1 big thing

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 taken by 15 million people in 40 countries, shedding light on how we choose our mates.

She's also one of the experts behind the Singles in America survey from Match.com, the most recent of which shows that people are using AI in online dating, and are increasingly trying alternatives to monogamy.

• Plus, Axios' Carly Mallenbaum on legal protections for polyamorous relationships.

Guests: Helen Fisher, anthropologist and chief science advisor to Match.com; Axios lifestyle reporter Carly Mallenbaum.

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura and Jay Cowit. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

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 stronger than ever for Republicans in 2024.

• Plus: Axios' Sophia Cai on what she's seen covering the Evangelical vote on the campaign trail, and why it matters that more pastors are spreading their word on social media.

Guests: Kristin Kobes Du Mez, professor of history and gender studies at Calvin and the author of the book "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation."

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

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 autobiographical play "The White Chip" returns Off-Broadway today. Niala talks to Sean about using humor on stage to save lives.

• Plus, listeners tell us what Dry January meant for their lives this year.

Guests: Sean Daniels, playwright of "The White Chip" and director of The Recovery Project at Florida Studio Theatre.

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

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, and gets context from Axios' global technology correspondent Ryan Heath.

• Plus: Stephen Totilo, author of the Game File newsletter, with a reality check on the human vs. AI touch in gaming today.

Guests: Songyee Yoon, president and chief strategic officer of South Korean-based video game developer NCSoft; Ryan Heath, Axios global technology correspondent and co-author of Axios AI+; Stephen Totilo, author and founder of Game File and former gaming reporter at Axios.

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

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 with Fawn in Davos, Switzerland at the annual World Economic Forum to talk about why Indigenous leadership matters now.

• Plus: Axios' Neil Irwin with a reality check on the World Economic Forum and the themes from this year's gathering.

Guests: Fawn Sharp, vice president of the Quinault Indian Nation, former president of the National Congress of American Indians, and Indigenous Co-Chair for the World Economic Forum; Neil Irwin, Axios chief economic correspondent.

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

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--ahead of our presidential election this fall.

• Plus: Axios' Alex Thompson on the piece of the Trump ballot story many of us may be missing.

Guests: Noah Feldman, Harvard Law professor and constitutional studies scholar, Bloomberg Opinion columnist, and author of the forthcoming book, "To Be a Jew: a New Guide to God, Israel and the Jewish People"; Alex Thompson, Axios national political correspondent.

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

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 equal access to the arts is so important. Through her foundation, she’s trying to connect more young people to ballet through after-school programs.

Niala Boodhoo spoke to Misty this week about forging new paths in an old art form, and why that matters for equity and inclusion beyond the stage.

WATCH: Misty Copeland dancing at the 2015 Vail International Dance Festival.

Guest: Misty Copeland, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, and founder of the The Misty Copeland Foundation. Author of several books, most recently "The Wind at My Back.”

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

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 within our own newsroom. Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian explains why China's economic miracle has ended, but its power is still growing.

Guests: Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Axios China reporter and author of "Beijing Rules: China's Quest for Global Influence."

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

"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 Ali Center and wife of the late Muhammad Ali.

Lonnie and Daniel have both witnessed the growing hatred on American college campuses as the Israel-Hamas war rages on, and they say students themselves are at the heart of the solution. In their letter, they detail what they call ten ways to side with humanity, including: "It helps, not hurts, your cause to empathize with the pain of the other side" and "to get the full story, pop your social media bubble."

• Plus: the new challenges for DEI programs on college campuses.

Guests: Daniel Lubetzky, founder of KIND Snacks and co-founder of the Starts with Us movement; Lonnie Ali, co-founder of the Muhammad Ali Center, and wife of the late Muhammad Ali.

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

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 years.

In other words, she leads the world's only rapid reaction force of climate scientists. Why she says linking extreme weather events to climate change matters more than ever.

Guests: Dr. Fredi Otto, co-founder of World Weather Attribution, and a Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at Imperial College London

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.