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BAK NewsThe Explainer Desk
The story behind the story.

Jordan Pike

Writer and researcher behind The Explainer Desk.

Jordan Pike is a research-obsessed writer from Illinois and the author of every explainer on BAK News. The whole method here is simple, if a little unfashionable: read the primary documents — GAO reports, Federal Reserve releases, Census tables, court opinions, agency rulemakings — and then explain what they actually say in plain English, so readers don't have to wade through 200 pages of appendices to understand their own grocery bill.

Jordan doesn't claim credentials that don't exist, and doesn't need to: every article cites the primary sources it's built on, in a "Primary Sources" list you can check yourself. If a number appears in a piece, it was verified against the agency that published it, with the year stated in the text. When a topic is genuinely contested — housing policy, the Fed, election rules — the job is to explain the mechanics and lay out the main perspectives fairly, not to pick a side. That approach is written down in the site's Editorial Standards, including a corrections policy.

Questions, corrections, or a system you'd like to see explained? Get in touch.

No invented credentials — the primary-source list at the end of each piece is the credential.

All explainers by Jordan Pike

31 explainers

A grocery produce display of peppers, tomatoes, limes and lemons with shelf price tags.

Money & Economy

How the Consumer Price Index Is Actually Measured

Nov 3, 2026 · 9 min read

A divided highway with dense, slow traffic on one side and light traffic on the other.

Everyday Mysteries

Why Traffic Jams Happen From Nothing

Oct 30, 2026 · 9 min read

Close-up of plain black over-ear headphones resting on a desk.

How Streaming Royalties Flow

Oct 27, 2026 · 8 min read

Great Lakes cargo freighters moored side by side in icy water for winter maintenance.

Money & Economy

Old Laws Quietly Shaping Your Costs

Oct 23, 2026 · 9 min read

Weathered shipping containers in teal, rust, blue and pink lined up in a yard.

Money & Economy

How Ports Work

Oct 20, 2026 · 10 min read

An ornate wooden apothecary cabinet lined with rows of glass medicine bottles.

Money & Economy

Why US Drug Prices Differ From Everywhere

Oct 16, 2026 · 7 min read

An emergency dispatch console with a wall of monitors, maps and a desk phone, the dispatcher seen from behind.

The 911 System: The 10 Minutes After You Call

Oct 13, 2026 · 8 min read

A white weather balloon lifting off over open plains beside a truck with instrument masts.

How Weather Forecasts Are Made

Oct 9, 2026 · 7 min read

Gothic stone university buildings and a clock tower around a green quad under a blue sky.

Money & Economy

Why College Costs What It Costs

Oct 6, 2026 · 7 min read

A hand holds a chip card to a handheld payment terminal whose screen reads Tap, Insert, Swipe.

How Payments Move in the 3 Seconds After You Tap

Oct 2, 2026 · 7 min read

The U.S. Capitol dome rising above its columned central front under a clear blue sky.

How Government Works

How a Bill Really Becomes a Law in 2026

Sep 29, 2026 · 7 min read

A row of round yellow cheese wheels aging on a wooden shelf.

Everyday Mysteries

Why American Cheese Is in Government Caves

Sep 25, 2026 · 7 min read

Copper pennies spilling out of a glass jar lying on its side on a gray carpet.

How Government Works

How Social Security's Money Actually Flows

Sep 22, 2026 · 7 min read

A round street clock on a black post in front of a glass office tower under a blue sky.

Everyday Mysteries

Daylight Saving Time: Why It's So Hard to Kill

Sep 18, 2026 · 7 min read

Overhead view of a warehouse floor with conveyor lines and stacks of cardboard boxes.

How Amazon Delivery Actually Works

Sep 15, 2026 · 7 min read

A wooden utility pole with crossarms and cables against a clear blue sky.

Why Your Internet Bill Is What It Is

Sep 11, 2026 · 7 min read

The U.S. Capitol under grey winter skies, with patches of snow and bare trees in front.

How Government Works

The Electoral College, Mechanically

Sep 8, 2026 · 7 min read

A row of grey rural mailboxes on metal posts along a sunny dirt road.

How Government Works

How the Census Decides Money and Power for a Decade

Sep 4, 2026 · 7 min read

Rows of brown eggs sitting in a gray molded-pulp egg tray.

Money & Economy

Why Eggs? America's Most Volatile Grocery Price

Sep 1, 2026 · 7 min read

An empty university lecture hall with tiered rows of wooden seats facing chalkboards.

Money & Economy

How Student Loans Work Mechanically

Aug 28, 2026 · 7 min read

A vintage elevated view of a sprawling multi-level highway interchange with looping ramps and trucks.

How Government Works

The Interstate Highway System

Aug 25, 2026 · 8 min read

Overhead view of a supermarket produce department with long tables of colorful fruit and vegetables.

Money & Economy

Why Grocery Prices Don't Come Back Down

Aug 22, 2026 · 7 min read

An airliner wing seen through a cabin window over dark land at sunset.

How Airlines Decide What Your Seat Costs

Aug 22, 2026 · 8 min read

A newly built two-story dark gray house with a wide green lawn under a blue sky.

Money & Economy

The US Housing Shortage

Aug 22, 2026 · 8 min read

Tall fluted stone columns and arches along a grand classical facade in Washington, D.C.

Money & Economy

How the Fed Actually Moves Your Interest Rates

Aug 22, 2026 · 8 min read

A made, unused hospital bed beside wall-mounted equipment and a small vase of pink flowers.

Everyday Mysteries

Why American Healthcare Bills Look Like That

Aug 22, 2026 · 7 min read

The lit U.S. Capitol dome at night with a full moon glowing beside it.

How Government Works

What the Debt Ceiling Actually Is

Aug 22, 2026 · 8 min read

How Government Works

How Elections Are Actually Counted

Aug 22, 2026 · 8 min read

A cappuccino on a wooden café counter beside a service bell and a spike of order slips.

Everyday Mysteries

Why Tipping Took Over America

Aug 22, 2026 · 8 min read

Server racks tangled with network cables in a data center, a technician seen from behind.

How Credit Bureaus Got to Know Everything About You

Aug 22, 2026 · 8 min read

A yellow subway train at an empty, polished underground platform under a starry blue ceiling.

How Government Works

Why US Cities Can't Just Build More Trains

Aug 22, 2026 · 7 min read