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Social Policy

Vox’s coverage of social policy, from food stamps to paternity leave to gun control.

The Social Security crisis, briefly explainedThe Social Security crisis, briefly explained
Politics

The Trump administration is putting millions of people’s retirement benefits at risk.

By Abdallah Fayyad
Why Americans are moving in with strangers twice their ageWhy Americans are moving in with strangers twice their age
Housing

Spare bedrooms are America’s next housing market.

By Rachel Cohen
What if everyone qualified for welfare benefits?What if everyone qualified for welfare benefits?
Policy

Universal programs are much easier to administer than means-tested ones.

By Abdallah Fayyad
Public housing didn’t fail in the US. But it was sabotaged.Public housing didn’t fail in the US. But it was sabotaged.
Policy

A brief history of how America’s public housing experiment was designed to fail.

By Abdallah Fayyad
France’s government just collapsed. What does that actually mean?France’s government just collapsed. What does that actually mean?
World Politics

The political crisis is months in the making

By Ellen Ioanes
Health care costs could spike for millions of familiesHealth care costs could spike for millions of families
Policy

America’s fragmented safety net makes it easy for cuts to go unnoticed.

By Abdallah Fayyad
Can Trump ban trans athletes from school sports?Can Trump ban trans athletes from school sports?
Trump 2.0, explained

Trump could weaponize Title IX against trans kids.

By Ellen Ioanes
The antipoverty agenda under Trump isn’t all lostThe antipoverty agenda under Trump isn’t all lost
Trump 2.0, explained

Successful minimum wage ballot measures offer small signs of hope.

By Abdallah Fayyad
This one chart foreshadows Trump’s immigration crackdownThis one chart foreshadows Trump’s immigration crackdown
Policy

Investors in private prisons think they’ve hit the jackpot with a second Trump presidency.

By Abdallah Fayyad
How paperwork keeps people in povertyHow paperwork keeps people in poverty
Policy

Millions of Americans who are eligible for welfare programs still don’t receive all the benefits they are entitled to.

By Abdallah Fayyad
Fixing Social Security means raising taxes — and not just on the superrichFixing Social Security means raising taxes — and not just on the superrich
Policy

Politicians need to get realistic about what it will take to protect Social Security.

By Abdallah Fayyad
What happens when everyone decides they need a gun?
Policy

We are living through an inflection point in America’s relationship with guns. There may be no going back.

By Marin Cogan
Could a short campaign be exactly what Kamala Harris needs?Could a short campaign be exactly what Kamala Harris needs?
Politics

Dozens of other democracies have short election cycles. Can the Democrats learn something from them?

By Ellen Ioanes
Artificial intelligence isn’t a good argument for basic incomeArtificial intelligence isn’t a good argument for basic income
Future Perfect

A major study backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman shows unconditional cash has benefits that have nothing to do with AI.

By Oshan Jarow
What a big experiment giving money to parents revealsWhat a big experiment giving money to parents reveals
Future Perfect

Giving people cash makes them less poor. It doesn’t fix everything.

By Dylan Matthews
Innovation in child care is coming from a surprising source: Police departments
Parenting

Day care as public safety and public relations.

By Rachel Cohen
What the Labour Party’s big win in the UK will actually meanWhat the Labour Party’s big win in the UK will actually mean
World Politics

The UK is getting a new government. What is it promising to do?

By Ellen Ioanes
Can we be actually normal about birth rates?Can we be actually normal about birth rates?
Future Perfect

Declining birth rates do matter, but we need to approach them thoughtfully.

By Kelsey Piper
The history of Arizona’s Civil War-era abortion banThe history of Arizona’s Civil War-era abortion ban
Politics

How conspiring doctors, questionable tonics, and twisted patriotism led to the 1864 Arizona abortion ban that has finally been repealed.

By Nicole Narea
Trump may sound moderate on abortion. The groups setting his agenda definitely aren’t.Trump may sound moderate on abortion. The groups setting his agenda definitely aren’t.
Policy

These radical social conservatives could define Trump’s second term.

By Anna North
The House GOP just gave Biden’s campaign a huge giftThe House GOP just gave Biden’s campaign a huge gift
Politics

Roughly 80 percent of House Republicans just lined up behind a plan to cut Social Security and ban all abortions.

By Eric Levitz
Trump just opened the door to Social Security cuts. Take him seriously.Trump just opened the door to Social Security cuts. Take him seriously.
Trump 2.0, explained

A second Trump presidency is likely to bring more austerity than the first one did.

By Eric Levitz
How the federal government bungled student aid this yearHow the federal government bungled student aid this year
Policy

Why so many college applicants are worried about being able to afford school.

By Fabiola Cineas
Why the marriage rate is falling faster for some
Podcast
Today, Explained newsletter

How America has made it harder for Black people to marry.

By Jonquilyn Hill
What if public housing were for everyone?What if public housing were for everyone?
Policy

Local governments are trying a new way to address the housing crisis.

By Rachel Cohen
How Congress is planning to lift 400,000 kids out of povertyHow Congress is planning to lift 400,000 kids out of poverty
Future Perfect

We’re not bringing back the extended child tax credit. But this deal is better than nothing.

By Dylan Matthews
How millennials learned to dread motherhood
Features

To our generation, being a mom looks thankless, exhausting, and lonely. Can we change the story?

By Rachel Cohen
You can’t even pay people to have more kidsYou can’t even pay people to have more kids
Social Policy

These countries tried everything from cash to patriotic calls to duty to reverse drastically declining birth rates. It didn’t work.

By Anna North
A Canadian study gave $7,500 to homeless people. Here’s how they spent it.A Canadian study gave $7,500 to homeless people. Here’s how they spent it.
Future Perfect

The results show the power of cash transfers to reduce homelessness.

By Sigal Samuel
The Asian penalty in college admissions is still here — even without affirmative actionThe Asian penalty in college admissions is still here — even without affirmative action
Education

Legacy and geographic preferences will continue to favor white applicants, a new study finds.

By Fabiola Cineas
The impossible paradox of car ownership
Social Policy

For many working-class Americans, cars are a burden and a necessity.

By Marin Cogan
Mifepristone is safeMifepristone is safe
Policy

It’s controversial politically, not medically.

By Keren Landman, MD
Homeless encampments — and the debate over what to do about them — explainedHomeless encampments — and the debate over what to do about them — explained
Policy

People living in tents has become one of the most urgent issues in American politics.

By Rachel Cohen
Nobody knows what the point of homework is
The Highlight

The homework wars are back.

By Jacob Sweet
How one man quietly stitched the American safety net over four decades
The Highlight

Robert Greenstein isn’t a household name. But his career lobbying for the poor has changed the lives of millions of Americans.

By Dylan Matthews
“She hardly goes out”: Racism is keeping many Asian Americans from going to the doctor
Features

Pandemic-related hate crimes against Asian Americans have left many feeling unsafe in public. The consequences of missed health care will have lasting effects.

By Jenny Chen
Health care in jails and prisons is terrible. The pandemic made it even worse.
Science

America’s 1.7 million incarcerated people have a constitutional right to medical treatment. During the pandemic, many of them say they didn’t get it in time.

By Victoria Law
How America fails childrenHow America fails children
Criminal Justice

US public policy is a disaster on guns — and so much more.

By Dylan Scott
What we owe to future generationsWhat we owe to future generations
Future Perfect

They’ll face extreme risks like climate change, pandemics, and artificial intelligence. We can help them survive.

By Sigal Samuel
How Biden could expand paid family leave to more AmericansHow Biden could expand paid family leave to more Americans
Politics

The government’s definition of the family could be expanded in Biden’s American Families Plan. That’s really important.

By Gregory Svirnovskiy