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Policy

Vox’s policy team covers how government action and inaction affect people’s lives: the problems facing the US, the ideas that could solve them, and the debates and arguments that will determine if those solutions become reality.

Biden’s sweeping new asylum restrictions, explained
Politics

Biden's transparently political attack on asylum put little daylight between him and Trump.

By Nicole Narea
MDMA’s federal approval drama, briefly explainedMDMA’s federal approval drama, briefly explained
Future Perfect

MDMA looked like it was on a fast track for PTSD treatment. Now, an FDA committee is advising otherwise.

By Oshan Jarow
Cities know how to improve traffic. They keep making the same colossal mistake.Cities know how to improve traffic. They keep making the same colossal mistake.
Policy

The US shouldn’t give up on congestion pricing.

By Abdallah Fayyad
The failure of the college presidentThe failure of the college president
Politics

How the top campus job became so complex and public this year.

By Fabiola Cineas

The latest in Policy

Our identity crisis on immigrationOur identity crisis on immigration
Today, Explained newsletter

Cities and states aren’t waiting for the federal government to act.

By Matt Collette
Trump wants the Supreme Court to toss out his conviction. Will they?Trump wants the Supreme Court to toss out his conviction. Will they?
Supreme Court

It’s hard to see how they’d do it legally, but this Court has a history of reading the law creatively.

By Ian Millhiser
It’s not Islamophobia, it’s anti-Palestinian racismIt’s not Islamophobia, it’s anti-Palestinian racism
Policy

Anti-Palestinian racism is a distinct form of bigotry that's too often ignored.

By Abdallah Fayyad
Trump’s New York conviction is not enoughTrump’s New York conviction is not enough
Politics

If the federal government wants to uphold democracy and the rule of law, it can't leave convicting Trump to the states.

By Abdallah Fayyad
What we know about the police killing of Black Air Force member Roger FortsonWhat we know about the police killing of Black Air Force member Roger Fortson
Police Violence

Fortson’s shooting deepens longstanding scrutiny of police violence.

By Li Zhou
This is the world’s best investmentThis is the world’s best investment
Today, Explained newsletter

A new study finds that combating malaria, TB, and HIV pays for itself 405 times over.

By Dylan Matthews
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 is not fighting for its survivalIsrael is not fighting for its survival
World Politics

The end of Gaza's suffering can't wait on Hamas's destruction.

By Eric Levitz
This changed everything
Life

The turning points that defined the last 10 years.

By Vox Staff
Serial transformed true crime — and the way we think about criminal justice
Culture

The show that helped free Adnan Syed completely upended how much the average person knows about US legal and prison systems.

By Aja Romano
The “racial reckoning” of 2020 set off an entirely new kind of backlash
Policy

We are living in an era of conservative grievance politics.

By Fabiola Cineas
The last 10 years, explained
Life

The (wild! scary! surprising!) moments that mattered.

By Vox Staff
The best — and worst — criticisms of Trump’s convictionThe best — and worst — criticisms of Trump’s conviction
Politics

Was Trump wrongly convicted? The debate, explained.

By Eric Levitz
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 NCAA’s proposal to pay college athletes is fair. That's the problem.The NCAA’s proposal to pay college athletes is fair. That's the problem.
Policy

The end of amateurism finally comes for college sports. Will we miss it?

By Bryan Walsh
A new strategy to house homeless peopleA new strategy to house homeless people
Housing

To clear tent encampments in cities, some leaders urge a focus beyond shelters.

By Rachel M. Cohen
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 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
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
“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
Rent control for child care?Rent control for child care?
Policy

Lawmakers in Minnesota want to cap out-of-pocket child care costs.

By Rachel M. Cohen
The known unknowns about Ozempic, explainedThe known unknowns about Ozempic, explained
Audio
The Gray Area

Ozempic has become hugely popular. Researchers are racing to learn more about what it does to us.

By Sean Illing
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
Why school segregation is getting worseWhy school segregation is getting worse
Today, Explained newsletter

Seventy years after the Brown decision, many students are divided by their race and socioeconomic status.

By Fabiola Cineas
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
Why is Biden blocking the cheapest, most popular EVs in the world?Why is Biden blocking the cheapest, most popular EVs in the world?
Climate

Biden is acting like he hates the Chinese more than he likes the climate.

By Dylan Matthews
The child care cliff that wasn’tThe child care cliff that wasn’t
Child Care

We don’t need apocalyptic economic predictions to advocate for better family policy.

By Rachel M. Cohen
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
North America’s biggest city is running out of waterNorth America’s biggest city is running out of water
Today, Explained newsletter

Mexico City is staring down a water crisis. It won’t be the last city to do so.

By Caroline Houck
The real science behind the billionaire pursuit of immortality
Future Perfect

Longevity research may not let us live forever — but it could still make our lives better in smaller ways.

By Jacob Sweet
Even as bird flu looms, the world is unlearning Covid’s lessonsEven as bird flu looms, the world is unlearning Covid’s lessons
Today, Explained newsletter

A post-Covid pandemic treaty was supposed to be a breakthrough. Instead, it looks like a disappointment.

By Dylan Scott
Here’s what sociologists want you to know about teen suicideHere’s what sociologists want you to know about teen suicide
Health

A new book on youth suicide clusters offers perspective on prevention.

By Rachel M. Cohen
What does divesting from Israel really mean?What does divesting from Israel really mean?
Politics

And is it feasible? Plus three other questions about the student protesters’ demands.

By Nicole Narea
America’s prison system is turning into a de facto nursing home
Criminal Justice

Why are more and more older people spending their dying years behind bars?

By Abdallah Fayyad
The UK’s controversial Rwanda deportation plan, explainedThe UK’s controversial Rwanda deportation plan, explained
World Politics

There are already legal challenges to the new policy, but authorities detained some migrants this week.

By Ellen Ioanes
What the backlash to student protests over Gaza is really aboutWhat the backlash to student protests over Gaza is really about
Education

The Columbia protests and the debate over pro-Palestinian college students, explained.

By Ellen Ioanes and Nicole Narea
The lessons from colleges that didn’t call the policeThe lessons from colleges that didn’t call the police
Education

Deescalating conflict around protests was possible, but many colleges turned to law enforcement instead.

By Abdallah Fayyad
Why America’s Israel-Palestine debate is broken — and how to fix itWhy America’s Israel-Palestine debate is broken — and how to fix it
Politics

It’s time to take back the Israel-Palestine debate from the radicals on both sides.

By Zack Beauchamp