Today, Explained

Today is Day 4 of Bill Cosby’s retrial. The first trial ended in a hung jury, but this time things are different. Five new women are testifying, accusing Cosby of sexual assault. Vox’s Jen Kirby offers the latest, and Vox’s Laura McGann explains why Cosby’s retrial could be a game changer in the wake of #metoo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump today called the raid on the office of his personal lawyer Michael Cohen “unthinkable.” Vox’s Zachary Fryer-Biggs explains what the FBI was looking for, and Vox’s Andrew Prokop reveals Cohen’s complicated past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today is Equal Pay Day. Vox’s Sarah Kliff reveals the real reason why working women earn about 82% as much as men. Then Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute explains why things get a lot more complicated when race comes into play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump said he would “always be friends” with China’s leader, but the two countries have been acting anything but these past few days. First, the U.S. slapped China with $50 billion in tariffs. Then, China retaliated with $50 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods, like soybeans and airplanes. Now, the U.S. has replied with $100 billion more. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias explains why this could escalate to a trade war, and really hurt Trump’s base. Learn more about your ad choices...

President Trump announced this week he wants to withdraw US troops from Syria over the next six months. The country’s civil war has killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced around 13 million. Vox’s Zack Beauchamp explains how an uprising led to what the United Nations calls “the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The West Virginia teacher strike has ended, but walkouts are just getting started in Kentucky and Oklahoma, where lawmakers are scrambling to pass bills that would supplement school funding. Vox’s Alexia Fernández Campbell explains why public school teachers are mad as hell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

289. That’s the number of people who have been shot and killed by police in 2018 alone. One of them was Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old black man from Sacramento. His death sparked a wave of protests and renewed scrutiny of the police. But less than one percent of those fatal police shootings result in charges. The Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery explains why convictions are even fewer, and what it’s going to take to reduce fatal police shootings. Learn more about your ad choices...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg seldom gives interviews, but in the wake of the massive Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, he made an exception to speak with Vox’s Ezra Klein. Mark tells Ezra why he’s hopeful about Facebook’s future before privacy advocate Marc Rotenberg tells Sean Rameswaram why he’s not. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Supreme Court is currently deliberating two cases that could reshape the entire country’s political maps. At issue is partisan gerrymandering—the practice of drawing districts that benefit one party over another. Dave Daley, author of "Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count," tells Sean Rameswaram why gerrymandering today is the worst it's ever been. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mexican-American Francisco Cantú never expected to become a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. But for nearly four years, Cantú both detained and rescued migrants stranded in the desert. He tells Sean Rameswaram about his experiences policing a border his own grandfather illegally crossed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices