Axios Re:Cap

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.