Seven-Minute Explainers
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Seven-Minute Explainers
Your audio guide to everything you need to know about compelling and complex topics, from a variety of The Week's smart and witty writers, editors, and thinkers. Concise and entertaining, Seven-Minute Explainers packs a lot of information in a short amount of time.
Recent Episodes
80 episodes
Ep. 79: Almost every language has a word for 'Christmas.' Few reference Christ.
How’s that for a war on Christmas?
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Ep. 78: Why so strangely Yoda speaks?
Hear something odd in his syntax, you do.
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Ep. 77: A brief timeline of tax reform
How previous reforms led to the system we have today.
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Ep. 76: Did God have a wife?
The history and mystery of Asherah.
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Ep. 75: 6 unique Thanksgiving celebrations from around the world
The Macy's Day Parade, football, and Black Friday deals may be uniquely American, but giving thanks for a good harvest is a tradition that crosses cul...
Ep. 74: The secret history of cowboy socialism
The American West may fly the flag of individualism, but it was built on a bedrock of Big Government.
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Ep. 73: Why Puerto Rico never had a path to statehood
Even as other territories became states, the U.S. kept Puerto Rico's legal status vague.
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Ep. 72: The strange, circuitous history of Daylight Saving Time
How war, the golf industry, and Big Candy got (most of) us an extra hour of sleep this weekend.
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Ep. 71: Why cheap horror flicks are Hollywood gold
From Night of the Living Dead to Paranormal Activity, low-budget horror movies continue to def Hollywood's box-office expectations.
For a starte...
Ep. 70: The lessons of the Russian revolution, 100 years later
Is Marxism just a turn-crank formula for purges and dictatorship or was something else to blame?
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Ep. 69: The self-aware legacy of 'Friends'
How the end of Matt LeBlanc's Episodes closes the door on the Friends era of gossip, fame, and meta-spinoffs.
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Ep. 68: Why Ronald Reagan enthusiastically signed America's first real gun control law
A lifelong member of the NRA, Reagan might be the most consequential president for gun control legislation in the past century
Ep. 67: Why severe flooding is becoming increasingly common — and more destructive
Storms like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, are only going to keep coming. Which parts of the U.S. are most vulnerable? What is the government doi...
Ep. 66: The burglars who broke into the FBI and brought down J. Edgar Hoover
In 1971, a group of activists stole thousands of incriminating documents that proved the bureau was spying on Americans. The burglars got away scot-fr...
Ep. 65: Why do we have a debt ceiling anyway?
How a legislative fluke turned into a political weapon.
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Ep. 64: Congressional censure, explained
When elected officials break the rules, this congressional tool puts them in check
Ep.63: How to put your savings on autopilot
Saving is a habit, and like all habits, the best way to make it stick is to do it over, and over, and over again, until it becomes second nature. Here...
Ep. 62: Multivitamins are useless. Here's why.
Those daily pills aren't doing you any favors. In fact, they might be doing you some harm.
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Ep. 61: America's eclipse craze, explained
On Aug. 21, the moon's shadow will roll across the U.S. and, for the first time in decades, tens of millions of Americans will witness a total solar e...
Ep. 60: The new monopolies
Amazon, Google, and Facebook have enjoyed unstoppable growth, with no end in sight. Such enormous success may be a sign that we're in the second Gilde...
Ep. 59: The genetic breakthrough that could change humanity, explained
The gene-editing tool CRISPR isn't some super high-tech piece of lab equipment. It's a part of our DNA that scientists have now figured out how to har...
Ep. 58: A linguist's guide to HULK SMASH
WHERE HULKSPEAK COME FROM? Let's explore all the potential inspiration that came before Hulk smashed into our comic book world in 1962.
Ep. 57: How to avoid being eaten by a shark
A Hawaiian's tried-and-true advice for avoiding a shark attack
Ep. 56: 'Game of Thrones': 5 fun facts about the Valyrian language
The Valyrian language has four genders — and an unexpected Monty Python tribute. Listen for more fun and interesting facts about this intricate langua...
Ep. 55: Your family name did not come from a mistake at Ellis Island
So how did Jensen become Johnson, Koenigsberger become Kingsley, and Mlodzianowski become Murphy?
Ep. 54: Our irrational fear of flying
You're more likely to die from a lightning strike than in an airplane crash, and yet we just can't seem to shake our aviophobia.
Ep. 53: China's plan to run the world
The People's Republic is investing trillions to build railways, ports, and telecommunications in other countries. Here's everything you need to know.<...
Ep. 52: How to revolutionize the tax code with only 'find and replace'
The simplest way to revolutionize the tax code? Just convert deductions to credits.
Ep. 51: How a preemptive strike on North Korea could end up killing millions
It seems the Trump administration is ready to take the toughest of lines when it comes to dealing with the Hermit Kingdom. And this policy is nothing...
Ep. 50: How impeachment works
With scandals swirling around the White House, the "I-word" is already being mentioned in Congress. But what's the origin of the process and how exact...
Ep. 49: How previous White House scandals altered the political landscape
Watergate. Iran-Contra. Trump-Russia? History can provide scenarios for thinking about how this investigation might play out.
Ep. 48: Anatomy of a commencement speech
We combed through dozens of inspirational, funny, and memorable commencement speeches and found the best ones follow a surprisingly similar pattern co...
Ep. 47: A phonological description of beatbox noises
Whenever people listen to a beatboxing expert, there are two big questions that come up: What are those noises? And how are they being made?
Lin...
Ep. 46: How today's pro-immigrant activists are adopting the tactics of abolitionists
Their plan to stop Trump's immigration crackdown: Resist. Rebuff. Repeat.
Ep. 45: The EPA's changing mission, explained
After decades of dramatic successes — as well as failures — the Environmental Protection Agency is at a crossroads.
Ep. 44: The obscure 19th century murder case that shaped our reproductive laws
The origins of our modern battles over abortion date back to 1838 and the untimely death of a 21-year-old factory girl named Eliza Sowers
Ep. 43: How sugar became Public Enemy No. 1
Many experts believe that sweetened foods have caused a global health crisis. What's so bad about sugar?
Ep. 42: The rise and fall and rise of bitcoin
In 2014, bitcoin was all but written off as a failed experiment. In March 2017, it made history. And its recent, more gradual success suggests the vir...
Ep. 41: The growing nuclear threat from North Korea
Kim Jong Un is building a nuclear missile that can reach the U.S. Can he be stopped?
Ep. 40: Can President Trump rescue the Rust Belt?
He promised to reverse the decades-long decline of manufacturing jobs. Can it be done?