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Politics

What really matters in the world of politics, campaigns, ideology, and more.

Trump’s remaining 3 indictments, ranked by the stakes
Investigations into Donald Trump

A quick guide to Trump’s indictments and why they matter.

By Li Zhou and Andrew Prokop
The felon frontrunner: How Trump warped our politicsThe felon frontrunner: How Trump warped our politics
Politics

This is the moment Trump's critics have been dreaming of for years. But something isn't right here.

By Andrew Prokop
A producer on The Apprentice alleges Trump used the n-wordA producer on The Apprentice alleges Trump used the n-word
Politics

The latest revelation renews focus on Trump's history of racism.

By Li Zhou
The NRA just won a big Supreme Court victory. Good.The NRA just won a big Supreme Court victory. Good.
Supreme Court

Even truly repulsive speakers have First Amendment rights.

By Ian Millhiser

The latest in Politics

Congress’s online child safety bill, explainedCongress’s online child safety bill, explained
Technology

What is the Kids’ Online Safety Act, and why should you care about it?

By A.W. Ohlheiser
Alito says the Supreme Court’s fake ethics code allows him to be unethicalAlito says the Supreme Court’s fake ethics code allows him to be unethical
Supreme Court

The Supreme Court's new ethics code is worse than nothing — Alito just proved it.

By Ian Millhiser
Why Israel can't destroy HamasWhy Israel can't destroy Hamas
Today, Explained podcast

Amid ever-increasing global outrage, the objectives in Israel's war are out of reach.

By Sean Rameswaram and Miranda Kennedy
The slaughter in Rafah and Israel’s moral nadirThe slaughter in Rafah and Israel’s moral nadir
World Politics

Israel is massacring Palestinians — and undermining its own security in the process.

By Zack Beauchamp
The enormous stakes of India’s electionThe enormous stakes of India’s election
World Politics

A guide to the world's largest election — and why it's so important.

By Zack Beauchamp
One explanation for the 2024 election’s biggest mysteryOne explanation for the 2024 election’s biggest mystery
Politics

A theory for why Biden is struggling with young and nonwhite voters.

By Eric Levitz
The obscure federal intelligence bureau that got Vietnam, Iraq, and Ukraine right
Future Perfect

INR is “almost always right.” How come nobody has heard of it?

By Dylan Matthews
Why we need a Memorial Day for civilian victims of warWhy we need a Memorial Day for civilian victims of war
Future Perfect

Non-combatants bear the brunt of modern war's toll, but we don’t know how to memorialize them.

By Bryan Walsh
The Comstock Act, the long-dead law Trump could use to ban abortion, explainedThe Comstock Act, the long-dead law Trump could use to ban abortion, explained
Abortion

A defunct federal law is Republicans’ best hope of banning abortion throughout the United States.

By Ian Millhiser
Birth control is good, actuallyBirth control is good, actually
Politics

Experts say a flood of social media posts about side effects don't tell the whole story.

By Anna North
3 theories for America’s anti-immigrant shift3 theories for America’s anti-immigrant shift
Politics

A recent poll suggests a reversal in a decades-long trend of the public warming to immigrants. What's causing the shift?

By Christian Paz
What the Biden administration is doing about ludicrously expensive concert ticketsWhat the Biden administration is doing about ludicrously expensive concert tickets
Culture

The government filed a lawsuit to break up Ticketmaster's parent company.

By Nicole Narea
The Supreme Court's new voting rights decision is a love letter to gerrymanderingThe Supreme Court's new voting rights decision is a love letter to gerrymandering
Supreme Court

Thanks to an opinion by Sam Alito, rigged maps now enjoy the Supreme Court's unambiguous support.

By Ian Millhiser
How worried should we be about Russia putting a nuke in space?How worried should we be about Russia putting a nuke in space?
World Politics

It's not there yet — but we should be concerned.

By Joshua Keating
“Everyone is absolutely terrified”: Inside a US ally’s secret war on its American critics
World Politics

A foreign government is trying to silence US critics of its authoritarian turn — and it's succeeding.

By Zack Beauchamp
Why ICC arrest warrants matter, even if Israel and Hamas leaders evade themWhy ICC arrest warrants matter, even if Israel and Hamas leaders evade them
World Politics

The role of the International Criminal Court and the limits to its authority, explained.

By Ellen Ioanes and Nicole Narea
Why the US built a pier to get aid into GazaWhy the US built a pier to get aid into Gaza
World Politics

And why it’s not nearly enough.

By Ellen Ioanes
The Republican Party's man inside the Supreme CourtThe Republican Party's man inside the Supreme Court
Supreme Court

Justice Samuel Alito brings no vision and no unique insights to his job — other than unrelenting loyalty to the GOP.

By Ian Millhiser
Why Trump's running mate could be the most important VP pick of our timeWhy Trump's running mate could be the most important VP pick of our time
Politics

VP picks are usually overhyped. But Trump's will really matter.

By Andrew Prokop
What the death of Iran’s president could mean for its futureWhat the death of Iran’s president could mean for its future
World Politics

The Iranian regime is unlikely to change course in the near term, but Ebrahim Raisi’s death could affect crucial succession plans.

By Ellen Ioanes
Biden promised to defeat authoritarianism. Reality got in the way.Biden promised to defeat authoritarianism. Reality got in the way.
Today, Explained newsletter

Still ‘rockin’ in the free world’?

By Joshua Keating
If Trump wins, what would hold him back?
Politics

The guardrails of democracy reined him in last time. But they’re weakening.

By Andrew Prokop
Blood, flames, and horror movies: The evocative imagery of King Charles’s portraitBlood, flames, and horror movies: The evocative imagery of King Charles’s portrait
World Politics

The furor over the painting points to the Crown’s larger problems.

By Li Zhou
The controversy over Gaza’s death toll, explainedThe controversy over Gaza’s death toll, explained
World Politics

Revised data from the health ministry turned into a debate about the war’s human cost. That death toll remains devastating.

By Ellen Ioanes
Why a GOP governor’s pardon of a far-right murderer is so chillingWhy a GOP governor’s pardon of a far-right murderer is so chilling
Politics

A Texas man who killed a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020 was pardoned yesterday. Here’s what it says about politics in 2024.

By Eric Levitz
The unionization fight is coming to the SouthThe unionization fight is coming to the South
Today, Explained newsletter

Workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama are on their last day of voting for a UAW union. Here’s why it matters.

By Sam Delgado
The controversy over Harrison Butker’s misogynistic commencement speech, explainedThe controversy over Harrison Butker’s misogynistic commencement speech, explained
Politics

Butker’s address was a textbook case of conservative sexism and homophobia.

By Li Zhou
The Supreme Court decides not to trigger a second Great DepressionThe Supreme Court decides not to trigger a second Great Depression
Supreme Court

Two justices dissent.

By Ian Millhiser
What young voters actually care aboutWhat young voters actually care about
2024 Elections

It’s not what you think.

By Christian Paz
Biden’s surprise proposal to debate Trump early, explainedBiden’s surprise proposal to debate Trump early, explained
Politics

The political intrigue behind the unusually early June debate date.

By Andrew Prokop
Make “free speech” a progressive rallying cry againMake “free speech” a progressive rallying cry again
World Politics

Protecting radical dissent requires tolerating right-wing speech.

By Eric Levitz
The silver lining in a very bad poll for BidenThe silver lining in a very bad poll for Biden
2024 Elections

The Sun Belt is a disaster, but the Great Lakes states offer some hope of beating Trump.

By Christian Paz
What the Methodist split tells us about AmericaWhat the Methodist split tells us about America
Today, Explained newsletter

A separation of church and church.

By Laura Bullard
The messy SCOTUS drama about Black voters in Louisiana, explainedThe messy SCOTUS drama about Black voters in Louisiana, explained
Supreme Court

Multiple federal courts are fighting over Louisiana's illegal racial gerrymander.

By Ian Millhiser
Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial, explainedSen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial, explained
Politics

Was the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair bought by the Egyptian government?

By Andrew Prokop
The 9 worst court decisions since Trump remade the federal judiciaryThe 9 worst court decisions since Trump remade the federal judiciary
Supreme Court

This is what happens after four years under an insurrectionist president. It will get much worse if he gets eight.

By Ian Millhiser
A crisis on America’s roadsA crisis on America’s roads
Culture

With pedestrian and traffic fatalities on the rise, how can the US make its roads safer?

By Vox Staff
Speed limits are too darn highSpeed limits are too darn high
Transportation

Drivers don’t need to go faster than 20 mph on most city streets.

By Marin Cogan
America’s misunderstood border crisis, in 8 chartsAmerica’s misunderstood border crisis, in 8 charts
Politics

For all the attention on the border, the root causes of migration and the most promising solutions to the US’s broken immigration system are often overlooked.

By Nicole Narea
Israel’s other warIsrael’s other war
World Politics

Israel and Hezbollah are trying to keep their fighting contained. But the conflict keeps escalating.

By Joshua Keating