Axios Re:Cap

SpaceX is set to send a crew into space on Wednesday, ushering in a new era in space exploration: privately-funded space travel. Dan is joined by Axios space reporter Miriam Kramer to discuss the new economy of space travel, the future of NASA, and the political ramifications of launching astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in almost a decade. 

PLUS: Why Hertz went broke and what a major music label can tell us about the pandemic

The revelation of fraud at Luckin Coffee has raised questions about the financial transparency offered by Chinese companies when they list shares on U.S. exchanges. Dan is joined by Hong Kong-based New York Times business correspondent Alexandra Stevenson to discuss what the fallout from Luckin Coffee’s scandal could mean for Chinese companies trying to list on U.S. stock exchanges and for American investors in Chinese companies. 

PLUS: Silicon Valley rolls out contact tracing and the end of Memorial Day Weekend traffic

Uber and Grubhub continue to haggle over the terms of a possible merger, but Senator Amy Klobuchar has already expressed concern that it would hurt competition and raise prices for customers if it happens. Senator Klobuchar joins Dan to talk about that deal, Facebook buying Giphy, and how to handle mergers during the pandemic more broadly. 

PLUS: Podcasting gets its Howard Stern moment and big questions about that Moderna vaccine

Hospitals have been at surge capacity to treat COVID-19 patients — but they’ve taken a hit due to the massive drop off in elective surgeries and procedures. Specialists’ offices have been hit especially hard. Dan is joined by Axios healthcare business reporter Bob Herman to discuss the challenges ahead as healthcare tries to rebound. 

PLUS: Restaurants ask for more time and what Disney just lost to Tik Tok

J.C. Penney is the latest large retailer to file for bankruptcy, raising the question: as mall stores flail in the wake of plummeting retail sales, how much of this retail upheaval was inevitable, and how much can be explained by coronavirus? Dan digs into this question with Fortune senior reporter Phil Wahba.

PLUS: Democrats slam Uber’s attempts to buy Grubhub and Facebook gets a pass on its deal for Giphy.

According to research from the JPMorgan Chase Institute, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, small businesses in the U.S. had an average of less than 15 cash buffer days. Director of business research for the JPMorgan Chase Institute Chris Wheat joins Dan to shift through the data and determine how healthy America’s small businesses were before the coronavirus struck. 

PLUS: Private equity goes to court and the year’s biggest retail bankruptcy

Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s new streaming platform Quibi failed to meet incredibly high launch expectations — it recently shared it has 1.3 million active users, way below expectations they set for 7 million users. Dan and Axios media reporter Sara Fischer discuss what went wrong for Quibi and how much of it can and cannot be blamed on coronavirus. 

PLUS: Uber eyes a big acquisition and California officials try to make nice with Tesla

Weather forecasts draw on data collected by commercial aircraft, and the sudden drop in passenger flights may be impacting meteorology as we head into hurricane season. Washington Post deputy weather editor Andrew Freedman joins Dan to dig into the drop in data and what it could mean for weather forecasting. 

PLUS: Congressional Democrats prepare to unveil the next stimulus and how Americans are the next hurdle to reopening America

California announced that manufacturing could resume in the state, but Alameda County has issued stay-at-home orders that run through the end of May. This impacts Tesla’s Fremont factory, and the company filed suit against the county to reopen. Dan is joined by TechCrunch senior reporter and editor Kristen Korosec to discuss Elon Musk’s strategy and the implications of this lawsuit. 

PLUS: The presidential betting market and why this Thursday matters for pandemic-impaired

Between a new postmaster general and an ad blitz by Amazon, CVS and others aimed at rebutting President Trump’s comments that USPS should raise prices, the postal service couldn’t stay out of the news this week. Dan is joined by Washington Post reporter Lisa Rein to unpack a wild week for the beleaguered agency. 

PLUS: The worst jobs report in U.S. history and the future of offices