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Explainers

We live in a world of too much information and too little context. Too much noise and too little insight. That's where Vox's explainers come in.

How this billionaire lost half his net worth in a matter of weeks

Gautam Adani was Asia’s wealthiest man coming into 2023. Now, he’s lost billions after a bombshell report from a small US investment firm.

By Emily Stewart

We know where the next big earthquakes will happen — but not when

A massive quake across Turkey and Syria killed thousands. Here are eight things to know about these seismic events.

By Umair Irfan

How you can help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria

By Kelsey Piper February 6

The State of the Union address's history, explained

By Andrew Prokop February 6

Republicans struggle to get their act together for a debt limit deal

By Ellen Ioanes February 5

Climate disasters hit poor people hardest. There’s an obvious solution to that.

By Sigal Samuel February 3

What Andrea Riseborough’s controversial nomination reveals about the Oscars

By Alissa Wilkinson February 2

Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own.

By Dylan Scott February 1

Remember the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case against Trump? It’s back.

By Andrew Prokop January 31

Where will all the laid-off tech workers go?

By Rani Molla January 31

How years of instability came to a head in Peru

By Ellen Ioanes January 29

Why Teslas keep catching on fire

By Rebecca Heilweil January 27

The problem with Ticketmaster, explained not by Taylor Swift

By Emily Stewart January 24

America’s unique, enduring gun problem, explained

By Nicole Narea, Li Zhou, and 1 more January 24

Adorable puppies for sale? Not at these pet stores anymore.

By Kenny Torrella January 23

Ukraine has a new cache of weapons on the way — but not German tanks

By Ellen Ioanes January 22

The “zombie” fungus in The Last of Us, explained by a biologist

By Benji Jones January 21

A new study says Russian trolls didn’t sway the 2016 election. Was the threat overhyped?

By Andrew Prokop January 20

How torrential downpours make it harder for California to save up water

By Umair Irfan January 17

Alex Murdaugh stands accused of killing his wife and son. That’s just scratching the surface.

By Aja Romano January 17

Japan’s plan to ramp up military spending, explained

By Ellen Ioanes January 15

Peru’s violent unrest shows no signs of stopping

By Ellen Ioanes January 15

Iran’s months-long protest movement, explained

By Ellen Ioanes January 15

Republicans didn’t really want to cut the military budget after all

By Jonathan Guyer January 15

This one procedural tool can keep Kevin McCarthy from blowing up the economy

By Andrew Prokop January 14

Biden now has his own classified documents problem. Here’s how it compares to Trump’s.

By Andrew Prokop January 12

The gas stove regulation uproar, explained

By Rebecca Leber January 11

The root causes of Brazil’s violent protest, explained by an expert

By Jonathan Guyer January 10

Bed Bath & Beyond and bankrupt?

By Emily Stewart January 10

The Golden Globes, Hollywood’s most chaotic awards, have returned

By Alissa Wilkinson January 9

The new front in the right’s war on abortion

By Rachel M. Cohen January 9

Big Meat just can’t quit antibiotics

By Kenny Torrella January 8

North Korea’s nuclear escalation, explained

By Ellen Ioanes January 7

What Kevin McCarthy’s concessions to right-wingers would mean for a functioning Congress

By Andrew Prokop January 6

Xi Jinping has abandoned zero-Covid. What happens now?

By Ellen Ioanes January 1

Kari Lake’s long-shot lawsuit challenging her midterms loss, explained

By Nicole Narea December 27, 2022

The Trumpiest court in America

By Ian Millhiser December 27, 2022

Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest is the culmination of an epic flameout

By Whizy Kim December 22, 2022

Elon Musk’s future as Twitter CEO is suddenly in question

By Shirin Ghaffary December 21, 2022

The bill to prevent Trump from stealing the next election, explained

By Andrew Prokop December 21, 2022

The January 6 committee’s case against Trump

By Andrew Prokop December 19, 2022

The very serious science of humor

By Allie Volpe December 19, 2022