Axios Re:Cap

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022.  Axios cofounder and CEO Jim VandeHei joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to talk about what journalists got right and wrong in 2021 and what challenges lie ahead for the industry next year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022. Alison Snyder, managing editor and author of Axios Science, joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to discuss a major research trend that flew under the radar this year: increased public and private funding for trials looking into therapeutic psychedelics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios Re:Cap presents a conversation between Axios Today host Niala Boodhoo and Axios Tel Aviv reporter Barak Ravid about the third season of How It Happened: Trump's Big Deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022.  Policy and demographics reporter Stef Kight joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to discuss the immigration challenges President Biden faces and how his policies are playing out at the U.S. southern border and among his critics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022.  Health care reporter Caitlin Owens joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to discuss living alongside COVID in 2021 and all of the vaccine, antiviral and variant developments this year brought. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022.  Felix Salmon, Axios’ chief financial correspondent and author of Axios Capital, joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to talk about why nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are now mainstream and his predictions for the future of blockchain technologies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. economy dominated so much of the news in 2021. Just this week we learned that wholesale inflation in November rose at a record rate from a year ago. Axios' Courtenay Brown wraps up the year in economic news, and looks ahead to the new year. Plus, how one church in Mayfield, Kentucky is helping its neighbors with tornado recovery. And, tips on managing mental health this winter. Guests: Dr. Jessica Stern, clinical psychologist and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health; Minister Tyler Alverson of Seven Oaks Church of Christ in Mayfield, KY; Axios' Courtenay Brown. Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Lydia McMullen-Laird, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022.  Miriam Kramer, author of Axios Space and host of How It Happened: The Next Astronauts, joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to discuss the space missions that made headlines this year and where the private space industry is headed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s been a breakthrough in the push to punish the Chinese government for genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. A new piece of bipartisan legislation is expected to end up on President Biden’s desk. Plus, pro sports braces for Omicron. And, the impact of Black Lives Matter over the last 18 months. Guests: Axios' Zach Basu, Jeff Tracy and Russ Contreras. Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Lydia McMullen-Laird, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Jayk Cherry, and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893. Go Deeper: White House says Biden will sign Uyghur forced labor bill Omicron threatens to massively disrupt sports world The slow wheels of justice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022. Alayna Treene, political reporter and co-author of Axios Sneak Peek, joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to talk about her experience covering Congress in 2021 and where things stand heading into next year's midterms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday was a historic day in the Middle East. The Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, met the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed during the first ever official visit to the UAE from Israel. This took place 15 months after the Abraham Accords, the biggest breakthrough in Middle East Peace in a quarter century, normalized diplomatic relations between Israel, the UAE and three other Arab countries. And, the creator economy boomed in 2021. Plus, federal student loans are coming back. Guests: Axios' Barak Ravid and Sara Fischer. Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Lydia McMullen-Laird, Jayk Cherry, and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022.  Sara Fischer, author of Axios Media Trends, joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to discuss why the Facebook Papers' news cycle was so bad for Facebook — and where its parent company, Meta, goes from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been 566 days since George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer. His death spurred millions of people across the globe to protest in support of Black lives. We examine the impact in three locations: United Kingdom, Mexico and Nigeria. Guests: Aba Amoah, co-founder of Justice for Black Lives, Alice Krozer, professor at the Center for Sociological Research at the College of Mexico and Chika Okeke-Agulu, director of the African studies program at Princeton University and professor of art and archeology. Credits: "Axios Today" is brought to you by Axios and Pushkin Industries. This episode was produced by Nuria Marquez Martinez and edited by Alexandra Botti. Alex Sugiura is our sound engineer. Julia Redpath is our executive producer. Special thanks to editor-in-chief Sara Kehaulani Goo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Online grocery delivery is a booming business thanks to the pandemic, but there are hidden costs to 10- to 15-minute grocery delivery, including a toll on how urban space is used. Host Erica Pandey discusses what it takes to make these services possible with Greg Lindsay, a senior fellow at MIT’s Future Urban Collectives Lab. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hedge fund billionaire and antiquities collector Michael Steinhardt will have to repatriate 80 objects in his collection, all collected illegally. This case shines a spotlight on the problem of looters who steal antiquities, the dealers who trade in them, and the collectors who hoard them. Host Felix Salmon is joined by antiquities researcher Christos Tsirogiannis of Aarhus University in Denmark, who worked with law enforcement on the Michael Steinhardt case. Editor's note: The original audio and web copy for this episode stated that Michael Steinhardt had to repatriate 80 stolen objects. The total is 180, not 80. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon Web Services, which faced an outage yesterday, caused problems for streaming, gaming, and even security apps and devices.  Host Erica Pandey is joined by Axios’ technology reporter Ashley Gold to discuss why this happened and what this outage could tell us about the future of cloud storage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The New York Times, Buzzfeed and Gannett all find themselves embroiled in union fights with their employees that are playing out publicly. Host Felix Salmon is joined by Sara Fischer to discuss what we know about the union fights at these three companies and what they tell us about broader tensions between employees and management in the workforce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Omicron COVID variant shattered any expectations that a busy holiday season could bring a rebound to pre-pandemic levels of international travel.  Host Felix Salmon is joined by Axios What’s Next reporter Joann Muller to discuss travel bans, border closures and new testing requirements that are impacting international air travel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two storylines have emerged from the latest jobs numbers. Far fewer jobs were added to the U.S. economy in November than economists expected, yet the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2%.Erica Pandey is joined by Washington Post economic columnist Catherine Rampell to dig into these numbers and how two very different economic indicators can coexist — and how they could influence Federal Reserve officials. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — a case that offers a rare opportunity for the majority-conservative court to strike down the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. Host Erica Pandey is joined by MSNBC columnist Chris Geidner to understand why those in favor of abortion access are concerned by what they heard in court and where this case could be headed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first case of Omicron variant COVID-19 has been detected in the U.S. just one week after the variant was first reported to the World Health Organization. Concern about the variant has led to global action including travel restrictions, but there are still a lot of unknowns, like whether it causes more severe illness or evades the protections afforded by vaccination.  Axios Re:Cap host Erica Pandey examines what we know, what we don’t know and what to expect in the coming weeks with former CDC acting director and president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Richard Besser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Axios investigation found that Airbnb has over a dozen properties listed for rent in China's Xinjiang region on land owned by a paramilitary group that has been sanctioned by the U.S. government for complicity in genocide. Axios China author Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian joins host Erica Pandey to discuss how these listings expose Airbnb to regulatory risk under U.S. law and raise important questions about how U.S. companies operate abroad, especially in China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios business reporters Erica Pandey and Hope King examine how one corporate leader stepped into her role just before the pandemic and kept her employees motivated through a crisis. Hope speaks to Pernod-Ricard North America CEO Ann Mukherjee and joins Erica to discuss what she learned in that conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year, the Thanksgiving turkey pipeline is experiencing supply chain problems, much like many industries and delivery systems in the U.S.To understand exactly what's happening and where, Axios Local teams in Iowa, Minnesota, and Arkansas teamed up to talk to a top producers of animal feed, check in on one of the nation's biggest turkey producers and examine how one of the country's largest retailers is handling complications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As America's political polarization has intensified, it's hit many families hard, particularly when it comes time to share a holiday meal. Kirsten Powers is a USA Today columnist and CNN analyst with a new book out, "Saving Grace," which explores how people can adjust their own behavior and expectations when spending time around those with whom they don't agree. Axios Re:Cap host Margaret Talev is joined by Powers to discuss the lessons her book has for this holiday season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, the data-analytics company Tableau announced a goal to help enable 10 million data learners over the next five years. But where do they begin? And how does data literacy go beyond software? Axios Re:Cap host Hope King is joined by CEO of software company Tableau’s Mark Nelson to discuss the role of data in our future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new Morning Consult poll found that nearly 40% of people who traveled for business pre-pandemic predict they'll never take a business trip again. If that's true, it would be a massive blow to the airline industry, which has long used business travel to essentially subsidize fares.  Axios Re:Cap host Erica Pandey is joined by Morning Consult travel and hospitality analyst Lindsey Roeschke to discuss what this poll tells us about the future of air travel. Plus, a news update on the verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For three months straight, retail sales have been on the rise — despite inflation being up as well. Meanwhile, supply chain issues and consumer demand are leaving some stores with bare shelves.  To understand how all these trends can coexist and what they say about the state of retail, Axios Re:Cap host Erica Pandey is joined by retail industry analyst Neil Saunders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday that the federal government will run out of money to pay its bills as soon as Dec. 15 if the debt ceiling is not suspended or raised.One idea to ensure the government does not default, even if the debt ceiling is not raised, is to mint a trillion-dollar coin. Yellen has called this a gimmick, but some economists insist it’s a legitimate finance trick that can be used to stave off a default. Axios Re:Cap host Felix Salmon is joined by former U.S. Mint Director Philip Diehl to discuss the idea behind the trillion-dollar coin and whether it’s remotely likely to be minted in the next month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pfizer announced on Tuesday it will allow low and middle-income countries to make and distribute the company’s COVID-19 pill inexpensively. The move is an attempt to increase the global supply in 95 poorer nations.While the deal helps treat patients, the company has not made the same decision when it comes to its COVID-19 vaccine. Axios Re:Cap host Felix Salmon is joined by Axios health care business reporter Bob Herman to discuss Pfizer’s decisions and the global ramifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week brought a spate of updates on SpaceX's programs. There was a major test of its Starship engines, the spacecraft that could someday be used to bring humans to the moon. SpaceX’s Crew2 mission to and from the International Space Station returned safely. And finally, Axios Space reporter Miriam Kramer caught up with SpaceX’s first all-civilian crew about life after space.  Axios Re:Cap host Felix Salmon is joined by Miriam Kramer to unpack what all of these events tell us about SpaceX’s near-term plans, future ambitions and lines of business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Johnson & Johnson is facing two multibillion-dollar threats from court cases related to its role in the opioid epidemic and allegations its baby powder contained asbestos. To contend with the liabilities, the company is deploying legal tactics used in bankruptcy cases, including a relatively rare type of merger. Axios Re:Cap host Felix Salmon is joined by David Warfield, a partner at Thompson Coburn and a bankruptcy expert, to unpack exactly what Johnson & Johnson’s latest moves mean for these court cases and bankruptcy law at large. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wednesday’s release of the Consumer Price Index confirmed that inflation is up, with prices jumping 6.2% in the last year. It’s the largest increase the U.S. has experienced in three decades, and it’s certain to impact not just how consumers are spending but also how they vote.  Axios Re:Cap host Felix Salmon digs into what these numbers could mean and how they might sway consumers and voters with Axios political reporter Hans Nichols. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

General Electric was once considered the most valuable company in the world, a conglomerate that spanned industries and was respected specifically for its management prowess. But over the last two decades, the company has imploded in slow motion. On Tuesday, GE announced it would break into three distinct companies, marking the beginning of the end for the multinational behemoth. Axios Re:Cap host Felix Salmon is joined by Ted Mann, journalist and co-author of Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the fall of General Electric. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic-era shift towards work-from-home has put an unprecedented demand on housing markets in cities like Charlotte, North Carolina. Axios Re:Cap host Felix Salmon digs into how this hot housing market dynamic is playing out on the ground, what factors are at play and how they interact with Axios Charlotte reporter Danielle Chemtob. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic and its impact on the economy have given President Biden a rare opportunity to spend so big it would expand key programs all Americans rely on. To understand how Biden’s spending packages stack up against FDR’s New Deal of the 1930s, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s notion of the Interstate highway system and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society, Axios Re:Cap host Margaret Talev is joined by historian and author Julian Zelizer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden Thursday announced a Jan 4, 2022, deadline for vaccine mandate compliance for companies with over 100 workers. Axios Re:Cap host Margaret Talev digs into what this deadline will mean for employers, workers and especially those who work in health care settings with Axios Vitals author and health care editor Tina Reed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following Democrat losses in an off-year election cycle Tuesday night, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi Wednesday afternoon sent around a “Dear Colleague” letter intended to rally Democrats on Capitol Hill.  To understand the message Pelosi sent and where her party’s progressive and moderate factions go from here, Axios Re:Cap host Margaret Talev is joined by Axios Congressional reporter Alayna Treene. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A slew of revelations about Facebook’s internal decision-making had many thinking the tech giant could face additional scrutiny and regulations. Instead, it appears in the wake of those stories, Facebook will plow ahead with its plans to play a bigger and more integral role in the lives of millions who use its services and platforms.  Axios Re:Cap host Margaret Talev is joined by Axios technology managing editor Scott Rosenberg to discuss what Facebook’s rebrand tells us about its plans to expand. Plus, Margaret lays out what Axios will be watching for from tonight’s election results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday kicked off COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference. More than 100 world leaders are meeting in Glasgow, and this year’s gathering is more crucial than ever. Scientists are warning that time is running out to avoid more devastating climate change impacts over the coming decades. Is this the last chance to make a dent in global emissions?  Axios Re:Cap talks with climate and energy reporter Andrew Freedman on what to look out for at this year’s COP26. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

College admissions are theoretically based on high GPAs, test scores and strong admissions essays. But there’s another way students get accepted through legacy admissions, which wealthy students with alumni families get admitted to universities through their connections. Could we see more top-tier universities close this side door for wealthy students? Axios Re:Cap talks with chief financial correspondent and author of the weekly Axios Capital newsletter Felix Salmon on legacy admissions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a labor shortage plaguing industries across the board, as millions of people left the workforce during the pandemic or are switching careers. A new report from Indeed says interest in child care roles has gone down 15% since before COVID. How long will the pandemic affect working parents? Axios Re:Cap talks with Northeastern University economics professor Alicia Modestino about the state of child care in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic has had many older Americans feeling lonely and turning to online dating websites to find a connection, but many were left with broken hearts and empty bank accounts. The FTC reports that a record $304 million dollars were lost on online romance scams in 2020. How can the most vulnerable be protected? Axios Re:Cap talks with Washington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary, who’s been reporting on online romance scams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Firearms purchases have spiked in the U.S. over the last year. The FBI conducted more than 39 million firearm background checks in 2020. And many states have either passed major gun safety laws or gun rights laws. Could we see federal action on gun control in the near future? Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ politics reporter Stef Kight on state gun laws. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s been a lot of big news on COVID vaccines and boosters recently, and it's likely to change how the pandemic plays out this winter. While experts are predicting the colder months won’t see the same surge of COVID cases as last year, there are still a host of unknowns. Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ health care editor and author of Axios Vitals newsletter Tina Reed about the latest vaccine news and what it means for us all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic hit thousands of firms across the country, especially those in the service sector. Hertz filed for bankruptcy and Airbnb laid off a quarter of its employees. So how were these companies able to thrive after knocking on death’s door?Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ chief financial correspondent and author of the weekly Axios Capital newsletter Felix Salmon on the “lazarus” companies of the pandemic-era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indocin, an anti-inflammatory rectal suppository that treats arthritis, once cost $198 for a box of 30 in 2008. And, today -- that same box now costs more than $10,000. That’s 52 times higher over the span of 10 years! How does this even happen? Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ health care business reporter Bob Herman skyrocketing drug prices and why it matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost 50% of Latinos in the U.S. owned a home in 2020, according to a report from the group monitoring U.S. Hispanic wealth creation. But Latinos are still 2.3 times more likely to be in forbearance and 1.5 times more likely to be delinquent on payments than white borrowers. Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ race and justice reporter Russell Contreras on the uptick in Latino home ownership and the financial troubles Latinos are also experiencing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The recent Financial Times reporting that China launched a possible nuclear-capable hypersonic missile this past summer is complicated. China says it was a routine spacecraft test, but the launch caught U.S. intelligence by surprise. Should we be thinking about this in terms of a new Cold War? Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian on what all this means for U.S.-China relations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today marks the beginning of a student journalism project that’s had students investigating the role American newspapers played in promoting lynchings and other racist violence from Reconstruction through the 1960s.  Axios Re:Cap talks with Washington Post writer and associate professor of journalism at the University of Maryland DeNeen Brown on working with the students and her reporting on the 1921 Tulsa massacre that inspired the project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On our latest installment of our Hard Truths series, we look at how faulty technology is making its way into the U.S. immigration system. Guests: Chaz Arnett, law professor at the University of Maryland and Miguel. Credits: "Axios Today" is brought to you by Axios and Pushkin Industries. This episode was produced by Nuria Marquez Martinez and edited by Alexandra Botti. Jeanne Montalvo is our sound engineer. Dan Bobkoff is our executive producer. Special thanks to editor-in-chief Sara Kehaulani Goo, executive editor Aja Whitacker-Moore and managing editor for technology Scott Rosenberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The global energy crisis is becoming a bigger problem for the economy. The Consumer Price Index -- the best way to measure inflation in the U.S. -- jumped 5.4 percent in September compared to last year -- that’s according to new data released this week. How is the Federal Reserve and the Biden administration reacting to this latest data? Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon who’s been reporting on the latest consumer price index data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week Snapchat launched a new module -- called Run for Office Mini -- that helps young people run for local offices. And so far -- more than 2 million Snapchat users have engaged with the platform. Could this inspire the next generation of politicians? Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ political reporter Alexi McCammond about why Snapchat is entering this realm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2020, the U.S. poverty rate declined as a result of stimulus checks and unemployment aid. What also helped in the decline? There was also an increase in cash programs from charities. Could “cash-in-hand” be a long-term solution to end poverty? Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ future correspondent Bryan Walsh on how philanthropic organizations are using cash assistance and what cash can’t fix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senators at the Facebook hearing last week used an analogy we’ve all heard before -- Big Tech is having a Big Tobacco moment. Are the harmful effects of social media sites like Facebook and Instagram that clear cut? Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ chief technology correspondent Ina Fried about how Big Tech compares to Big Tobacco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here’s a shocking statistic: Within five years of a heart attack, nearly half of women will die compared to 36% of men, that’s according to the American Heart Association. And now, researchers are discovering a strong link between psychological stress and heart disease, concerning cardiologists who see an increase in stress amongst women during the pandemic. Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ health care reporter Marisa Fernandez on how heart disease disproportionately impacts women AND how the pandemic has made things even worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At least half a million people are known to be homeless in the U.S. -- and the pandemic complicated efforts around the country to keep people housed. But - cities are still trying to fix this. Washington D.C is doing something different -- a pilot program offering one-year leases to unhoused residents in the city. Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ D.C. reporter Chelsea Cirruzzo who’s been reporting on how the pilot program has gone this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South Dakota has become a haven for an estimated $360 billion for the wealthy, according to the leaked financial documents in the Pandora Papers. Even though it’s one of the least populated states in the U.S., it now ranks as one of the top tax haven jurisdictions. Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon, who’s been reporting on what the Pandora Papers revealed about South Dakota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Energy prices are are going up around the world, as extreme weather becomes the norm and more people are on the move after long stretches of pandemic lockdown.China and India are facing an electricity crisis, while prices for oil and natural gas roughly doubled over the past year. In the U.S. gas prices are going up by 50%. Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ business editor Kate Marino who’s been reporting on the energy prices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook shares are down 15% from an all-time high on September 7th. That’s the biggest drop since the beginning of the pandemic. And yesterday, Facebook’s global outage may have prevented 54 billion Facebook messages from being sent and 3.75 billion fewer calling minutes on WhatsApp, according to marketing firm ABCD Agency. Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios’ media reporter Sara Fischer who’s been reporting on this, and how Facebook got to this moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adela Raz was only in her role as Ambassador to the U.S. for one month before the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan. And now she grapples with her role as an Ambassador essentially without a state and no real relationship with the Biden administration.Axios Re:Cap digs into Axios’ Jonathan Swan’s exclusive interview with Ambassador Raz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On our latest installment of our Hard Truths series, we look at how the process to get tenure at many universities in the U.S. is shutting out academics of color. Guests: Paul Harris, associate professor of education at Pennsylvania State University, and Patricia Matthew, associate professor of English at Montclair State University and editor of Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure Credits: “Axios Today” is brought to you by Axios and Pushkin Industries. This episode was produced by Nuria Marquez Martinez and edited by Alexandra Botti. Jeanne Montalvo is our sound engineer. Dan Bobkoff is our executive producer. Special thanks to executive editor Sara Kehaulani Goo, Hard Truths editor Michele Salcedo and managing editor for business Aja Whitacker-Moore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the pandemic, the way we think about work has changed. There is a newfound power of the employee, and with that has come more union organizing. Axios Re:Cap digs into what Bessemer means for unions, the history of unions in the U.S., and the dignity of a worker with author and historian Ibram X. Kendi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spotify is one of the biggest players in podcasts, and has been spending big on shows like The Joe Rogan Experience and Call Her Daddy. But the industry still very small compared to music and other types of media content. Axios Re:Cap digs into the past, present and future of the podcasting business with Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek, who also shares what he's been listening to revently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the military coup in Myanmar, to U.S. sanctions on Belarus, to violence in Venezuela. Axios Re:Cap talks with Axios' World Editor, Dave Lawler, and catches us up quick with what's going on around the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The way we make and maintain friendships has changed during the pandemic, and post-pandemic is a great time to let some go. Axios Re:Cap talks with author of Friends Forever, Suzanne Degges White, about why our friendships are changing and how to move forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world is suffering from a shortage of silicon chips, making it harder to make and buy everything from cars to home appliances. Axios Re:Cap talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo about U.S. efforts to improve domestic manufacturing, why it’s taking so long to pass the CHIPS Act and what can be done to help in the short-term. Plus, an important message from Dan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Space travel once unified Americans with the excitement of scientific discovery and wonderment. But the recent suborbital trips headlined by Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have been much more divisive, with critics accusing the billionaires of taking pricey joyrides while the Earth below them literally burns. Dan goes deeper with engineer and Virgin Galactic executive Sirisha Bandla, who flew alongside Branson, to better understand what space tourism could also mean for the future of science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Barrack, the billionaire real estate investor and close friend to former President Trump, was arrested yesterday on federal charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates. It's a case that touches the highest levels of American finance and power.Dan goes deeper with Vicky Ward, an investigative journalist who's reported Tom Barrack through her books on New York real estate, the Kushner family and her new podcast series on Jeffrey Epstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin is not environmentally friendly. It takes enormous amounts of electricity to mine and exchange cryptocurrencies..Dan digs into this conflict between climate and cryptocurrencies with Axios energy reporter Ben Geman and crypto investor Anthony Pompliano, to better understand the problem and what might be done to resolve it Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal judge in Texas last week blocked DACA, the Obama-era program that provides legal protections to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. The ruling puts more than 600,000 Dreamers in a new state of legal limbo, and stops new applicants from being approved. Dan talks with Axios politics reporter Stef Kight about what comes next, both in the courts and in Congress.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On our latest installment of our Hard Truths series, we go inside the fight to build a $2.4 billion telescope on the highest mountaintop in Hawai'i. For astronomers it would mean the chance to answer deep questions about the universe. But for indigenous Hawai'ians, it would mean the desecration of sacred land. Guests: Aurora Kagawa-Viviani, post-doctoral researcher and scientist at UH-Hilo Hawaii Cooperative studies unit at the University of Hawai'i Hilo and Axios' Miriam Kramer. Credits: "Axios Today" is brought to you by Axios and Pushkin Industries. This episode was produced by Nuria Marquez Martinez and edited by Alexandra Botti. Alex Sugiura is our sound engineer. Dan Bobkoff is our executive producer. Special thanks to Axios space editor Miriam Kramer, Executive Editor Sara Kehaulani Goo, and Hard Truths Editor Michele Salcedo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two weeks ago today, the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida collapsed. 54 people are confirmed to have died, while 86 remain missing. The collapse has begun to spark a broader conversation about aging condo buildings, which house around one out of every five Americans.  Dan talks to Peter Coy of Bloomberg Businessweek about the fundamental flaws of condo management and the conflict surrounding owners and maintenance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chinese government is going after its own Big Tech companies, with new rules around cybersecurity and listing shares on foreign exchanges. It’s also banned many of them from app stores, including ride-hail giant DiDi, which last week went public in New York. Dan talks with Rui Ma of China Tech Buzz about what’s changed in just the past few days, what it means for companies like DiDi and parallels to last year's fight between Trump and TikTok. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard Branson is scheduled to blast off this Sunday on a suborbital space flight with his company Virgin Galactic, just days before Jeff Bezos plans to ride aboard a Blue Origin spaceship. But a lot more is riding on these rockets than ambitious billionaires. Axios Re:Cap speaks with Axios Space editor Miriam Kramer about what Branson and Bezos are actually doing, how it’s different from what SpaceX is doing, and the risks these missions could pose for the future of space travel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans spend billions of dollars on July 4th food, but what we eat is changing as health and sustainability become bigger factors in our diet decisions. Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, to learn more about changing consumer tastes and what it means for the future of meat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s almost certain that America won’t meet President Biden’s goal of having 70% of all American adults at least partially vaccinated by the Fourth of July. To understand why, it’s crucial to understand who hasn’t gotten vaccinated, where they are, and why.  Dan digs into these questions with Otis Rolley III of the Rockefeller Foundation, which recently released research with Dalberg that breaks down which groups and places in the U.S. have fallen furthest behind on vaccinations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most small business stories from the pandemic are about about pivoting or perishing, but there's also been an unexpected surge in new small business creation. One example is Agua Bonita, a canned beverage company that launched last year after both of its co-founders were laid off. Dan talks with Agua Bonita co-founder Kayla Castañeda and Techstars founder David Cohen about what it was like for startups over the past 14 months and what recovery means for businesses that didn't even exist before COVID-19. Plus, a conversation with Wall Drug proprietor Rick Hustead. Note: This episode first aired 5/28/21. Due to platform issues that blocked it from some listeners' feeds, we are rerunning it for all listeners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pacific Northwest is experiencing record-high temperatures due to a “heat dome” that should be a once every-few-thousand-year event — but which could occur more often and with more severity due to climate change. Dan digs in with Axios climate reporter Andrew Freedman, to better understand this weather event's science, the dangers posed to human health and infrastructure, and how the definition of a "normal climate" is changing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were 4% fewer U.S. births in 2020 than in 2019, an acceleration of a long, slow decline. The report keeps getting picked up in the news, in part because conventional wisdom has generally been that it’s important for generations to replenish themselves. Dan discusses this report, how we think about birth rates and the economy, and whether a country can sustain its economy without sustaining its birth rate with Axios business reporter Hope King and with report coauthor and CDC statistician and demographer Brady Hamilton.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week was the first time Britney Spears ever personally addressed the court — and in doing so, the public — about wanting to terminate the conservatorship, controlled by her father, that she has been under since 2008. But the New York Times recently reported that her lawyer first told a court seven years ago that Britney wanted to explore having her father removed. Dan is joined by Vox.com’s Constance Grady to discuss how public concern about her conservatorship went mainstream, what we know about her situation, what this says about how our culture thinks about celebrity and mental illness, and what could come next in this case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Editorial staff of Washingtonian magazine chose to unionize today, the latest in a spate of media unionizations that is just part of a broader trend of post-pandemic tensions between employers and employees. Dan goes deeper with Jessica Sidman, a food editor at Washingtonian, about the situation at her workplace, at the restaurants she covers and if work will ever be the same. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White House today acknowledged the U.S. is unlikely to reach President Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of Americans by July 4. But meeting this goal is particularly urgent in the face of the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is highly contagious and expected to become the dominant strain in the U.S. in a matter of weeks. Dan is joined by Former CDC director Tom Frieden to discuss who is most vulnerable to this variant, what it means for vaccine makers, and what it tells us about our future living alongside this virus both short- and long-term.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iran this past weekend elected a new president, Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-liner whose political rivals weren’t even allowed on the ballot — and who has been sanctioned by the U.S. for human rights abuses. Dan talks with Axios World editor David Lawler about what Raisi’s election means for Iran’s people, who are facing economic hardship and a raging pandemic, and what it means for the nuclear deal signed by President Obama and scrapped by President Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest episode of our Hard Truths series examining systemic racism in America takes a look at the multi-billion dollar marijuana industry. Today: the obstacles that two Black Latinas had to overcome when they chose to start their own businesses in the overwhelmingly white marijuana industry. Guest: Chanda Macias, CEO of Ilera Holistic Healthcare, and Women Grow and Gia Morón, CEO of GVM Communications and president of Women Grow. Credits: "Axios Today" is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. This episode was produced by Nuria Marquez Martinez and edited by Alexandra Botti. Alex Sugiura is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Axios Denver reporter John Frank, Axios Executive Editor Sara Kehaulani Goo, Hard Truths Editor Michele Salcedo, and Executive Producer Dan Bobkoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of Juneteenth, now a federal holiday, we examine how America's economy remains marred by the legacies of slavery and racial discrimination. Dan is joined by McKinsey & Co.’s Shelley Stewart III and Michael Chui to discuss a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute and McKinsey’s Institute for Black Economy Mobility, digging into the economic inequities between Black and white Americans, including massive wage and wealth gaps, and what can be done to address them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, House lawmakers introduced a series of five bipartisan bills designed to curb the power of big tech, which seemed to target Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google in all but name. Dan speaks with Rep. David Cicilline, chair of the House antitrust committee and a sponsor on most of the bills, to learn how Congress plans to get these bills over the finish line amidst a full slate of Congressional priorities and in the wake of a bipartisan bill meant to bolster the U.S. tech sector’s ability to compete with China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America didn't have enough affordable housing before the pandemic, and the problem has only gotten worse due to a frenzied housing market and a looming end to foreclosure and eviction moratoriums. Dan digs into what can be done to increase the country's affordable housing stock, both on a policy level and in the private sector. Our guest is Colleen Briggs of J.P. Morgan Chase, which this morning issued a set of policy recommendations to bolster affordable home buying and renting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on and exacerbated the structural problems in the U.S. mental health care system — which often requires patients to seek out care and pay out of pocket for it. Demand for mental health services has skyrocketed, and therapists have repeatedly reported difficulty meeting demand.   Axios Re:Cap is joined by Chris Molaro, CEO of NeuroFlow, to discuss gaps in the mental health care system and how mental health technology has evolved in the midst of the pandemic.  Note: This episode mentions depression and suicide. If you or someone you know needs help today, you can find help at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It’s free and available 24/7: 1-800-273-8255. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sotheby’s last week auctioned off the first fine art NFT ever created, a landmark moment in the transformation of art from the physical to the digital. The winning bid was nearly $1.5 million. Axios Re:Cap goes deeper, to understand how the fine art and cryptocurrency worlds are colliding, including a conversation with Kevin McCoy, the artist whose work was just auctioned off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vice President Kamala Harris this week went on her first foreign trip since taking office, visiting Guatemala and Mexico to address what she refers to as the root causes of mass migration, after the U.S. saw the largest number of border apprehensions in 20 years. Axios Re:Cap speaks with Juan Gonzalez, special assistant to President Biden and National Security Council Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere, about what Harris accomplished, criticisms of her trip and what happens next on U.S. immigration policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal authorities this week announced that they successfully traced and recovered most of the Bitcoin that had been paid by Colonial Pipeline to a ransomware gang called DarkSide, following last month’s hack that had shut off gasoline supplies to much of the East Coast. Axios Re:Cap digs into the battle between law enforcement and crypto hackers, including what it means for future ransomware attacks and how ransomware has become a global industry of its own, with Gurvais Grigg, a 23-year FBI veteran who now serves as public sector CTO at crypto firm Chainlysis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Saturday, Democrats in America’s largest city will be asked to begin picking their nominee for mayor, a person whose influence is certain to extend beyond the five boroughs. But the voting system is different than anything New York City has used before, and there still isn’t a frontrunner. Dan digs in with Dana Rubinstein, a metro desk reporter with the New York Times, to learn more about the candidates, why crime and policing have become the top issue and what to watch heading into Saturday.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Democrats and Republicans today are expected to overwhelmingly pass a $247 billion spending package focused on competing with China on technology.  Dan is joined by California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna, who cosponsored this bill and who has been concerned about this issue and the ramifications for the U.S. of falling behind since he first campaigned for office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

West Virginia’s two Senators, Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Shelley Moore Capito, each have disproportionate power to determine America's legislative future, including on voting rights and infrastructure. Dan digs into West Virginia’s moment at the center of America’s political world with Axios congressional reporter Alayna Treene. Plus, Axios space reporter Miriam Kramer joins to discuss Jeff Bezos’s announcement that he’ll go to suborbital space on a Blue Origin rocket. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 577,000 jobs in May, which was a very strong number but below what many had been expecting. Dan unpacks the report with Axios business reporters Courtenay Brown and Felix Salmon, who go below the headline numbers and explain what it all means for President Biden’s big spending plans. Plus, we discuss Facebook's decision to ban former President Trump for another two years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. housing prices are soaring, due to a combination of ultra-low interest rates, sky-high lumber prices and a supply-and-demand imbalance brought on by the pandemic. But with the federal foreclosure moratorium just lifted, things could soon change. Dan speaks with Jeremy Wacksman, COO of real estate tech company Zillow, to better understand what the boom means for consumers and the country, and how long it might last. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the second time in as many months, a major part of America’s infrastructure has been held for ransom by cybercriminals. This time is was a hack of JBS, the nation’s largest beef producer, which was forced to take its largest processing facilities offline. Dan speaks with Laura Reiley, The Washington Post’s business of food reporter, about why the country’s meat supply chain is vulnerable, domino effects from the hack and what it all means for consumer prices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Friday announced that U.S. employers are allowed under federal law to require that workers get coronavirus vaccinations. Dan goes deeper with Carol Miaskoff, the EEOC's acting legal counsel, to learn more about the new guidance, how it interacts with state laws against such requirements and whether further guidance could be coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America’s small business community is recovering from the pandemic, but large swathes of it haven’t yet recovered. That was the message yesterday from U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabel Guzman, testifying in front of a House Financial Services subcommittee. Dan speaks with Guzman for the final of our six part America's Business Comeback series, about which small businesses still need help and what the SBA plans to do about it. Plus, the recovery view from Reckless Records' Matt Jencik in Chicago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most small business stories from the pandemic are about about pivoting or perishing, but there's also been an unexpected surge in new small business creation. One example is Agua Bonita, a canned beverage company that launched last year after both of its co-founders were laid off. Dan talks with Agua Bonita co-founder Kayla Castañeda and Techstars founder David Cohen about what it was like for startups over the past 14 months and what recovery means for businesses that didn't even exist before COVID-19. Plus, a conversation with Wall Drug proprietor Rick Hustead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buford Highway is a 10-mile stretch near Atlanta that's home to over 1,000 immigrant-owned small businesses. It's a constellation of home-away-from-homes, particularly for Asian and Latino communities. Dan speaks with Lily Pabian, executive director of the We Love Buford Highway nonprofit, about how the pandemic, the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and the nearby spa murders impacted Buford Highway's small business community. Plus, Dan is joined by Ryan Reese, a fishmonger at Pike Place Market in Seattle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the U.S. economy was staring into the pandemic abyss in March 2020, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that included the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to quickly get forgivable loans to small businesses, so they could keep workers on payrolls. Dan digs into the creation and roll out of the PPP, from the multi-day negotiations and late night phone calls to estimations of how many businesses it helped, with former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Plus, Dan is joined by First Ave CEO Dayna Frank from Minneapolis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Floyd's murder, one year ago today, and the surge of support for Black own-small businesses that followed "had an unprecedented impact," according to Shelly Bell, CEO of Black Girl Ventures. Dan speaks with Bell in the second of its six-part series America's Business Comeback, about what 2020 meant for Black-owned small businesses and where things stand today. We also share the first of our conversations with proprietors of some of America's most iconic small businesses, starting with Frank Olivieri of Pat's King of Steaks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shopping centers are where national chains rub elbows with mom and pops. Dan kicks off a new special series on America's business recovery by speaking to JP Morgan Chase Institute Co-President Chris Wheat, shopping center landlord Adam Ifshin, plus several of his tenants in an Allen, Texas property called The Villages, to understand what happened over the past year and where things stand today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back with another episode of our Hard Truths series looking at the criminal justice system in the U.S. Today. Specifically, what happens when people of color make it out of that system and try to rebuild their lives. People of color are disproportionately imprisoned in the U.S. Black people are incarcerated five times more than white people, Hispanics nearly twice as likely as white people to end up behind bars. They also face longer sentences and harsher punishments which can make finding a job and rebuilding a life outside of prison much harder. Guests: New York Secretary of State Rosanna Rosado and Justin Cordova. Credits: "Axios Today" is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. This episode was produced by Nuria Marquez Martinez and edited by Alexandra Botti. Jeanne Montalvo is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Axios Executive Editor Sara Kehaulani Goo, Hard Truths Editor Michele Salcedo, and Executive Producer Dan Bobkoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic has been a horror show for movie theaters. Some wondered if their time in the spotlight had passed for good, as new releases arrived via digital streaming services. Today, though, they've got lots of reasons for optimism.Axios Re:Cap talks with Shelli Taylor, CEO of Alamo Drafthouse, about her cinema chain's bankruptcy, her industry's battles with streamers and why she's expecting this summer to be a blockbuster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden on Thursday signed a bill aimed at reducing and tracking anti-Asian hate crimes, which have increased significantly in 2021. Axios Re:Cap digs into the legislation and why it matters with Emma Lovewell, a Peloton instructor and Asian-American who lobbied for the bill in Congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The New York Attorney General's office announced late Tuesday night that its investigation into The Trump Organization has expanded from a civil one into a criminal one. Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with David Fahrenthold, a Washington Post reporter whose beat is the Trump family's business interests, to learn how the investigation started, why it's turned criminal and what big questions remain unanswered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Images out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict depict an imbalance in military might — Israel’s Iron Dome defense system neutralizing rockets launched by Hamas, while Israel’s retaliation against Hamas has led to more than 200 Palestinian deaths, including 61 children. World leaders, including President Biden, are calling for a ceasefire. Naomi Shavin is joined by Axios Tel Aviv author Barak Ravid to discuss the context of the current strife, the political motivations of Prime Minister Netanyahu, and whether Israel’s actions this month could have long-term consequences for the political landscape there and in the US. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clinical research treating mental illness with psychedelics has been ongoing for decades, but now there's a group of companies exclusively focused on using LSD and other psychedelics to treat mental health disorders. Dan digs into the argument for legalizing prescription psychedelics, and the treacherous FDA approval path, with MindMed CEO JR Rahn, whose company recently listed on the Nasdaq. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most confounding parts of last week's abysmal jobs report was the disconnect between the unemployment and the help wanted signs plastered in the windows of almost every restaurant and retail store. Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Brian Niccol, CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grille, which just announced average starting wages of $15, to discuss pay, labor shortages and the CDC's new indoor masking guidance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon today announced plans to hire 75,000 more workers, most of whom will sign on after Jeff Bezos officially steps down as the tech giant's CEO. Axios Re:Cap talks with Brad Stone, author of a new book called "Amazon Unbound," about how Amazon may change, what Bezos does next and how he found the woman who voices Alexa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jake Levine, an attorney and former Obama administration staffer, this week was named the first-ever "chief climate officer" at the Development Finance Corp., a U.S. government group that acts a bit like a venture capital firm focused on developing countries. Axios Re:Cap speaks with Levine and Axios climate reporter Andrew Freedman about the significance of this new role, and how Levine will handle billions of dollars in financing to combat global warming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India is dealing with daily new COVID cases well above 300,000, and a new variant, first detected in India, has been declared a global concern by the World Health Organization. Political blowback and calls for a nationwide lockdown are proliferating, even after President Modi had critical Facebook posts removed.  Dan discusses the difficult and deadly situation in India, the political tensions that seem to just keep escalating, and the role of social media amid the crisis with New York Times reporter Karan Deep Singh, who is based in New Delhi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Colonial Pipeline provides around 45% of the fuel used between Florida and Maine, transporting over 100 million gallons per day. But over the weekend, a ransomware attack caused the entire pipeline to shut down. Dan digs into what we know about this attack, what it tells us about U.S. energy vulnerability, and what it means for transportation in the short term with energy expert Amy Myers Jaffe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Economists had been expecting the economy to add nearly 1 million jobs last month but it only added 266,000. Now, this speed bump in the U.S. economic recovery could change the political debate over whether or not to spend trillions of dollars on infrastructure and social services.  Dan is joined by Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon and Axios political reporter Sarah Mucha to dig into what the jobs report says about our economy and what it means for Biden’s plans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The idea of banning menthols was first floated in 2017 by then-FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, as nearly half of smokers between 12 and 17 smoke menthols. But around 85% of Black smokers prefer menthols, largely due to racially targeted marketing, and this has led to concerns about how enforcement of a ban could disproportionately impact Black Americans.   Dan digs into the history of this proposed ban, what enforcement could look like, and when it might go into effect with Scott Gottlieb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This morning, Facebook’s Oversight Board recommended that the social network maintain its suspension of former President Trump’s account, which has been in place since January 6. But it also said that Facebook must rethink the “indefinite” nature of Trump’s ban, throwing the ball back in Facebook’s court. Dan digs into the ban, the decision from the board and what’s ahead for Facebook with New York Times technology correspondent Mike Isaac. Plus, how the decision was received by Trump and his associates with Axios national political correspondent Jonathan Swan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FDA is expected to authorize the Pfizer vaccine for use in children 12-15 years old next week, a major milestone on the path to getting more Americans vaccinated. Dan digs into how vaccine trials for children are different, what’s ahead this summer and whether young kids may be eligible for vaccinations before next school year with long-time drug discovery researcher and author of the blog In The Pipeline Derek Lowe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Research shows that 55% of Americans picked up a video game during the pandemic, and by December 2020, the global gaming industry was estimated to have generated $160 billion in revenue that year. In short, gaming has never been bigger and keeps growing — and that means the stakes of gaming as a digital economy and as a social ecosystem keep getting higher. Dan is joined by Axios Gaming newsletter writers Stephen Totilo and Megan Farokhmanesh to discuss the launch of their newsletter and why gaming matters now more than ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smartphones, computers, cars and, increasingly, household appliances all run on silicon chips — but the global supply chain isn’t producing enough chips to satisfy demand, creating a shortage that could impact product availability.  Dan digs into what caused the shortage, how it could impact consumers and how it can be alleviated with Axios chief technology correspondent Ina Fried and Intel’s executive vice president and general manager of its client computing group Gregory Bryant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Endeavor, which does talent management, streaming, and also live events, went public today — and it could be an avatar for the broader in-person events industry, which is still struggling to rebound.  Dan is joined by executive chairman Patrick Whitesell to discuss how Endeavor weathered the pandemic, how they’re approaching the future of in-person events and a recent decision to bring Elon Musk onto the company board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden tonight will address a joint session of Congress, during which he will try to sell legislators and the country on his third $1 trillion-plus plan since taking office just three months ago, the American Families Plan.  Dan is joined by White House Council of Economic Advisers member Heather Boushey to dig into the plan, Biden’s speech and what a path through Congress could look like — including when tax changes could go into effect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, California state officials announced that an effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom had secured the number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot this fall. Only two governors have ever been recalled, which includes California's in 2003 — when Gray Davis was booted and Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected. Dan digs into how California politics got to this point, if this effort has its own Schwarzenegger and what we can expect to see this fall with L.A. Times staff writer Phil Willon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New data shows that around 8% of Americans who have gotten a first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines have missed their second doses. That figure, compounded with data on vaccine hesitancy more broadly, doesn’t bode well for the U.S. reaching a vaccination threshold that allows for a return to normalcy some time soon.  Dan digs into those numbers and what they tell us about vaccine hesitancy with health policy expert Dr. Zeke Emanuel, who advised President Obama and served on President-elect Biden’s COVID-19 task-force. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden’s virtual climate summit wrapped up this afternoon — and the big question is whether he managed to successfully convince the other world leaders in attendance that the U.S. can once again lead on climate change action.  Dan is joined by Axios climate and energy reporter Andrew Freedman, who shares portions of his interview with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just after midnight this past Sunday, 12 of the richest and best-known European soccer clubs announced an agreement to form what they called the Super League. By Wednesday morning, outcry from fans, politicians and other soccer organizations stopped the Super League in its tracks.  Dan is joined by Financial Times sports editor Murad Ahmed to discuss the Super League’s very short roller coaster ride, why it struck such a nerve, and how the financial motivations behind the Super League could reshape soccer even if the Super League is never revived. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on three counts in the murder of George Floyd, the question now is if the success of the prosecution’s case against Chauvin will impact future prosecutions for better or for worse.  Dan is joined by Damon Hewitt, acting president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, to discuss the prosecution’s case and whether this could mark a turning point in how other police brutality cases are handled. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Workers at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, rejected unionizing by more than a 2-1 margin earlier this month, despite a surge of national support for their efforts, including from President Biden. This followed a failed effort to get Uber, Lyft and DoorDash drivers recognized as employees and not contractors.  Dan talks to two of the organizers involved about what went wrong, legislation in Congress that might bolster the power of unions, and where organized labor goes from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As of Monday, the prosecution and defense have made their cases in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murdering George Floyd 11 months ago. Now the verdict is up to the jury. Dan is joined by Axios Twin Cities reporter Nick Halter, who is on the ground, to discuss the highlights from the trial, the decision facing the jury and what could happen when a verdict is released. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re sharing the latest episode of the Hard Truths podcast series. In this episode, we try to answer one big question: Why do fewer Latinos have health insurance when compared to others in the U.S.? Guests: Samantha Artiga, director of the racial equity and health policy program at the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Catalina Sol, executive director of La Clinica del Pueblo Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Dan Bobkoff, Justin Kaufmann, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Sabeena Singhani, Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin, Alex Sugiura and Michele Salcedo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bernie Madoff, architect of the largest Ponzi scheme in American history, died on Wednesday in federal prison, 11 years into his 150-year sentence.  Dan digs into Madoff’s crimes, what they revealed about our financial system and what changed after the scheme came crashing down with Diana B. Henriques, author of the Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgia has become the center of America's politics, in an era where state issues and officials have taken on elevated national prominence. Axios Re:Cap speaks with Georgia state Sen. Jen Jordan, a Democrat running for attorney general, about her state's time under the microscope.‪ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, began life as an academic exercise but went mainstream in part because of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which launched nearly nine years ago. Today it goes public, at a moment when bitcoin is seen more as an investment than a practical currency. Dan is joined by Coinbase President and COO Emilie Choi to discuss how the company and bitcoin got to the present moment — and what happens next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the U.S. administered nearly 7 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC and FDA this morning issued a recommendation to pause using that particular vaccine after six women developed blood clots following their vaccinations.  Dan discusses how this recommendation was likely made, why and how to understand it with Julie Morita, executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, who has served on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, as commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health, and on the Biden Covid-19 advisory board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. secured so many COVID-19 vaccine doses through its Operation Warp Speed contracts that we may soon be sitting on a surplus, even if booster shots are needed. Dan and Vanity Fair contributing editor Katherine Eban discuss her recent reporting, which revealed exactly how those contracts were structured and how the U.S. ended up with a stockpile it cannot distribute abroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan includes spending on child care facilities and elder care — and now members of his administration and allies on the hill are arguing to expand the definition of infrastructure so that it encompasses more than roads and bridges.  Dan speaks with Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who supports Biden’s plans, but calls the decision to split up family policies and jobs “a big mistake.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly one in five American adults is hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine, which could make it harder for the country to reach herd immunity. Meanwhile, the virus continues to mutate, with the CDC announcing today that the British variant is dominant in the U.S. Dan talks with Dr. Atul Gawande, author and advisor to the Biden administration, about what vaccine hesitancy means for the U.S. and the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As U.S.-based companies have spoken out against Georgia’s new voting law, some politicians on the right have pointed out that these same companies have stayed quiet on human rights violations in China — and they are alleging hypocrisy. Dan is joined by Axios China author Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian to discuss what’s happening in China, what U.S. corporations have and haven’t said, and what to make of these allegations and the expectations they set. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgia businesses have come under boycott pressure from both sides of the aisle, following last week's passage of a controversial new voting bill. Atlanta also lost Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, which now will take place in Denver. Dan and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms dig into the consequences of this law for Georgia voters and locally based businesses and what other states can learn from the situation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White House has pitched its $2 trillion infrastructure plan, and Republicans have taken a stance against using corporate tax increases to pay for it — leaving corporate America caught in the middle, especially titans of the energy industry. Dan digs into this dynamic with Barbara Humpton, president and CEO of Siemens USA, to get her thoughts on Biden’s proposal and what will come of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Reserve, over the past year, has been credited and criticized for the massive run up in asset values like housing and stocks — basically for how stocks could be going up if the economy has so many problems. Dan is joined by Courtenay Brown and Felix Salmon to discuss the Fed's mission and why it has become so central to America's economic recovery as part of a special Axios Deep Dive on America's central bank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are more than 18,000 unaccompanied minors in government custody, according to the latest figures. And over the past week, between 5,000 and 6,000 of them have been in border patrol facilities unfit for minors — a challenge further complicated by COVID-19. Dan is joined by Janet Napolitano, DHS secretary under Obama and former Arizona governor, to discuss the Biden administration’s response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UnitedMasters, a music distribution platform that feels a little like Substack for singers, yesterday raised $50 million from investors like Apple — which almost never invests in startups. Dan talks with UnitedMasters CEO Steve Stoute, known for producing albums by artists like Nas and Mariah Carey, about his company, the uncertain future of record labels and why it's important for musicians to own their own music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden on Wednesday proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure package that could transform America's physical and economic landscape. Axios Re:Cap speaks with White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein about the plan and the politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This fall, the Inspiration4 mission, chartered from SpaceX, will take four people into space who are not trained astronauts — and as of today, the full crew has been announced.  Producer Naomi Shavin and author of Axios Space Miriam Kramer discuss this unusual mission, which will carry the hopes of the entire space industry with it when it takes off in September. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dominion Voting Systems on Friday filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, its fourth following similar lawsuits filed against Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell. Dan discusses this latest lawsuit, Powell’s recent response in her lawsuit, and possible future suits with attorney for Dominion Voting Systems Tom Clare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have been mixing business and activism almost as long as Heath Bar and vanilla ice cream — more than 30 years. Now they're watching other companies follow their blueprint.  Dan asks Ben and Jerry about their legacy, the rise of corporate social activism and its recent evolutions, and, of course, their favorite flavors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House of Representatives is holding its first Big Tech hearing of 2021 on Thursday with witnesses to include Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Dan is joined by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), who represents part of Silicon Valley, to discuss what she hopes to learn and why she's more interested in algorithms than moderators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. customs officials reported a 28% increase in apprehended migrants between January and February — and the number of unaccompanied minors is up an astonishing 61%. Earlier this week, Axios published photos from inside one of the detention centers that houses many of those children. Dan and Axios politics reporter Stef Kight discuss the immigration situation at the border and what the Biden administration is trying to do about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Millions of federal student loans were provided by private banks before the practice was ended in 2010, and these were overlooked when Congress temporarily suspended principal and interest payments in last year's CARES Act. Dan goes deeper with one of these loan-holders: Molly Webster, a senior correspondent with WNYC's RadioLab, who explained her situation in an op-ed in the New York Times that has gotten a lot of attention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest episode of our Hard Truths series examining systemic racism in America takes a look at the game of lacrosse. It was played by Native Americans as far back as the 12th century. The Iroquois people called it a medicine game - it was spiritual. But this isn’t the predominant image of lacrosse today. Guest: Lyle Thompson, lacrosse player for the Iroquois Nationals. Credits: "Axios Today" is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Amy Pedulla, Justin Kaufmann, Dan Bobkoff, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Alex Sugiura and Naomi Shavin. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coca-Cola is as much a part of New York City bodegas as are corn chips and cats, but a trade group representing Latino bodega owners is threatening to boycott Coke products over the company's decision to close a Latin affairs office and some funding decisions that the group believes are inequitable. Axios Re:Cap digs into the possible boycott and what's behind it with Frank Garcia, chairman of the National Association of State Latino Chambers of Commerce and a onetime Coke ally, working together to fight against former Mayor Bloomberg's soda tax. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starbucks is something of an avatar for American consumer behavior, reflecting how we spend money and time. If you want to really know when we're post-pandemic, what happens inside a Starbucks is a pretty good barometer. Axios Re:Cap digs into Starbucks, as it approaches its 50th anniversary, with CEO Kevin Johnson. We ask him about what pandemic changes are permanent, plus its policy plans on everything from masks to employee vaccinations to remote work. Plus, his standard coffee order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over 15% of Americans 18 or older are now fully vaccinated for COVID-19, with nearly 28% having received at least one shot, and many states are loosening eligibility rules. Axios Re:Cap digs into where the vaccine rollout goes from here, and who might be getting skipped over, with Dr. Zeke Emanuel, an advisor in the Obama White House and chair of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon's fulfillment center in Bessemer, Ala. has become ground zero for the U.S. labor movement, with nearly 6,000 employees being asked to vote on unionization by March 29. Axios Re:Cap digs into what the Alabama situation means for Amazon, its workers and why it's happening now, with Alec MacGillis, author of a new book about Amazon called "Fulfillment, Winning and Losing in One-Click America." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The week of March 9, 2020, was a quickly unfolding nightmare for airline carriers like United, with grounded flights from Europe, customers canceling in record numbers and the prospect of mass furloughs.  Axios Re:Cap speaks with United CEO Scott Kirby about the toughest choices he had to make that week, conversations that occurred about grounding all domestic air travel, and writing condolence notes to the families of employees who died from COVID. Plus, we revisit what we learned from looking back and making this series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the week of March 9, 2020, Joe Biden effectively sewed up the Democratic presidential nomination. Behind the scenes, Ron Klain, who served as Ebola czar under President Obama, was advising Biden on what would become the election’s defining issue: COVID-19. Klain joins Axios Re:Cap to discuss how he advised the future president, how he felt about decisions being made by President Trump, and what it was like to be outside of the White House looking in at the start of the crisis. Plus, we revisit the race in Washington to save America’s economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was a lot going on the week of March 9, 2020, but one difficult decision stands out in Dr. Anthony Fauci’s mind clearly, as he shuttled between the White House and Capitol Hill.  Anthony Fauci joins Axios Re:Cap to discuss how he made the decision to support the ban on travel from Europe, what it was like splitting his time between advising the President and testifying on the hill, and how he thinks about the early weeks of the pandemic, when so much was unknown.  Plus, we revisit the US’s shortage of COVID tests, yet another crisis that week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 1, NY-Presbyterian Hospital accepted the first known COVID-19 patient in the New York City area. Its CEO Dr. Steven Corwin, who treated patients during the HIV and AIDs crisis, was watching the coronavirus epidemic in Italy and knew how bad things could get.  Corwin joins Axios Re:Cap to discuss the decisions he made that week in order to prepare for the surge he saw coming — in staffing, in canceling elective surgeries and in obtaining PPE. Plus, we revisit why March 11 was the day the pandemic finally felt real to many Americans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many describe the NBA’s decision to suspend its season as the moment the threat of coronavirus and its impact on our lives became real to them. Adam Silver joins Axis Re:Cap to talk about how he learned of the first covid case in the NBA, how the decision to suspend the season fell to him, and how he thinks about the consequential nature of his decision. Plus, Axios Re:Cap revisits the day Italy became a red zone and the U.S. designated its first “containment area.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles Unified is the second largest school district in the country and 80% of its students live in poverty.  Austin Beutner joins Axios Re:Cap to discuss how he made the decision to send students home, how he worked with Apple to procure half a million computers, and how he stood up one of the largest free meal programs in U.S. history — not just for students, but for anyone — which has now distributed over 110 million meals.  Plus, Axios Re:Cap revisits a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing that hinted at where the days and months were headed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook was one of the first companies to send employees home due to the pandemic, and other companies were soon looking to Facebook as an example. Sheryl Sandberg joins Axios Re:Cap to discuss her conversations with Mark Zuckerberg, to share how remote work impacted her own family and to unpack the many other decisions that had to happen at Facebook nearly simultaneously, such as how to deal with COVID-19 information on its platforms and how to help small businesses.  Plus, Axios Re:Cap revisits one moment from this date last year: a campaign rally for Bernie Sanders in Michigan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re sharing the fourth episode of the Hard Truths podcast series. In this episode, a conversation between two key Democratic lawmakers on their journey to Congress. Guest: Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY). Credits: "Axios Today" is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Carol Wu, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Dan Bobkoff, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Alex Sugiura and Michele Salcedo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American technologists have begun sounding alarm bells about the U.S. falling behind China on artificial intelligence, including when it comes to defense applications. Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Brandon Tseng, co-founder of a defense drone software startup called Shield AI, to better understand the technical, policy and ethical issues at stake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The top business story of 2021 has been stock market democratization, as hordes of younger investors have begun using mobile apps to buy shares in everything from GameStop to Google. Dan digs into this trend with Lauren Simmons, the host of the new reality series "Going Public." At 22, Simmons was the youngest-ever female trader on the New York Stock Exchange and only the second Black female trader in its history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Collectibles and art have gone digital, enabled by a new sort of technology known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Just recently, Canadian singer and visual artist Grimes earned $6 million via an NFT auction, while a maker of digital basketball cards was valued at around $2 billion by venture capitalists. Dan digs into the NFT craze with David Pakman, a partner with VC firm Venrock and one of the earliest investors in one of the first NFTs, called CryptoKitties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Affordable Care Act is still standing, despite numerous GOP efforts to repeal it and progressive pleas to expand it. Dan talks with Jonathan Cohn, a longtime health care reporter at the Huffington Post and author of a new book on the ACA called “The 10 Year War,” to learn where the law stands today and what we should expect to come next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airbnb and DoorDash went public within 24 hours of each other, yesterday released their first ever quarterly earnings reports on the same day, and are both expecting big changes to business when the pandemic recedes. In this episode, Dan and Tony Xu dig into the company’s earnings report and what’s next for DoorDash, delivery and restaurants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airbnb and DoorDash went public within 24 hours of each other, yesterday released their first ever quarterly earnings reports on the same day, and are both expecting big changes to business when the pandemic recedes. In this episode, Dan and Brian Chesky dig into the company’s earnings report and what’s next for Airbnb, travel and hospitality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Berkshire Grey, a maker of robots for e-commerce warehouses, yesterday agreed to go public via a SPAC led by John Delaney and affiliated with the VC firm of AOL founder Steve Case. Dan speaks with Delaney about what the deal tells us about the future of e-commerce, low-skilled labor and SPACs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big corporations and top CEOs are putting pressure on Congress and the White House to pass economic stimulus measures as the political debate drags on. Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Heather Higginbottom, a former Obama administration official and president of the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter, about why her organization just published its first-ever set of policy recommendations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many companies last month stopped making political donations, particularly to members of Congress who voted against certifying the presidential election results, with the movement owing much to a CEO meeting held just hours before the Capitol insurrection. Dan talks with Yale School of Management's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who convened that gathering and says CEOs are standing firm.‪ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old physician's assistant and childhood cancer survivor, today was named the second crew member for Inspiration4, which is set to be the first-ever all-civilian space flight. Dan digs into the story behind the flight, Arceneaux's selection and what Inspiration4 means for the future of space tourism with Axios Space editor Miriam Kramer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many counties, Florida’s Brevard County originally planned to use one system for COVID-19 vaccine appointments, but it didn’t work. Eventbrite is now being used to help schedule vaccinations in 40 states and numerous counties, including Brevard. Dan goes deeper with Eventbrite co-founder and CEO Julia Hartz to learn how her company has responded to this unexpected use of Eventbrite’s platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wednesday night, staring down looming Australian legislation that would force Facebook and Google to pay publishers in the country for content that appears on their platforms, Facebook pulled the plug on news. Producer Naomi Shavin digs in with Axios media reporter Sara Fischer on why Facebook pulled news articles off its site, what it means for Australian users and publishers, and what it means for other countries that want to pursue similar legislation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 3 million Texans are without power and more than 20 are dead, due to a perfect storm of extreme weather, a failure to winterize energy infrastructure and an antipathy toward regulation. Dan digs into what this experience should teach Texas and other states about the future, with Andrew Freedman, deputy weather editor at the Washington Post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. government last year discovered that it was the victim of the largest-ever cybersecurity breach in its history, in which Russian hackers allegedly used a software exploit to access a deep trove of sensitive information. It was the latest escalation in a digital battle that is only expected to escalate, via a global black market where governments can buy everything from ways to hack laptop cameras to power grids. Dan goes deeper with Nicole Perlroth, a New York Times cybersecurity reporter who just published a book titled "This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around 35 million Americans have been vaccinated and roughly 1.6 million more are getting shots a day, but it’s been a bumpy road to get to this point, as state and local distribution plans have been beset by bureaucratic and technological blunders. Dan examines one of the biggest tech failings — a $44 million vaccination appointment system built by Deloitte that most states are backing away from — with investigative health care journalist Cat Ferguson.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009, which works out to just about $15,000 per year at 40-hour weeks. Congress is now debating an increase to $15 per hour as part of the next round of economic stimulus, but there is plenty of opposition. Dan and Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon dig into the economics and politics of the federal minimum wage, on which it seems everyone has an opinion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The most significant stock market story of 2021 isn’t Robinhood and Reddit. It’s SPACs, blank check acquisition companies used to take private companies public. Dan talks with Victoria Grace, CEO of a $300 million SPAC called Queen's Gambit Growth Capital, about how SPACs work, why there are so many of them right now and if it's a bubble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three quarters of America’s K-12 public schools are either closed or partially closed right now. Even if the White House manages to unstick the vaccine bottlenecks and get a new economic stimulus passed with money for in-school COVID-19 testing and HVAC updates, ultimately, schools being open or closed comes down to negotiations between local school departments and their teachers unions.  Dan digs into negotiations, what will happen this semester once teachers have vaccination access, and what next fall could look like with American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clubhouse has become social media's newest darling, eschewing text and visuals for an audio-only experience whereby users can hear discussions on a multitude of topics, plus even the occasional 40-person Broadway musical performance. Dan goes deeper into what Clubhouse is, why it matters and where social media goes from here with Katie Stanton, an early Clubhouse investor whose resume includes time at Twitter, Google and the Obama White House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tampa Bay defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh will be on the field this Sunday, trying to win his Buccaneers a championship. Off the field, Suh has been quietly building a business empire that has nothing to do with sacks or touchdown dances. Dan speaks to Suh about the trend of pro athletes forming non-sports careers well before retirement, his thoughts about the big game and his favorite NFL quarterback to hit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff Bezos this week announced plans to retire as CEO of Amazon, which he founded and helped turn into one of the world's most successful and significant companies. Dan digs into what’s next for Bezos and for Amazon — and Bezos’ place in the innovators pantheon — with Steve Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson, a former Time Magazine editor who put Bezos on the cover in 1999 and who more recently penned the forward to a collection of Bezos’ writings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GameStop stock saga was mostly viewed through the lens of small retail investors finally putting one over on big hedge fund managers. Dan speaks with Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, to get his perspective on the past week and whether it reflects a fundamental rot in the stock market and broader economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 18 will hold a hearing titled “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide." Among those expected to testify is Vlad Tenev, CEO of stock trading app Robinhood. Dan speaks with Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the committee's ranking Republican, on what he hopes to learn and what legislation or regulation might follow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American labor has long been stratified into blue collar and white collar, although the hues have never shone so brightly as they have during the pandemic. Dan digs into our changing relationship with work and what might come once things get back to “normal” with Sarah Jaffe, author of “Work Won’t Love You back.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans fortunate enough to receive vaccines right now, outside of clinical trials, are getting ones made by either Pfizer or Moderna. But newly released data from Novavax and Johnson & Johnson suggests that more vaccines could be on the way. Dan digs into the news and why it matters, especially as COVID-19 variants begin to spread, with Tom Frieden, former head of the CDC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big Tech is something all Americans use and most Americans complain about, no matter their political affiliation. Dan discusses the Biden administration's top Big Tech priorities, the debate over Section 230 and Reddit day trading with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert Downey Jr. today announced the launch of two venture capital funds focused on startups in the sustainability sector, as the actor seems to have taken some of his Tony Stark character to heart. Dan digs into this instance of life imitating art with Downey and two of his partners at Footprint Coalition to better understand their plans and mission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wall Street is locked in a battle of will between professional investors who live in Greenwich and amateur investors who congregate on Reddit. So far, the amateurs are winning, judging by increases in their chosen stocks, like GameStop and Bed, Bath & Beyond. Dan digs into what's really happening, the mechanics of stock "shorting" and what it means for the markets' future, with Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google on Monday became the latest Big Tech company to get involved with COVID-19 vaccinations. Not just by doing things like incorporating vaccination sites into its maps, but by helping to turn some of its offices and parking lots into vaccination sites. Dan goes deeper into what Google is doing, and why now, with Dr. Karen DeSalvo, Google's chief health officer who previously worked at HHS and as health commissioner for New Orleans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden has said that getting Americans vaccinated for COVID-19 is his administration’s top priority, following an initial rollout that has been beset by organizational, logistical and technical glitches. Axios Re:Cap digs into the bottlenecks and how to unclog them with Carbon Health CEO Eren Bali, whose company recently began helping to manage vaccinations in Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal net neutrality rules are back on the table in the Biden administration, after being nixed by Trump — but now might be complicated by the debate over social media company behavior. Dan digs into why net neutrality matters and what comes next with Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge and host of the Decoder podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden was sworn in today as America's 46th president in an inauguration unlike any other in modern history. Dan goes deeper into the speech, the atmosphere and what it all tells us about the incoming administration, with Axios political reporters Hans Nichols and Alexi McCammond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was recently arrested in Moscow, just months after being poisoned in an assassination attempt, in what could become Joe Biden’s first major foreign policy test. Dan speaks with Bill Browder, an investor and author who has his own history of clashing with Putin, to better understand the Navalny situation and how the U.S. might respond by using a law that Browder helped create. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part one of How It Happened: Trump's Last Stand, Axios political correspondent Jonathan Swan draws a direct line from President Trump's Election Night speech, in which he falsely declared victory, to the insurrection on the Capitol on January 6. But, but, but: The story really starts in early October, as Trump is recovering from COVID-19 and struggling to turn around a flailing campaign. New episodes out each Monday. In the meantime, subscribe to our daily news shows, Axios Today and Axios Re:Cap. Credits: This show is produced by Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin and Alice Wilder. Dan Bobkoff is the executive producer. Additional reporting and fact checking by Zach Basu. Margaret Talev is managing editor of politics. Sara Kehaulani Goo is Axios’s executive editor. Sound design by Alex Sugiura and theme music by Michael Hanf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America has become a two-vaccine nation, but plenty of other companies are continuing to work on new vaccines that could increase supply and accelerate the country's goal of herd immunity. Dan digs into the vaccine pipeline with Derek Lowe, a medicinal chemist and biotech blogger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Affirm, a “buy now pay later” company led by PayPal co-founder and former CEO Max Levchin, went public today at a valuation of nearly $15 billion – and then saw its share price more than double. Dan goes deeper with Levchin to discuss the IPO, the future of fintech and the role of payments processors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social media platform Parler is currently offline after being booted from Amazon's cloud hosting service. The move came just days after Parler was also removed from the Apple and Android app stores for allegedly violating terms of service related to violent threats on its platform. Dan digs into what happened at Parler, including the latest news that much of its content and metadata were scraped and publicly posted, with New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin exchange and digital wallet company Bakkt announced plans to go public via a SPAC, in a marriage of two of Wall Street's hottest trends. Dan speaks with new Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael to discuss the company, the deal and if this move will codify cryptocurrencies as part of mainstream American finance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the pandemic strengthens, America's labor market weakens, based on the latest monthly jobs report that showed a loss of 140,000 nonfarm payrolls. Dan discusses the numbers, what they really mean and where things could go next with Axios business reporters Courtenay Brown and Felix Salmon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much of what happened yesterday on Capitol Hill was not only predictable, but explicitly planned on Internet message boards where the MAGA movement gets the most darkly conspiratorial. Dan digs into what led to yesterday's insurrection and what comes next with NBC News' Ben Collins, who covers online disinformation, and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights attorney Arusha Gordon, who is leading a lawsuit against the Proud Boys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America's vaccination rollout is going much slower than expected, with only around 5 million vaccinations to date. Meanwhile, COVID-19 is causing record hospitalizations and deaths, with much of the country's economic and educational engine stuck in neutral. Dan digs into what's gone wrong and what happens next with STAT News senior reporter Helen Branswell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress on Wednesday will be asked to certify state electors, thus setting the stage for Joe Biden's inauguration as the country's 46th president on Jan. 20. But, like so many things in the Trump era, it won't be business as usual, as large groups of House and Senate Republicans say they will object to electors from at least four states. Dan discusses the process and the precedent with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee who will lead her party's response to objections on the Senate floor. Plus, Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein joins to discuss Georgia's senate runoff elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump and his allies have continued to baselessly rail against Dominion Voting Systems, whose machines will be used tomorrow in the Georgia runoff elections that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. Axios Re:Cap speaks with Dominion founder and CEO John Poulos about the controversies, the death threats and the "imminent" lawsuit his company plans to file. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August, Dan dug into middle class myths and realities with Jim Tankersley, a New York Times economics reporter and author of the book "The Riches of This Land." In many ways, it’s the story of why so many in the middle class were already on the edge before the pandemic began. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2020 was the year special purpose acquisition companies — SPACS — went mainstream. We revisit the rise of SPACs via Dan’s July conversation with Wall Street titan Bill Ackman, who was ahead of his time in 2012 when he used a SPAC to bring Burger King public.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August, Dan spoke with Brian Stelter, the CNN media critic and author of a book about Fox News called "Hoax." At the time, the dividing line between Fox News and President Trump has become blurred. Since then, the Fox-Trump relationship has frayed, wirth the outgoing President publicly endorsing its smaller rivals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October, Dan spoke with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) about Big Tech censorship, election disinformation, and why he plans to subpoena Jack Dorsey, but not Mark Zuckerberg. We revisit that conversation, as right-wing criticisms of big tech have only gotten louder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August, Dan spoke with Renee Montgomery, a point guard for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream and co-founder of More Than A Vote, a nonpartisan voting rights group. At the time, More Than A Vote was working to encourage voter turnout and convince the owners of NBA arenas and other large venues to offer them for polling locations. Looking back at the election, it worked.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October, Dan discussed Biden's economic policies and philosophies with former presidential candidate and then Biden campaign surrogate Pete Buttigieg. We revisit that conversation now that Biden has won and picked Buttigieg to be the next U.S. Secretary of Transportation.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NBA tips off off tomorrow night, making it the first major U.S. sports league to play a second season amidst the pandemic. No bubble this time, but also not many in-person fans. Axios Re:Cap talks with Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry on the business of basketball in this environment, plus that massive new deal for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re sharing the third episode of the Hard Truths podcast series. In this episode, we examine the role of both policy and the private sector in perpetuating segregated housing. We explore the legacy of housing segregation in Chicago, how housing segregation impacts wealth-building, and how it lays the foundation for other forms of segregation.  Guest: Natalie Moore, author of The South Side and WBEZ Chicago race, class and communities reporter. Credits: "Axios Today" is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Carol Wu, Cara Shillenn, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Dan Bobkoff, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Alex Sugiura and Naomi Shavin. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pornhub is one of America's most-visited websites, but a recent investigation by The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof found many videos of minors and nonconsensual sexual violence. The blowback was swift, with Visa and Mastercard cutting some ties to Pornhub, which has now removed the vast majority of its content. Dan speaks with Kristof about the aftermath of his piece and what comes next.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin yesterday topped $20,000 for the first time ever, and then just kept climbing. Dan digs into the reasons for Bitcoin's price surge, and what it means for its future as an actual currency, with investor and podcast host Anthony Pompliano. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aphria and Tilray on Wednesday announced merger plans for what would become the world's largest cannabis company by sales, just weeks after voters in several more U.S. states approved legalization. Dan digs into cannabis consolidation, and the politics that surrounds it, with Aphria CEO Irwin Simon and Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With vaccine distribution beginning this week, America can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. But that tunnel remains several months long, and that means economic pain and hardship for millions. Dan speaks with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who is helping spearhead a bipartisan and bicameral effort to get economic stimulus passed, about the odds of success this week and what's in the plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COVID-19 vaccinations have begun in the U.S., with a New York City nurse on Monday becoming the first recipient outside of clinical trial participants. But some Americans remain skeptical, in part due to perceived political influence. Dan discusses the process, politics and science of COVID-19 vaccinations with Margaret Hamburg, who led the FDA between 2009 and 2015.  Plus, Axios Codebook author Zach Dorfman joins to discuss the cybersecurity hack that has impacted both the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America is in the grips of the worst COVID-19 outbreak since the pandemic began, in terms of infections, hospitalizations and deaths. That means testing is now more important than ever before, and will continue to be a key public health tool even after vaccinations begin. Dan digs into the past, present and future of COVID-19 testing with Adam Schechter, CEO of LabCorp., one of the country's two largest testing companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airbnb began trading today on the Nasdaq at a valuation north of $100 billion, which is more than Marriott, Hilton and Expedia combined. Dan digs into the year's largest IPO and how Airbnb has navigated a perilous year for travel and hospitality with company co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook on Wednesday was hit with landmark antitrust lawsuits, with the FTC and 48 states suing to force the company to spin off its Instagram and WhatsApp units. Dan goes deeper in a special pop-up episode, with Axios tech reporters Ashley Gold and Scott Rosenberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The market for mental wellness products is booming, as the pandemic has gotten on just about everyone's last nerve. Dan digs in with Michael Acton Smith, co-founder and co-CEO of meditation app Calm, about how mental wellness differs from mental health, the B2B of mental wellness and those election night ads on CNN.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over a year, Axios has been investigating a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who cultivated extensive ties with local and national U.S. politicians, including a sitting congressman. Today, we present a special episode: the story of the alleged intelligence operation, which offers a rare glimpse into the lengths Beijing will go to access U.S. political circles. Guests: Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Axios Codebook author Zach Dorfman of the Aspen Institute, former Cupertino, CA mayor Gilbert Wong, former CIA intelligence official Rodney Faraon and Alameda County chief-of-staff Shawn Wilson. Credits: This story was edited by Alison Snyder, Scott Rosenberg and Sara Goo. This special podcast episode was produced by Dan Bobkoff and Carol Wu and mixed by Alex Sugiura. Special thanks to Mike Allen, Qian Gao and Naomi Shavin. Go deeper: Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly nine months since the CARES Act became law, ensuring that an economic recession didn't become a depression, Congress is finally close to a successor bill. Dan digs into the negotiations, and what took so long, with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, which has taken the lead in crafting new legislation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing two emergency use authorization requests for COVID-19 vaccines, with an outside advisory committee scheduled to meet next Thursday to review data from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. Dan digs in with former FDA commissioner Rob Califf, who talks about the EUA process, the science and who should make the final call. Plus, Axios media reporter Sara Fischer joins to discuss the future of theatrical releases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America yesterday lost 2,762 people to COVID-19, per the CDC, bringing the total pandemic toll in the U.S. to 272,525. That's more than the population of Des Moines, Iowa. Or Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Or Toledo, Ohio. Dan speaks with Alex Goldstein, creator of the @FacesofCOVID Twitter account, about telling the stories behind the statistics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

General Motors this week slammed the brakes on a deal with electric truck company Nikola, but it doesn’t matter much for GM’s longer-term electric ambitions. Dan discusses the company’s investments in charging infrastructure, battery technology and new models with Ken Morris, GM’s VP for autonomous and electric vehicles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Nasdaq today said it will ask federal securities regulators to approve new rules that would require its listed companies to regularly report on the demographic diversity of their boards, and also comply with board diversity requirements. Dan goes deeper with Jeff Thomas, Nasdaq's senior VP of corporate services, to learn why Nasdaq is enacting this policy, the internal discussions that led to it and what happens to companies that don't comply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The future of U.S. politics, and all that flows from it, is in the hands of Georgia voters when they cast their votes in two Senate runoffs on Jan. 5. Dan digs into the election dynamics with former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat who served from 1999 to 2003. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon may get more media buzz, but there is simply no retailer, or grocer, in America that does more business than does Walmart. And that gives John Furner, its head of U.S. operations, one of the best views into Black Friday and Thanksgiving grocery shopping. Dan talks to Furner about what he's seeing from his unique perch, and what pandemic-driven changes he expects will outlast the virus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Butterball estimates that it sells one out of every three Thanksgiving turkeys, but knows that this year's celebrations will be a lot different than in years past. Dan talks with the turkey giant's CEO Jay Jandrain about what people are buying, what they're asking the "Turkey Talkline" and what the pandemic has meant for his business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford today reported promising efficacy data for their COVID-19 vaccine, which has less stringent storage requirements than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and which may be distributed earlier in developing countries. Dan digs into the state of vaccine and therapeutics manufacturing with Bob Nelsen, a successful biotech investor who today launched Resilience, a giant new pharma production platform that he believes will prepare America for its next major health challenges. Plus, Axios health care editor Sam Baker joins to discuss AstraZeneca’s interim analysis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. air travel is down 65%, but lots of people are expected to fly this week, in defiance of CDC guidelines. Axios Re:Cap digs into the future of air travel, America’s largest plane maker and concerns over what this week could mean. Our guests are Axios reporters Joann Muller, Courtenay Brown and Erica Pandey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're eight days away from Black Friday, but this year it might be about a lot more than bargains or doorbuster stampedes. Instead, it could help determine if certain retailers will survive past 2020, or at least if they hold on to physical stores. Dan talks with Fortune senior reporter Phil Wahba about which retailers have the most to gain or lose next week and the broader future of retail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President-elect Biden this week endorsed a proposal to immediately forgive up to $10,000 in student debt, with some experts arguing that he could do so via executive action. Dan speaks with Mike Pierce, policy director for the Student Borrower Protection Center, about Biden's plan, why it matters and what comes next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airbnb filed for its IPO yesterday, and showed some glimmers of hope for a travel and hospitality industry that has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Dan speaks with Skift co-founder and CEO Rafat Ali about what he learned from Airbnb's IPO prospectus, lessons for hoteliers and what will be left once COVID-19 is contained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Moderna Therapeutics today reported a 94.5% efficacy for its COVID-19 vaccine, which needn't be stored at the same ultra-cold temperatures as does a similar vaccine developed by Pfizer. It also said short-term safety concerns, such as headaches and injection site soreness, self-resolved within days, and that it could have 20 million doses available by year-end. Dan speaks with Moderna chief medical officer Tal Zaks about the new data, distribution, politics, and how it was preparing for this moment even before COVID-19 was discovered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re sharing the second episode of the Hard Truths podcast series. We are a moment in American history where there is a reckoning and awareness about the way things have been done. The widespread protests this summer have injected further urgency - and change. That’s true when it comes to community policing. But it’s also now affecting police who work in nearly half of America’s public schools. Guests: Jackie Byers, executive director of the Black Organizing Project, and Clarence Cox, former chief of Clayton County Public Schools Police Department. Credits: "Axios Today" is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Carol Wu, Cara Shillenn, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Dan Bobkoff, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Alex Sugiura and Naomi Shavin. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. Go deeper: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America's election infrastructure survived and thrived last week, despite pandemic complexities and President Trump's unfounded claims of widespread fraud. Yes, including software and machines made by Dominion Voting Systems. Dan checks in on the state of U.S. election technology with Michael Hanmer, research director for the University of Maryland's Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parler has become the social network refuge for Trump supporters who believe that legacy platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become too restrictive, helping it shoot to the very top of the app store charts. Dan digs into Parler's popularity, process and controversies with Parler chief policy officer Amy Peikoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gig economy companies like Lyft and Uber got a huge win in California, when voters approved a measure that will let them continue to classify many of their workers as independent contractors instead of as employees. Dan digs into the ballot measure and what comes next, both in California and nationally, with Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pfizer on Monday announced that its COVID-19 vaccine has proven effective in preventing infection in over 90% of Phase 3 clinical trial patients, and added that it could have 50 million doses available by year-end. Dan talks to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla about data, distribution, politics, and how he reacted upon receiving the news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is an Axios Election 2020 special. President-elect Joe Biden will enter office with some of the biggest challenges any American leader has ever faced. Axios’s Margaret Talev, Mike Allen, and Jim VandeHei join us break down what he’s up against. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Axios Special Election 2020 coverage. Joe Biden wins the presidential election, AP projects. We talk to Axios reporters Hans Nichols and Jonathan Swan to find out what’s next for both Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arizona remains one of the presidential election's most unsettled states, with Joe Biden clinging to a slight lead. Dan unpacks what happened in Arizona, including why Biden underperformed Democratic Senate candidate Mark Kelly and the supposed "Sharpiegate," with local reporter Hank Stephenson and University of Arizona professor Kate Kenski. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Axios Special Election 2020 coverage. Georgia and North Carolina were both seen as states in play this election cycle, but not many predicted they’d be among the last states to be called. We find out what’s happening on the ground and when a projected winner may be declared with Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein and Director of Research for Duke’s Polis Center for Politics Deondra Rose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Axios Special Election 2020 coverage. Wisconsin has been called for Joe Biden, but the Trump campaign has already asked for a recount. We dig into what happens next with WisconsinWatch reporter Nora Eckert, who says that the "irregularities" alleged by the Trump campaign is a misunderstanding of how the state's process works. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Axios Special Election 2020 coverage. Donald Trump may have solidified his control over the Republican Party, even if he doesn't pull out a presidential victory over Joe Biden, by expanding the GOP electorate and helping to reverse some 2016 Congressional losses. Dan and Axios CEO Jim VandeHei discuss Trump's sway over the GOP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Axios Special Election 2020 coverage. As America wakes up, here’s where we stand. Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and the all-important Pennsylvania hang in the balance. The states that have counted, but are too close to call are Georgia and North Carolina. Niala Boodhoo talks to Axios's Hans Nichols and Jonathan Swan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the story that’s forming in real time? Niala Boodhoo talks to Axios’ White House and Politics Editor Margaret Talev in Washington DC and in New York — Jacob Weisberg, co-founder of Pushkin Industries and former editor in chief of the Slate Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to Axios' Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei about how Democrats and Republicans are interpreting the early results and the unknowns tonight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Axios Special Election 2020 coverage. President Trump did better in Florida than many expected. To understand why, we spoke to Peter Schorsch, the St. Petersburg-based reporter behind FloridaPolitics.com, who shared how demographic shifts, fears of socialism, and reactions to Black Lives Matter protests motivated voter turnout in the Sunshine State. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Axios Special Election 2020 coverage. Pennsylvania could determine the outcome of this election. We check in on one county that voted blue for decades until it went for Trump by 20 points. We talk to WITF reporter Emily Previti about how things have changed since 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Axios Special Election 2020 coverage. There have been some significant voting problems so far today, including wrongly-programmed poll books in parts of Georgia, but "the whole country is not on fire," according to Kristen Clarke, president of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A record number of ballots are expected to be cast in tomorrow's election, but we don't know what the vote total would have been if some Americans weren't discouraged or prevented from voting. Dan discusses voter suppression and its ties to poverty with the Rev. William Barber and Laurene Powell Jobs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are surging, particularly in areas that had been largely spared in the spring. One big question now is if hospitals are better prepared for this spike and if they will be able to continue providing elective services. Dan discusses what hospitals have, and what they still need, with Lloyd Dean, CEO of CommonSpirit Health, one of America's largest operators of hospitals and health clinics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The coronavirus pandemic is worsening, both in the U.S. and abroad, with cases, hospitalizations and deaths all rising. Dan digs into the state of global vaccine development, including why both the U.S. and China seem to be going it alone, with medicinal chemist and biotech blogger Derek Lowe. Plus, Axios financial correspondent Felix Salmon on U.S. GDP growth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden has a very different prescription for America's economy than does President Trump. Not just in terms of how to tax and spend, but also in how to approach trading partners like China. Dan digs into Biden's policies and philosophies with former presidential candidate and current Biden campaign surrogate Pete Buttigieg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fracking for natural gas has become a flashpoint in the election's final week, particularly in Pennsylvania where both President Trump and former Vice President Biden made stops yesterday. But much of the political rhetoric has ignored that the industry has gone from boom to bust, beset by layoffs, bankruptcies and fire-sale mergers. Dan digs into the state of fracking, and what it means for the future of American energy, with Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The election is only eight days away, and it’s not just the candidates whose futures are on the line. Political pollsters, four years after wrongly predicting a Hillary Clinton presidency, are viewing it as their own judgment day. Axios Re:Cap digs into the polls, and what pollsters have changed since 2016, with former FiveThirtyEight writer and current CNN politics analyst Harry Enten. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump’s campaign says it just had its best-ever fundraising day, securing $26 million in the hours around last night’s debate. This just adds to what was already a record-shattering election season, in terms of money raised and money spent. Dan discusses the 2020 fundraising story, including what happens to a candidate's unspent money, with election law expert Ciara Torres-Spelliscy. Plus, Axios financial correspondent Felix Salmon joins to discuss Goldman Sachs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Short-form video streaming app Quibi announced yesterday that it will cease operations, just six months after a high-profile launch that was backed by $1.75 billion in funding from studios and venture capitalists. Dan digs into what went wrong and what happens next, with REDEF CEO Jason Hirschhorn. Plus, Axios White House reporter Alayna Treene on President Trump’s debate preparation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Description: The U.S. Justice Department filed a 63-page antitrust lawsuit against Google, related to the tech giant's search and search advertising business. This is just weeks after the House subcommittee on antitrust issued its own scathing report on Google and other Big Tech companies, arguing that they've become digital monopolies. Dan and Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), chair of the subcommittee on antitrust, discuss Google, the DOJ's lawsuit, and Congress' next move. Plus, Axios political reporter Hans Nichols analyzes a possible Biden campaign strategy on Cabinet appointments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the Chinese government reported third quarter GDP growth of 4.9%, year-over-year. This comes as the U.S. economy continues to be much weaker, year-over-year, given our relative inability to get COVID-19 under control. Dan examines China's economy, including its increased focus on domestic demand, with CNBC Beijing bureau chief Eunice Yoon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The presidential race has been dominated by President Trump's handling of the pandemic, but there's been relatively little talk of what Joe Biden would do were he to take office in January. Dan digs into the Biden pandemic plan — including mask mandates, shutdowns, and vaccine distribution — with campaign surrogate Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend, Axios is kicking off Hard Truths, a project examining systemic racism in our country. We’re sharing the first episode of the Hard Truths podcast series. This will be a year-long series covering a new topic each month - education, housing, technology, and health care. With a bitter election just days away, we start with voting, specifically voter suppression. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pfizer today said it won't apply for an emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine until late November, all but guaranteeing that the FDA won't be asked to consider approval until after the election. Dan is joined by Moncef Slaoui, the White House's chief scientific advisor to Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership created to get a coronavirus vaccine deployed and developed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twitter today is alight with conversations about a New York Post story about Hunter Biden. But you can't find a link to the story on Twitter, and you'll be temporarily blocked if you try to share it — due to concerns that the story is based on hacked, or possibly manipulated documents. Facebook also has put sharing limits on the story. Dan is joined by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to discuss Big Tech censorship, election disinformation, and why he plans to subpoena Jack Dorsey but not Mark Zuckerberg. Plus, Lucy Dadayan of the Urban Institute joins to discuss her new report on state tax revenue in 2020 compared to 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin spoke again about the stalled federal stimulus plan, yet they don't appear to be closer to a deal to help American families or businesses. Dan and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) discuss negotiating with the White House, sticking points, and why his caucus opposes stand-alone bills for consensus items like airline payroll support and small business loans. Plus, Kyle Pomerleau of the American Enterprise Institute joins to discuss his new report on the Biden campaign’s tax proposals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Johnson & Johnson has paused Phase 3 trials for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, after one patient reported an “unexplained illness.” This comes after AstraZeneca paused its Phase 3 trials due to an adverse event, and Moderna slowed its trial because of enrollment difficulties. Dan discusses these developments and more with Dr. Tom Frieden, who led the CDC between 2009 and 2017. Plus, Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon joins to discuss official unemployment vs. “true” unemployment in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeffrey Epstein died more than a year ago, but the investigation into how he made his money is heating up. The latest is a New York Times report that private equity titan Leon Black might have paid Epstein upward of $75 million over the years, which is much more than was previously disclosed. Dan is joined by Matthew Goldstein, a New York Times business reporter who co-authored today's story. Plus, Axios Tech reporter Ashley Gold joins to discuss the expectation that the U.S. Justice Department will charge Google with antitrust violations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The New England Journal of Medicine yesterday published the first political editorial in its 208-year history, arguing that America's leaders have bungled the response to COVID-19, leading to unnecessary death and economic hardship. Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Dr. Eric Rubin, an immunologist and infectious disease expert who serves as NEJM's editor-in-chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Halloween this year will be unrecognizable. Much less trick-or-treating. Far fewer parties. For candy makers, 2020 presents a major challenge. Axios Re:Cap digs in with Ferrara Candy CEO Todd Siwak, whose company is the country's largest maker of candy corn, jelly beans, and all sorts of other confectionary treats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, one of America's largest hospital chains was hit by a type of cybercrime known as a ransomware attack. Then, just days later, the same thing happened to a Philadelphia company called eResearch Technology, whose software is used in COVID-19 vaccine trials. Axios Re:Cap digs into the growing threat with Nicole Perlroth, a New York Times cybersecurity reporter who broke the ERT news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. airlines have begun furloughing or laying off tens of thousands of employees, including pilots, after Congress failed to pass a new bailout bill that is supported by leadership of both parties and the White House. Axios Re:Cap digs into the current state of play, and why it could be very tough for airlines to "unscramble the egg," with Captain Joe DePeet, president of the Air Lines Pilots Association. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19, raising questions about their current conditions, the health of others in their orbit, and also what this means for the campaign, the markets, public health policy and more. Dan is joined by Axios reporters Jonathan Swan, Mike Allen, Sam Baker, Dion Rabouin and Sara Fischer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Americans, and millennials in particular, are experiencing burnout that's as much due to socioeconomic factors as to the pandemic. Dan and Anne Helen Petersen, author of the new book “Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation,” discuss the generational divide on burnout and what can be done to reverse the trend. Plus, Axios White House reporter Alayna Treene shares an update on stimulus negotiations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Palantir Technologies today went public at an initial valuation of over $21 billion, giving investors a chance to buy into one of Silicon Valley's most talked-about tech companies. Dan and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale dig into Palantir's mission and why it's so controversial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cameo, a marketplace in which users pay for personalized video messages from celebrities, has gone from niche novelty to very big business. One celebrity just surpassed $1 million in earnings, and more than 5,000 messages are sold each day. Dan and Cameo CEO Steven Galanis dig into how the company came to be and how it's changing the monetization of fame. Plus: A "cameo" from one of the site's top stars and debate night analysis with Axios White House and politics editor Margaret Talev.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump paid no federal income tax in 10 of the past 15 years, and just $750 in 2016 and 2017, according to a new report from The New York Times. He also is reported to have hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding debts, most of which would come due during a second term. Axios Re:Cap focuses on what is and isn't surprising about the revelations, plus how real estate developers are taxed, with Francine McKenna, an independent financial journalist and certified public accountant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Traditional media models and most of the digital models are either straining under pressure or outright broken. Some journalists have responded by going out on their own, leveraging a new group of startups that help them self-publish and monetize their work. To discuss this trend and what it means for the journalism industry, Dan is joined by Chris Best, CEO of Substack, which has over 250,000 paying subscribers on its writer network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American child care is in crisis, which makes it much harder for the American economy to recover — as providers struggle to stay in business and parents struggle to work. Dan digs into the problems and what can be done to solve them with Vox senior reporter Anna North. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Silicon Valley venture capitalists are no longer content with investing in startups and then eventually handing them off. Instead, many are now forming SPACs, or blank check acquisition companies, to ride tech unicorns into the public markets themselves. Dan discusses this trend with the co-founders of one such tech SPAC: Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and partner with VC firm Greylock, and Mark Pincus, founder and former CEO of Zynga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around 70% of all immigration detention centers are run by private companies, including the one at the heart of a new whistleblower complaint that alleges systemic medical neglect and malpractice. Dan digs into the business of immigrant detention, including oversight and profit incentives, with New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before her death, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was preparing to hear a case that could determine the availability of affordable health insurance for roughly 20 million Americans. Dan is joined by University of Michigan law professor and Supreme Court expert Nicholas Bagley to discuss the case and what could happen next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump has just 48 hours left to either follow through on his threatened ban of TikTok, or accept a proposed tech partnership with Oracle. Dan and New York Times tech reporter Taylor Lorenz dig into how the TikTok user community has reacted to this political drama and what comes next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon today announced the first companies to receive money from a $2 billion venture capital fund it formed to help combat climate change. Dan digs into how Amazon hopes the fund will help it achieve its own goals of getting carbon neutral by 2040, and if it's more substance than spin with Matt Peterson, Amazon's director of new initiatives and corporate development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dozens of celebrities, including Kim Kardashian West, aren't posting to their Facebook or Instagram feeds today, as part of the "Stop hate for profit" campaign. It’s a continuation of the July ad boycott of social media. To discuss what this temporary boycott means, and how the broader advertising market has changed in 2020, Dan is joined by Axios media reporter Sara Fischer and Rob Farinella, the CEO of advertising agency Blue Sky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By this time next week, we should know if TikTok will be allowed to continue operating in the U.S., in partnership with Oracle, or if it will be in the process of being banned by President Trump. To get the perspective from China, where TikTok's parent company is based, Dan is joined by CNBC Beijing bureau chief Eunice Yoon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around 37% of America’s public school students are beginning the year in some sort of in-person learning, which means millions of teachers have returned to classrooms. Dan is joined by American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten to discuss what's working, what's still needed, and if teachers should be required to take a COVID-19 vaccine when one is available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is on fire right now, and Silicon Valley is among the affected areas. But tech hasn't done much to help prevent or fight these sorts of blazes, as most companies prefer to build products for consumers or businesses, not governments. Dan discusses what tech could be doing more of, and why it isn't, with GoTenna CEO Daniela Perdomo, whose company makes a product that helps wildfire fighters communicate via cell phones even if there isn't available cellular service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NFL season kicks off tonight in Kansas City, but a whole lot has changed since the Chiefs hoisted their trophy in February. Dan is joined by ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes to discuss football’s new economics, experiences, and politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday news broke that AstraZeneca is pausing its clinical trials on a COVID-19 vaccine after a patient appeared to develop a serious neurological condition. It raised an unsettling question: What if a vaccine is further away than most of us have hoped? Dan unpacks the latest reporting and what it means with STAT News reporter Adam Feuerstein, who helped break the AstraZeneca news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most Americans agree on the need for a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, but President Trump's repeated hints at a pre-election approval has sparked debate that politics could get ahead of science. Dan is joined by Zeke Emanuel, a health policy official in the Obama administration, who discusses what he’ll look for if and when a vaccine gets approved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FEED Act was introduced in May and would help put restaurant kitchens to work feeding vulnerable Americans, including children who can’t return to school. It counts celebrity chef and founder of World Central Kitchen José Andrés among its champions — but it’s stalled along with the rest of a potential next stimulus package. World Central Kitchen CEO Nate Mook joins Dan to discuss what needs to happen to address food insecurity when Congress is back in session. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America is unlikely to know the presidential winner on election night, due to the expected surge of mail-in votes. The nightmare scenario is that one candidate will appear to have won, based on initial results, but then the leader flips as more mail-in votes are counted. Dan discusses Election Day plans and concerns and why states don’t plan to just keep quiet until all of their votes are counted with New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat and current president of the National Association of Secretaries of State. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Walmart yesterday announced a new subscription service that will compete directly with Amazon Prime, as America's two largest retailers continue to fight for supremacy. Dan is joined by Walmart chief customer officer Janey Whiteside and asks why Walmart Plus is launching in the middle of a pandemic, what kinds of additional services or perks the company intends to add to its program, and if drone delivery is in its future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple and Google today announced plans to expand their coronavirus warning software, months after an initial rollout that hasn't met expectations. Dan and Washington Post tech reporter Reed Albergotti dig into the initial hopes for this software, what happened and what could come next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reducing police brutality and improving trust between police departments and Black communities is urgent work. Dan discusses the interventions that could make a difference with Brookings Institution fellow and University of Maryland professor Rashawn Ray, who has spent more than a decade studying systemic racism and running implicit bias trainings for police departments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The dividing line between Fox News Channel and Donald Trump has become blurred, with each increasingly relying on the other to accomplish their goals. Axios Re:Cap speaks with Brian Stelter, the CNN media critic and author of a new book about FNC's evolution, its internal struggles, and how hosts like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson influence national policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sports arenas in cities like Atlanta and Charlotte will be converted on November 3 into polling places, to reduce wait-times while enabling social distancing. It's an effort being led by More Than A Vote, a nonpartisan voting rights group formed by NBA and WNBA players like LeBron James, in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Axios Re:Cap digs in with Renee Montgomery, a point guard for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream and co-founder of More Than A Vote. We discuss the election, last night's player strike, and why she opted out of this season to focus on issues of social justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nike this week is rolling out five new editions of Kobe Bryant sneakers, but few fans have gotten them at the retail price. Instead, they've been scooped up by resellers who use bots to acquire the shoes, and then charge consumers hundreds of dollars extra. Axios Re:Cap digs into the multi-billion dollar sneaker resale market with For The Win's Mike Sykes, who argues that Bryant's legacy is being tarnished. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chinese financial tech giant Ant Group today filed for what could become the largest initial public offering of all time, with plans to list in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Axios Re:Cap digs into why this deal is as much about geopolitics as it is about stocks, and why New York got left behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Republican National Convention kicks off this evening, with plans to lay out an economic vision different from what the Democrats presented last week. Axios Re:Cap speaks with Jason Miller, a senior advisor to the Trump campaign, about where the economy has been, where it's at, and where Trump wants to take it in a second term.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert Smith captivated America in May 2019 when he pledged to pay off student debt for Morehouse College's graduating class. It was Smith's introduction on the national stage, but he’d had decades of success in private equity that made him the wealthiest Black person in the U.S. and a philanthropic force. Now, Bloomberg News reports that he's under criminal investigation by the IRS, which could dent both his reputation and his political ambitions. Dan digs in with Bloomberg reporter Neil Weinberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the policy specifics offered up repeatedly during the Democratic National Convention has been Joe Biden's promise to create millions of renewable energy sector jobs. Dan digs into his plan with Biden campaign surrogate and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, whose state is a major player in both renewable energy and fossil fuels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week has seen, in rapid succession, UNC Chapel Hill send students home, Notre Dame suspend in-person classes, and Michigan State University advise students to stay home. Delaware State University, a historically black university, believes it can — and must — find a way to bring its students back to campus safely. Dan discusses DSU’s plan with university president Tony Allen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prior to the pandemic, America’s most urgent public health crisis was the opioid epidemic. It’s been overshadowed by the coronavirus, but meanwhile the situation may have gotten much worse. Dan is joined by the Associated Press's Geoff Mulvihill to discuss this situation and the next phase of litigation against prescription opioid makers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Within the next week, House Democrats plan to vote on $25 billion in new funding for the U.S. Postal Service and to hold an Oversight Committee hearing at which Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is expected to testify. Dan is joined by Oversight Committee chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) to discuss the future of USPS and how it will impact this November's election.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend we're posting four mini-episodes of the Axios Re:Cap podcast, focused on the unique challenges of back-to-school in 2020. This one digs into learning loss, and its long-term implications for students, schools, and the economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend we're posting four mini-episodes of the Axios Re:Cap podcast, focused on the unique challenges of back-to-school in 2020. This one digs into the device drought that could render remote learning irrelevant.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend we're posting four mini-episodes of the Axios Re:Cap podcast, focused on the unique challenges of back-to-school in 2020. This one digs into learning pods, including what they are, how schools are reacting, and the inequities they may exacerbate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend we're posting four mini-episodes of the Axios Re:Cap podcast, focused on the unique challenges of back-to-school in 2020. This one digs into the strains on special education. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year has been devastating for the live music industry, especially for touring musicians, some of whom earn up to 90% of their income from playing live. Axios Re:Cap producer Naomi Shavin is joined by Glass Animals frontman Dave Bayley, who released an album this week and discusses what it’s like to release and promote music when touring isn’t an option. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. for months has faced a national reckoning over simultaneous crises that Black Americans, especially, are facing: structural racism and violence, health disparities in COVID-19 outcomes and devastating economic impacts from the pandemic. Axios Re:Cap producer Naomi Shavin is joined by Shelly Bell, founder of Black Girl Ventures, to discuss how the founders in her network are faring, what happened after her organization received a wave of donations in June, and what she hopes to see happen next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, a California Superior Court judge ruled that Uber and Lyft should classify drivers as employees, not temporary contractors. Both companies plan to appeal, and on Wednesday, Uber’s CEO said that if this ruling is upheld, the company would have to temporarily stop operating in California. The ruling has implications far beyond the ridesharing industry, for the entire gig economy and more. Axios Re:Cap producer Naomi Shavin discusses the ruling and what comes next with Mike Isaac of the New York Times and author of “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russia announced Tuesday that it has approved a vaccine for COVID-19 and has plans to inoculate health care workers, teachers, and others in the coming months, despite barely starting Phase 3 clinical trials. Axios Re:Cap producer Naomi Shavin digs into the impacts of this announcement on the vaccine race with Derek Lowe, medicinal chemist, author and expert on drug development and the pharmaceutical industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August recess was supposed to start for Congress this week, but stimulus negotiations fell apart last week — prompting President Trump to circumvent Congress and attempt to extend programs put in place by the CARES Act via executive action. Now, it’s unclear if Congress is still negotiating, let alone if they’re any closer to a compromise. Axios Re:Cap producer Naomi Shavin is joined by Washington Post White House economics reporter Jeff Stein to find out more about the state of stimulus talks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day that goes by without a new stimulus agreement is another day of worry for many in America's middle class, which was shrinking before the pandemic began. Dan digs into what the pandemic has done to the middle class and what policies are needed to bolster it with Jim Tankersley, a New York Times economics reporter and author of the new book, “The Riches of This Land.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An early pandemic fear was that people would be unable to pay rent and that it would lead to a surge in homelessness. Lawmakers intervened, creating municipal, state-level and federal eviction moratoriums — but many of them have now expired, including the federal moratorium put in place by the CARES Act. Dan discusses the looming housing crisis and where it factors into current stimulus negotiations with Alieza Durana of the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As stimulus negotiations drag on, Democrats and Republicans seem unable to agree on whether to include coronavirus-related liability protections for businesses, health facilities and schools — a decision that could reset the cost-benefit analysis for businesses thinking about reopening and employees considering a return to work. Dan digs into this debate with U.S. Chamber of Commerce EVP and chief policy officer Neil Bradley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump relaxed his threat to ban the popular social media app TikTok, giving Microsoft room to negotiate an acquisition from Chinese tech giant ByteDance. Dan is joined by Peter Navarro, President Trump’s top trade adviser and a noted China hawk, to discuss the White House's current stance on TikTok, on Microsoft's operations in China, and on the deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are on track for a more complicated voting process this fall than in any past election of our lifetimes. There are concerns around safety in the middle of a pandemic, security, logistics, access and more. Dan is joined by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who explains why it could take weeks to know results from his state and why he remains confident in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, nearly the entire editorial staff of media site Deadspin quit in protest over interference in their editorial decisions by management. Now, most of them have reunited to form a new company called Defector Media, which will rely on a paid subscription model and no outside investment. Dan discusses the Deadspin walkout, the new project and this new business model with Defector's Giri Nathan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The chief executives of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google testified about antitrust issues in front of a House Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday. It was the highest-profile showdown to date in the increasingly fraught relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley, which could culminate in efforts to break up one, or more, of the companies. Dan was joined by subcommittee chair Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) after the hearing ended to discuss what the committee learned, why he wanted the four CEOs to testify together, and which companies he thinks should be broken up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live music venues were among the first businesses to close during the pandemic and will be among the last to reopen. In the meantime, many are facing financial ruin. Dan is joined by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is co-sponsoring a new bailout bill with Sen. John Cornyn aimed at helping independent venues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White House and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell this afternoon rolled out their proposal for the next federal stimulus. They have major disagreements with the Democrats who they'll need to get it passed — and it’s possible that no issue will be more contentious than unemployment benefits. The extra $600 per week payments allocated by the CARES Act are due to expire on Friday. Dan digs into the negotiations ahead with Wall Street Journal Congress reporter Andy Duehren. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans seem resigned to the idea that life won't return to normal until we have an approved and widely-distributed vaccine for COVID-19, but vaccine optimism could be undermining other efforts to control the spread of the virus. Dan is joined by Tom Frieden, who led the Centers for Disease Control from 2009 to 2017, to discuss how realistic it is to hope for a vaccine by year-end — and what will still need to happen even when we have it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced legislation aimed at stemming the use of forced labor by American corporations — particularly those that run much of their supply chain through China. Hawley joins Dan to discuss what his bill covers, what’s happening to China's persecuted Uighurs, why his bill doesn't address U.S. prison labor, and what he sees as corporate America's hypocrisy. Plus, his thoughts on the new federal stimulus negotiations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hedge fund titan Bill Ackman today raised $4 billion in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange — but it wasn’t for a company, or even for the firm that controls his hedge funds. It was for something called a SPAC, a special purpose acquisition company, and it was the largest SPAC IPO of all time. Dan is joined by Ackman to discuss why SPACs have become so popular and what Ackman has learned since 2012, when he used a SPAC to bring Burger King public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unlike in many other parts of America, Los Angeles isn’t debating whether or not to send students back into physical classrooms. In the time since it was announced that the L.A. Unified School District would be fully-remote through at least the end of 2020, it’s become a stand-bearer on the remote-learning front. L.A. Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner joins Dan to discuss why he made the remote decision, how he distributed devices to students, his vision for contact tracing, and what he thinks about President Trump's funding cut threat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are around half a million independent restaurants in America, and a recent report found that upwards of 85% of them could go out of business without some sort of direct aid from Congress. Dan discusses the precarious state of the restaurant industry with Ivy Mix, a renowned bartender, co-owner of Leyenda in Brooklyn, and author of Spirits of Latin America, and Steven Soderbergh, the Oscar-winning film director who owns spirit brand Singani 63. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Houck counted the late Congressman John Lewis among his closest friends, speaking to him almost daily for the past 45 years. Dan spoke with Tom Houck, who once was Martin Luther King Jr.'s driver, about Lewis' life, legacy and the next generation of civil rights activists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Public health officials almost all agree that wearing masks in public could help flatten the coronavirus curve, but not all elected officials are willing to require mask use. In Georgia, where coronavirus cases are surging, Governor Brian Kemp moved to overrule the mask mandates of 15 cities. Dan digs in with Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, whose city was the first in the state to issue a mandate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Basketball Association is scheduled to resume the season that it abruptly suspended in March in just two weeks. Until then and through the season, players, coaches, support staff, and even NBA reporters are sequestered in Disney World. The NBA’s Disney bubble is being watched closely — not just for the sport, but by all kinds of businesses because if the NBA can't control infections inside the bubble, it increases concerns for everyone else. Dan is joined by the Washington Post's Ben Golliver, one of 10 NBA beat reporters currently inside the bubble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stocks rose today on promising new COVID-19 vaccine data from Moderna Therapeutics — the latest news cycle in which vaccine optimism outpaces the science. Dan is joined by Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC and current CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to dig into what Moderna’s report can tell us, what it can’t tell us, what comes next in the vaccine race, and where the CDC fits into the picture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gun sales in America have surged since the pandemic began, with 7.8 million background checks run for firearms purchases between March and June. Dan is joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Zusha Elinson who has been reporting on the spike in sales, around 40% of which are by first-time buyers, and what is motivating this trend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In parts of the country, including states where coronavirus cases are surging, the start of the school year is just weeks away. Yet the nation seems to be getting further from a consensus on if and how schools should reopen for in-person learning. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, joins Dan to discuss teachers’ concerns, the resources schools need to safely reopen, and what education might look like this fall. Plus, auto entrepreneur Henrik Fisker joins Dan to discuss why electric vehicles are having a stock market moment on the day that his company Fisker agreed to be acquired. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outbreaks in cities like New York, Miami and Houston have gotten a lot of attention, but coronavirus is hitting rural areas, too, and while it can be easier to socially distance in rural America, it is often harder to get medical care. Georgia-based microbiologist Amber Schmidtke has found that coronavirus-related morbidity is higher in many of Georgia's rural counties than in Atlanta, and she joins Dan to discuss the urban-rural health care divide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden returned to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania today to give his first major speech on economic policy since becoming the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Former U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker is a campaign advisor and surrogate, and she joins Dan to discuss Biden's economic plans, how they were developed, and how they may change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook is currently dealing with the largest ad boycott in its history, with nearly 1,000 brands pulling paid advertising for the month of July. The boycott aims to apply pressure on Facebook to address hate speech on its namesake app and Instagram. After meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other top company executives today, four of the boycott's organizers joined Dan on Re:Cap. Rashad Robinson of Color of Change, Derrick Johnson of the NAACP, Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL, and Jessica González of Free Press discuss why they organized the boycott, what they took from today's meeting, and what comes next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last two days, President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that the White House was considering shutting down TikTok due to security concerns over its relationship with the Chinese government. That news didn’t go over well, as TikTok has an estimated 800 million monthly active users, 30 million of whom are in the U.S. Dan is joined by John Shahidi, who leads one of the country's top management and studio companies for social media influencers, to talk about TikTok’s success in the U.S. and the business ecosystem flourishing around it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier today, New York regulators fined Deutsche Bank $150 million for its dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. This came less than a week after the arrest of Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges. Business Insider's Meghan Morris has been investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s financial ties to Wall Street, and she joins Dan to discuss what Maxwell might know about Epstein's business dealings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the weekend, tensions between media and tech escalated because of a dispute that started on Clubhouse and spilled over to Twitter. But the divide between tech and the journalists covering tech has been growing for some time. Dan digs in with investor and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, who has been on both sides of the tech/media divide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This morning brought news that the U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs in June — and an unexpected press conference from President Trump to tout the numbers. But the jobs survey the numbers came from ended before the recent spike in coronavirus cases, and questions abound about how far the economic reality in the country today diverges from that report. Dan digs in with the Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephanie Kelton is an economist with rising influence in the Democratic Party who advised the Bernie Sanders campaign and is on a Biden campaign economic task-force. Kelton believes we’re thinking about the deficit wrong and that we should stop framing policy proposals with the question “How will you pay for that?” She joins Dan to discuss the economic theory she’s helped to mainstream. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The chat app Discord announced today that it raised $100 million from venture capitalists at a $3.5 billion valuation. It’s an indication of how far Discord has come and how successful its rehabilitation has been after it was used as an organizing tool for white nationalists in Charlottesville. Now it might provide a model for other social media platforms struggling with content moderation. Dan is joined by Discord co-founder and CEO Jason Citron. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben & Jerry’s is one of a number of companies that are pulling ads on Facebook and Instagram for the month of July — but the company will continue to post social justice messaging on social media platforms, even as it applies pressure to these companies to change several of its content policies. Dan digs in with Chris Miller, head of activism strategy at Ben & Jerry's. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Baseball players and owners have agreed to play a shortened season, but there's no guarantee games will actually happen. Dan discusses the prospects for the 2020 season with Boston Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy. Dan also talks to the CEO of grocery giant Albertsons, which went public today, and to Axios transportation reporter Joann Muller about Amazon’s latest announcement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios Today is a weekday morning news show hosted by Niala Boodhoo. We’re sharing this morning’s episode. For years, some Democrats and Black leaders have called for reparations from the U.S. government for slavery. Axios business reporter Courtenay Brown says reparations may move faster in the private sector, where some corporations are trying to make amends. Plus, our new beer barometer tells us how much people are going out to bars and restaurants during the pandemic. And White House editor Margaret Talev tells us what to expect in the upcoming primaries after watching mayhem in Kentucky. Guests: Axios' Courtenay Brown, Hans Nichols, and Margaret Talev. Credits: "Axios Today" is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Carol Alderman, Cara Shillenn, Naomi Shavin, Nuria Marquez Martinez and Alex Sugiura. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the midst of weeks of #BlackLivesMatter protests, lists of anti-racism books and black-owned bookstores went viral, part of well-intentioned efforts that culminated in a deluge of hundreds of thousands of orders for the same handful of titles. Dan and Danielle Mullen, founder of Semicolon Books in Chicago, discuss her experience as a bookseller who ended up on those lists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Justice Department official testified today that Attorney General Bill Barr abused his power by directing investigations of marijuana company mergers that were motivated by a personal dislike of the industry. Dan is joined by Teddy Scott, who led one of the companies cited in the complaint, to discuss what Scott knew about the investigation and when. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Anthony Fauci is optimistic that there will be a coronavirus vaccine by early 2021, but determining who will get it first will be complicated. Dan discusses what happens once we have a vaccine with Dr. Zeke Emanuel, former White House health policy adviser and chair of the department of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two new studies show that projections for a rise in poverty this year didn’t happen because of the federal stimulus. Andrew Yang joins Dan to discuss if the stimulus can be seen as a test run for universal basic income, Yang’s signature campaign policy proposal, and his conversations with Joe Biden about the idea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As companies declare Juneteenth a corporate holiday, but fail to promote black workers to their own C-suites, Bloomberg Businessweek’s cover story asks, “Is it time for racial quotas?” Dan is joined by Businessweek’s Rebecca Greenfield, author of the cover story, who makes the argument that existing efforts to improve racial equity and representation haven’t worked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court ruled today to uphold DACA, the Obama-era program that protected nearly 650,000 unauthorized immigrants from deportation — but there are still unknowns ahead for DREAMers and their employers, because this isn’t a permanent solution to their immigration status. Dan is joined by Jeff Davidson, a lawyer who argued this case before the Ninth Circuit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal government has lent out more than half a trillion dollars to small businesses impacted by COVID-19, but there’s no way of knowing who received one and who didn’t, unless a business discloses that it received one. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are calling for greater transparency, including Representative Jennifer Wexton, who joins Dan to discuss a letter she sent today to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seattle, an early coronavirus hotspot, is trying to reopen its economy, while continuing to deal with protests that have resulted in the creation of a so-called “autonomous zone” where police no longer go. Dan digs in with Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan about what comes next for her city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NBA players are trying to balance a return to the court with their efforts to improve racial justice and equality, and not everyone agrees on the best course forward. Dan digs in with former NBA star Jalen Rose, a co-founder with LeBron James of a new voting rights group called More Than A Vote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each weekday afternoon starting June 15, Axios business editor Dan Primack unpacks the biggest story of the day and why it matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan and Axios' Mike Allen dig into the relationship between Silicon Valley and Washington D.C., ahead of the November election. Plus, a very important announcement. PLUS: The PPP gets extended and Google gets sued by its incognito users Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across the country, Americans are bearing witness to a painful moment in our history, with thousands showing up day after day to protest, even in the midst of a pandemic. Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, the founding director of the Museum of African American History and Culture, joins Dan to analyze the present moment and how we may understand it when we look back someday.  PLUS: Facebook faces off with employees and some surprisingly good news on jobs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The role of social media platforms in moderating user content has been in the spotlight as President Trump clashes with Twitter and Facebook deals with employee walkouts over the platform’s policy. Dan is joined by former Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for policy Stewart Baker to discuss the policy at the center of this debate.  PLUS: The business of tear gas and a possible COVID-19 treatment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a weekend of protests in cities across the U.S., in the midst of states beginning to reopen their economies, there are concerns that there could be a surge of coronavirus infections in the coming weeks. Axios heath care editor Sam Baker joins Dan to discuss what we know now about coronavirus and what we should anticipate.  PLUS: The new problem for an Uber-Grubhub marriage and making sense of senseless stock markets Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As companies adapt their policies around remote work and, in some cases, embrace remote work permanently, there could be consequences for super star cities — places like New York and San Francisco that companies long incentivized their employees to relocate to. Dan and Axios cities correspondent Kim Hart delve into the long-term impacts that a shift towards remote work could have for these places. PLUS: The Trump Twitter feud escalates and a Big Tech CEO departure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump is escalating his response to Twitter’s fact check of his recent tweets. Axios obtained a copy of a draft executive order that would target social media platforms’ legal protections — but ultimately, may not actually change very much. Axios technology reporter Margaret Harding McGill joins Dan to dig into this developing story. PLUS: The economic data we aren’t getting and why Fraggle Rock matters in 2020 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Twitter has come under fire for allowing President Trump to tweet about a conspiracy theory, only to come under fire from Trump himself for fact checking another set of his tweets about mail-in voting. Kara Swisher of the New York Times joins Dan to dig into Trump’s misuse of the platform and Twitter’s steps — and missteps — in handling it.  PLUS: Amazon’s next big acquisition and hackers target coronavirus research Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SpaceX is set to send a crew into space on Wednesday, ushering in a new era in space exploration: privately-funded space travel. Dan is joined by Axios space reporter Miriam Kramer to discuss the new economy of space travel, the future of NASA, and the political ramifications of launching astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in almost a decade.  PLUS: Why Hertz went broke and what a major music label can tell us about the pandemic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The revelation of fraud at Luckin Coffee has raised questions about the financial transparency offered by Chinese companies when they list shares on U.S. exchanges. Dan is joined by Hong Kong-based New York Times business correspondent Alexandra Stevenson to discuss what the fallout from Luckin Coffee’s scandal could mean for Chinese companies trying to list on U.S. stock exchanges and for American investors in Chinese companies.  PLUS: Silicon Valley rolls out contact tracing and the end of Memorial Day Weekend traffic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uber and Grubhub continue to haggle over the terms of a possible merger, but Senator Amy Klobuchar has already expressed concern that it would hurt competition and raise prices for customers if it happens. Senator Klobuchar joins Dan to talk about that deal, Facebook buying Giphy, and how to handle mergers during the pandemic more broadly.  PLUS: Podcasting gets its Howard Stern moment and big questions about that Moderna vaccine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hospitals have been at surge capacity to treat COVID-19 patients — but they’ve taken a hit due to the massive drop off in elective surgeries and procedures. Specialists’ offices have been hit especially hard. Dan is joined by Axios healthcare business reporter Bob Herman to discuss the challenges ahead as healthcare tries to rebound.  PLUS: Restaurants ask for more time and what Disney just lost to Tik Tok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

J.C. Penney is the latest large retailer to file for bankruptcy, raising the question: as mall stores flail in the wake of plummeting retail sales, how much of this retail upheaval was inevitable, and how much can be explained by coronavirus? Dan digs into this question with Fortune senior reporter Phil Wahba. PLUS: Democrats slam Uber’s attempts to buy Grubhub and Facebook gets a pass on its deal for Giphy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to research from the JPMorgan Chase Institute, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, small businesses in the U.S. had an average of less than 15 cash buffer days. Director of business research for the JPMorgan Chase Institute Chris Wheat joins Dan to shift through the data and determine how healthy America’s small businesses were before the coronavirus struck.  PLUS: Private equity goes to court and the year’s biggest retail bankruptcy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s new streaming platform Quibi failed to meet incredibly high launch expectations — it recently shared it has 1.3 million active users, way below expectations they set for 7 million users. Dan and Axios media reporter Sara Fischer discuss what went wrong for Quibi and how much of it can and cannot be blamed on coronavirus.  PLUS: Uber eyes a big acquisition and California officials try to make nice with Tesla Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weather forecasts draw on data collected by commercial aircraft, and the sudden drop in passenger flights may be impacting meteorology as we head into hurricane season. Washington Post deputy weather editor Andrew Freedman joins Dan to dig into the drop in data and what it could mean for weather forecasting.  PLUS: Congressional Democrats prepare to unveil the next stimulus and how Americans are the next hurdle to reopening America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California announced that manufacturing could resume in the state, but Alameda County has issued stay-at-home orders that run through the end of May. This impacts Tesla’s Fremont factory, and the company filed suit against the county to reopen. Dan is joined by TechCrunch senior reporter and editor Kristen Korosec to discuss Elon Musk’s strategy and the implications of this lawsuit.  PLUS: The presidential betting market and why this Thursday matters for pandemic-impaired Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between a new postmaster general and an ad blitz by Amazon, CVS and others aimed at rebutting President Trump’s comments that USPS should raise prices, the postal service couldn’t stay out of the news this week. Dan is joined by Washington Post reporter Lisa Rein to unpack a wild week for the beleaguered agency.  PLUS: The worst jobs report in U.S. history and the future of offices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legal Seafoods is one of dozens of companies around the country arguing that COVID-19 has interrupted cash flow to businesses and should be covered by business interruption insurance. Dan is joined by Legal Seafoods CEO Roger Berkowitz to discuss the steps he’s taking to keep his restaurant afloat and how he plans to eventually reopen.  PLUS: The supreme court takes up robocalls and the next big question for small business bailouts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal judge dismissed the central claim of unequal pay in the lawsuit filed by the U.S. women’s national soccer team against the U.S. Soccer Federation. But the players, including Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, have vowed to appeal. Dan is joined by Axios sports editor Kendall Baker to dig into this lawsuit and the ramifications of this ruling.  PLUS: WeWork’s former CEO files suit and COVID death counts become partisan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hurricane season starts June 1, and according to reporting from Axios national political reporter Jonathan Swan, FEMA is drafting guidance for how to respond to natural disasters and related emergencies in the midst of coronavirus. Dan is joined by Jonathan Swan to discuss what America could face this hurricane season.  PLUS: Amazon’s big loss and the first of what could become a wave of retail bankruptcies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The coffers of the PPP program have been replenished with $310 billion, $60 billion which has been allocated to small lenders and community banks, but problems with the program persist. Axios’ markets editor Dion Rabouin and Dan debate whether the program works as intended, where more guidance is needed, and whether this round of funding will help businesses that need the money most.  PLUS: Zoom’s newest headache and a Philadelphia icon heads to Silicon Valley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meat processing plants, which were slow to institute effective protective measures for employees, have started to close amid mass cases of worker illness. Then yesterday President Trump signed an executive order that would reopen them. Dan is joined by Washington Post business of food reporter Laura Reiley to examine the state of our meat supply chain.  PLUS: Jay-Z vs. artificial intelligence and Belgium asks its citizens for the best sort of solidarity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With states facing their worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has suggested that he favors states declaring bankruptcy over additional federal aid. Dan is joined by The Atlantic’s David Frum to discuss why creating a bankruptcy process for states appeals to the Republican party.  PLUS: Cannabis in the age of coronavirus and smartphone makers feel the pain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

States that are starting to reopen parts of their economies are starting from different places. Decisions about whether companies were essential in the first place were made on a state-by-state basis and stores that are closed in one state were open in another. Dan and Axios’ markets reporter Courtenay Brown dig into the questions of who is essential and how that’s being determined.  PLUS: Who is excluded from part two of the small business loan program and Google searches in the age of COVID-19 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week brought 4.4 million unemployment claims, a drop from recent weeks, but still a dire sign for the economy and for working Americans. Dan and New York Times tax and economics reporter Jim Tankersley dig into the latest numbers, the funding small businesses still need to protect jobs and hire back employees, and the layoffs that may still be ahead as this crisis drags out.  PLUS: A big battle over abandoned mergers and robot dogs join the fight against COVID-19 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launched Rt.live, which tracks the infection rate of COVID-19 in each state. Dan is joined by Kevin Systrom, who discusses what Rt.live can tell us as we navigate the crisis and shares his thoughts on how Silicon Valley has stepped up to offer funding, tools and leadership in the pandemic.  PLUS: The small business loan pool gets refilled and Facebook buys big into India Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oil prices suddenly went negative Monday evening, a sign that oil supply is outpacing demand as travel by planes and cars dramatically decreases — but the historic nature of this price drop also speaks volumes to the volatility that coronavirus is introducing to so many markets. Dan is joined by Axios energy reporter Ben Geman to discuss what this means for the oil industry.  PLUS: Facebook blocks COVID truther protests and the next big problem with health care Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shake Shack on Monday announced it would give back the $10 million it received via the Paycheck Protection Program, in the midst of circulating criticisms of the program’s application process and how it distributed funds before it ran out. Dan is joined by Shake Shack founder and chairman Danny Meyer to discuss the company's decision, the state of restaurants, and how the next phase of PPP should be structured. PLUS: Why Dropbox paid people to hack Zoom and Silicon Valley tracks COVID-19 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A handful of countries in Europe are attempting to reopen parts of their economies, and the rest of the world is watching for signs of success and strategies that can be emulated — but also for secondary outbreaks. Axios world editor Dave Lawler joins Dan to analyze these plans and we may start to see.  PLUS: Silicon Valley slows down and the end of middle seats on airplanes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forbes just released its Midas list, which ranks the top venture capitalists around the world each year. Dan and Forbes senior editor Alex Konrad dig into the list and discuss what VC investments mean at a moment when companies in nearly every sector are struggling in the face of the coronavirus crisis.  PLUS: The small business loans program is out of money and Facebook takes a giant step towards fighting coronavirus misinformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ro Khanna have released a proposal for a bill of rights for essential workers that covers protective equipment, premium pay, universal paid sick leave, health care coverage, child care, and more. Rep. Khanna joins Dan to discuss the proposal’s scope, what it aims to accomplish, and who would benefit.   PLUS: Zoom’s new security problem and corporate America gets a return-to-work reality check Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

States, cities and towns around the country rely on sales taxes, and they are facing an unprecedented drop in tax revenue. Dan is joined by Axios politics reporter Stef Kight to talk about their reporting on what happens if governments on the state and local level start to go bankrupt.  PLUS: Big Tech fills the testing vacuum and Elizabeth Warren’s bill of rights for essential workers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hydroxychloroquine has evolved from a sleepy anti-malaria drug into a partisan litmus test over the future of COVID-19 treatment. Dan and Axios healthcare reporter Bob Herman dig into what we know about the drug, what we still don't, and why both matter. PLUS: New money for small businesses and a way to help New York medical workers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jack Dorsey, Bill Gates, and other billionaires are pledging money to address the coronavirus crisis, raising a question: as billionaires do good, are they perpetuating a system that relies on their power and influence? Recode’s senior reporter on money and influence Teddy Schleifer joins Dan to discuss.  PLUS: Staples stiffs its landlords and Passover via Zoom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. will not be able to reopen as quickly as it closed without ensuring another wave of coronavirus outbreaks. Dan and Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon discuss what it will take to safely reopen the American economy and how far off that may be.  PLUS: WeWork sues SoftBank and Airbnb buys a buffer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oil prices have cratered, due to reduced demand and a dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia, threatening one of America's largest industries. Dan digs in with Axios energy reporters Amy Harder and Ben Gemen. PLUS: ER docs get pay cuts and the launch of Quibi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American small businesses soon will be able to get government loans to keep people employed, but many startups will be left out because of an old rule that the CARES Act didn't address. Dan is joined by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who's working with Nancy Pelosi and others to get this changed. PLUS: Zoom grows up and a random act of kindness Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices