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Explainers

How Republicans are trying to strip power from Democratic governors-elect

By Tara Golshan

Critics called Lars von Trier’s new movie “repulsive.” It’s being released twice.

By Alissa Wilkinson

Medicare-for-all’s big problem

By Dylan Scott

YouTube’s conspiracy theory crisis, explained

By Jane Coaston

How the federal courts have failed victims of sexual harassment

By Alexia Fernández Campbell

Top House Democrats join Elizabeth Warren’s push to fundamentally change American capitalism

By Matthew Yglesias

The Trump inauguration is now being criminally investigated

By Andrew Prokop

California’s cap-and-trade system may be too weak to do its job

By David Roberts

CrossFit is amassing an army of doctors trying to disrupt health care

By Julia Belluz

We read Democrats’ 8 plans for universal health care. Here’s how they work.

By Sarah Kliff and Dylan Scott

A judge just blocked another effort to raise wages for restaurant workers in DC

By Alexia Fernández Campbell

Uber and Lyft are racing each other to go public. Here’s why.

By Chavie Lieber

Why Trump wants to repeal an Obama-era clean water rule

By Brad Plumer and Umair Irfan

Why Netflix could have lost Friends — and what it means for the future of streaming

By Todd VanDerWerff

The VA’s latest issues paying student veterans their benefits, explained

By Emily Stewart

The First Step Act, Congress’s criminal justice reform bill, explained

By German Lopez

2018 belonged to Black Panther. And it could change Marvel’s future.

By Alex Abad-Santos

The US government’s ongoing battle with Chinese telecom giant Huawei, explained

By Emily Stewart

TikTok, explained

By Rebecca Jennings

There’s a great anti-poverty bill in the Senate. Why haven’t we heard more about it?

By Dylan Matthews

The Supreme Court’s surprising decision on Planned Parenthood, explained

By Anna North

Advent, explained

By Alissa Wilkinson

“Public charge,” Trump’s proposal to restrict legal immigration, explained

By Dara Lind

Why willpower is overrated

By Brian Resnick

“Witch hunts” explained, from Salem to Donald Trump

By Dylan Scott and Tara Isabella Burton

Mueller’s sentencing memo for Michael Cohen is very ominous for Trump

By Andrew Prokop

William Barr, Trump’s pick for attorney general, will hold the fate of the Mueller probe

By Jen Kirby

Google’s contractors accuse CEO of creating unequal workforce

By Alexia Fernández Campbell

William Barr helped establish mass incarceration. Now Trump wants him as attorney general.

By German Lopez

Why Taylor Swift’s 2017 album Reputation got a 2019 Grammy nod

By Aja Romano

A brief guide to the legal challenges against acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker

By Jen Kirby

The sexual misconduct allegations against Neil deGrasse Tyson, explained

Tchiya Amet went public with allegations against Tyson in 2010. Why is her story only getting attention now?

By Anna North

Felix Sater, the spy, criminal, and mafia-linked business executive tied to Trump, explained

By Alex Ward

“Designer bugs”: how the next pandemic might come from a lab

By R. Daniel Bressler and Chris Bakerlee

Video game addiction is real, rare, and poorly understood

The World Health Organization now recognizes "gaming disorder." It’s a controversial, but some argue necessary, classification.

By German Lopez

A big new review of the evidence finds that prescription heroin works

By German Lopez

The Mueller investigation has gotten closer to Trump

By Andrew Prokop

The mind-bendy weirdness of the number zero, explained

By Brian Resnick

Why are we still signing credit card receipts?

By Rachel Sugar

North Carolina wrote the playbook other states are using to undermine democracy

By Tara Golshan

4 takeaways from Mueller’s sentencing memo for Michael Flynn

By Andrew Prokop

12 million pounds of beef are recalled for possible salmonella. Check your freezer.

By Julia Belluz
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