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Explainers

The horrifying sexual misconduct allegations against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, explained

By Dylan Matthews

9 essential lessons from psychology to understand the Trump era

By Brian Resnick

The real (but small) danger of a US-Russia war over Syria

By Alex Ward

A guide to the Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal

A Trump campaign–connected firm harvested personal data from tens of millions of Facebook users, bringing up big questions about cybersecurity, big data, and privacy. Catch up on the controversy.

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Paul Ryan’s retirement adds to the large number of Republicans fleeing Congress

By Andrew Prokop

How Trump broke Paul Ryan

By Tara Golshan

Michael Cohen: Trump’s fix-it guy and FBI raid subject, explained

By Andrew Prokop

Trump wants to slash welfare with stricter work requirements

By Tara Golshan

The constitutional debate around protecting Robert Mueller’s job, explained

By Tara Golshan

The secret Seychelles meeting Robert Mueller is zeroing in on, explained

By Andrew Prokop

Trump’s National Guard border buildup, explained

By Dara Lind

The war in Syria, explained

By Zack Beauchamp

Why America doesn’t win wars anymore

By Alex Ward

Why an assault weapons ban can’t address America’s gun problem

By German Lopez

Most images of black holes are illustrations. Here’s what our telescopes actually capture.

By Brian Resnick

The definitive guide to the Stormy Daniels scandal

By Dylan Matthews

What would America look like without Roe v. Wade? These teenagers are finding out.

By Anna North

The Scott Pruitt for attorney general rumor Trump just angrily tweeted about, explained

By Andrew Prokop

If taxes aren’t working, will desperate Republicans keep turning to race-based attacks?

By Tara Golshan

South Korea's former president is going to prison. The scandal behind it is batshit.

By Jennifer Williams

New York City police shoot and kill unarmed black man, mistaking a silver pipe for a gun

By German Lopez

Why so many Republicans think Paul Ryan is ready to quit Washington

By Tara Golshan

Cambridge Analytica, the shady data firm that might be a key Trump-Russia link, explained

By Sean Illing

Cambridge Analytica and its many scandals, explained

By Andrew Prokop

Trump’s big (non)decision on US troops in Syria, explained

By Alex Ward

How America has — and hasn’t — changed since Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, in 11 charts

By German Lopez, Christina Animashaun, and 1 other

Donald Trump’s Twitter feud with Amazon, explained

By Matthew Yglesias

America’s unique gun violence problem, explained in 17 maps and charts

By German Lopez

Sinclair, the pro-Trump, conservative company taking over local news, explained

By Dylan Matthews

The escort claiming to have tapes proving Russian interference in the US election, explained

By Andrew Prokop

LeBron James, the most important athlete in America, explained

By Dylan Scott

The hacked emails at the center of Mueller’s Russia investigation, explained

By Andrew Prokop

The keto diet, explained

By Julia Belluz

Alton Sterling police shooting: no charges filed against Baton Rouge officers

By German Lopez

Stephon Clark police shooting in Sacramento: autopsy released

By German Lopez

The Roseanne revival, and the argument over how TV depicts Trump supporters, explained

By Todd VanDerWerff

Shell’s vision of a zero carbon world by 2070, explained

By David Roberts

We’re barely using the best tool we have to fight obesity

By Julia Belluz

The citizenship question on the 2020 census, explained

By Dara Lind

It’s not just elections: Russia hacked the US electric grid

By Kelsey Atherton

How the NRA resurrected the Second Amendment

By German Lopez

How Fortnite leveled up, broke records, and changed gaming

By Aja Romano
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