1 big thing

Tensions are rising in Eastern Europe, on the border between Belarus and Poland. Yesterday, Polish police began using water cannons and tear gas against people trying to cross into the country. For weeks now, thousands of migrants from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan have been waiting at the border in an attempt to enter the European Union, in what EU leaders are calling a manufactured crisis.

Guests: Axios' Zach Basu, Tina Reed, and Ina Fried.

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, David Toledo and Jayk Cherry. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

People who have health insurance but get sick with diseases that require out-of-network care can face staggering costs.

Guests: Axios' Bob Herman, Kia Kokalitcheva and Selene San Felice.

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, and Jayk Cherry. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

House Democrats continue to push for a vote of that nearly two trillion dollar Build Back Better spending bill. After months of wrangling, no date has been set and passage of President Biden’s massive agenda remains in question. So one question we’re asking this morning is: Is all the momentum lost?

Guests: Axios' Hans Nichols, Ina Fried and Ben Geman.

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, and Jayk Cherry. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

President Biden last August announced the end of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan. But for the 800,000 American service members who participated in America’s longest war, the devastating psychological and physical effects can last for decades. On this Veterans Day, we're bringing you veterans' stories from a new podcast called Third Squad.

Guests: Elliott Woods, veteran and host of the podcast Third Squad

Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Erica Pandey, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Lydia McMullen-Laird, and Jayk Cherry. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

Yesterday we talked about American pessimism around the economy. But as our latest Axios-Ipsos poll shows, we are optimistic about some things like the state of the pandemic.

According to our poll, Americans are more likely to think that going back to normal life is now a low to moderate risk. That same poll found that most Americans are happy with how their kids’ schools are handling Covid precautions and student safety.

Guests: Axios' Margaret Talev and Sara Fischer.

Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Erica Pandey, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Lydia McMullen-Laird, and Jayk Cherry. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

The October jobs report showed that job creation is roaring back. 531,000 jobs were added last month and unemployment fell to 4.6% - a pandemic low. This was good news for economists and experts who have been tracking our recovery but for the average American, these data points are getting lost in what Felix Salmon calls “economic pessimism.”

Guests: Axios' Felix Salmon, Andrew Freedman, and Stef Kight.

Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Erica Pandey, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Lydia McMullen-Laird, and Jayk Cherry. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

Over the weekend, a federal appeals court temporarily suspended enforcement of President Biden’s vaccine mandate for private employers. This came shortly after the Biden administration set January 4th as the deadline for companies with more than 100 workers to get their employees vaccinated or start regular testing.

Guests: The Houston Chronicle's Joey Guerra, Axios' Tina Reed and Margaret Harding McGill.

Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Erica Pandey, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Lydia McMullen-Laird, and Jayk Cherry. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

Yesterday, we talked about President Biden's plans on prescription drug prices and what that could mean for all of us. Another key platform the president campaigned on was taxing the rich, but that's complicated.

Guests: Axios' Felix Salmon, Dave Lawler and Erica Pandey.

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 and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

Motor vehicle crash fatalities spiked in the first six months of this year. In fact it’s the biggest half-year rise on record. That’s according to new data from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and it's something Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is calling “a crisis.”

Guests: Nancy Solomon, Managing Editor for New Jersey Public Radio and WNYC; and Axios' Bryan Walsh and Caitlin Owens.

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 and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

The Republican Party saw some key wins in yesterday’s elections, particularly in Virginia where candidate Glenn Youngkin was elected governor. Is this a warning to Democrats for 2022?

Guests: Axios' Mike Allen, Torey Van Oot, and Ben Geman.

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 and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.