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Dr Pepper is, arguably, a weird drink. The name alone raises an eyebrow: Is it medicinal? Is it spicy? Is it similar to Coca-Cola, the most famous dark-brown soda in the world? Who is this eponymous doctor anyway? The label on the can claims it’s an “authentic blend” of 23 flavors but doesn’t clarify what […]

Your Mileage May Vary is an advice column offering you a new framework for thinking through your ethical dilemmas and philosophical questions. This unconventional column is based on value pluralism — the idea that each of us has multiple values that are equally valid but that often conflict with each other. Here is a Vox […]

As the dust still hovers from the Israeli airstrikes that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in his underground lair, and while bombs explode over the heads of Israeli targets from Beirut in Lebanon, to Damascus in Syria, to Rafah in Gaza, to Hudaydah in Yemen, we can see, emerging from the haze, the outlines of […]

An outbreak of Marburg, a virus closely related to Ebola that can cause severe and often fatal disease, is spreading in Rwanda. As Africa struggles with compounding public health challenges, this one presents a rare silver lining: the chance to test new vaccines that could save lives across the continent in the future.  The first […]

While Virginia is reportedly for lovers, most everyone acknowledges that nearby Washington, DC, is not. The nation’s capital has been consistently ranked as one of the worst places to date and one of the US’s worst cities for singles. Too many type As, too many people too into their jobs, too many people ready to […]

Among the signs that the 2024 presidential contest is reverting to a more “normal” election is a big shift from the country’s youngest voters. After abandoning President Joe Biden in favor of third-party candidates, former President Donald Trump, or simply not voting, they have rallied to support Vice President Kamala Harris since her entrance to […]

Much of the western United States is experiencing record temperatures — reaching the sorts of highs in October that are normally associated with some of the hottest days of summer. Palm Springs, California, hit a staggering 117 degrees Tuesday, setting a new October record for itself, and matching the highest temperature that’s ever been documented […]

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, a devastating Category 4 storm that has ravaged the Southeast, leaders are rushing to restore homes, infrastructure and power for millions of people. But amid the overwhelming destruction and chaos, and a death toll already exceeding 160 people across six states, one group risks being overlooked in the scramble: […]

The sweet, odorless gas technically called nitrous oxide has many names: laughing gas, galaxy gas, hippy crack, whippets, even “the atmosphere of heaven.” Nitrous itself has just as many common uses as it does names. Doctors use it as a mild anesthetic, sending patients off into brief and largely pain-free dissociative euphorias before having a […]

In 2004, Richard Glossip was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Since then, the case against him has completely fallen apart. The state of Oklahoma, which is currently holding Glossip on death row, commissioned two investigations looking into Glossip’s 20-year-old conviction. The first, conducted by the law firm Reed Smith on behalf of a […]

This story originally appeared in Kids Today, Vox’s newsletter about kids, for everyone. Sign up here for future editions. Sahasra Yellepeddi, 16, has lived in Allen, Texas, all her life. Last year, a gunman killed eight people and wounded at least seven in an outlet mall there, one “I’ve been going to since I was born,” […]

This past weekend, X owner Elon Musk elevated a false right-wing talking point about immigration, claiming Democrats were fast-tracking citizenship applications to rig elections in the party’s favor.  “If even 1 in 20 illegals become citizens per year, something that the Democrats are expediting as fast as humanly possible, that would be about 2 million […]

You wouldn’t expect to find the linchpin of the global microchip industry tucked away in a Blue Ridge Mountains town, but it’s there. Scattered across the outskirts of Spruce Pine, a series of mines has been extracting some of the purest quartz on Earth for decades. The resource is so essential that almost every advanced […]

Israel has begun a military invasion of Lebanon it said would be “limited,” following days of bombing campaigns near and within the capital, Beirut.  The Israeli military said that it had moved one army division, typically numbering around 10,000 troops, to the Lebanese border and told Lebanese civilians in about two dozen villages in the […]

Life is not just a deluge of bad news. Every day, all sorts of wonderful things are happening. People fall in love. New vaccines are getting closer to saving the roughly 500,000 children who die from malaria each year. And for those of us interested in the science of meditation, which promises a deeper understanding […]

Vox reader Mike Lovely asks: Why does the US keep creating new health insurance programs (CHIP, ACA, Medicaid expansion alternatives, etc.) instead of consolidating them into one big program where all insurer carriers participate and all people pick their coverage? Health insurance in America is a constellation of brands and acronyms: Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, […]

At the vice presidential debate Tuesday night, Sen. JD Vance faced one fundamental challenge: How to make a radical right-wing agenda sound like middle-American common sense. Judging by the polls, America’s voters are not enthusiastic about the Biden-Harris administration’s record. And on the issues they rank highest — such as immigration and the economy — […]

Lead poisoning has, historically, been a major blind spot in the global health world. The extent of the problem is enormous: A landmark study found that about half of children in poor countries are exposed to very high levels of lead. At least 1.5 million people die annually from cardiovascular diseases (like heart disease) caused […]

The vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday was something of a stalemate, though it did feature several striking moments and offered an interesting preview into what presidential politics might look like once Donald Trump is off the stage. It isn’t clear yet how genuinely undecided voters responded to the debate […]

At the end of the vice presidential debate, Gov. Tim Walz asked Sen. JD Vance a pointed question: Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election? Vance’s response: “Tim, I’m focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 Covid situation?” There is a clear right […]

Workers at ports on the East and Gulf Coasts went on strike Tuesday following a breakdown in negotiations between the union representing them, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), and the organization of international shipping companies that employ them. Approximately 45,000 workers walked off the job at 12:01 am, making it the most significant strike the […]

The Menendez brothers, Lyle, now 56, and Erik, now 53, probably never had an incestuous relationship. There has never been any evidence presented anywhere that they did, and in court, both have vehemently denied a sexual relationship. None of this stops Monsters, the new Ryan Murphy-helmed Netflix drama about the brothers — who were convicted […]

The scenes from North Carolina are shocking: roads and bridges washed away. Houses ripped from their foundations. Entire towns reduced to mud and debris. On Thursday night, Hurricane Helene slammed Florida as a Category 4 storm with winds reaching 140 miles per hour. In coastal communities, Helene knocked down trees and power lines, and caused record storm […]

Recently, trauma suffered by NFL stars has raised fresh concerns about the league’s ongoing issues with head injuries — and raised questions about whether there is more the NFL could do to protect its players.  In early September, Tua Tagovailoa, a quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, suffered a frightening third (diagnosed) concussion, prompting some fans […]