Listen "Is Facebook really that bad?"
Episode Synopsis
Dylan, German, and Dara talk about Facebook and the controversy surrounding it in recent weeks. They cover just how much — and how little — we know about Facebook’s impact on the world and talk about whether there are good policy solutions to Facebook’s problems. For the white paper of the week, they break down a study on free school lunch programs.
References:
The Wall Street Journal’s reporting on how Facebook’s efforts to improve the platform backfired
The Washington Post’s reporting on how Facebook prioritized “angry” over “like”
The Washington Post’s reporting on Facebook picking engagement over fighting misinformation
Section 230 basics, explained
Vox’s Recode Daily podcast
What happened when experimenters paid people to deactivate Facebook before the 2018 midterms
Max Fisher and Amanda Taub on Facebook-inspired anti-Muslim violence in Sri Lanka
Facebook did enable the Arab Spring
Farhad Manjoo on how bad regulations could make Facebook worse
A child psychologist on what we don’t know about Instagram’s effect on teen girls
Kevin Drum’s counter-takes on Facebook
NBER study on school lunch programs reducing grocery costs
Hosts:
Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox
German Lopez (@germanrlopez), senior correspondent, Vox
Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublica
Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial advisor
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts
Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
References:
The Wall Street Journal’s reporting on how Facebook’s efforts to improve the platform backfired
The Washington Post’s reporting on how Facebook prioritized “angry” over “like”
The Washington Post’s reporting on Facebook picking engagement over fighting misinformation
Section 230 basics, explained
Vox’s Recode Daily podcast
What happened when experimenters paid people to deactivate Facebook before the 2018 midterms
Max Fisher and Amanda Taub on Facebook-inspired anti-Muslim violence in Sri Lanka
Facebook did enable the Arab Spring
Farhad Manjoo on how bad regulations could make Facebook worse
A child psychologist on what we don’t know about Instagram’s effect on teen girls
Kevin Drum’s counter-takes on Facebook
NBER study on school lunch programs reducing grocery costs
Hosts:
Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox
German Lopez (@germanrlopez), senior correspondent, Vox
Dara Lind (@dlind), immigration reporter, ProPublica
Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer & engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial advisor
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts
Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter
Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More episodes of the podcast Explain It to Me
Why everyone is sick right now
11/01/2026
Internet bad
04/01/2026
Is your brain lying to you?
21/12/2025
Let AI replace you
14/12/2025
The rise of the introverts
07/12/2025
Talk turkey to me
23/11/2025
The case for renting forever
16/11/2025
Why your health insurance is so expensive
09/11/2025
That text is a scam
02/11/2025
Paging Dr. ChatBot
26/10/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.