Today, Explained

THE CARAVAN IS COMING! DISEASE! MUSLIMS! DANGER! LOCK THE BORDER! Or maybe just listen to this episode in which Vox’s Dara Lind separates truth from fiction about the migrant caravan heading to the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue has confirmed what many believed to be true: Anti-Semitism is on the rise in America, and it's fueling white nationalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than 50,000 voters in Georgia have found themselves on a “pending list.” One candidate for governor is responsible for it. The other is fighting it. The outcome could turn Georgia purple and make Stacey Abrams the first black woman to run an American state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

America’s favorite Democrats are getting pipe bombs in the mail. Who even mails bombs anymore? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Trump administration announced it’s throwing out a decades-old arms treaty with Russia. Arms control specialist Alexandra Bell explains why this news pairs well with a stiff drink. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A leaked Health and Human Services memo has left transgender Americans feeling like the Trump administration wants to define them out of existence. Dominic Holden from BuzzFeed News says the whole situation is much more complicated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A ballot initiative on November 6 might re-enfranchise over a million Floridians. Demetrius Jifunza explains what it would mean to regain the right to vote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Metabolism is one of the greatest mysteries of the human body. Vox’s Julia Belluz spends a day in a metabolic chamber and emerges with some answers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is now almost certain that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered at the hands of the Saudi government. As more and more gruesome details emerge, things get worse and worse for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harvard is on trial. A group of Asian Americans is facing off against the college in court, where it might dismantle the very affirmative action law that was meant to help minorities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everything’s bigger in Texas, including a Senate race that feels more like a presidential one. Texas Monthly’s Eric Benson explains how Beto O’Rourke might break the Democrats’ dry spell in the Lone Star State on the eve of the second O’Rourke-Cruz debate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Midterm elections are three weeks and a day away. Vox’s Dylan Scott says if you think the country's polarized, you ain't seen nothing yet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imagine a world where a Band-Aid costs $629. Bad news: you live in that world. Vox’s Sarah Kliff explains how American hospitals tack on “facility fees” to cover their expansive costs, and a new solution that's getting bipartisan support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week, but he never left. Now, Turkish officials claim he was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw. Saudi dissident Ghanem al-Masarir al-Dosari explains how speaking out against the Saudi government became a matter of life or death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The United Nations now says the planet has 12 years to avoid catastrophic climate change. Vox’s Umair Irfan explores the options humanity has left. ******************************************** Vox crunched 3.1T of data so you can see how much and how fast America is warming. You can see how fast your city is warming here: https://www.vox.com/a/weather-climate-change-us-cities-global-warming Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Surprise! Nikki Haley, President Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, has resigned. Vox’s Alex Ward explains why one of the most popular members of the Trump cabinet would want to leave. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett Kavanaugh starts his new job tomorrow. The Washington Post’s Robert Barnes previews the Supreme Court’s new term and Vox’s Matthew Yglesias says his first day cements a shift 25 years in the making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why even answer the phone anymore? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The FBI has finished its investigation of Brett Kavanaugh. Today, senators entered a highly secured room to review it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One candidate was stabbed. Another is sitting in jail. His replacement was slapped with corruption charges. Just your friendly neighborhood candidates for president in Brazil. *********** Correction: This episode mistakenly notes that a leading presidential candidate died in a helicopter crash in 2014. Eduardo Campos actually died in a plane crash. *********** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices