716 episodes

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.

The Weeds Vox Media Podcast Network

    • News
    • 4.4 • 7.7K Ratings

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.

    A safety net’s poverty trap

    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
      

    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
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 34 min
    Let’s fix child care together

    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
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 43 min
    Bringing back the SAT

    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


    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 25 min
    The AI election

    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
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 41 min
    The case for banning...millionaires?

    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.
    Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
    Be the first to hear new episodes of The Gray Area by following us in your favorite podcast app. Links here: https://www.vox.com/the-gray-area

    Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

    This episode was made by:
    Producer: Jon Ehrens
    Engineer: Cristian Ayala


    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 55 min
    How racism ages Black people

    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
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 37 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
7.7K Ratings

7.7K Ratings

The_ship_ is_going_down ,

Eviction show

I completely understand the points you’re making during this episode. Numbers don’t. I honestly, don’t see a clear answer to this problem. Yes, some ppl need help. With that being said, ppl needing help and ppl trying to work the system and get free lodging can look the same. Before I got sober a few years back, I was friends with allot of shady ppl. Most of them tried to get out of paying rent, in one form or another. Most would just hit up church outreach centers. Anyway, I said all that to make the point that ppl are never going to take those in need seriously, until ppl stop trying to use those social programs to skirt their own responsibilities.

Mogera Robusta ,

Not What it Used to Be

The Weeds used to be a great podcast for getting into the fine detail complex policy issues. Since the change in hosting, it’s just another hour of random people talking about social issues, and in a decidedly dumbed-down way compared to the tone of the old show. While those are important conversations, that’s not what this show was supposed to be, and other podcasts do it far better. I’m out.

Bsgsksbjhshshs ,

Gone downhill

I’ve been listening to the show since the very beginning. It’s gotten much worse over the last couple years, as has Vox in general. I’ve continued to follow the show and tried listening to select episodes, but I’m disappointed every time. It’s become smug and pretentious and it’s time to just accept that it’s no longer the great show it once was. Only show worth listening from Vox is the Grey Area.

Top Podcasts In News

The Daily
The New York Times
Up First
NPR
The Ben Shapiro Show
The Daily Wire
Pod Save America
Crooked Media
The Megyn Kelly Show
SiriusXM
The Dan Bongino Show
Cumulus Podcast Network | Dan Bongino

You Might Also Like

Today, Explained
Vox
The Gray Area with Sean Illing
Vox
FiveThirtyEight Politics
ABC News, 538, FiveThirtyEight, Galen Druke
The Ezra Klein Show
New York Times Opinion
Political Gabfest
Slate Podcasts
Matter of Opinion
New York Times Opinion

More by Vox

Today, Explained
Vox
Unexplainable
Vox
The Gray Area with Sean Illing
Vox
Future Perfect
Vox
The Impact
Vox
Chicano Squad
Vox Media Podcast Network