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How we fell for the carrot vision myth - March 25, 2026 - Vox

We all heard the myth while growing up: Carrots are good for your eyesight. Or maybe even: Carrots can make you see in the dark. But where did this myth come from? And is there any basis in science?

It turns out that carrots are chock-full of vitamin A, which is necessary for vision. But most people today get enough vitamin A in their normal diet, and eating an excess of the orange vegetable won’t boost your eyesight or grant you night vision. In fact, consuming more vitamin A than your body can handle (via supplements instead of natural fruits and vegetables) can be detrimental to your health.

The origins of this common myth actually lie in World War II.

During the Blitz (the German Luftwaffe’s bombing campaign against London and other British cities), the British government had several important reasons to persuade both its citizens and the wider world that eating carrots improved eyesight. The Ministry of Information and Ministry of Food worked together to spread some shockingly impactful carrot-based propaganda. And the myth remains prevalent to this day.

Vox producer Nate Krieger spoke to an ophthalmologist and a World War II propaganda historian to get to the bottom of the carrot vision myth. This video explores the impetus behind this strangely targeted propaganda campaign, explains why it was so successful, and reintroduces the world to Dr. Carrot.

Read more about carrots’ strange role in World War II history:

Persuading the People by David Welch

Lord Woolton: Feeding Wartime Britain

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Lord-Woolton-Feeding-Wartime-Britain/

Carrots Can’t Help You See in the Dark. Here’s How a World War II Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/carrots-cant-help-you-see-in-the-dark-heres-how-world-war-ii-propaganda-campaign-popularized-the-myth-28812484/

The World Carrot Museum: https://archive.ph/Md0R9

“Britain is Your Friend” by Rosemary Hill: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v38/n24/rosemary-hill/britain-is-your-friend

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Nancy Pelosi explains her optimism | Today, Explained - March 21, 2026 - Vox

Nancy Pelosi's record of impact is undeniable. Over more than three decades in Congress, she is frequently cited among the effective legislative operators of her generation. Pelosi held together the votes for the Affordable Care Act, twice ascended to the speaker's chair, and built a fundraising machine that reshaped how her party competes.

Last week, at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, Vox’s Astead Herndon spoke with Pelosi about that record. In front of a packed crowd of innovators at the Vox Media Podcast Stage, he asked Pelosi about key moments in her career, her unshakable faith in the American electorate, and the outlook for November's midterm elections.

Pelosi is preparing to leave Congress at the end of this term, and it comes at a time of profound uncertainty for the Democratic Party. Republicans control the White House. Her party's polling favorability has reached historic lows, and a once solid liberal majority seems to be fraying on lines of age, race, and class. There's no consensus about what went wrong or who should lead next. Regardless, Pelosi says she has absolute confidence that Democrats will take back the House this year.

Today, Explained publishes video episodes every Saturday tackling key issues in politics and culture. Subscribe to Vox’s YouTube channel to get them. New episodes of Today, Explained drop every day of the week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite listening app.

Chapter titles:

00:00 Intro

1:52 What drove Rep. Pelosi into politics

5:10 Barriers in Rep. Pelosi’s path

10:10 What drives Pelosi’s optimism

14:12 What Dems need to do to win

18:02 Trump’s Save America Act

20:00 Views on Trump and the future

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Are team sports the secret to living longer? - March 20, 2026 - Vox

For more than 20 years, the Granny Basketball League has showcased the 1920s women's 6-on-6 game of basketball complete with the classic rules and “bloomer” uniforms.

From humble beginnings in Iowa, the league has gone national with over 50 teams and an annual tournament. It provides fierce competition and fun for players and fans, but it’s also redefining how retirees find purpose. Research shows it might even be helping them live longer.

Our lifestyles evolve as we get older, but we’re always seeking connection, better health, and forward momentum. For the ladies of the Granny Basketball League, being on a team checks all these boxes.

Read more about the Granny Basketball League and the health benefits of team sports:

Visit the official Granny Basketball League website: https://www.grannybasketball.com/

Read the US surgeon general’s 2023 Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

An NIH review of why older adults play sports: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7749227/

A Washington Post guest column on why it's smart to play sports in your 60s and beyond: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/08/13/older-athletes-sports-health/

This video is presented by T-Mobile: Broadband. T-Mobile: Broadband doesn't have a say in our editorial decisions, but they make videos like this one possible.

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The biggest peach myth in America - March 19, 2026 - Vox

Peaches are one of America’s most recognizable fruits. In the US, hundreds of thousands of tons are produced each year, and the fruit is closely tied to one place in particular: Georgia.

The Georgia peach is on license plates, road signs, and even county names. But today, the state doesn’t grow the most peaches. Not even close.

This video explores how peaches became a state symbol, how that reputation spread through active mythmaking, and why the Georgia peach identity has lasted even as the industry changed.

Read more about the history of the Georgia peach:

The Georgia Peach Culture, Agriculture, and Environment in the American South, William Thomas Okie https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/georgia-peach/714FA4E59376F142CD71F9E2742E6C61

“The Georgia Peach: A Labor History,” JSTOR Daily https://daily.jstor.org/the-georgia-peach-a-labor-history/

“The Un-Pretty History Of Georgia's Iconic Peach,” NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/07/21/537926947/the-un-pretty-history-of-georgias-iconic-peach

The Fuzzy History of the Georgia Peach,”Smithsonian Magazine

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/fuzzy-history-georgia-peach-180964490/

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Consciousness is a mystery - March 16, 2026 - Vox

What is consciousness, really?

We don’t know. Scientists aren’t sure. Philosophers can’t agree. All we have is the fact that it feels like something to be you right now. Beyond that, human consciousness remains a complete mystery.

Sean talks with Michael Pollan about his new book, A World Appears, which is about what we do and don’t know about consciousness and why it continues to be one of the great miracles of nature. They get into why consciousness has proven so hard to define, whether the self is real or just a useful fiction, what psychedelics and meditation reveal about the mind, and why even serious neuroscientists are starting to question strict materialism. Along the way, they wander into plant intelligence, AI psychosis, ego death, and the unsettling possibility that not knowing might actually be the right place to land.

Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)

Guest: Michael Pollan, author of A World Appears (@michaelpollan)

2:06 Why is consciousness hard to define?

6:45 The evolutionary purpose of consciousness

16:39 AI and consciousness

18:26 Is the ‘self’ an illusion?

25:24 The endpoint of consciousness

33:30 Becoming less enamoured with the ego

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Bernie vs. the billionaires | Today, Explained - March 14, 2026 - Vox

Sen. Bernie Sanders has a whole new reason to go after the world’s billionaires. This week, we ask the longtime Independent senator from Vermont about his proposed annual wealth tax and how he plans to rein in AI.

He has called for a moratorium on AI data centers. But with aggressive actions like that, does he think the Democratic Party runs the risk of getting left behind when it comes to AI?

Sen. Sanders recently introduced his Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act, a 5 percent annual wealth tax on anyone making more than a billion dollars. It’s less than a thousand people, but they are some very big names.

Elon Musk would pay up to $40 billion under the law. Mark Zuckerberg about $11 billion. But Sen. Sanders said it would fund up to $3,000 in direct payments for anyone living in a household that makes less than $150,000.

This bill has little chance of becoming law. President Trump would almost certainly veto it, and it’s a hard chance it wouldn’t even get through Congress. But the effort speaks to something that’s been growing among the American public: disillusion with the wealthiest among us and the billionaire class. Sen. Sanders is sending out a signal for the 2026 elections — and for the 2028 presidential election, too.

00:00 Intro

02:10 Response to attacks on Iran

04:30 Wealth tax on billionaires

11:11 Moratorium on data centers

14:30 Impact of AI

17:36 Future of Democratic Party

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