The Weeds

Vox Media Podcast Network

A podcast for people who love policy

  • 42 minutes 49 seconds
    Is my dentist scamming me?

    Matt wants to know how to tell if he’s being scammed by his dentist. To find the answer, we open up the surprising history of dentistry, ask why it seems so different from internal medicine, and drill down on why dental insurance doesn’t really feel like insurance. Host Jonquilyn Hill talks with journalist Mary Otto and Dr. Lisa Simon, DMD, MD, to find the answers.


    We want to hear your questions. Call us at 1-800-618-8545, or email us at [email protected]


    Extra reading:

    Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America 

    Dental Use and Spending in Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare, 2010-2021 | Health Policy


    Credits:

    Jonquilyn Hill, host

    Sofi LaLonde, producer

    Andrea Kristinsdottir and Cristian Ayala, engineers

    Carla Javier, supervising producer

    Katherine Wells, editor

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    18 September 2024, 9:00 am
  • 2 minutes 38 seconds
    Introducing Explain It to Me

    Life is complicated, and here at Vox, we love to explain it. Enter Explain It to Me: your go-to hotline for all the questions you can’t quite answer on your own. Give us a call, and we’ll do all the heavy lifting to get you the answers you need. Call 1-800-618-8545, send an email to [email protected], or submit a question here. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

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    8 September 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 2 minutes 13 seconds
    Our next chapter

    We have some exciting news to share: There are some big changes coming to this feed, and we need your help with them! 


    The Weeds as you know it is ending, but we’ll be back this fall with the same crew, some new artwork, and a new sound. We’ll be answering your burning questions — about politics, policy, and everything in between. So send us an email with your questions to [email protected] or call us at 1-800-618-8545. Have a great summer!

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    30 May 2024, 10:01 am
  • 41 minutes 16 seconds
    How we Got Milk

    If you went to public school in America, you most likely got a serving of milk with your lunch. The National School Lunch Program has been in operation for decades, serving tens of millions of school-aged kids cow’s milk with their lunches. But it turns out, there’s more supply than demand: According to USDA findings in 2019, students threw away about 41 percent of the milk served in schools. So why do schools keep serving it? Today on The Weeds: Why the US government loves milk. 


    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


    Support The Weeds by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members

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    29 May 2024, 10:01 am
  • 40 minutes 6 seconds
    Those pesky delivery fees

    Pretty much everyone is unhappy with food delivery these days. Prices are rising for customers; workers are barely making minimum wage; and restaurants feel gauged by delivery apps. Today on The Weeds: how the gig economy turned sour, and how you can still order your favorite food without feeling guilty. Vox senior reporter Whizy Kim explains.


    Read More:

    Food delivery fees have soared. How much of it goes to workers? 


    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


    Support The Weeds by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members

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

    22 May 2024, 10:01 am
  • 41 minutes 9 seconds
    Panic! At The Drugstore

    Do you think crime is on the rise? You aren’t the only one. According to Gallup, over 75 percent of Americans think crime is up from last year. The crime rate, though, has actually been falling. So why do so many Americans think crime is getting worse? Vox policy correspondent Abdallah Fayyad joins Weeds host Jonquilyn Hill to discuss the disconnect and what the numbers tell us.


    Read More:

    Lawmakers are overreacting to crime 

    The shoplifting scare might not have been real — but its effects are 

    The cruel consequences of America’s aging prison population - Vox 


    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



    Please take a second to help us learn more about you! vox.com/podcastsurvey

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    15 May 2024, 10:01 am
  • 38 minutes 4 seconds
    A new era of cannabis research

    Last week, the US Drug Enforcement Administration announced a move to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, after the Biden administration requested a review in late 2022. For decades, cannabis has been classified as Schedule I alongside drugs like heroin and LSD—and research on its effects and medical use has been limited. While rescheduling could lead to more clinical research on marijuana, the future is currently hazy. Today on The Weeds: what rescheduling cannabis means for medical research, and why it still might not be enough to push past the barriers that still exist. 


    Read More:

    Marijuana could be classified as a lower-risk drug. Here’s what that means. - Vox 

    What marijuana reclassification means for the United States 


    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


    Please take a second to help us learn more about you! vox.com/podcastsurvey

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    8 May 2024, 10:01 am
  • 39 minutes 26 seconds
    Are baby bonds a good investment?

    Something is happening in Connecticut. Back in 2021, the state legislature passed a measure that would create something called baby bonds: trust accounts for children receiving government assistance. It’s an idea that started decades ago and was championed by Darrick Hamilton, the founding director of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at the New School. On this week's episode of The Weeds, host Jonquilyn Hill sits down with Hamilton to discuss how the idea came to fruition, how a race-neutral policy can close the racial wealth gap, and the way we define economic value. 


    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


    Please take a second to help us learn more about you! vox.com/podcastsurvey

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

    1 May 2024, 10:01 am
  • 35 minutes 18 seconds
    Alexa, is Amazon a monopoly?

    If you’ve never used Amazon, you almost definitely know someone who has. Amazon is pretty much everywhere. In the three decades since its founding, Amazon has grown from a small startup to a trillion-dollar company, skirting rules, taxes, and accountability along the way. Then, in 2023, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against the company for monopolistic business practices. Reporter Dana Mattioli has covered Amazon for years, and chronicled their rise to power in her new book, The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power.



    Read More:

    The Everything War: Amazon's Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power 



    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


    Please take a second to help us learn more about you! vox.com/podcastsurvey

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

    24 April 2024, 10:01 am
  • 32 minutes 39 seconds
    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


    Please take a second to help us learn more about you! vox.com/podcastsurvey

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

    17 April 2024, 10:01 am
  • 39 minutes 52 seconds
    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


    Please take a second to help us learn more about you! vox.com/podcastsurvey

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

    10 April 2024, 10:01 am
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