Today, Explained

The breach, explained by Rep. Maloney (locked in her office)

Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York explains what it was like to live through today’s violent transfer of power. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The virus gets more contagious

Viruses mutate, but this time it’s different. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All eyes on Georgia

Tuesday’s election will decide who controls the Senate, but the president is still hung up on the election he already lost. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The year in revue

It's been a year. It’s been a year And after all the news  We’re still not in the clear It’s been a year Can’t even remember what life was like  Back before we didn’t need a mask to go outside It’s been a year Can’t even remember how it used to sound Before the streets were quiet and we had to lock it down It’s been a year 2020 The year began on fire Australia was burning And Iran was looking dire And you know you might forget it but Back in the before time We thought we’d have to deal With Third World War time It was only January  The last time I went to a wedding And we barely knew back then That the virus was already spreading Meanwhile the end of The impeachment trial, finally It went the way you thought it would Except for maybe Romney The virus leaves China On planes and on ships  The world watches closely As Italy gets hit But Italians sang from their balconies And then came the celebrities It’s been a year It’s been a year And after all the news We’re still not in the clear It’s been a year 2020 is cancelled No Olympics and Costco took away free samples So long, Coachella Goodbye in-person classes No European travel We banned their white asses Covid conspiracies. We’ve got varieties  Bill Gates made it in a lab And 5G wants to kill your dad Maybe it’ll go away  When temperatures are high Maybe some disinfectant Is worth the college try? Lockdowns, shutdowns Layoffs and a market crash Mask on. Mask off The stimulus won’t help my rash We’re running out of TP We’re running out of PPE I’m scared of getting groceries I’m losing all my sanity When is this all gonna end? It feels like everything is the same Every single day  Blends into the next day It’s been a year It’s been a year And after all the news We’re still not in the clear. It’s been a year Late May A wall starts to shatter More than half the country screaming Black! Lives! Matter! A monumental protest movement  Started in the streets Statues start to fall And people protest the police Racist mascots fall and  Athletes protest in the bubble John Lewis passed away but left us His “good trouble.” The Confederate flag Lost again in this pandemic While more and more people saw That racism’s systemic But unity, it doesn’t last  It quickly gets politicized  There’s shooting in Kenosha  And everyone’s still taking sides One step forward One step back The United States Staying right on track It’s been a— Wait, wait hold the phone The president has got it He didn’t wanna wear a mask But now he tested positive Yeah, he’s gonna beat it But he won’t win the election  Even after RBG The Court will not correct it Convinces half his party It’s a steal, without a reason Tries to throw good ballots out But books the wrong Four Seasons Fifty different lawsuits Winding through the courts. He’s losing and losing and losing and losing and losing… Who cares! Now there’s a vaccine! And another new vaccine! It’s actually happening! It’s all predicted by Fauci! Thank you to the doctors And to all the educators Thank you to the nurses And to grocery store workers And also all the drivers! Who now have my address And for saving our election God bless USPS! It’s been a year It’s been a year And after all the news We’re still not in the clear It’s been a year It’s been a year And after all the news We’re still not in the clear It’s been a year Can’t even remember what it’s like to be dancing with my friends and eating with my family It’s been a year Can’t even remember what normal was, but gimme more hugs in 2021 It’s been a year It’s been a year And after all the news We’re still not in the clear. It’s been a year It’s been a year We’ve given up so much But somehow we’re still here We’re still here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How 2020 changed us

In the final episode of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” people look back on a very long year. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Animals catch Covid-19, too

In the fourth of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” a reminder that we’re not the only animals who got Covid-19 this year. Science writer David Quammen explains why our health and theirs are intertwined. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Fauci’s nightmare before Christmas

In the third of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” Dr. Anthony Fauci reflects back on his pandemic year, what he’s learned, and what he’d do differently. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The year live music died

In the second of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” musicians explain how they got creative when live shows and tours were canceled. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Moving home

In the first of our five-part series, “You, Me, and Covid-19,” millennials are moving back in with their parents (again), but they are discovering multigenerational living has its perks. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A climate change of address

An estimated 143 million people will relocate to escape climate change in the next three decades. Quartz’s Amanda Shendruk explains how cities can transform themselves into climate havens. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Netscape created our tech world

In this episode of the Go for Broke podcast, host Julia Furlan travels back to the mid-’90s to explain how a bygone web browser set the stage for modern tech. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pornhub just deleted 80% of its videos

One of the most popular porn sites on the internet just purged more than 10 million videos. Vice’s Samantha Cole explains why. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your vaccine questions, answered

The Covid-19 vaccine is being distributed in the United States, and you have questions. Vox’s Umair Irfan has answers. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s farmers strike

The world’s biggest democracy is contending with what might be the world’s biggest labor stoppage. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How movie theaters might survive

On this episode of the Decoder podcast, host Nilay Patel speaks with Shelli Taylor, the CEO of Alamo Drafthouse. Taylor argues the government has failed to manage the pandemic effectively for business owners and explains what the future of theaters could look like in the streaming age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The vaccine, explained by Martin (who got it)

Martin Kenyon was one of the first people to get the Covid-19 vaccine this week. He talks about his experience, and an epidemiologist explains how to talk to the “vaccine hesitant” people in your life. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No coup for you!

Joe won. And won. And won. Rudy can fail. And fail. And fail. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Melbourne eradicated Covid-19

Melbourne, Australia, had a first wave. Then it had a second wave. Then it decided it was done with Covid-19. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s beginning to look a lot like stimulus

In an end-of-year plot twist, Congress is working on a fresh bipartisan stimulus bill. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A woman’s work is never done

Millions of women left the workforce as Covid-19 forced school closures, but that doesn’t mean they have less on their plates. Is government-funded child care the answer? Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

God-given right?

The Supreme Court ruled that New York state can’t limit how many people gather in church, even during a pandemic. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains why this is one of the most significant religious liberty cases in the last 30 years. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

America Offline

Low-income students are dropping out of college because many don’t have a reliable way to get online. Vox’s Emily Stewart says the solution is simple: Give everybody the internet. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The key to the Cabinet

President-elect Biden has started announcing his Cabinet nominees, but Matthew Yglesias says the most important positions aren’t the ones you’d think. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if developing a vaccine was the easy part?

Covid-19 vaccines are coming out faster than many thought possible. But distributing the vaccines could be an even tougher challenge. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unexplainable

Scientists all over the world are searching for dark matter: an invisible, untouchable substance that holds our universe together. But they haven’t found it. Are they chasing a ghost? We want to hear your feedback on Unexplainable! Email us at todayexplained@vox.com or let us know on Twitter @today_explained Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Withdrawing won’t end the war

With two months left in the Trump presidency, the US is reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan in an attempt to end America's longest war. But Biden will still inherit the conflict. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All the mall things

Retail was struggling. Then came the virus. Recode’s Jason Del Rey explains how the American mall will never be the same, and how the machines might save retail. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The peacemaker’s civil war

An ethnic conflict in Ethiopia has thrown the Horn of Africa into disarray and could upset order on the continent. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Badlands

Covid-19 is surging across the United States, just in time for cold weather and major holidays. North Dakota is doing particularly badly. Vermont may offer hope. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

America said yes to drugs

Oregon decriminalized all drugs. Red states and blue states are doing the same with weed. It’s the culmination of a failed drug war. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices