719 episodes
The Weeds Vox Media Podcast Network
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- News
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4.4 • 7.7K Ratings
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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.
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Is homelessness a crime?
America is in the midst of a homelessness crisis. With little affordable housing and limited space at shelters, many people are instead sleeping outside. But as tent encampments become more common, particularly on the West Coast where the housing crisis is most acute, the pressure on local governments to address the problem has skyrocketed. Now, the Supreme Court has decided to weigh in. The issue at the center of it is whether cities can fine or jail unhoused people for sleeping outside. Vox senior policy reporter Rachel Cohen (X, Instagram) explains the case and the stakes.
Read More:
Cities are asking the Supreme Court for more power to clear homeless encampments
The Supreme Court will decide what cities can do about tent encampments
Supreme Court Amicus Brief No. 23-175
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
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Abortion and the erosion of privacy
Since the Dobbs decision almost two years ago, reproductive rights have been at the center of our national consciousness. Two of the latest headlines come from Florida and Arizona: a six-week abortion ban, and a total abortion ban unless the life of the pregnant person is threatened, respectively. Both states have constitutions that name-check privacy rights, but both courts found that those rights don’t extend to abortion. What does privacy look like in the United States, and do we still have it in a post-Dobbs world?
Read more:
Do Americans still have a right to privacy?
Submit your policy questions!
We want to know what you’re curious about.
Credits:
Jonquilyn Hill, host
Sofi LaLonde, producer
Patrick Boyd, engineer
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
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What is “fetal personhood”?
Earlier this year, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos have the same rights as children. The decision sent shockwaves throughout Alabama and raised serious questions about the future of IVF in the United States. While the Alabama legislature has since passed legislation protecting IVF in the state, that doesn’t address the big question behind the court’s decision: What does personhood mean, and what does it mean for the anti-abortion movement?
Read More:
Fetal personhood laws, explained - Vox
Alabama’s Supreme Court IVF ruling is a warning to the country - Vox
Opinion | The Anti-Abortion Movement Is Gunning for Fetal Personhood - The New York Times
How America’s Two Abortion Realities Are Clashing - The 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 -
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 -
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 -
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
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Customer Reviews
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.
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.
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.