Warning: This video contains footage of fish being killed.⁣ ⁣ If you’ve never thought about how your #sushi or fried fish get to your plate, consider this: There’s a better way to kill a fish — both for the fish, and for people who eat fish.⁣ ⁣ Most fish die the same way — slow suffocation in the open air. It’s easy for fishers, but it causes fish a lot of stress and floods their bodies with chemicals like cortisol, adrenaline, and lactic acid. Those chemicals make the fish taste bad, smell “fishy,” and rot quickly. Because most fish are killed this way, it's probably the only way you've ever consumed fish.⁣ ⁣ But there’s a four-step Japanese method called #ikejime that could provide a better alternative. It involves sharp knives and a “brain spike.” Not only does this process result in a quicker, less stressful death for the fish, it allows the fish to develop tastier, more complex flavors over time.⁣ ⁣ What do you think of the ikejime method? Let us know in the comments below, and for more videos on lesser-known environmental and #animalrights topics, visit youtube.com/Vox.

If you’re feeling old these days, you’re not the only one.⁠ ⁠ Something is happening online: It’s become fashionable for objectively young people to say that they feel hideously, grotesquely old. On Twitter, 17-year-olds go viral for feeling ancient compared to the middle schoolers on their timelines. On Instagram, meme accounts share images of the Golden Girls captioned with “me watching TikTok.” On TikTok itself, college kids act as though they’re too washed to be on the app at all.⁠ ⁠ So why, then, do young people say they feel so old? There is a case to be made that everyone in their late teens and 20s — often a time of seismic life upheaval — experiences some degree of a rapidly fading youth. For many, it’s the first time they’re without financial support, the first experience living without family, or their first time in the workforce. For others who’ve been working to support their families from a young age, they’re grieving a lost youth and an uncertain future.⁠ ⁠ But, Rebecca Jennings (@rebexxxxa) argues, there's also a case to be made that the feeling of being so old, so fast, is particularly resonant right now. “That people in their 20s still feel used and tossed out is not because they are suddenly being confronted with teenagers on TikTok,” she said. “But because of our failure to support young people in their pursuit of a fulfilling life: to help them out of student debt, to provide affordable housing, to offer jobs with actual benefits. The sad part is not that we are old. It’s that we’re too old for this shit.” To read Jennings’s full story on why you probably feel so old right now, head to the link in bio.

President Trump’s town hall is not the first time he has touted a robust economy as one of the biggest successes of his presidential term. But that wasn’t a financial boom Trump created. It was one he inherited, and one that slowed and then collapsed on his watch.⁠ ⁠ During the first three years of the Trump administration, the economy added slightly fewer jobs per month than during the last three years of the Obama administration — 182,000 jobs a month vs. 224,000 jobs a month. The first three years of the Trump economy look like the last three years of the Obama economy, albeit with somewhat less job growth. ⁠ ⁠ The US has not hit 160 million jobs under Trump, however. The country was at nearly 159 million jobs in February 2020, before the pandemic began. But once Covid-driven lockdowns began to sweep the nation, America lost roughly 25 million jobs between February and April. The country has since rebounded to 147 million jobs as of September, but that’s still fewer than at the beginning of Trump's term. #Election2020

At President Trump’s town hall on Thursday, he congratulated his administration for its “amazing job” on the national coronavirus response. The reality of the country’s situation tells a drastically different story.⁠ ⁠ From the start of the pandemic, Trump has deliberately downplayed the coronavirus, demanded states reopen too quickly, punted problems with testing and tracing down to local and state governments with more limited resources than the federal government, mocked masks, and tried to politicize public health institutions instead of letting science lead the response.⁠ ⁠ It’s these failures, according to public health experts, that help explain America’s massive coronavirus epidemic. The US has surpassed more than 217,000 Covid-19 deaths — more than any other country. When controlling for population, the US hasn’t had the highest death rate for Covid-19, but it’s among the top 20% of developed nations, and has seven times the death rate of the median developed country. America’s coronavirus failures are a direct result of the Trump administration’s, and any framing of America as a pandemic “winner” is simply inaccurate. #Election2020

Reminder: Today's the last day to complete your #2020census! Door-to-door field operations end today, while the internet self-response option will be open until October 16, 5:59 am ET (that’s to give Hawaiians a deadline of 11:59 pm, October 15). Why should you care about the census? If you live in the US, your life will be affected one way or another by the census results. The census count affects everything from how many seats in the House of Representatives a state gets to how trillions of dollars in federal funds are distributed to communities across the country for the next 10 years. That money goes to things like Medicaid, roads, education, assistance for lower-income families, and environmental programs. In addition to mailing in a form, the 2020 census has an online option too. To fill it out, go to www.my2020 census.gov, click “start questionnaire,” and enter your 12-digit census ID you should have received in the mail. Don’t have your census ID? Simply navigate to the website’s “if you do not have a Census ID, click here” button on the login page to answer a few more questions about your address. And no, you will not be asked about your citizenship status. You can also respond to the census by phone. Start by calling (844)-330-2020 to answer the questionnaire. For more info, follow the link in bio.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett declined to give a clear response to a question that shouldn’t have been hard for her to answer during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) whether “the Constitution gives the president of the United States the authority to unilaterally delay an election under any circumstances,” Barrett punted:⁠ ⁠ “Well, Senator, if that question ever came before me, I’d need to hear arguments from the litigants and read briefs and consult with my law clerks and talk to my colleagues and go through the opinion-writing process,” she said. “So, you know, if I give off-the-cuff answers, then I would be basically a legal pundit, and I don’t think we want judges to be legal pundits. I think we want judges to approach cases thoughtfully and with an open mind.”⁠ ⁠ It’s standard practice for #SCOTUS nominees to avoid weighing in on hot-button issues during their confirmation hearings. But whether Trump has the power to delay an election isn’t a hot-button issue. The law is clear: The president doesn’t have this power. The only way the date of the election could be changed would be through an act of #Congress — not the result of a sitting president's decision-making. #Election2020⁠

The Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett kicked off on Monday, despite the recent concerns about coronavirus exposure at the Capitol — and the fast-approaching general election. Featuring a series of opening statements from senators and Barrett herself (traditionally, the nominee doesn’t actually face questions until the second day), Monday’s hearing set the stage for intensive questioning to come this week.⁣ ⁣ In her opening remarks, Barrett didn’t touch on specific cases or issue areas, but emphasized that she views the Court’s role as a body that’s not intended to create policy — a commonly used Republican talking point. “Courts have a vital responsibility to enforce the rule of law, which is critical to a free society,” Barrett said. “But courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life.”⁣ ⁣ Overall, much of the hearing proceeded as if it were ordinary, in spite of the surreal circumstances. Indeed, lawmakers including Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris emphasized that this hearing was taking place against the backdrop of a rushed process and an ongoing stalemate over stimulus, which Republicans have not prioritized to the same degree as a judicial nominee. “Nothing about this today is normal,” said Booker.⁣ ⁣ Follow the link in bio to stay updated on Vox’s coverage of Barrett’s hearing this week.

How did Christopher Columbus end up with a national holiday and a permanent place in American mythology?⁣ ⁣ Columbus is all over the US. There are statues in his honor, his (factually inaccurate) legacy is taught in classrooms nationwide, and more than 50 cities, towns, and counties are named after him — even though he never even set foot in North America.⁣ ⁣ For centuries, the destruction and disease Columbus ushered into the Americas have been set aside, allowing the myth of a pioneering sailor who proved the world was round to embed itself in US culture. As his involvement with the mass deaths of Native people — who lived in North America for centuries before Columbus “discovered” the continent — continues to gain attention, his story is being recast in a new, colonialist light.⁣ ⁣ Watch this video to understand how Columbus became a US icon — and why there are so many people pushing to celebrate #IndigenousPeoplesDay instead. #AmericanHistory

Vermont is legalizing marijuana sales for recreational purposes, making it the 11th state to do so in the US.⁠ ⁠ Marijuana still remains illegal under federal law. But starting with President Barack Obama’s administration, the federal government has generally allowed states to legalize cannabis with minimal federal interference.⁠ ⁠ Supporters of marijuana legalization argue that it eliminates the harms of marijuana prohibition: the hundreds of thousands of arrests around the US, the racial disparities behind those arrests, and the billions of dollars that flow from the black market for illicit marijuana to drug cartels that then use the money for violent operations around the world.⁠ ⁠ Opponents, meanwhile, claim that legalization will enable a huge marijuana industry that will market the drug irresponsibly. They point to America’s experiences with the alcohol and tobacco industries in particular, which have built their financial empires in large part on some of the heaviest consumers of their products. This could result in far more people using pot, even if it leads to negative health consequences.⁠ ⁠ To learn more about the national legal debate surrounding #weed, go to the link in bio.

President Donald Trump should be isolating right now, and Vice President Mike Pence should be quarantining, not attending #debates, according to @cdcgov guidelines.⁣ ⁣ Patients who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 are supposed to — per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocol — isolate for at least 10 days since they first noticed they were sick or tested positive and until their symptoms have improved, including no fevers for at least 24 hours. In cases like Trump’s that required hospitalization, that isolation period may need to last even longer.⁣ ⁣ And even though Pence has tested negative for the coronavirus, the CDC stipulates that if a person comes into close contact with someone known to have a coronavirus infection, defined as being within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes, that person should get tested and quarantine for 14 days — even if they test negative and don’t develop symptoms.⁣ ⁣ Asymptomatic people can still spread the coronavirus, and given Pence’s frequent exposure to Trump and other Republic officials who have tested positive, it’s hard to believe the vice president doesn’t meet the CDC’s standard for quarantining. As for Trump, supposing he started experiencing symptoms Thursday, October 1, he’s still within the window of time where he could possibly be contagious. If the White House wants to prevent more coronavirus infections, it’s not off to a strong start.

“I will not sit here and be lectured by the vice president on what it means to enforce the laws of our country,” Sen. Kamala Harris said, responding to Vice President Mike Pence's critiques of her criminal justice record at Wednesday's vice presidential debate.⁣ ⁣ Turning the tables on Pence, who insinuated that Harris wants to undermine law enforcement and “our African American neighbors and minorities,” Harris defended her prosecutorial background — on which she’s faced scrutiny from progressive activists as well — and questioned why he was attempting to lecture her on an area where she’s an expert.⁣ ⁣ Harris concluded her final point by reminding viewers that — despite Pence’s expressions of support for Black Americans — it was just last week that President Trump refused to condemn white nationalists at the presidential debate. “This is who we have in the president of the United States,” Harris said plainly. “And Americans deserve better.”

“Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking.”⁠ ⁠ During Wednesday’s vice presidential debate, Vice President Mike Pence interrupted Sen. Kamala Harris 16 times, based on data from NBC, while she interrupted him nine times. Both are a far cry from how frequently President Trump did the same to former Vice President Joe Biden last week and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, though Wednesday’s breakdown still speaks to a broader dynamic of male candidates being willing to talk over female ones.⁠ ⁠ This pattern isn't confined to politics, either: According to a 2014 study from George Washington University, men interrupted 33% more when they were speaking with a woman versus a man, and women didn’t interrupt to the same degree.⁠ ⁠ For many women viewers, Pence’s approach and demeanor throughout the debate — including his unwillingness to answer questions posed to him about pivotal issues such as health care, while pressing Harris to provide responses to him — echoed an all-too-familiar pattern of being talked over and dismissed by men in the workplace. #Election2020⁠