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Explainers Archive

Archives for May 2022

Gun Violence
Pro-gun rights lawmakers want to arm teachers, but there’s little evidence these programs workPro-gun rights lawmakers want to arm teachers, but there’s little evidence these programs work
Gun Violence

Teachers don’t support these proposals either.

By Natasha Ishak
Explainers
The increase in US births in 2021, explainedThe increase in US births in 2021, explained
Explainers

Births went up by 1 percent last year, but don’t think of it as a baby boom.

By Bryan Walsh
Explainers
Underground hip-hop is banned in Egypt. Now, it’s the soundtrack to Marvel’s Moon Knight.Underground hip-hop is banned in Egypt. Now, it’s the soundtrack to Marvel’s Moon Knight.
Explainers

The Disney+ show is scored by subversive Egyptian rap of the Arab Spring.

By Jonathan Guyer
Politics
Days after school shooting, Republicans defend gun rights at NRA conventionDays after school shooting, Republicans defend gun rights at NRA convention
Politics

Former President Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz were among those dismissing calls for tougher gun laws.

By Natasha Ishak
The Supreme Court just okayed Biden’s “social cost of carbon.” It’s still way too low.
Future Perfect

We’re radically underestimating the true cost of our carbon footprint.

By Sigal Samuel
The long, long, twisty affair between the US military and Hollywood
Everything you need to know about the 95th Academy Awards

For the Pentagon, films like Top Gun: Maverick are more than just a movie.

By Alissa Wilkinson
Science
How bad could the monkeypox outbreak get?How bad could the monkeypox outbreak get?
Science

Health experts are optimistic monkeypox can be contained. Here’s why, and where it could go wrong.

By Keren Landman, MD
What we know about the Uvalde elementary school massacre
Politics

Uvalde joins Parkland, Sandy Hook, and America’s long list of horrific massacres in schools.

By Nicole Narea
Explainers
How gun ownership became a powerful political identityHow gun ownership became a powerful political identity
Explainers

Or, how the NRA won.

By Dylan Matthews
Explainers
What the latest Covid-19 variants and subvariants mean for the pandemicWhat the latest Covid-19 variants and subvariants mean for the pandemic
Explainers

The omicron variant of Covid-19 has branched out into more transmissible and evasive versions.

By Umair Irfan
Down to Earth
The eel-shaped parasite that threatens a $7 billion economy in the Great LakesThe eel-shaped parasite that threatens a $7 billion economy in the Great Lakes
Down to Earth

More than a century after they arrived, invasive sea lampreys still threaten the Great Lakes’ $7 billion fishing economy.

By Benji Jones
Politics
Title 42, the controversial Trump-era border policy, explainedTitle 42, the controversial Trump-era border policy, explained
Politics

A Louisiana judge is preventing Biden from ending the policy as planned.

By Nicole Narea
How much longer can Google own the internet?
Technology

The synonym for search finds itself in big antitrust trouble.

By Sara Morrison
Future Perfect
Why the FDA rejected fluvoxamine as a Covid-19 drugWhy the FDA rejected fluvoxamine as a Covid-19 drug
Future Perfect

The FDA made a reasonable decision — but one that still shows much of what’s wrong with our current system for emergency approvals.

By Kelsey Piper
Explainers
The US just deepened its commitment to Ukraine by $40 billionThe US just deepened its commitment to Ukraine by $40 billion
Explainers

The Senate approved a massive military, economic, and humanitarian aid package.

By Jen Kirby