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Axios podcast host Niala Boodhoo digs deep with leaders you know — or need to know — in business, politics and culture. Every week, all in under 20 minutes. About Axios: Axios is a digital media company launched in 2017. Axios helps you become smarter, faster with news and information across politics, tech, business, media, science and the world. Subscribe to our newsletters at axios.com/newsletters and download our mobile app at axios.com/app. About Niala Boodhoo: Niala Boodhoo is the host ...
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Niala Boodhoo walked nearly 80 miles along the Camino de Santiago this summer, an ancient Christian pilgrimage that's been meaningful for millions. A growing number of Americans—including non-Christians—are taking up this and other pilgrimages, for all sorts of reasons. Author and travel leader Phil Cousineau says the tradition of walking to find m…
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Hundreds of thousands have been taking to the streets in Israel, ever since the bodies of six murdered Israeli hostages were found last week in a tunnel in Gaza. It marked an escalation by Hamas, Axios' Barak Ravid tells Niala Boodhoo. Ravid has been covering the war since the start, and reporting on the Middle East for his entire career. As we app…
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Before Vice President Harris became the Democratic nominee, Asian American voters were unenthusiastic about then-candidate Biden. But Harris has since energized the fastest-growing voter group in the U.S.: AAPI voters. Now, data suggests these voters could be a major factor in some swing states come November. Political scientist Karthick Ramakrishn…
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UAW President Shawn Fain got a coveted spot speaking opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to share his message of fighting against corporate greed. With one million active and retired members, Democrats are hoping the UAW will help get out the vote for a Harris-Walz ticket. Organized labor's role in the election isn't just…
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Growing up an immigrant in the U.S., writer Viet Thanh Nguyen tried to make sense of the Vietnamese story. "There were these two very different versions of history and memory that were going around, and I was growing up very confused about what the actual history was," he tells Niala Boodhoo. That set him on a path to become a scholar and a writer …
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The last school year saw the First Amendment tested across college campuses. Protests over Israel's treatment of Gaza dominated headlines and disrupted commencements, while antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents on campuses rose. As another school year approaches, institutions are facing new free speech debates ahead. One lawyer who ran investigatio…
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Americans have long used the Bible to justify their politics. That's in part why today, younger Christians are rethinking their relationship to their faith, and the Bible's place in American political life. Kaitlyn Schiess says that's a good thing. She's the author of "The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Pol…
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"Nothing, nothing, can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition." President Biden explained his move to the American people in an address Wednesday night. Now, a new race lies ahead -- one no longer so focused on the past, between two candidates who've already done the job of president. So what is it about? Axios co-…
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Based on this week's Republican National Convention, the assassination attempt on former President Trump seems to have unified the GOP. Alex Thompson is national political correspondent for Axios, and he says while conventions often put cleavages and frictions on display, Saturday's events have made many of those frictions within the party virtuall…
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The October 7th Hamas terrorist attack and Israel's ensuing war in Gaza have made Jews around the world look closer at the core of their faith and the role of Israel. Legal and religious scholar Noah Feldman has been digging into his own Jewish faith as he watches political and intergenerational conflict play out around him, on college campuses and…
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As we celebrate 248 years of being a democracy, has the U.S. Supreme Court become the most powerful branch of government? We put that to Jeff Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, who in his latest book delves deep into the thinking of the founding fathers. For a special July 4th episode we asked him for his take on the immu…
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One in every three adults in the U.S. has some kind of criminal record. That makes finding a job much harder, and has consequences not just for individuals and communities, but also takes a major economic toll on the country. One leader says businesses can advance the effort for so-called second chance hiring much faster than government. How her or…
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Climate change, inflation, and unreliable supply chains are just some of the challenges small-scale farmers globally are facing today. Alloysius Attah grew up on a farm in Ghana and has seen it all first hand. Now, as tech advances in agriculture and AI have opened new possibilities for farmers, he's helping small-scale farmers take advantage by pr…
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Reshma Saujani, founder of Girl Who Code, saw the pandemic push women out of the workforce and make existing workplace inequalities worse. "We have not made the workforce work for moms," she says. With her campaign called Moms First, she launched a tool last year that uses generative AI to help moms-to-be apply for paid leave benefits in New York. …
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Some 38 million people live in poverty in this country – nearly 12 percent of the population. The problem remains especially bad in New York City, where the poverty level among kids alone has jumped 66% since 2021. The Robin Hood Foundation has provided millions of dollars of grants to fight poverty in New York for more than 3 decades. Now, its CEO…
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Elections officials have faced violent threats since the 2020 presidential election, and five months out from the next vote, Secretaries of State are on the front lines. Colorado's Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold has seen a 600% rise in threats against her in recent months. Niala spoke to Secretary Griswold about protecting elections an…
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Interest in birdwatching has been booming, and Ed Yong is one of the millions who have fallen hard. Yong is a Pulitzer-prize winning science writer previously of the Atlantic, where he was one of the first journalists to deeply investigate long COVID. He says birding has has a transformative impact on his life in the last year, and hopes the same m…
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In his more than 15 years in pro football, NFL quarterback Steve Young made his name on the field as one of the most efficient passers of all time. But after his retirement, he turned his career to private equity, co-founding the firm HGGC in 2007. Now, Young is watching the recent surge in private equity investments in sports teams, and making the…
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Fei-Fei Li is widely known as the godmother of AI, thanks to her groundbreaking research in the field. You can draw a straight line from her early work to the generative AI of today. Now, she's at the forefront of what comes next, which includes bringing together generative AI and robotics for use across industries. Niala visited Dr. Li's lab at St…
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Republican lawmakers have come a long way on climate change since the days of tossing snowballs in the U.S. Senate a decade ago. Today, an 80+ member Conservative Climate Caucus wants to elevate Republicans' voices on climate, while maintaining conservative principles. But former President Donald Trump is still at odds with that mission. The Caucus…
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Retired WNBA legend Sue Bird knows just how far women's basketball has come. Arguably the greatest WNBA player in history, she was also part of negotiating a major collective bargaining agreement in 2019 that set the stage for big changes for players. "We've been trying to get people to pay attention, to see what we've all seen behind closed doors,…
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Hospitals are supposed to be safe havens in a war. But Avril Benoît, the U.S. executive director for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says that's not the case in places including Sudan, where this week marks a year since the start of a brutal civil war. More than 14,000 people there have been killed, 8 million have been displaced, and some 25 million …
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The majority of U.S. school buses today are diesel, emitting pollutants harmful to the environment and to kids. Highland Electric Fleets is behind the largest electric school bus project in America, and its founder and CEO says the buses are healthier, quieter, and a cost savings over time. But upgrading is complicated and costly, and uptake is slo…
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Autonomous weapons are no longer science fiction - and they're becoming a top priority for major military powers. Anna Hehir of the Future of Life Institute says we need an international treaty to ban some of the most dangerous autonomous weapons, and that we have a unique window now to do just that. Plus: Axios co-founder Mike Allen on how Washing…
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Recent elections have shown us the power of bad actors using AI. But what about AI itself that's just...flawed? Dr. Alondra Nelson has investigated this, with surprising results. Nelson was involved in some of the government's earliest talks about how to thoughtfully manage AI and democracy during her tenure in the White House Office of Science and…
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West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin may have a D next to his name, but he's been known to buck his party on major issues, including climate. In November, the Senator announced his retirement from the Senate, just as other more moderate Senate voices like Kyrsten Sinema and Mitt Romney depart, too. Niala speaks to Sen. Manchin live on stage at the Axi…
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U.S. workers today have enormous momentum and leverage. 2023 was a year of walkouts, with the number of U.S. workers on strike more than doubling. Lee Saunders is president of AFSCME, one of the country's largest unions, and he says with workers engaged as never before, this is the moment to make progress for American labor. The power of workers in…
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It's estimated only one percent of medical research spending globally goes toward female-specific conditions that aren't related to cancer. But even as underfunding of women's health persists -- companies focused on women's health are innovating. Dr. Sara Naseri is working to reframe menstrual blood as a diagnostic tool rather than waste, with her …
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New laws in at least 14 states are forcing teachers to rethink how they teach history when it comes to race in particular. For the last day of this Black History Month, one education leader on why having more Black teachers, and leaning into Black teaching traditions, can help all students get a better handle on American history. Plus, Axios Miami'…
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Last year was one of the worst in recent memory for layoffs across media. Job losses in digital, broadcast and print news increased almost 71 percent from 2022, according to a recent report. Victor Pickard, professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania, says the current situation amounts to a "systemic market fai…
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Anthropologist Helen Fisher has long been trying to answer the question: why do you fall in love with one person rather than another? Her research says we've evolved four basic styles of thinking and behaving linked with the dopamine, serotonin, testosterone, and estrogen systems. Fisher used that research to create a questionnaire that's been take…
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It's harder than ever to define what it means to be evangelical in America. But one constant? The Trump support. "The MAGA base is very real inside these evangelical spaces and it's not accurate to try to separate them," says scholar Kristin Kobes Du Mez, who herself has an Evangelical background. She tells Niala why white Evangelical power is stro…
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This marks the end of so-called "Dry January," a phenomenon that's been growing in popularity. But for many, alcohol is still a daily struggle; it's the most common substance abuse addiction in the United States, affecting at least 1 out of every 10 people. Sean Daniels is a playwright and recovering addict whose critically-acclaimed autobiographic…
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There are more than 3 billion video gamers worldwide. Many come--and stay--for the community. Today: AI is changing gaming for these communities, and the head of one major video game developer says we need to advance gaming for users through responsible AI. Niala talks with Songyee Yoon of NCSoft, from the Axios House at the World Economic Forum, a…
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Indigenous leaders are helming efforts to tackle the world's problems, from climate change to violence against women. And Fawn Sharp, Vice President of the Quinault Indian Nation and former President of the National Congress of American Indians, says "the world is starting to recognize they need us more than we need them." Niala Boodhoo sat down wi…
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January 6th, 2021 put our founding document to the test. And constitutional scholar Noah Feldman says, that although we survived our stress test, "our EKG went up and down a lot more than you would like it to do in what is supposed to be a 21st century democracy." What we've learned about the strength of our Constitution--and where its cracks show-…
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Misty Copeland is the rare ballerina who's recognizable well beyond the world of ballet. In 2015, she became the first Black woman to reach the title of principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. Throughout her career, Misty has spoken out about being one of the few Black dancers on the professional stage, and why early and equa…
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For years, we've heard that China is an unstoppable economic engine. In 2023, that changed. One stat says it all: in the third quarter this year, foreign direct investment in China was negative for the first time in modern history. Today for the holidays we're bringing you another special episode of 1 big thing where we spotlight a leader from with…
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"As a passionate Muslim and a passionate Jew, we have come together to humbly share a path forward for how to transcend the construct of 'us vs. them' and side with humanity instead." That's from a recent open letter to college students across America, written by Daniel Lubetzky, founder of KIND Snacks, and Lonnie Ali, co-founder of the Muhammad Al…
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Extreme weather is being increasingly linked to climate change, thanks to the work of scientists the world over. But Dr. Fredi Otto's contribution is unique: she is getting it done faster. That hurricane, that drought, that wildfire? Her team at World Weather Attribution can say the extent to which climate change was a factor, but within weeks, not…
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UN climate conferences don't generally start off with a bang. But COP28 in Dubai this year did just that, when on day one a Loss and Damage fund was created to support developing nations hit hardest by climate change. It's been a 30-some year fight to get here for climate activists like Harjeet Singh, but he says the new fund is not enough. How one…
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According to the Surgeon General, about one in two American adults report experiencing loneliness. As self-help voices continue cropping up in every corner of the internet on staving off loneliness and finding happiness, Laurie Santos of Yale--host of The Happiness Lab podcast--brings a scientific perspective. She says research tell us we're bad at…
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As AI keeps getting better, how do we keep up? There's been a lot of news this week about leadership at OpenAI, just one company that's leading the way in the AI space. But amidst that chaos, AI technology keeps marching ahead. Ina Fried, Axios chief technology correspondent and co-author of the AI+ newsletter, has been testing out and writing abou…
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U.S. politics have gotten more polarized, and more extreme. Today, Tennessee attorney Chloe Akers has a new plan to do something that can feel nearly impossible: elevate the voices in the middle. She tells Niala Boodhoo: "We're not using any other playbook to solve what we believe is the pervasiveness of extremism and how damaging that can be on th…
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Young people were struggling before the pandemic. Today, their mental health challenges are acute—and social media is making it worse. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has been sounding the alarm, and he tells Niala Boodhoo: "If we don't do something now, we are at risk of losing a generation of young people." How does the Surgeon General plan…
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José Andrés has become a recognized figure on the scene in the aftermath of global disasters. The chef-turned-humanitarian traveled to Haiti more than a decade ago to cook food for victims of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Today: he's on the ground in war zones. How does one man lead an emergency response organization as the emergencies keep growing…
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On November 2nd, join host Niala Boodhoo for a new show from Axios that digs deep with leaders in business, politics, and culture on the ideas shaping our world. Plus, Axios journalists share context and reality checks all along the way. The bottom line: Listen every week for conversations with leaders and thinkers you know—or need to know—in 20 mi…
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Hunter Biden on Thursday was indicted for three counts related to his alleged illegal possession of a firearm. And on Capitol Hill, time is running out for Congress to avert a looming government shutdown. Plus, lab-grown meat goes kosher and halal. And, for our last daily show, we answer some of your burning questions. Guests: Axios' Mike Allen, Ma…
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White mainline Protestants are some of the country's largest religious groups. A new study shows their clergy tend to be more progressive than their churchgoers. We take a look at what that tells us about religion and political divisions in America today. Plus, Senator Mitt Romney underscores our aging political landscape. And, inflation eats away …
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy opened an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, on Tuesday. The move could result in months of divisive hearings in Congress as both President Biden and former President Trump, who was impeached twice, campaign for the presidency. Plus, the United Auto Workers union gears up for a strike. And, the pluses and perils …
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