Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

More from Alvin’s cartoonsplainers

100 years of tax brackets, in one chart
Politics
By Alvin Chang
Policy
Corporate tax reform, explained with a cartoon about sandwichesCorporate tax reform, explained with a cartoon about sandwiches
Policy

Nom nom nom.

By Alvin Chang
Politics
These 4 questions could change your views on tax fairnessThese 4 questions could change your views on tax fairness
Politics

Here’s how pliable our tax attitudes are.

By Alvin Chang
Policy
How Republicans want to roll back Obama’s fair housing legacy — and then someHow Republicans want to roll back Obama’s fair housing legacy — and then some
Policy

Making segregation invisible again.

By Alvin Chang
Politics
What it was like to be a green card holder flying to the US this weekendWhat it was like to be a green card holder flying to the US this weekend
Politics

This weekend, green card holders were unsure if the door to this country was open to them.

By Alvin Chang
Obamacare
The complex process Republicans want to use to repeal Obamacare, explained with a cartoonThe complex process Republicans want to use to repeal Obamacare, explained with a cartoon
Obamacare

Senate Republicans have taken the first step to repealing Obamacare through a process called “reconciliation.”

By Alvin Chang
Politics
These 100 CEOs have more retirement savings than 41% of American households combinedThese 100 CEOs have more retirement savings than 41% of American households combined
Politics

And this inequality could get worse under a Trump administration.

By Javier Zarracina and Alvin Chang
How the internet keeps poor people in poor neighborhoods
Policy

These invisible decisions group us digitally — and in real life.

By Alvin Chang
Politics
This cartoon explains why Donald Trump can’t take the popular part of Obamacare and leave the restThis cartoon explains why Donald Trump can’t take the popular part of Obamacare and leave the rest
Politics

It could collapse the system and create a “death spiral.”

By Alvin Chang
Politics
Trump’s administration is looking like it’ll be very white and very maleTrump’s administration is looking like it’ll be very white and very male
Politics

This cartoon explains.

By Alvin Chang
Politics
How the swing voter went extinctHow the swing voter went extinct
Politics
By Alvin Chang
Politics
What Hillary Clinton’s email scandal is really about, explained with a cartoonWhat Hillary Clinton’s email scandal is really about, explained with a cartoon
Politics

There are actually two different issues here.

By Alvin Chang
Politics
This chart shows the anatomy of the IRS phone scamThis chart shows the anatomy of the IRS phone scam
Politics

The Department of Justice arrested 20 people in the US Thursday in connection with an international phone scam.

By Alvin Chang
Politics
3 cartoons explaining how Hillary Clinton’s new proposal helps the very poor3 cartoons explaining how Hillary Clinton’s new proposal helps the very poor
Politics
Donald Trump’s tax plan makes impossible promises. This cartoon explains.Donald Trump’s tax plan makes impossible promises. This cartoon explains.
Politics

His plan is still wildly irresponsible.

By Alvin Chang
This simple cartoon shows how US taxpayers help make rich bankers even richer
Politics

The US tax code incentivizes banks to pay their executives a lot — on our dime.

By Alvin Chang
America’s wealth gap is split along racial lines — and it’s getting dangerously wider
archives

Enter your household wealth, and we’ll show you why.

By Alvin Chang
We can’t fix policing without talking about race. This cartoon explains why.
Criminal Justice

Law enforcement has always been unfair to an underclass of people. But research gives us ideas on how to fix it.

By Alvin Chang
archives
When my dog died, I didn’t understand why it felt like a human had died. Then I read the research.When my dog died, I didn’t understand why it felt like a human had died. Then I read the research.
archives

What you actually lose when a dog dies.

By Alvin Chang