Axios Re:Cap

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.

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.

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 [email protected].

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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 [email protected].

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.‪

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.