The Weeds Vox Media Podcast Network
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- Politics
Politics is how people achieve power. Policy is what they do with it. Every week on The Weeds, host Jonquilyn Hill and guests break down the policies that shape our lives, from abortion to financial regulations to affirmative action to housing. We dive deep and we get wonky, but we have fun along the way. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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A safety net’s poverty trap
What if you weren’t allowed to have more than $2,000 at any given time? Could you make it work? For people who receive Supplemental Security Income, this isn’t a what-if — it’s reality. SSI beneficiaries are subject to strict requirements and risk losing their benefits if they have more than $2,000 in financial assets, even if they exceed that by just a dollar. Why is the limit so low, and is anything being done to fix it? That’s today on The Weeds.
Read More:
Tyler (@tylerlimaroope) | TikTok
The Case for Updating SSI Asset Limits | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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We want to know what you’re curious about.
Credits:
Jonquilyn Hill, host
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Cristian Ayala, engineer
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts
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Let’s fix child care together
America is in the midst of a child care crisis. The cost of child care has skyrocketed to the point where, in some states, caring for kids in pre-k is more expensive than college tuition or a home mortgage. According to economist Kathryn Anne Edwards, it’s a market failure. So how do we fix it? That’s in today’s installment of our series exploring economic fanfiction and the stories we should be covering this election year.
Read More:
Kathryn's plan to fix child care
Submit your policy questions!
We want to know what you’re curious about.
Credits:
Jonquilyn Hill, host
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Rob Byers, engineer
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
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Bringing back the SAT
Four years after a pandemic pause, some colleges and universities are again requiring applicants to submit standardized test scores. Inside Higher Ed’s Liam Knox and the University of Delaware’s Dominique Baker explain.
This episode of Today, Explained was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Rob Byers, and guest-hosted by Jonquilyn Hill. It originally ran on March 8th, 2024.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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The AI election
2024 is a big year for elections, not just in the US but globally: More than 50 countries will be holding elections this year. With rampant disinformation and polarization in politics, fast-moving technologies like AI pose a unique threat to democracy. On a scale from 1–10, how worried should we be about AI and the election? Host Jonquilyn Hill talks to New York Times reporter Tiffany Hsu to find out.
Learn More:
The Black Box: Even AI's creators don't understand it - Unexplainable
Test Yourself: Which Faces Were Made by A.I.? - New York Times
In Big Election Year, A.I.’s Architects Move Against Its Misuse - New York Times
Submit your policy questions!
We want to know what you’re curious about.
Credits:
Jonquilyn Hill, host
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Cristian Ayala, engineer
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
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The case for banning...millionaires?
Political philosopher Ingrid Robeyns believes that there should be a maximum amount of money and resources that one person can have. She tells Sean how much is too much and why limiting personal wealth benefits everyone, including the super rich. This episode of The Grey Area originally aired in January 2024.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Ingrid Robeyns. Her book is Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth.
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This episode was made by:
Producer: Jon Ehrens
Engineer: Cristian Ayala
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How racism ages Black people
There are a host of health disparities across the racial divide. Black people are more likely to develop chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Black people are also more likely to be diagnosed with fibroids or die from pregnancy complications. One of the factors in these disparities could be a phenomenon known as weathering — the stress of racism literally aging Black people’s bodies at a faster rate. Host Jonquilyn Hill discusses this with Dr. Uché Blackstock, the founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity and the author of Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine.
Read More:
Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine by Uché Blackstock
Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society by Arline T. Geronimus
Health in Her HUE
Irth App
Advancing Health Equity
Submit your policy questions!
We want to know what you’re curious about.
Credits:
Jonquilyn Hill, host
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Cristian Ayala, engineer
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
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