Listen Now

Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Vox’s Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) to talk about the midterm elections. More specifically, why the president’s party almost always loses seats in Congress. They discuss the theories of this phenomenon and what, if anything, can work on the margins. Plus, a white paper about Obamacare and the 2010 midterm elections. References: Why the president’s party almost always has a bad midterm The political science of door-knocking and TV ads White paper: “One Vote Out of Step? The Effects of Salient Roll Call Votes in the 2010 Election” Dylan’s old, wrong article arguing that congressional position-taking doesn’t matter much Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer Dara Lind, 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

Dylan Matthews talks with Victor Cha (@VictorDCha) about the international politics surrounding the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The US and several other countries are boycotting the games to protest China’s human rights record, which brings up the question: What does this boycott mean for US-China relations? References: Beyond the Final Score by Victor Cha  Cha on the politicization of the 2022 Games Vox’s Jen Kirby on the Biden administration’s diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympics Vox’s Bryan Walsh on the failure of the Games to promote international peace Olympic sponsors are facing pressure over China’s human rights violations 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and Jerusalem Demsas talk about affirmative action. They dig into the current Supreme Court case about Harvard’s admission rates and ask: How do we make sure our elite institutions adequately reflect the population? Plus, a white paper about the effects of education on mortality. References: Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser’s explainer about the SCOTUS cases Peter Arcidiacono, Josh Kinsler, and Tyler Ransom's empirical papers on Harvard admissions Jay Caspian Kang on the Harvard case Ending affirmative action in California pushed Black and Latinx students into worse schools and jobs Randall Kennedy’s case for affirmative action Sheryll Cashin’s case for “place-based affirmative action” An argument that class-based affirmative action produces more racial diversity than regular affirmative action Nicholas Lemann on affirmative action for the New Yorker How the Texas “10 percent” rule changed high school enrollment White paper: "The Effects of Education on Mortality: Evidence Using College Expansions" “A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: ‘I Just Feel Lost,’” the Wall Street Journal Opinion | “Affirmative Action Was Never a Perfect Solution,” the New York Times  “Estimating Benefits from University-Level Diversity”  Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Dara Lind (@dlind), Weeds cohost, 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

Dylan Matthews talks with Mark Galeotti (@MarkGaleotti), director of Mayak Intelligence, about what’s going on in Ukraine. They discuss in depth the historical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Russia’s NATO problem, and the calculations and motivations behind President Vladimir Putin’s moves. References: Today, Explained’s episode about Ukraine's pipeline problem  Vox’s Jen Kirby wrote an explainer about Russia-Ukraine tensions Adam Tooze on Russia as a petro-state An excellent 2019 episode from NPR’s Throughline about the rise of Putin The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War, by Mark Galeotti  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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and Vox policy editor Libby Nelson discuss the findings of two recent studies on early childhood development. One study found that cash transfers increase brain activity in infants, while the other found a negative impact of universal pre-K on academic outcomes. So ... what’s actually going on here? Does one negate the other? The Weeds team talks it out. Plus, a white paper on the effects of parenthood on voter turnout. References: Dylan’s story on the cash-transfer study and his piece on the universal pre-K findings The impact of a poverty reduction intervention on infant brain activity. PNAS The New York Times’s Jason DeParle’s take on the cash-transfer study Scott Alexander summarizes the skeptical takes on the cash transfer study Noah Smith’s review of the research on pre-K, and Kelsey Piper’s Effects of a Statewide Pre-Kindergarten Program on Children’s Achievement and Behavior Through Sixth Grade White Paper: Parents, Infants and Voter Turnout: Evidence from the United States Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublica Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson), policy editor, 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

Dara Lind talks with professor Gabriel Winant of the University of Chicago about the new Bureau of Labor Statistics report that showed a topline decline in union membership despite increasing labor-oriented momentum. And later, journalist Rachel Cohen (@rmc031) joins to talk about the importance of teachers’ unions in the labor movement and in Democratic politics.  References: The Next Shift: The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Health Care in Rust Belt America, Gabriel Winant  Rachel Cohen’s recent article about school closures and Democrats  The recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report on union membership numbers Hosts: Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublica 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

Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas talk with Emily Rong Zhang, a PhD candidate in political science at Stanford and a former Skadden Fellow at the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, about the recent attempts in Congress to pass voting rights legislation. And, a white paper about voter ID laws, written by Emily herself! References: Recapping Congress’s failed voting rights push Why some Dem strategists were skeptical of the effort The case for fixing the Electoral Count Act What happens after the voting rights fights White Paper: “What the Debate over Voter ID Laws' Effects Teaches about Asking the Right Questions” Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, 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

Jerusalem Demsas and Dylan Matthews talk with Joey Politano (@JosephPolitano), economics blogger and self-described "mid-tier take-haver," to go over one big question on people’s minds right now: are corporations profiting off of inflation?  References: Joey’s blog post about rising corporate prices and inflation Sen. Elizabeth Warren on rising corporate profit margins Paul Krugman’s newsletter from this week Binyamin Appelbaum on the meatpacking industry The White House’s statement on meat companies taking advantage of market power  The letter from President Joe Biden to FTC chair Lina Khan “Could strategic price controls help fight inflation?” in the Guardian Rethinking Inflation Policy: A toolkit for economic recovery by JW Mason and Lauren Melodia Hosts: Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weeds co-hosts Jerusalem Demsas and Dara Lind talk with Robinson Meyer (@yayitsrob), staff writer at the Atlantic, about the climate provisions in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill. They discuss specific climate-focused policy proposals and the political stalemate Congress is in, thanks to the filibuster in the Senate. Plus, a white paper about building codes and wildfires in California. References:  Robinson Meyer on the climate gamble going on in Congress Weeds alum Matt Yglesias on the Build Back Better Bill Vox’s Rebecca Leber on why Joe Manchin may have doomed climate policy A 2016 piece from Vox’s Dylan Matthews about money in politics “Progressive leader calls on Biden to unilaterally act on agenda,” The Hill “Manchin's $1.8 trillion spending offer appears no longer to be on the table,” The Washington Post  “Noisy and Unsafe: Stop Fetishizing Old Homes,” The Atlantic Hosts: Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Dara Lind (@dlind) immigration reporter and Weeds 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

Dylan talks to John M. Barry, distinguished scholar at Tulane University and author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, about the Spanish flu of 1918-1919, its parallels to Covid-19, and what that pandemic’s end tells us about how this one might end. References: The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dylan, Jerusalem, and special guest Bryan Walsh discuss the slowing population growth in America, and what a smaller-than-expected America could mean. They also talk about which immigration and child care policies could speed up population growth. Finally, they discuss a paper on why Europe is so much more equal than America. References: The Great Population Slowdown How immigration could reverse population decline The rise of childlessness The climate case that it’s okay to have kids The link between fertility and income The complex relationship between housing prices and fertility Changes in abortion access in a post-Roe America Romania’s abortion ban and its effect on fertility Recent research on global fertility patterns and cohabitation What is the relationship between gender equality and fertility rates?  The Conservative Fertility Advantage White paper: “Why Is Europe More Equal than the United States?” A critique of the paper’s approach to health care Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Bryan Walsh (@bryanrwalsh), editor for Future Perfect, 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

How does someone get radicalized? What do political scientists see as the building blocks of political violence? Is there anything we can do to stop radicalization? One year after the insurrection on January 6, 2021, Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks with Peter Neumann, a professor of security studies at King’s College in London, to answer these questions.  References: Vox’s Zack Beauchamp on where the crisis in American democracy might be headed Peter Neumann’s paper: The trouble with radicalization A Q&A with a French philosopher about the fear of replacement within white nationalism Colin Clarke writes for Politico on what happened after January 6 Northwestern University research about the perceived threat of a racial demographic shift in the US Hosts: Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, 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

Dylan and Dara are joined by Vox’s Libby Nelson to talk about the policy merits and political implications of plans to cancel some or all student loans. They also discuss whether President Joe Biden has the power to cancel student debt unilaterally. And, Vox’s Jerusalem Demsas joins Dylan and Dara for a white paper about prisoners of war and genetics.  References: Brookings Institution’s Andre Perry on why student loan forgiveness isn't regressive How canceling student debt helps beneficiaries get out of other debt The racial justice case for student loan cancellation Luke Herrine arguing that the Department of Education can erase debt unilaterally Is there a secret memo saying Biden can erase the debt? David Leonhardt’s case against debt cancellation White Paper of the Week: “Health Shocks of the Father and Longevity of the Children's Children” Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson) policy editor, 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

Vox senior reporter Rebecca Leber (@rbleber) joins The Weeds to explain the problem of migration caused by climate change, such as that due to wildfires, rising seas, and crop failures. She explains how a warming planet is forcing people to move both in the US and internationally, and how policymakers are and aren’t adapting. Vox reporters Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas continue the conversation with ProPublica’s Dara Lind, discussing a new white paper arguing that social mobility in America rose in the 20th century. References: ProPublica’s feature on climate migration in Central America How climate change is driving up flood insurance premiums in Canarsie, Brooklyn NPR’s investigation into the federal government selling flood-prone houses to low-income families California is encouraging rebuilding in fire-prone regions The case for “managed retreat” from coastal areas A New York Times feature on how climate migration will reshape America The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck Why Greg Clark is pessimistic that social mobility even exists White Paper of the Week: Intergenerational Mobility in American History: Accounting for Race and Measurement Error, Zachary Ward Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Dara Lind (@DLind), immigration reporter, ProPublica Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter  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

In the final episode of our series, America’s Public Health Experiment, Dylan, Dara, and Jerusalem discuss how the CDC and the FDA failed the American public in the early months of the pandemic. Plus, a white paper about excess deaths in the first year of Covid-19. References:  How the experts botched masking advice Zeynep Tufekci on the case for masks (in March 2020) Inside the Fall of the CDC Can the CDC be fixed? How the CDC failed to detect Covid early Scott Gottlieb on CDC versus FDA turf wars The Government Asked Us Not To Release Records From The CDC’s First Failed COVID Test. Here They Are. Zeynep Tufekci in the Atlantic: ​​The CDC Is Still Repeating Its Mistakes Dylan Scott on FDA approval of controversial Alzheimer's drug White paper: Excess Deaths in the United States During the First Year of COVID-19 What happened to drug deaths in 2020 Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublica Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & 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

In the penultimate episode of our series America’s Public Health Experiment, Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks to Arnab Datta, senior counsel at Employ America, about automatic stabilizers: what they are and how they could help during a crisis that affects the economy, such as a global pandemic. References: Vox's Emily Stewart on Democrats abandoning automatic stabilizers Recession Ready: Fiscal Policies to Stabilize the American Economy Structuring Federal Aid To States As An Automatic (And Autonomous) Stabilizer  A Historic Decrease in Poverty GOP Governors Reject Extra Federal Unemployment Payments Host: Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & 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

Dylan and Jerusalem are joined by Vox Policy Editor Libby Nelson to talk about the current state of Covid-19 and schools. They discuss vaccine mandates, rapid testing – or a lack thereof – and teacher burnout. Plus, a white paper about college majors and GPA requirements.  References: Why schools weren’t “back to normal” this year The pandemic caused huge levels of learning loss, especially in districts with less in-person schooling, and especially in poor countries Can pandemics affect educational attainment? Evidence from the polio epidemic of 1916 Some schools are going remote on Fridays to address “burnout” Schools cre closing classrooms on Fridays. Parents are furious. Do school closures and school reopenings affect community transmission of COVID-19? A systematic review of observational studies  Quarantines are driving down attendance The “test to stay” alternative to quarantines How school districts have used their Covid relief funds White Paper: “College Major Restrictions and Social Stratification” Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson), policy editor, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & 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

In the second episode of our series, America’s Public Health Experiment, Weeds co-host Dara Lind looks at two government agencies that went from quietly to loudly broken during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dara is joined by the Washington Post’s Jacob Bogage (@jacobbogage) and Jeremy McKinney (@McKJeremy) from the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Host: Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublica Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & 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

Dara and Dylan talk to Jerusalem about her new article defending rent control laws. The three discuss the policy impacts of rent limits and the politics driving their adoption in large American cities. Finally, they discuss a new paper on declining fertility in 18th-century France. References: Jerusalem’s case for rent control A poll of leading economists, who almost all oppose rent control Economist Rebecca Diamond on the effects of rent control Manhattan Institute fellow Michael Hendrix’s case against rent control Time for revisionism on rent control?  The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn by Suleiman Osman Review of the literature by the Urban Institute White paper: “The Cultural Origins of the Demographic Transition in France” by Guillaume Blanc Blanc’s Twitter summary of his paper The demographic transition for beginners Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas), policy reporter, Vox Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublica Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & 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

German talks with Dr. Neeraj Sood, director of the Covid Initiative at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, about the US’s many failures on Covid-19 testing. They dive into the country’s original mistakes, then go into how lack of testing continues to plague America’s pandemic response. They conclude with what this means not just for the current pandemic but for future public health crises, too. Host: German Lopez (@germanrlopez), senior correspondent, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer & 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