Nate Krieger | Vox

The strange myth behind carrots and night vision

2026-03-24T15:13:04-04:00

We all heard the myth while growing up: Carrots are good for your eyesight. Or maybe even: Carrots can make you see in the dark. But where did this myth come from? And is there any basis in science?

It turns out that carrots are chock-full of vitamin A, which is necessary for vision. But most people today get enough vitamin A in their normal diet, and eating an excess of the orange vegetable won’t boost your eyesight or grant you night vision. In fact, consuming more vitamin A than your body can handle (via supplements instead of natural fruits and vegetables) can be detrimental to your health.

The origins of this common myth actually lie in World War II.

During the Blitz (the German Luftwaffe’s bombing campaign against London and other British cities), the British government had several important reasons to persuade both its citizens and the wider world that eating carrots improved eyesight. The Ministry of Information and Ministry of Food worked together to spread some shockingly impactful carrot-based propaganda. And the myth remains prevalent to this day.

Vox producer Nate Krieger spoke to an ophthalmologist and a World War II propaganda historian to get to the bottom of the carrot vision myth. This video explores the impetus behind this strangely targeted propaganda campaign, explains why it was so successful, and reintroduces the world to Dr. Carrot.

Read more about carrots’ strange role in World War II history:

Persuading the People by David Welch
Lord Woolton: Feeding Wartime Britain
Carrots Can’t Help You See in the Dark. Here’s How a World War II Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth
The World Carrot Museum
“Britain is Your Friend” by Rosemary Hill

This video is presented by Stonyfield Organics. Stonyfield Organics doesn’t have a say in our editorial decisions, but they make videos like this one possible.

How did we get to ICE?

2026-02-23T16:03:56-05:00

In the history section on ICE’s website, one line reads: “Despite U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s relatively young age, its functional history predates the modern birth of the agency by more than 200 years.” That phrasing of “functional history” stands out. We know that ICE was created in 2003. So what exactly do they mean by that? To unpack this claim, Vox producer Nate Krieger examines the history of immigration enforcement in the US.

The story of American immigration is one of gradual change. Over time, the role of the immigration services slowly changed, morphing from an agency that managed labor and benefits to one that saw itself as law enforcement, with a focus on national security.

And with that shift came a growth in capacity. The first federal immigration agency was created in 1891 with a total staff of 4 people. Today, with ICE, that number is over 22,000.

So how did immigration restrictions and enforcement change over the span of American history? By examining the centuries of events that culminated in the creation of ICE, we can begin to understand the context that created this modern agency.

Sources and further reading:

For more context, images, and written accounts of Ellis Island, see this page on the National Park Service’s website.
For this story, Nate Krieger focused on the history leading up to 2003 and the creation of ICE, so the piece does not delve into more recent developments. But detailed information and data on deportation in President Donald Trump’s second term can be found here and here.
And more information on ICE’s arrests in the interior, which are a relatively recent phenomenon, can be found here.
This piece only touched on Japanese incarceration during the Second World War. For more information — and first-hand accounts — about this important subject, Densho is a fantastic resource.
Immigration: How the Past Shapes The Present by the sociologist Nancy Foner, who was interviewed for this piece, is a comprehensive look into why the past is critical to understanding modern immigration.
The Migrant’s Jail: An American History of Mass Incarceration by historian Brianna Nofil, who was also interviewed for this piece, is a look at the century-long history of immigrant incarceration in the United States.

What American democracy can learn from 1930s Finland

2026-02-02T13:58:28-05:00

In the 1930s, a radical conservative faction almost pushed Finland into full authoritarianism. Called the Lapua movement, it was a far-right group of Finns who sought to overthrow the republic, marginalize communists, and install an authoritarian government. They managed to disrupt Finland’s political order through threats of violence and symbolic kidnappings, in which they would capture political rivals and drive them to the Soviet border.

They earned the support of center-right and moderate politicians who believed they could harness the passion and support of this radical nationalist group. The movement also included prominent businessmen, newspaper owners, and key members of the military.

But then…something happened. Almost overnight, the Lapua movement collapsed. Within three years of its founding, this far-right faction was banned from Finnish politics, and democracy in the Nordic country has been stable ever since.

Vox producer Nate Krieger investigated the rise and fall of the Lapua movement to find out exactly how Finland managed to stave off this anti-democratic threat — and what modern democracies can learn from this perilous moment in history. By tracing how Finland successfully reversed course, we explore what actually works to halt fascist movements and restore democracy: early and collective action.

Sources and further reading:

Part of the inspiration for this video was an article in the Journal of Democracy titled “Democracy’s ‘Near Misses,’” by Tom Ginsburg and Aziz Huq, the latter of whom was interviewed for this story. The full article can be found here
For a comprehensive history of Finland, see Jason Lavery’s aptly titled book, The History of Finland. More information about this text can be found on his website.
The National Library of Finland maintains a fantastic archive of Finnish historical images, and can be found here.

This story was supported by a grant from Protect Democracy. Vox had full discretion over the content of this reporting.

This town has 3 nuclear plants. Now, it wants another one.

2025-12-23T12:28:34-05:00

The town of Oswego, New York, has three nuclear power plants within 10 miles — and it wants another one. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced a commitment to add a gigawatt of nuclear power to the New York state grid, partially to meet the electricity demands of the booming AI industry. And Oswego is vying to be chosen as a site for this new power plant.

To find out more about why Oswego is so eager for nuclear — and what would happen next if it’s chosen — Vox video producer Nate Krieger traveled there to meet with the mayor of Oswego and see the nuclear power plants up close.

There are a lot of benefits to adding more nuclear energy to the grid. The average US nuclear power station can provide enough electricity to support 1.4 million homes. Nuclear power operates 24/7 and doesn’t generate carbon emissions or traditional air pollution. Plus, these plants create hundreds of jobs.

But disasters like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima Daiichi loom large in the public imagination. Many people don’t want nuclear power in their backyard, understandably wary of possible disasters and the issue of nuclear waste. Nuclear power plants in the US store their waste in dry casks, which is a relatively safe method but is not designed to be permanent. And other opponents of building a new nuclear plant upstate cite issues of cost and the length of the construction project.

Even if Oswego is chosen to be the site of the next nuclear power plant in New York state, it would likely take over a decade before it gets to reap those rewards. The United States has not had a great track record of building nuclear on time and on budget. The most recent power plant built in the US was Vogtle, Georgia, which was years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

This video looks into the country’s history with nuclear power, trying to figure out why the US fell so far behind and what building clean and efficient power could look like in the future, especially for the town of Oswego.

Should salmon farming be our future?

2025-11-13T15:42:50-05:00

Earth’s population is growing. We’re expected to have 2 billion more mouths to feed by 2050. But how can we feed all those people in a way that is still sustainable and ethical?

Many have argued that aquaculture (or fish farming) is one of the most sustainable ways we can consume animal protein, since it requires less land use. It’s currently the quickest-growing form of food production in the world. But how exactly does it work? And is it really the best path forward?

To find out more, Vox video producer Nate Krieger went down the rabbit hole on salmon aquaculture. Salmon is currently the most popular fish in the US: The average American consumes 3.2 pounds of salmon annually. And over 70 percent of that salmon comes from farms, totalling 3 million tons of salmon a year.

To understand the impact that the salmon industry is having on our planet and our future, and on the salmon themselves, we spoke to industry insiders, marine biologists, and fish welfare experts.

This is a complicated issue, full of lots of caveats and trade-offs. But the more we know about the food we eat and where it comes from, the more responsible we can be.

Sources and further reading:

Vox’s Future Perfect team reports on what it takes to feed the fish involved in aquaculture, which turns out to be one of the most important impacts to consider:

The website for the Global Salmon Initiative, a collaboration between some of the world’s biggest salmon farming companies, whose CEO we spoke with for this piece. Its handbook is a great resource for information on salmon aquaculture: GSI Handbook.

The World Wildlife Fund’s page on the tradeoffs involved in salmon farming.

This video is part of a series supported by Animal Charity Evaluators, which received a grant from EarthShare.

Nate Krieger | Vox

The strange myth behind carrots and night vision

How did we get to ICE?

What American democracy can learn from 1930s Finland

This town has 3 nuclear plants. Now, it wants another one.

Further reading

Should salmon farming be our future?

Sources and further reading: