We're excited to welcome you to Today, Explained.
February 5, 2024 [View in browser]( Good morning! Vox is launching our new flagship morning newsletter, which youâre receiving because you were previously signed up for Sentences, our old daily newsletter. We think youâll love Today, Explained, too. I'm here to explain the new style, and all the other news you need to know today. â Caroline Houck, senior editor of news Brandon Bell/Getty Images The inaugural Today, Explained Hey, welcome to Voxâs new daily newsletter! Weâre calling it [Today, Explained](, and itâll be run by me, Caroline Houck. Iâm Voxâs senior editor of news, a role Iâve come to after five years at Vox, covering some of the biggest stories of those years. That included the Trump impeachments, the [2020 election](, and one of the biggest [Supreme Court]( terms in recent memory, before I took over our international section just in time for the US withdrawal from [Afghanistan]( and Vladimir Putinâs invasion of Ukraine. Now Iâm here overseeing this newsletter, and I am psyched. When something happens in the world â whether itâs an [explosion abroad](, one [at home](, or even a metaphorical explosion in, say, the world of [American academia]( â my first instinct is always to ask my Vox colleagues about it. I want to lurk in their Slack channels and pop over to their desks to listen in on how theyâre breaking down the big stories. Thatâs how I [navigated Covid]( and how I processed what was [going on with the American judicial system]( after the [Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade](. And itâs how I had something to say about one half of [2023âs summer movie sensation]( (because yes, I admit it: I still havenât watched Oppenheimer). My favorite way to understand the world is through the eyes of our newsroom. And now, each day in your inbox, weâre going to bring that view to you. What does that mean? It means that every day, Monday through Friday, weâll start Today, Explained with a classic Vox explainer about something interesting and important happening in the world. Itâll work like this: A reporter, producer, or editor will walk us through that one big story, explaining it with nuance and clarity. Itâll be about as long as this email â maybe a little shorter or a little longer, depending on the topic. And it will always be conversational and approachable, even as we weave in the deep research, reporting, and analysis youâll always find at Vox. So today, if we werenât introducing this newsletter to you, we might have covered the [Grammys]( or dug into economic news after [Fridayâs impressive jobs report](. We want to explain the news. So Iâll look around the newsroom each day and see which Voxxer might be best positioned to do so, then bring them to your inboxes. [Photo illustration of a phone screen with a collage of news behind it.] Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images But seeing the world through Voxâs eyes also means seeing our [societiesâ unsolved problems]( and how we might fix them. It means unraveling the [universeâs unanswered mysteries](. It means wondering [why capitalism works this way](, [scrutinizing our culture](, and [thinking intentionally about how we live better lives](. We know you all are curious about the world â and that you care about it. To fulfill that need, weâll bring you explainers to these questions that are out there, all around us. Whether weâre covering something thatâs in the news or not, though, I want all of you to know youâre always going to walk away from Today, Explained with the day explained. Weâll curate the most important news of the day and the most interesting conversations happening around the internet here in the second half of the newsletter. These are the stories that we at Vox are paying attention to â and that weâll deliver to you. Weâll also share the latest episode from [Today, Explained (the podcast)](. The team there â led by hosts Sean Rameswaram and Noel King â shares our mission of explaining the world in a way thatâs accessible, informative, and often fun. I might be biased, but you should [listen](. And weâll include one link to a great piece of Vox journalism every day, be it an article, video, or podcast. If you want breadth or depth â or both! â weâve got you covered. Weâll see you tomorrow! âCaroline Houck, senior editor of news [Listen]( A new treatment for deafness A promising gene therapy can help kids born without the ability to hear. A Deaf bioethicist wants you to consider the implications. [Listen now]( THE GRAMMYS - Music's biggest night: Living legends, female rockstars, sassy mid-performance ad libs. What else could you want (except perhaps better sound mixing)? [[Vulture](]
- Swifties delight: While accepting her 13th Grammy, Taylor Swift announced a new album, titled The Tortured Poets Department. [[Billboard](] [People walking past a mural of Pokemon characters.] Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images US POLITICS - Immigration dealâ¦but probably still no deal: A bipartisan group of senators released an immigration policy proposal Sunday night after three months of nearly daily talks. But itâs âdead on arrivalâ in the House. [[NYT](]
- Joe Biden wins South Carolina: Because the Democratic primary's even less real than the Republican one, [Biden's win Saturday]( flew a little under the radar. Relatedly, hereâs 30 things Joe Biden did as president that you also might have missed. [[Politico](] AROUND THE WORLD - Why concerns over US-Iran tensions are rising: The US on Friday hit Iranian-linked militias in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a drone attack that killed three US troops in Jordan last week, and then on Saturday conducted more airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen. Expect more to come. [[CNN](]
- El Salvador's self-described "cool" dictator wins reelection: [Nayib Bukele](, who presided over a massive crackdown on gang violence that led to widespread human rights abuse (even as it boosted his popularity), won another term Sunday. [[El Pais](]
- One of Africaâs most stable democracies is looking a little less so: Senegalâs president on Saturday suspended the countryâs February elections, saying heâd start a ânational dialogueâ to set up fair elections. [[Semafor](] Ad
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[Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( ALSO IN THE NEWS - East Palestine, one year later: Federal regulators promise the air, water, and soil in East Palestine are safe for residents after the toxic train derailment one year ago. Distrust, though, is hard to shake, and only deepening. [[Grist](]
- Media market failure?: Last year was [the worst year in digital media history](; and now this yearâs [already brought over 800 layoffs](. Is it time to start calling it a market failure? [[Fast Company](]
- Thank god for the Internet Archive: Because as Google confirmed over the weekend, Google Search will no longer store âcachedâ versions of webpages. [[Ars Technica](] Music and mysticism New Age music pioneer Laraaji on the mysticism of music and the sanctity of laughter. [Listen now]( Are you enjoying the Today, Explained newsletter? Forward it to a friend; they can [sign up for it right here](. And as always, we want to know what you think. We recently changed the format of this newsletter. Any questions, comments, or ideas? We're all ears. Specifically: If there is a topic you want us to explain or a story youâre curious to learn more about, let us know [by filling out this form]( or just replying to this email. Your question might be the centerpiece of this newsletter one day or featured in a Friday reader mailbag. Today's edition was produced and edited by Caroline Houck. We'll see you tomorrow! Ad
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