Today, Explained

The Prince of Blackwater

Betsy DeVos’s baby brother made a name for himself running one of America's top mercenary companies. The Intercept's Matthew Cole explains how Blackwater founder Erik Prince has reinvented himself since falling out of favor with the US government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What raids?

Immigrant communities across the United States spent the weekend on edge awaiting so-called "ICE raids." Reporter Tal Kopan explains what happened and immigration attorney Claudia Cubas describes the detention process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Don't stop, make it pop

Your favorite young person’s favorite app is TikTok. Vox’s Rebecca Jennings has been spending too much time trying to understand it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The government will sleep in your bed

This week, 22 UN ambassadors condemned China for detaining at least a million ethnic Uighurs in “reeducation camps.” After Gulchehra Hoja, a Uighur journalist, started reporting on the camps, over twenty of her relatives were imprisoned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A preexisting debate

Obamacare is back in court. Vox’s Li Zhou explains how the healthcare bill might finally meet its maker and Ezra Klein explains why that might be great news for Democrats in 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The renegade general

Libya’s ongoing civil war has escalated into one of its bloodiest moments yet—the bombing of a migrant detention center in Tripoli. Analyst Anas El Gomati explains why the likeliest culprit is a rogue Libyan general who worked with the CIA and once launched a coup online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Switch to Mitch

In the first Democratic debates, candidates seemed to be running against a powerful Republican who arrived long before Trump and will likely outlast him. NPR's Kelly McEvers explains the secret to Senator Mitch McConnell's dominance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Know your enemy (Part II)

When people see Deeyah Khan's documentary about white supremacists they tell her, "The real problem is jihad. You should spend time with jihadists." She says, "I did." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Know your enemy (Part I)

Documentary filmmaker Deeyah Khan grew tired of receiving death threats from white supremacists so she traveled to a Detroit motel to meet up with one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Equal pay is the goooooaaaaaallllllllll!

Team USA is having quite the World Cup, but the women made headlines even before the tournament started by suing the United States Soccer Federation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

40 acres and a bill

Slavery reparations were once an untouchable idea in American politics, but now presidential candidates openly support it. And for the first time ever, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has Congress considering it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two days, Explained

Twenty Democratic candidates. Two debates. Some awkward Spanish. Vox’s Ella Nilsen hits the highlights and Ezra Klein explains why Democrats should be worried. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supreme Count

The Supreme Court dropped two doozies today. NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang details a ruling on the 2020 census before Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains how the Court finally weighed in on partisan gerrymandering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Safe and sanitary"

The Senate passed $4.6 billion in emergency aid for the crisis at the southwestern border today. Last night, the House passed its own version. Aid will help, but for lasting change Congress will have to deal with Flores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Republicans on the run

A landmark cap-and-trade bill in Oregon is on life support after Republicans fled the state to avoid voting on it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rise and fall of R. Kelly

R. Kelly is facing new criminal charges, as well as investigations that involve the IRS, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security. Jim DeRogatis went from reviewing his music to documenting his alleged misdeeds against minors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Never forget

The 9/11 first responders and Jon Stewart are fighting Congress for what they hope is the last time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Drone down

Iran kicked off the day by blowing up a very expensive US surveillance drone. Vox's Alex Ward explains why tensions keep getting more tense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I see fake people

Doctored videos of Nancy Pelosi and Mark Zuckerberg have Congress worried about the nation’s grasp on reality. Drew Harwell from the Washington Post explains how “deepfakes” might corrupt upcoming elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Change for a 20?

As Washington gears up for the 2020 elections, it's fighting over who should be on the $20 bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the ouster

Sudanese protesters pulled off the impossible: ousting dictator Omar al-Bashir. Now, the protestors face a new adversary: al-Bashir's military. Reem Abbas reports on the latest from Khartoum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Little pink houses for nobody

California is the most populous state in the country, but people increasingly can’t afford to live there. Single family zoning is partly to blame, but state legislators haven’t been able to dump the housing policy. Minneapolis has. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hong Kong in the streets

Hundreds of thousands of people are protesting in Hong Kong. CNN’s Matt Rivers is on the scene and the BBC's Helier Cheung explains how British colonialism complicated everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guatemala’s corruption conundrum

There are nearly twenty candidates vying to be president of Guatemala. Some are being investigated for corruption by the country’s watchdog court, the CICIG. But corruption isn’t the only problem facing Guatemala right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planting dreams

Erica Alfaro just got her master’s degree. But underneath the cap and gown is the story of migrant farm workers, a teen pregnancy, and domestic abuse. Wil Del Pilar explains why it’s time for colleges to do more to cater to first-generation college students like Erica and himself. (Daniel Alarcón of Radio Ambulante guest hosts.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mushroom magic

Denver and Oakland have become the first US cities to effectively decriminalize magic mushrooms. Michael Pollan, author of “How to Change Your Mind,” explains how taking a trip could help treat depression. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My Brexit brings all the boys to the yard

Right-wing politicians in the UK are under attack. Delicious, sticky attack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crisis of faith

Iraq’s Christian population has been fleeing the country en masse. The United States wants to help, so long as they don’t come here. (Transcript here.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The new secession

Wealthy white residents are trying to secede from East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. The Atlantic’s Adam Harris says they’re part of a growing trend of school resegregation. (Transcript here.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s hard to ratify U-S-M-C-A

President Trump wants his NAFTA replacement deal ratified. But President Trump appears to be standing in the way. (Transcript here.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices