's Dylan Matthews joins Sarah and Matt to break down the jobs guarantee debate and discuss research on a promising school desegregation initiative undermined by racist police practices.

References and further reading

Dylan's jobs guarantee explainer (with links to Stephanie Kelton's writing)

Dylan's explainer of Sen. Cory Booker's jobs guarantee proposal (with links to Darrick Hamilton and Sandy Darity's writing)

Bryce Covert's piece on the case for a jobs guarantee

Gallup poll on workers getting a sense of identity from their jobs

White paper on school integration "risks and benefits"

Congressional reporter Ella Nilsen makes her Weeds debut joining Sarah and Matt to break down the botched nomination at the Veterans’ Administration, they also address the questions around the troubled agency’s future.

References and further reading:

Sarah's piece on the Ronny Jackson scandal

Ella's piece on the controversy surrounding Jackson's nomination

CNN piece on Ronny Jackson's alleged 'grab-and-go' clinic

NY Times piece on the concierge emergency room 

Sarah, Dara and Matt discuss a Republican farm bill that would impose work requirements on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) beneficiaries. Then they turn to a white paper on OxyContin and the heroin epidemic.

References and further reading:

Good Politico article summarizing the farm bill

Marion Nestle's piece on the farm bill

White paper on OxyContin's impact on the heroin epidemic

German Lopez's piece on the OxyContin white paper

Zack Beauchamp joins Dara and Matt to explain the ever-expanding 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force and Trump's even more expansive legal rationale for bombing Syria.

References and further reading:

Vox's history of the AUMF

A primer on the legal dispute in Doe v. Mattis

Chesney primer on the Corker-Kaine Draft AUMF

Who is Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben?

Matt, Sarah and Dara work backward from James Comey through FBI history and discover an 18th-century demon hidden in the Constitution. No, really.

References and further reading:

Dara's piece on the tension between the rule of law and political leadership

Recent PBS poll on how Americans view the FBI

Max Weber, explained

White paper on gender integration in the Norwegian military

Dylan Scott joins Sarah and Matt to talk about Paul Ryan's retirement, his legacy, and the Weedsiest health reform of all.

References:

Sarah's all-payer rate setting explainer

Dylan's piece on Paul Ryan's legacy

Melanie Mason's piece on California's healthcare bill

RTI evaluation of all-payer rate setting

Health Affairs evaluation on changes in hospital use in Maryland

Sirens galore, as the team races through Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt's many, many scandals and a white paper about unnecessary ambulance use.

References:

Trump's defense of Scott Pruitt

A good explainer on the Pruitt scandal

How EPA deregulations impact toxic air pollution

Michael Grunwald's piece on Pruitt's rollback of Obama era environmental regulations

Elaina Plott's pieces on Scott Pruitt and more

Working paper on ambulance usage in New York

Dylan Matthews joins Sarah and Matt to break down the history of Sinclair Broadcast Group, its politics, and the regulatory favors that fueled its growth.

References:

Dylan's piece on the Sinclair media takeover

Timothy Burke's Sinclair anchor mashup

Alving Chang's piece on Sinclair media, see if your local news station is owned by Sinclair

Martin and McCrain's paper on local news and national politics

Good Mother Jones piece on Sinclair's local news takeover

Sarah, Dara, and Matt talk about the citizenship question, funding, and the potential consequences of a botched enumeration. Plus a weedsy dive into potential redistricting mischief, and research on Jose Canseco's malign influence on Major League Baseball.

References:

Dara's piece on the 2020 census

Carlos Waters' video on the 2020 census

The baseball white paper

The Weeds/Worldly crossover event continues: Jennifer Williams tries to persuade Dara and Matt they're wrong about an Islamophobic shift in Trump's new cabinet, and the old-fashioned democracy-promoting hawkery of George W. Bush.

Matt, Sarah and Ezra on a new, blockbuster study on racial mobility — and whether Mark Zuckerberg should shut down Facebook.

References:

Race and Economic Opportunity in the United States

Dylan Matthews' piece

Income Mobility Charts for Girls, Asian-Americans and Other Groups. Or, Make Your Own

Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys

Matt's case against Facebook

Andrew Prokop, senior politics reporter for Vox.com, joins Dara and Matt to break down the scandal that’s rocking the worlds of technology and politics.

References:

The Jane Mayer piece on the Mercers Dara mentioned

A study on Big Five personality attributes and voting behavior

SCIENCE! on the Cambridge Analytica model

A big five personality test you can do at home 

Andrew's Cambridge Analytica explainer

Matt's good Facebook take

An economics working paper finds that access to Naloxone, a drug to reverse opioid overdoses, may increase opioid abuse. Sarah and Ezra explain the paper that started a social media firestorm — and what it means for combating the opioid epidemic.

References:

Doleac and Mukherjee working paper

A good summary of the debate from The Atlantic

Health Affairs blog post 

Working paper from Daniel Rees

People are dying because we misunderstand how those with addiction think

A lifesaving drug for overdoses doesn’t reduce opioid deaths? Be skeptical

Trump’s opioid crisis plan: more death penalty, fewer prescriptions, more treatment

Dara and Matt break down the history of Immigration & Customs Enforcement: how it got this way, and why some on the left want it to go away.

The news comes at us really fast. It can feel totally overwhelming sometimes. Luckily, Vox has a new podcast that will help you understand what's going on in the world: Today, Explained. 

This is an episode we thought Weeds listeners would especially enjoy: an on-the-ground look at the disability belt — and the reality of America's disability insurance programs — with Vox's Dylan Matthews. This is one of those episodes that takes a policy you hear about a lot in Washington and makes its role and consequences in actual people’s lives very, very real. After you listen to this episode, subscribe to Today, Explained on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your favorite shows. 

Vox senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Ezra and Matt to talk about Trump turmoil, political correctness and the latest research on the state of the parties.

Vox Politics & Policy reporter Alexia Fernandez-Campbell joins Dara and Matt to talk about the West Virginia teachers strike.

References:

Alexia’s article on teachers

Vox's Alvin Chang just published this amazing tool to see how teachers are paid in your state

An explainer on the Supreme Court’s Janus case

How public-sector unions are preparing for a post-Janus future

The original “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas”

Photographer evidence that he’s been called “Beto” since he was a toddler

A good primer on “Hispanic” as an identity constructed in the US

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about a bipartisan bank deregulation bill, Medicaid work requirements, and constitutional hardball.

References:

Mark Tushner’s original constitutional hardball article

Ron Chernow’s biography of Ulysses Grant

Why there are two Dakotas

Dylan Scott’s “Trump’s Hidden War on Medicaid”

Vox senior politics reporter Jane Coaston joins Dara and Matt to talk about a week of extremely erratic policymaking from an increasingly chaotic Trump White House.

This bonus episode is from a new Vox.com podcast called Today Explained, which comes out Monday through Friday. It tells you all about what happened in the news that day. This episode is Monday's edition of Today.

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court denied a request from the Trump administration to expedite a decision on DACA. This keeps the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program on life support for a few more months, but also keeps its 690,000 recipients in limbo: Do they stay or do they go? Congress still hasn’t been able to pass a vote on DACA. Vox’s Dara Lind and Matthew Yglesias say that’s because Trump has moved the conversation into unfamiliar territory: from illegal immigration to legal immigration. 

Dylan Scott joins Sarah and Matt to talk about a new universal health care plan — plus some exciting administrative data from the good-old USA!

There are also some good ideas discussed. All of them are about guns. German Lopez joins Dara and Matt to talk about gun control in the wake of the Parkland shooting.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about what’s really wrong with American infrastructure, the massacre in Parkland, FL, and new research on legislators’ irrational decision-making.

Whitepaper! Bias in Perceptions of Public Opinion Among American Political Elites by David E. Broockman, Christopher Skovron

Matt, Dara, and Andrew Prokop talk about the Senate's failed immigration push, and they parse through the many-layered Rob Porter scandal.

DACA/Immigration References

• The 8 Republican senators who voted for the bipartisan compromise
• Moran, Thune, and Portman’s new DACA proposal statement
• Tara Golshan’s piece about Grassley’s Secure and Succeed Act

Rob Porter References

• The ever-shifting White House story on Rob Porter
• The Rob Porter scandal, explained
• Jane Coaston’s piece: The White House had to protect Rob Porter to save Donald Trump

Matt, Ezra, Sarah, and Dylan Matthews try to explain Trump’s budget and Disability Insurance. For today's white paper: Move over Swedish administrative data, it’s Denmark’s turn.

Trump’s budget references:

• Dylan's explainer on Trump's proposed budget
• Airports Council International report on the ownership of European airports
• Congressional Research Service report on airport privatization
• Matt’s explainer on Trump’s infrastructure plan

Disability Insurance references:

• Dylan's defense of SSDI
• Terrance McCoy’s pieces on SSDI for The Washington Post: 597 days. And still waiting & After the check is gone
• Planet Money / This American Life report on SSDI
• A Fiscal Crisis Unfolding
• Stephen Goss’ perspective on SSDI: The Financing Challenges Facing the Social Security Disability Insurance Program
• Recessions only modestly increase actual awards of disability insurance
• Expiring unemployment benefits don’t lead to an increase in disability applications
• What it’s like to apply for disability insurance
• Demographics explain most of the rise in disability incidence, and it’s not in fiscal trouble
• Disability insurance explains at most 0.1 percentage points of the decline in male work

Gender pay gap references:

• Today’s white paper: Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark
• Claudia Goldin study
• Marianne Bertrand study
• Sarah’s illustrated version of the Claudia Goldin study

Matt, Dara, and Tara Golshan, all weary from lack of sleep, try to make sense of the few hours on Thursday night/Friday morning when the government was shut down.

Referenced Works

Republicans laughing in Tara's face about addressing immigration: Immigration anxiety got Trump elected. Congress isn’t touching it.

Further Reading

House Democrats’ confusing, high-risk DACA government shutdown gamble, explained

Congress just funded CHIP for a full decade

Matt, Ezra, and Sarah talk about the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan announcement about their joint healthcare venture, as well as the recent volatility in the stock market.

White paper: From the Bargaining Table to the Ballot Box: Political Effects of Right to Work Laws

Referenced Works:

Ben Thompson's Stratechery piece: Amazon Health

Dara, Matt, and Zack Beauchamp talk about the policy failures that created the gang haunting Donald Trump's dreams.

Referenced Works

Are there more than 2,000 MS-13 gang members in Virginia’s wealthy Fairfax County?

The Teens Trapped Between a Gang and the Law

The 'one percent' statistic Dara mentioned: Why Trump is Wrong to Blame Migration for MS13 Expansion, Violence

Further Reading

3 winners and 2 losers from Donald Trump’s first State of the Union

Gangs in Central America

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt parse through Trump's State of the Union address and the response delivered by Rep. Joe Kennedy III.

Referenced Works:

Matt's piece on the State of the Union: Donald Trump has no solutions for America’s big problems

German Lopez's piece that Ezra mentioned: Trump’s pathetic response to the opioid epidemic

The Health Care Cost Institute report Sarah referenced: 2016 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report

Further Reading:

Dylan Scott's piece on the address: State of the Union: Trump’s abandoned promise to bring down drug prices

A DACA ransom note from the White House prompts Matt, Dara and Jane Coaston to muse on whose nation this is, anyway.

Referenced Works

The American Conservative piece Jane referenced: Of Sh*tholes And Second Thoughts

Elizabeth Bruenig's op ed for The Washington Post: The antisocial politics of Trump

The Passing of a Great Race

Nations and Nationalism

Imagined Communities

Profile of Stephen Miller in high school: How a liberal Santa Monica high school produced a top Trump advisor and speechwriter

Further Reading

Explainer on the White House immigration framework: The immigration deal Trump’s White House is floating, explained

Dara on framework pitting current immigrants against future immigrants: The White House is trying to force Democrats to choose between current immigrants and future ones

Jane’s piece on white genocide: The scary ideology behind Trump’s immigration instincts

Economic consensus on immigration: There's no evidence that immigrants hurt any American workers

Dara, Sarah, and Ezra dig into the details of the new shutdown deal — and what it means for the future of shutdown politics.

A few hours before a looming shutdown, DC is a very postmodern place.

Referenced works:

Dara on the DACA situation

Dylan Matthew on past shutdowns

Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard

On Capitol Hill: The Struggle to Reform Congress and its Consequences by Julian Zelizer

How the National Parks Became the Biggest Battleground in the Shutdown from The Atlantic, by Garance Franke-Ruta

Matt, Ezra, and Sarah talk about Mark Zuckerberg's recent announcement regarding what Facebook will focus on in 2018, and the state of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The mask slipped with Trump's "shithole" comments, and Matt and Dara take a hard look at what lies beneath it. Content warning: explicit policy discussions.

German Lopez joins Matt and Sarah to talk about Attorney General Jeff Sessions' most recent move on marijuana, how Trump spends his time, and child mortality in the US.

Brian Resnick joins Dara and Matt to talk about the 'bomb cyclone' and how it relates to the climate.

It's only the second day of 2018, and Matt, Ezra, and Sarah are already talking about alarming statistics--this time, to do with average American life expectancy.

White paper: Bias in Perceptions of Public Opinion Among American Political Elites

The GOP is trying to pass a super-unpopular agenda — and that's a bad sign for democracy

Impact Policy Submission URL: bit.ly/voximpact

Sarah returns from New Zealand in time to reflect with Matt on the year in policy.

White paper: Uniform Pricing in US Retail Chains

Matt, Ezra, and Sarah answer your questions.

Matt and Ezra talk about what the tax bill actually does, whether the deficit matters, and a white paper about rugged individualism.

White paper: Frontier Culture: The Roots and Persistence of “Rugged Individualism” in the United States

Other referenced works:

Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a cultural history)

American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

Dialect Diversity in America: The Politics of Language Change 

Matt, Dara, and Tara Golshan talk about how Congress does and doesn’t handle sexual harassment allegations.

Matt and Ezra talk about the result of the Alabama senate race and the state of the GOP.

Matt, Dara, and German Lopez discuss the (shallow, according to some) politics of pro-FBI liberals.

Matt, Ezra, and Sarah talk through the argument around net neutrality, the possible CVS-Aetna merger, and a white paper about who becomes an inventor in America.

Ben Thompson's defense of Ajit Pai

Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation

Matt, Dara Lind, and Vox contributor Mike Konczal talk tax reform and Democrats' sexual harassment problem.

Matt and Ezra parse through the many flaws of the tax bill.

No, it's not a typo! On this holiday bonus episode of the Weeds, we're bringing you an episode of The Impact, Sarah Kliff's podcast about how policy affects real lives.

In this episode, we tackle the question: Why are fax machines still such a staple of American health care?

We talk to a pair of policy makers who hatched a plan to replace paper files and fax machines with electronic medical records. We explain why that plan backfired. And we go into clinics to understand why the fax's continued use isn't just annoying, but also sometimes harmful for patients' health.

Subscribe to The Impact on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast or wherever you get your podcasts! You can send us feedback at impact@vox.com, and for even more fax facts, check out Sarah's text version of this story.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about what they're thankful for this year — plus disturbing new research about gender bias in surgical referrals.

White paper: Interpreting Signals in the Labor Market: Evidence from Medical Referrals

Tara Golshan and Dylan Scott join Matt to break down the two different GOP tax bills.

Matt and Sarah discuss allegations against Roy Moore, Trump's new pick for Health and Human Services secretary, and a slightly better work week.

White paper: Time as a Network Good: Evidence from Unemployment and the Standard Workweek

Dara Lind and Andrew Prokop join Matt to talk about this week’s election results and the implications for 2018.

Matt, Ezra, and Sarah talk about the possibility of a Value-Added Tax, midterm elections, and acid rain.

Mentioned works:

A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System by T. R. Reid

Creating an American Value-Added Tax

The People Left Behind When Only the ‘Deserving’ Poor Get Help

Mortality and Access to Care among Adults after State Medicaid Expansions

White paper: Long-Run Pollution Exposure and Adult Mortality: Evidence from the Acid Rain Program

Dylan Scott and Dylan Matthews join Matt to talk about House Republicans’ tax plan.

The gang talks about recent developments in the Russia investigation, and Sarah tells us what she learned visiting Canada with Bernie Sanders.

Andrew Prokop joins Matt to talk about Steve Bannon’s war on the GOP establishment.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk more tax reform, John Kelly's failure to fix the Trump administration, and new research on dental scams.

White paper: Health Services as Credence Goods: A Field Experiment

Dara Lind and Andrew Prokop join Matt to talk about the surprisingly interesting governor’s election in Virginia.

Introducing The Impact, a new show from Vox hosted by Sarah Kliff. 

The Impact explores how policy affects real lives. This season, we’re focusing on healthcare, and the first episode tackles with one of thorniest questions in the American healthcare system: prices.

Subscribe to The Impact wherever you get your podcasts.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt dig into the Harvey Weinstein story, talk a bit about tax reform, and cover new research on Medicaid expansion and savings.

White paper: Medicaid and Household Savings Behavior: New Evidence from Tax Refunds

Dylan Scott joins Sarah and Matt to dive into the newest forms of Obamacare sabotage, and to talk about heroin.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about CHIP reauthorization, the Supreme Court's big gerrymandering case, and a seminal Richard Thaler paper (Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice).

Dylan Matthews and Andrew Prokop join Matt to talk about Republicans hopes, dreams, and nightmares on tax reform.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about gun control in the wake of Las Vegas, the GOP tax reform blueprint, and job-sharing in Germany.

White paper: The Employment and Output Effects of Short-Time Work in Germany

Referenced articles:

What Do We Know About the Association Between Firearm Legislation and Firearm-Related Injuries?

A Dynamic Analysis of Permanent Extension of the President’s Tax Relief

After a year of work, Republicans have decided nothing on corporate tax reform (Matt's piece)

Eliza Barclay and Alexia Fernández Campbell join Matt to talk about Hurricane Maria and its aftermath.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt delve into Senate procedure arcana, break down the latest GOP repeal bill, and talk about a surprisingly easy way to reduce theft.

White paper: SNAP Benefits and Crime: Evidence from Changing Disbursement Schedules

Dara Lind joins Matt and Sarah at the Now Hear This Festival to discuss the Canadian immigration system, and the audience chooses a white paper (https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9174.html) for them to talk about.

Ezra and Sarah parse through Graham-Cassidy, the latest Republican repeal bill.

White paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3025749

Congressional reporters Jeff Stein and Tara Golshan join Matt to talk about congressional Democrats' hopes and Republicans' fears.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt discuss Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All bill and Hillary Clinton's musings on creating a national version of the Alaska Permanent Fund.

Atul Gawande is a surgeon and the author of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. Sarah interviewed him live, asking about the opioid epidemic, his work with end of life patients, and his terrible college rock band.

Sarah and Matt discuss DACA, ACA implementation, and some game-changing new research on the real history of all-payer rate setting.

White paper:

Uncompensated care and the collapse of hospital payment regulation: An illustration of the Tinbergen Rule by Jeffrey Clemens and Benedic Ippolito

Paper on Maryland and hospital rate setting:

Tracking the demise of state hospital rate setting by John McDonough

Dara Lind joins Matt to talk about the past, present, and future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Sarah and Matt talk about the policy errors behind Hurricane Harvey's devastation, the single-payer wonk gap, and new research on kindergarten red shirting.

White paper: School Starting Age and Cognitive Development

Tara Golshan and Andrew Prokop join Matt to talk about the bad blood between Trump and Mitch McConnell.

Links!

Andrew's interview with Dave Hopkins

Now Hear This registration (Promo code Weeds)

Weeds Facebook group

Ezra and Matt discuss two big papers that help explain America's economic malaise:

Income and Wealth Inequality: Evidence and Policy Implications

The Rise of Market Power and the Macroeconomic Implications

Libby Nelson and German Lopez join Matt to discuss the politics and history of Confederate monuments.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt break down Trump's plan to slash legal immigration, a new way to sabotage Obamacare, and research on ER scams.

Got a bill from an emergency room? We want to hear about it.

The Company Behind Many Surprise Emergency Room Bills from The New York Times

Surprise! Out-of-Network Billing for Emergency Care in the United States from NBER

Dara Lind and Andrew Prokop join Matt to talk about Kelly's record as DHS Secretary and Trump's bizarre Twitter feud with Mitch McConnell.

Matt, Ezra, and Sarah talk about the now-infamous Google memo, the Democrats' plan for prescription drug pricing, and a study on opioid prescriptions and medical schools.

Ezra, Sarah and Alvin Chang talk about the quiet return of segregation in schools, chaos in the Trump White House, and taxing marijuana.

Links!

• The Washington Post article on school desegregation and the Supreme Court.
• Alvin's piece on school desegregation and gerrymandering
• Alvin's article on living in poor neighborhoods
• Alvin's article on white America self-segregating
• Alvin's piece on Obamacare repeal splitting neighborhoods

Sarah, Matt, and Dylan Scott analyze the night Trumpcare died and what's next for health care.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about yet another Obamacare repeal plan, Trump's feud with Jeff Sessions, and new research on retail health clinics.

Dylan Matthews joins Matt to discuss the three different version of universal basic income, and why only one of them is good.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about Democrats' plans to improve Obamacare and new evidence that smoking pot makes you bad at math.

Links!

White paper: ‘High’ Achievers? Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

Ezra's conversation with Dr. Nneka Jones Tapia

Latest Worldly episode

Tell us (and other Weeds fans) what you thought about the episode in our Facebook group!

Subscribe to VoxCare for healthcare news in your inbox daily! 

Matt and Sarah sit down with Dylan Scott to talk through all the nitty gritty details of the Senate's latest health care plan.

Links!

Ezra debates the Senate health care bill with Avik Roy

Dylan Scott's reporting leading up to this latest iteration of the bill

McConnell talking to moderates about tax cuts

How the Trump administration saved Obamacare in Alaska

Tell us (and other Weeds fans) what you thought about the episode in our Facebook group!

Subscribe to VoxCare for healthcare news in your inbox daily!

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt wonk out on the latest minimum wage research and Ted Cruz's new health plan — plus some Russia stuff, too.

White Paper: Minimum Wage Increases, Wages, and Low-Wage Employment: Evidence from Seattle

Drug policy reporter German Lopez joins Matt for a close look at the biggest drug overdose crisis in American history.

Dara Lind and Dylan Matthews join Ezra to talk about the updated travel ban, how Trumpism has translated into policy, and the impact that increasingly awesome video games have had on young men's work habits.

Links!

White Paper: Leisure Luxuries and the Labor Supply of Young Men

Peter Suderman's piece about young men playing video games instead of getting jobs

Jim Tankersley and Tara Golshan join Matt to talk about House Republicans' struggles to write a budget resolution and get their tax reform agenda on track.

A new CBO score on the latest Obamacare repeal bill pushes Sarah to the breaking point!Links:Follow along as Matt, Ezra, and Sarah read through the CBO reportGraphs comparing silver insurance plan costs under different health care bills for different income brackets  White Paper: Health Insurance Coverage and Health — What the Recent Evidence Tells Us

The Senate health care bill is out — and Sarah, Ezra, and Matt are back in the studio to dive into the details of what it means for the marketplaces, Medicaid, and very rich people.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about Tuesday's special elections and the soon-to-be-released Senate health care bill.

Foreign editors Yochi Dreazen and Jennifer Williams join Matt to talk about the diplomatic crisis in Qatar and the never-ending war in Afghanistan.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt take the deepest look they can at Senate Republicans' secret health care bill, plus a quick look at Jeff Sessions’s non-answers on Russia and new research on the long-term impact of lead exposure.Links!White paper of the week from the Brookings Institution: New evidence that lead exposure increases crimeCaitlin Owens in Axios on the Senate GOP not releasing their healthcare billDylan Scott on what it would look like it Senate Republicans voted to repeal ObamacareDavid Leonhardt's New York Times piece on the half-hearted opposition to the GOP’s health care planJeff Stein's piece on the left's game plan for beating the GOP health bill9 legal experts weigh on whether or not Sessions can discuss his conversations with the presidentKevin Drum on lead's connection to violent crime and lower IQs in Mother Jones

Dara Lind and Yochi Dreazen join Matt to talk about Comey's testimony and the larger consequences of the Russia investigation.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about competing single-payer bills in Nevada and California, plus research on the value of access to the Obama White House.

Dylan Matthews and politics reporter Andrew Prokop join Matt to talk about the Paris Accords and the mysterious role of the First Son-in-Law.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about the real causes of mass incarceration, Trump's move to roll back contraceptive coverage, and the mysterious world of high-end credit cards.Links!German Lopez’s piece about John Pfaff’s “Locked in” Mark A.R. Kleiman, Angela Hawken, and Ross Halperin on graduated reentry as prison reform.Today’s white paper, "Status Goods: Experimental Evidence from Platinum Credit Cards" Our Weeds in the Wild Episode about birth control Ezra Klein’s conversation with Chris Hayes about “A Colony in a Nation” Jon Bois excellent video, The Dumbest Boy in the WorldBooks!"Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration" by John Pfaff"The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander"A Colony in a Nation" by Chris Hayes

Sarah Kliff travels to Tennessee to see what it looks like when Obamacare explodes.Links!Sarah's piece about her trip to Tennessee More details about the Missouri bald spotAn interactive map of the counties most at risk of losing all their insurers Our lovely Weeds Facebook groupEmail us at weeds@vox.com

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about the new CBO score of Trumpcare and the results of this week's special election in Montana.

A tanned and rested Ezra joins Matt and Sarah to talk budget, auto-enrollment in health care, and some eye-popping research on zoning.Links:Sarah's piece on auto-enrollmentJeff Stein's piece on reactions to Paul Ryan's agenda The wonderful Weeds Facebook group

Yochi Dreazen and Jennifer Williams join Matt to talk about the new Trump/Russia special counsel and the latest scandal swirling around Michael Flynn.

Dylan Matthews joins Sarah and Matt to talk about Trump's latest problems, his reporting on basic income in Kenya, and new research on fracking's impact on marriage and childbearing.

One of the world’s first universal basic income experiments is happening right now in a small Kenyan village. Dylan Matthews went there to investigate.Links!Dylan Matthew's piece about his Kenya tripTwo economists make the case for and against an American UBIA longer UBI explainerPlease send us feedback! Post your thoughts in our Facebook group or email us at weeds@vox.com

Vox's Dara Lind joins Sarah and Matt to talk about James Comey's firing, the border wall, and whether incomes have really been as stagnant as they seem.

Dylan Scott joins Sarah and Matt to discuss the surprisingly swift passage of a revised and reanimated version of Paul Ryan's repeal bill.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about Congress's big spending deal, Republicans' newest Obamacare repeal idea, and research on what happens when abortion providers shut down. 

Live at Vox Conversations, Sarah, Ezra, and Matt discuss the GOP's doomed effort to reboot Obamacare repeal and the White House's "new" tax reform "plan." 

Libby Nelson and Dylan Matthews join Matt to talk about the global nationalist tide, forcing integration across class and ethnic lines, and research on gender and foreign policy dynamics.

In front of their first-ever live audience, Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about Trump surprises, Singapore's health care system, and the impact of longevity inequality on retirement programs.

Sarah and Byrd take a look at some policy experiments working to drive down teen pregnancy and abortion rates. They're showing promising results — but they're also under threat.

Sarah and Matt are joined by Dara Lind for a discussion of the United fiasco, Trump-era immigration enforcement, and pre-K's surprising health benefits. 

The United States has just intentionally bombed a Syrian regime target for the first time since the country’s civil war began in 2011.  Zack Beauchamp joins Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias to discuss how we got here, and the significance of chemical weapons, in this bonus episode of The Weeds.

Jim Tankersley joins Sarah and Matt to talk tax reform, senate procedure, and the most exciting Swedish administrative data yet.

Ezra, Sarah, and Matt pick apart Trump's next executive order on climate, exhume the AHCA's corpse, and read a white paper about death.

It was the biggest workplace immigration raid the U.S. had seen to date. 389 workers, almost all of them Hispanic, were detained at a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa on May 12, 2008.On this episode of Weeds in the Wild, we look at the effects that this raid had across the state of Iowa, and then take a step back to understand how our immigration policies made this kind of raid possible. 

Ezra and Matt are joined by Yochi Dreazen to talk about national security policy in the Trump era, the latest on ACA repeal, and research indicating the internet's not to blame for political polarization. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about Donald Trump's taxes, the disastrous CBO score of the GOP health care bill, and a study on how Chinese imports reduce Americans' marriage rates. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt discuss how to pronounce the big new Republican health law, plus analyze its content and the puzzling politics surrounding its introduction. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt try to discuss Donald Trump's address to a joint session of congress through the lens of actual policy. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk fake news, town hall protests, and research on why your cell phone bill is so high. 

In another episode of their new podcast, Sarah and Vox's Liz Scheltens explore why Obamacare enrollees in Kentucky voted for Trump. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about the latest Russia-related scandal engulfing the Trump administration, the White House's lack of progress on policy, and new research on how Medicaid expansion reduced the divorce rate. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about anti-Trump protests, cabinet confirmations, and health insurance age rating (exciting!) 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about Neil Gorsuch, a controversial tax reform idea, and Nazi infrastructure building.

Dara Lind joins Ezra and Matt to discuss Donald Trump's latest crackdown on immigrants and refugees.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about widely-misunderstood Trump administration efforts to shut up career civil servants, talk about infrastructure, and ask journalism's most pressing question: What's up with eggs?

Shortly after the inauguration ceremonies ended, Ezra, Matt, and Sarah gathered to analyze what it all means in the first Trump-era Weeds episode. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt are joined by Libby Nelson to discuss Trump's not-so-great hires, not-so-great polls, and new research into how career staff act during presidential transitions.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about the rush to hold hearings on Trump's cabinet appointees, the sudden emergence of trouble in repeal paradise, and an effort to cut down on pill abuse that backfired massively. 

Two weeks before he leaves office, President Obama sits down for a lengthy conversation about the lessons of the Affordable Care Act and the law's uncertain future.

Sarah and Matt offer predictions for 2017, and offer tax wonk tips about when to time your child's birth. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt each review one big thing they learned in a tumultuous year for policy and politics. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about what Obamacare-using Trump voters are hoping for, which regions really need help, and a massive overview of the evidence on globalization and inequality.

Ezra and Matt discuss Russian hacking, Rex Tillerson, and inequality's role in reducing social mobility.

Matt is joined by Libby Nelson to discuss Donald Trump's big plans for K-12 education and his massive financial conflicts of interest.

Sarah and Matt take a deep dive into what Trump's cabinet picks say about how he will govern, with a particular focus on HHS Secretary-designate Tom Price. Also: an exciting white paper on recessions and health outcomes!

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt consider the extraordinary possibility of corruption during the Trump administration, the president-elect's unusual relationship with the media, and a new study debunking the old study about 16 and Pregnant. 

This is a pilot episode of a new show Sarah has been working on, looking at the real-life stakes of policymaking. The show's name? That's for you to help us decide.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about Obamacare repeal, deportations, and the House Democrats leadership fight.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt look at the causes and consequences of Donald Trump's shocking win.

You may not know it from watching cable news — but both Trump and Clinton have very clear and very different policy visions for America. Ezra, Matt, and Sarah dive into their plans to change the country in the last pre-election episode. 

Ezra, Matt and Sarah go deep into what's going wrong with Obamacare's rising premiums — and take on a research paper that helps explain a lot about Gilmore Girls (really!)

Ezra, Sarah, and Matt rally after a late night to talk about the third and mercifully last presidential debate.

The morning after Clinton and Trump's debate in St. Louis, Ezra, Sarah, and Matt head to the studio to talk about internal Republican divisions, Trump's threat to throw Clinton in jail, and the surprising amount of policy the two candidates covered.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt debate Mike Pence's puzzling performance at the vice presidential debate and highlight new research on the surprising link between college football and prison sentences. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt try to take the policy content of the Trump-Clinton debate seriously and discuss important new research into out of control health care spending -- on pets.

The Weeds' Sarah Kliff heads to Capitol Hill to interview Secretary Burwell on all things health care. They talked about how to pay doctors to provide better care, the current state of the Obamacare marketplaces, and what she's learned about management running the federal government's largest agency. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt get deep into the weeds of the latest Census report on income and poverty, briefly consider Donald Trump's ridiculous charity, and discuss new research into class-based employment discrimination. 

Reunited after many summer vacations, Sarah, Ezra, and Matt take a deep dive into Claudia Goldin's theory of the gender pay gap and possible remedies. Plus hot new research that proves nobody cares about state government. 

Why did EpiPen's price skyrocket 400 percent over the past decade? Sarah and Matt dive into the complex world of American drug pricing to find out. Also on this episode: understanding why the Clinton Foundation gets so much scrutiny, and a white paper of the week that shows how problematic a small level of lead exposure can be.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt are all together for a gloriously in-the-weeds discussion of the success and failure of the Affordable Care Act plus some hot new research with bad news for the future of economic growth.

Ezra and Matt talk about conflicts of interest in think tank funding, Hillary Clinton's transition team, and the biggest study yet of who supports Donald Trump and why.

Ezra is joined by Dara Lind and Libby Nelson to talk about Donald Trump's new tax plan — how it shows the difference between Trump and reform conservatives, between the Donald and Ivanka, between Democrats and Republicans, and the similarities between Trump and Paul Ryan. The trio also talks about what happens when elections lose legitimacy, and mull over a fascinating new paper by Steven Levitt — yes, the Freakonomics economist — that could change how you make decisions. 

With Ezra and Matt on summer vacation, Sarah is left to her own devices — and decides to share a fantastic interview from the Ezra Klein Show with surgeon and writer Atul Gawande.  Atul talks about the fascinating academic work he has in progress, attempting to improve end-of-life care and make hospitals safer, and how he became a writer in the first place.  

With Matt dispatched to Philadelphia, Sarah and Ezra are left to make sense of the Democratic National Convention. They discuss why it feels so different from the Republican National Convention last week, why it matters that a woman was just nominated for president, and whether Sanders could inspire a Tea Party of the left.

Matt, Sarah, and Ezra take a deep dive into the many detailed policies proposals discussed at the RNC in Cleveland.

Andy Stern joins Ezra, Sarah, and Matt to talk about his new book, Raising the Floor: How a Universal Basic Income Can Renew Our Economy and Rebuild the American Dream. Then, the regular cast considers new research on police use of force.

A special presentation from the Ezra Klein Show: My interview this week is with Hillary Clinton. You may have heard of her.I won't bore you with Clinton's bio. Instead, I want to say a few words about what this interview is, as it's a bit different than the EK Show's normal fare (though I do ask her for book recommendations!).I got about 40 minutes with Hillary Clinton. I wanted to use that time to try to answer a question I've had about Clinton for years: why is the candidate I see on the campaign trail so different from the person described to me by her staff, colleagues, friends, and even foes? I wanted, in other words, to try to see what Clinton is like when she's working her way through policy and governance issues. And so that's what we talk about. Among the topics we covered are:- Extreme poverty, welfare reform, and the working poor- Is it time for more deficit spending?- Would more immigration be good for the economy?- The difficulties of free college and universal health care- What skills does a president need that campaigns don't test?- What's on her bookshelf?- Why America stopped trusting elites — and what elites should do about itIf you want more on this discussion, I also reported out a long piece on how Clinton governs — you can find it on Vox.com.

Matt, Ezra, and Sarah talk about proposals to eliminate college tuition, the real issues behind Hillary's email server, and a new paper on a small policy change with huge consequences. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt discuss the United Kingdom's descent into political chaos, a big win for abortion rights at the high court, and a big labor market mystery.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt consider the alarming rise in deep poverty over the past 15 years, a fresh Supreme Court non-decision that imperils Obama's immigration policy, and what to make of the slowing rate of growth of health care spending.

Sarah and Matt discuss the nexus of terrorism and gun control, Britain's upcoming referendum, and an unintended consequence of school condom giveaways.

Hillary Clinton's clinch of the Democratic nomination gives Sarah, Ezra, and Matt a chance to go deep on what we know about women in electoral politics.

With Ezra in sunny California, Matt and Sarah gets weedsier than ever as she attempts to explain to Matt the mysteries of ACOs before they discuss a brewing controversy over economic journal citations.

Health care innovation, did Dems rig the primary, and fetal stress: Sarah, Ezra, and Matt look at a specific case in America's great productivity slowdown, assess Bernie Sanders' complaints, and examine some exciting Swedish administrative data.

Ezra, Sarah, and Matt look back at whether Bill Clinton deserves credit for the booming economy of the 1990s, survey the ongoing legal challenges to Obamacare, and dissect new research revealing some surprising facts about abortion rates around the world. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about which companies are succeeding and failure in the Affordable Care Act's new individual market and why, and delve deep into the weeds of some new research on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

Trump is the last man standing in the Republican nominating contest — so Ezra, Matt, and Sarah spend this week's entire episode taking stock of what that means. How did the rise of Trump happen? What does it mean for the Republican party? And how much potential does this have to reshape America's political parties?This episode is brought to you by Texture, an app to help you binge-read your favorite magazines. get a free trial right now when you visit Texture.com/Weeds.This episode is also brought to you by Club W, which will give you $20 off your first order when you go to ClubW.com/Weeds, and will pay your shipping on orders of four bottles or more.And by Goldman Sachs. To learn about developments currently shaping markets, industries, and the global economy, subscribe to the firm’s podcast, ‘Exchanges at Goldman Sachs,’ available on iTunes.

Max Fisher sits down with Defense Secretary Ash Carter to talk about the modern international environment, why Carter thinks great power rivalry is making a comeback, and for some deep weedsy talk about nuclear weapons.

Every policy nerd has their favorite tax proposal — and today on the Weeds, Sarah, Matt, and Ezra talk about a few of theirs. What would happen if we abolished all taxes and replaced them with a land tax? Is it a good idea to tax sugary sodas? And how did the carbon tax become the default option in the environmental debate?This episode is brought to you by Texture, an app to help you binge-read your favorite magazines. get a free trial right now when you visit Texture.com/Weeds.This episode is also brought to you by Club W, which will give you $20 off your first order when you go to ClubW.com/Weeds, and will pay your shipping on orders of four bottles or more.And by Goldman Sachs. To learn about developments currently shaping markets, industries, and the global economy, subscribe to the firm’s podcast, ‘Exchanges at Goldman Sachs,’ available on iTunes.

With Sarah still on vacation Ezra and Matt ask what we want out of our presidential nominating system, explain a new regulatory initiative that could save the middle class billions, and look at some new research on media consumption and polarization.The Weeds is supported by Goldman Sachs. To learn about developments currently shaping markets, industries, and the global economy, subscribe to the firm’s podcast, ‘Exchanges at Goldman Sachs,’ available on iTunes.The Weeds is also brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Weeds to stream Understanding Investments and hundreds of other courses for free!And by Harry’s Razors. Visit Harrys.com right now and get $5 off your first purchase with promo code WEEDS.

The Obama administration's top economist talks to Vox's Dylan Matthews about the challenges facing the American economy.

With Sarah on vacation, Matt and Ezra talk about the philosophical underpinnings of worries about inequality, take a look at Donald Trump's difficulty grappling with the delegate selection process, and discuss a blockbuster new paper that reveals huge city-to-city variation in how long poor people live. The Weeds is supported by Goldman Sachs. To learn about developments currently shaping markets, industries, and the global economy, subscribe to the firm’s podcast, ‘Exchanges at Goldman Sachs,’ available on iTunes.The Weeds is also brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Weeds to stream Understanding Investments and hundreds of other courses for free!

Ezra, Matt and Sarah use the Panama Papers to discuss how tax havens and shell corporations became such a big deal, and why America has done so little to stop them. Matt and Ezra argue a bit about the effectiveness of global governance. Economist Gabriel Zucman gets name-checked quite a bit. Sarah runs through some really surprising new Obamacare data (Medicaid fans — you know who you are — won't want to miss this!). Today’s episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Weeds to stream Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries and hundreds of other courses for free!This episode is also brought to you by Re:Dream, a documentary series on Youtube taking a look at the idea of the American Dream. Watch the videos, find local events, and join the conversation at ReDreamProject.org.

It would be really weird to walk into a bank and have the teller take down your information on pen and paper. But it happens all the time in medicine — and we try to explain why. Also in this episode: a new tax calculator reveals how the candidates want to change your taxes, and a political science paper from 2014 helps predict the rise of Trumpism.This episode is brought to you by Club W, offering The Weeds listeners fifty percent off your first wine order when you go to ClubW.com/Weeds.This episode is also brought to you by Re:Dream, a documentary series on Youtube taking a look at the idea of the American Dream. Watch the videos, find local events, and join the conversation at ReDreamProject.org.

Special guest star Libby Nelson joins Sarah and Matt to explain the Every Student Succeeds Act, examine the strange history and economics behind the NCAA's non-payment of athletes, and break down some new research on why Uber works. Today’s episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Weeds to stream Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries and hundreds of other courses for free!This episode is also brought to you by Re:Dream, a documentary series on Youtube taking a look at the idea of the American Dream. Watch the videos, find local events, and join the conversation at ReDreamProject.org.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt discuss the results of the March 15 primaries and the state of the 2016 presidential election.Today’s episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Weeds to stream Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries and hundreds of other courses for free!This episode is also brought to you by Club W, offering The Weeds listeners fifty percent off your first wine order when you go to ClubW.com/Weeds.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about why Silicon Valley's technical marvels aren't visible in economic statistics, dive into the details of Donald Trump's surprisingly banal health plan, and tackle some new research on improving teaching by improving textbooks.This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today atSquarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off.This episode is also brought to you by Harry’s razors. Visit Harrys.com and enter WEEDS at checkout to receive $5 off your first purchase.

In this episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Matt and Sarah discuss the results of Super Tuesday. Everyone is tired, so it gets a bit weird. Topics include whether Donald Trump is actually a moderate, how the election shows American politics is either polarizing or de-polarizing, and whether Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton would be a stronger general-election candidate. Oh, and Bernie Sanders has finally convinced Matt that free college —including for rich kids — is a good idea! This week’s episode of The Weeds is sponsored by Warby Parker. Warby Parker brings you a new concept in eyewear: Contemporary eyeglasses that are extremely affordable and fashion forward. Visit WarbyParker.com/Weeds to begin your free home try-on experience today!This episode is also brought to you by Club W, offering The Weeds listeners fifty percent off your first wine order when you go to ClubW.com/Weeds.

By popular demand, Sarah, Matt, and Ezra finally address the Trans Pacific Partnership before contemplating the GOP's ongoing self-immolation, and the real consequences of the war on Planned Parenthood.Today’s episode is brought to you by Harry’s razors. Visit Harrys.com and enter WEEDS at checkout to receive $5 off your first order.Today’s episode is also brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Weeds to stream Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries and hundreds of other courses for free!Today’s episode is also sponsored by CNN’s new original series “Race for the White House.” Uncover the reasons some campaigns became powerful while others failed. The series premieres Sunday, March 6th, at 10pm Eastern on CNN.

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt consider the case for reforming America's current practice of granting life tenure to Supreme Court Justices, discuss the political fight over replacing the late Justice Scalia, and ponder a 25 year-old work of political science that implies the United States is heading for a coup.Today’s episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Weeds for a special limited-time offer to stream hundreds of courses for free!This episode is also brought to you by Club W. Visit ClubW.com/weeds and get fifty percent off your first order today, and don’t ever come home to a wine-free house again. 

Sarah, Ezra, and Matt use the New Hampshire primary results as a lens through which to discuss Jonathan Rauch's case for "political realism" as a governing philosophy.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.This episode is also brought to you by Harry’s razors. Go to Harrys.com right now to get $5 off your first order with the promo code WEEDS.

Who wins the 2016 election will hugely influence what type of policies Washington passes — and that's why Ezra, Sarah, and Matt devote this entire episode of The Weeds to dissecting the results of the Iowa caucus. We look at Bernie's surprising success, the declining strength of political parties, and how a Cruz administration would govern.For a limited time, The Great Courses Plus is offering The Weeds listeners a chance to stream The Fundamentals of Photography and hundreds of other courses for free! Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/WEEDS to take advantage of this special offer.Club W is a revolutionary new wine club that sends you wine directly to yourdoor -- saving you all those trips to the grocery store. Not only does Club W send you wine, they send you wine that you'll LOVE drinking. Visit ClubW.com/WEEDs to get fifty percent off your first order.

It’s one of the most fundamental disputes in Washington: what effect do taxes have on the economy? On this week's episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Matt, and Sarah work through some of the top papers to explain. Also on this episode: why a third party won't save American politics, and a new working paper that shows a surprising way to encourage students to attend high school.This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today atSquarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.For a limited time, The Great Courses Plus is offering The Weeds listeners a chance to stream The Fundamentals of Photography and hundreds of other courses for free! Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/WEEDS to take advantage of this special offer.

In this preview of Ezra's coming interview podcast, he interviews New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat. Douthat is the author of Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class, Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save Themselves, and Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics. He's also a fascinating political thinker with a skill that's rare in these polarized times: he's a conservative writing for an overwhelmingly liberal audience, and he's able to regularly disagree with his readers without alienating them. In this discussion, he tells Ezra about his winding path to the Times op-ed page, as well as his appreciation for Donald Trump, and his predictions for what could split both the Democratic and Republican parties. 

On this episode of the Weeds, Ezra, Matt, and Sarah dive into one of Bernie Sanders' favorite campaign trail arguments: that money causes more Congressional dysfunction than partisanship. Also on this episode: why the lead poisoning crisis in Flint matters, and a discussion of a (not so great) paper of the week on global inequality. This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. Just for a limited time The Great Courses Plus is offering our listeners a chance to stream this course: The Fundamentals of Photography - a $235 value- and hundreds of other courses for FREE! Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/WEEDS for this limited-time offer.This episode is also sponsored by Ballotcraft, a fantasy politics game. Think fantasy football, but for politics. Win in Ballotcraft by best predicting who's going to win the Iowa Caucuses, New Hampshire Primaries, and other upcoming elections. It's 100% free. Check it out at ballotcraft.com

Matt, Sarah, and Ezra reflect on Obama's successes and failures, take a look at Hillary Clinton's new attack on Bernie Sanders, and consider some research on the new health law's surprising lack of impact on the labor market.This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today atSquarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.

America's immigration debate is peppered with terms like "path to citizenship" and "amnesty." Those catch phrases can mean vastly different things to different people — and on this week's episode of the Weeds, Vox's Dara Lind joins Sarah and Matt to explain. Also on this episode: understanding the family behind the armed stand-off in Oregon, and a new white paper that argues against increasing the minimum wage. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building your website today atSquarespace.com. Enter offer code WEEDS at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.

In a very merry Christmas day episode of the Weeds, Ezra and Matt talk to Sarah about how why teen birth rate fell in half since the mid-2000s — and whether MTV's 16 and Pregnant might have anything to do with it. Also in this episode: an economic critique of Christmas presents and a deep dive into Hillary Clinton's pledge not to tax the middle class.

Matt, Sarah, and Ezra lay out what is and isn't troubling about gentrification, break down congress' latest fiscal deal, and discuss a paper that explores why swing voting has become rare.

In this special episode of The Weeds, Ezra interviews former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about what it's like to manage the most powerful economic policymaking institution in the world during a financial crisis. They also talk about Bernanke's views on the Republican party, what he learned from George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and what happened when he went to Texas.

Ezra, Sarah, and Matt are reunited at last for a deep dive into why patients in and out of Obamacare are paying more for health insurance, the rising tide of Islamophobia in the presidential campaign, and a look at fascinating new research on the psychological depths of contemporary partisanship. Have you heard The Message? It’s an original science fiction podcast from Panoply and GE Podcast Theater. All of Season 1 is available now, so listen and find out why a 70-year-old alien recording seems to be killing people. Search for The Message on iTunes.

Matt is joined by special guest stars Julia Belluz and Brad Plumer to discuss the science of eating fat, the Paris climate conference, and the public health implications of climate change. 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. Have you heard The Message? It’s an original science fiction podcast from Panoply and GE Podcast Theater. All of Season 1 is available now, so listen and find out why a 70-year-old alien recording seems to be killing people. Search for The Message on iTunes.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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! 

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

Coming soon from Vox and Panoply