624 episodes
The Weeds Vox
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- News
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4.4 • 7.5K Ratings
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In politics, you’re often told not to get lost in the weeds. But we love the weeds! That’s where politics becomes policy – the stuff that shapes our lives. Every Tuesday, Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and other voices dig into the weeds on important national issues, including healthcare immigration, and housing.
Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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The scourge of the “time tax”
Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Annie Lowrey (@annielowrey), a staff writer at the Atlantic, to talk about why it’s so hard for people to get government benefits. Frequently called the “time tax,” the administrative burden of applying for and distributing government benefits leads to thousands of people not getting the aid they qualify for.
References:
Annie Lowrey on Code America’s efforts to fight the Time Tax
Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan's book on administrative burden
Why Is It So Hard to Make a Website for the Government? from the New York Times
White paper — Program Recertification Costs: Evidence from SNAP
A sudden change to SSI eligibility had huge, lasting negative consequences
Hosts:
Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox
Dara Lind (@dlind), Weeds co-host, Vox
Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial adviser
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts
Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
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Ukraine and the global food supply crisis
Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind talk with Washington Post economic columnist Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) about the global food supply crisis spinning out of the war in Ukraine. The crisis is so bad that the United Nations said it could be the worst shortage since World War II. What, if anything, can be done? Dylan, Dara, and Heather discuss how we got here and the costs of potential solutions.
References:
The war in Ukraine is triggering a global food crisis. Here’s how the U.S. can help.
A global famine looms. The U.S. could prevent it.
How war in Ukraine is making people hungry in the Middle East
Russian Blockade Prompts Ukraine to Find New Ways to Shift Vital Wheat Exports
Hosts:
Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox
Dara Lind (@dlind), Weeds co-host, Vox
Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial adviser
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts
Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
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What the Alito leak means for Roe — and everything else
Dara Lind sits down with Vox Supreme Court correspondent Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) for a deep dive into the leaked draft opinion on abortion written by Justice Samuel Alito. They discuss the text of the opinion itself; why Alito was chosen to write it; and what could happen in the days, weeks, and months following a ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
References:
The Roe opinion and the case against the Supreme Court
Ian’s explainer on the draft memo
What happens next if the Supreme Court strikes down Roe
Ian’s interview with Professor Melissa Murray
Professor Melissa Murray NYT op ed from December: What would a post-Roe America look like?
Hosts:
Dara Lind (@dlind), Weeds co-host, Vox
Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial adviser
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts
Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
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The Most Dangerous Branch: Roe v. Wade
This episode originally published in October 2021 as the first installment of our “Most Dangerous Branch” miniseries about the Supreme Court. Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) talks with NYU professor Melissa Murray about the future of Roe v. Wade, specifically discussing some of the legal theories used to chip away at the law.
References:
What we know and don't know on the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade draft opinion
Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows
Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial adviser
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts
Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
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Why do we go to war?
Dylan Matthews interviews economist Chris Blattman (@cblatts) about his new book Why We Fight, which examines the root causes of war and what can be done to stop it. In a wide-ranging discussion that touches on conflict all over the world, Dylan and Chris discuss the role of the state, commonalities among historical conflicts, and the game theory of war.
References:
Chris Blattman’s book, Why We Fight
Chris’s research work
Research on how drug gangs govern in Colombia
How therapy can reduce conflict
Using summer vacations to study peace deal mediators
The influence of royal mounties in the 19th century may make Canadian hockey less violent now
Blattman on Ukraine before the war
Civil war predictions in the US
Hosts:
Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox
Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial adviser
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts
Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
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Weeds Time Machine: The Clean Air Act
Buckle up! The Weeds Time Machine is back. Today, Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and special guest Maureen Cropper, economist and professor at the University of Maryland, travel back in time to the 1970s to discuss one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation of the 20th century: the Clean Air Act.
References:
White paper: Looking Back at 50 Years of the Clean Air Act
Hosts:
Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox
Dara Lind (@dlind), Weeds co-host, Vox
Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial adviser
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts
Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Customer Reviews
Why we fight
After listening the episode of “why we fight” I remembered a book I read that might help you think a bit deeper…Braiding Sweetgrass” and I especially direct your attention to the chapter “Allegiance to Gratitude.” pp105-117. The best conflict avoiding advice ever.
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Talking down to your listeners again! ☹️
Grow up, we have…
Conceited and Bias
These kids sound like they grew up in a very sheltered environment and think they know everything. They’re like Clueless meets band camp. Everything is presented from a left view, without serious alternatives. They are obviously smart but it gets hard to listen to after a while. I preferred Matt Yglesias.