Today, Explained

Jacinda

The terrorist attacks in New Zealand have thrust Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern into the spotlight. Radio New Zealand’s Jane Patterson explains the 38-year-old's improbable rise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Electoral College dropout

Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg are calling to abolish the Electoral College and a dozen states have signed on to a plan that would subvert it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tried six times for the same crime

Today the Supreme Court hears oral arguments about Curtis Flowers, who has been tried six times for the same crime: a quadruple homicide at a furniture store in Mississippi. Madeleine Baran, host of the “In the Dark” podcast, explains how this case represents a fundamental problem with jury selection in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CBD? TBD.

CBD is winding up in your lattes, your gummies, and your massages, but what exactly is it? And is anyone regulating it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American hate

The Christchurch shooting took place thousands of miles from the United States, but for Muslims in America, the threat of white supremacy remains very real. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A mass shooting, live-streamed

A terrorist attacked two mosques in New Zealand during Friday prayer, killing at least 49 people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boeing 737 Max

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed on Sunday killing all 157 aboard. The response was unprecedented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Becky with the bad grades

Remember Aunt Becky from Full House? She might be heading to the big house. Fifty grown-ups, including Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, are facing federal charges over college admissions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For all eyes only

Can't pass an FBI background check? Not a problem. That's the Trump administration's approach to top secret security clearances for some White House officials. Now Democrats are launching an investigation. Vox's Ella Nilsen explains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sailing a boat on an alien sea

SpaceX and Blue Origin have been driving much of the excitement around space travel for the past several years, but NASA got back in the game today. Dr. Ellen Stofan, the agency’s former chief scientist, explains what’s next for us, Mars, infinity and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump's money man

Michael Cohen mentioned one name multiple times during his Congressional testimony: accountant Allen Weisselberg. We peel back the curtain on the keeper of Trump's fiercely guarded secrets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Title X factor

The Trump administration got a lot closer to defunding Planned Parenthood this week — 21 states are fighting back with a sweeping new lawsuit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uh-oh, Trudeau!

Canada’s prime minister is accused of pressuring his attorney general to go easy on a wealthy corporation, and two cabinet officials resigned in protest. With an election mere months away, can Justin Trudeau survive? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Outbreak

The United States officially eliminated measles in 2000. But the deadly disease is making a comeback, and the anti-vaccine movement is largely to thank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Jackson, allegedly

Two men accuse Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them as children in a new HBO documentary. Sean Rameswaram speaks with the film's director and a lawyer representing the estate of Michael Jackson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Friends without benefits

Facebook moderators watch suicides, decapitations, and drone attacks so you don’t have to—and they’re paid just a fraction of what the average Facebook employee makes. The Verge’s Casey Newton got a rare glimpse inside “the Trauma Floor.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Terrorism, airstrikes, tea

The long-simmering feud between nuclear powers India and Pakistan is boiling over. Ankit Panda from The Diplomat explains why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Cohen LIVE

After weeks of delays and drama, President Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, testified before Congress today. Vox’s Andrew Prokop says his statements amount to much more than blockbuster political theater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your money is under arrest

Police can seize your property without ever charging you with a crime. And you probably won’t get it back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aiding chaos

Venezuela's whole “two presidents” thing has turned lethal. Emiliana Duarte spent the weekend at Venezuela’s border with Colombia where security forces faced off against protesters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jussie Smollett's worst enemy

Jussie Smollett was the victim of a racist, homophobic hate crime last month. Or at least that’s what he’d have you believe. The Advocate’s Zach Stafford tells the Smollett saga from its shocking start to its outrageous end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Train takes a bullet

Californians were promised high-speed rail. Eleven years and billions of dollars later, all they have is a fight with President Trump. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias laments a train in vain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HQ2-1

Amazon decided on two headquarters: one in New York and the other in Arlington, Virginia. One deal fell apart, the other just might work out perfectly. Today, Explained’s Noam Hassenfeld finds out why. ************** Clarification: We noted that New York offered $3 billion in subsidies to Amazon. We have clarified that this was a mix of both cash grants and tax incentives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A little privacy, please

The Verge's Casey Newton says a California privacy law to protect your online data might finally push federal legislators to come up with one set of rules for the entire country. Recode's Kara Swisher says it's high time big tech gets its act together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2020 vision

Nearly a dozen candidates have announced their run for the presidency and 2019 has only just begun. John Dickerson of Slate’s Political Gabfest explains the endless American tradition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emergency podcast!

President Donald Trump declared a national state of emergency today. It’s the latest installment in his controversial “Build the wall!” series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 400% interest rate

Remember the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? It’s not doing so well. Enforcement is down by 75 percent, employees are leaving in droves, and now regulations are being rolled back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Race runs through it

Virginia: birthplace of American democracy and American slavery, first state to elect a black governor and maybe the first to have a governor with a KKK costume on his yearbook page. Christy Coleman from the American Civil War Museum in Richmond explains the duality of Old Dominion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Killing Sears

Sears was on its way to the graveyard of American icons when its former CEO, a reclusive billionaire named Eddie Lampert, stepped in to buy it. Unfortunately, he’s the same CEO who led the company into bankruptcy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Virginia is for scandals

First it was blackface. And maybe the KKK? Then there was an accusation of sexual assault. Then more blackface. Then another sexual assault. Welcome to Virginia 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices