We started this week talking about the possibility of a government shutdown, raising the debt ceiling and passing an ambitious new economic agenda for President Biden. By late Thursday, a government shut down had been averted -- but pretty much everything else was still on the table.

Plus, the pandemic backlog of cases.

And, a historic arts performance in New York City.

Guests: Axios' Margaret Talev, Alayna Treene, and Russell Contreras.
Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Dan Bobkoff, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Sabeena Singhani, Alex Sugiura, and Ben O'Brien. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.
Go deeper:

Congress passes short-term government funding bill, averting shutdown

COVID-era criminals go free: Prosecutors dismiss cases as backlog mounts


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Understanding the action on Capitol Hill

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 of 1 big thing and previously hosted Axios Today She was the founding Host and Executive Producer of the award-winning news program The 21st. An alum of Reuters, The Miami Herald and WBEZ/Chicago, Niala was a 2019-2020 Knight-Wallace fellow.

News

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 slow. How CEO Duncan McIntyre is trying to make school buses greener, and what's standing in the way.
Plus: Axios reporters Jael Holzman and Nathan Bomey provide context and a look at what's next.
Guests: Duncan McIntyre, CEO and founder at Highland Electric Fleets; Jael Holzman, Axios energy and climate reporter; Nathan Bomey, Axios business reporter
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 podcasts@axios.com. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.
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Duncan McIntyre: Electrifying school bus fleets

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 Washington is thinking about AI and weapons of war, behind the scenes.
Guests: Anna Hehir, autonomous weapons lead at the Future of Life Institute; Axios co-founder Mike Allen, author of Axios AM and Axios PM
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 podcasts@axios.com. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.
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Anna Hehir: Banning the most dangerous autonomous weapons

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 Technology Policy in the Biden administration. She spoke with Axios' Ina Fried at the Axios What's Next Summit in Washington D.C. last week about chatbots in the 2024 elections and more.
Plus: Niala talks to Gordon Crovitz of Newsguard about how major brands are unintentionally funding disinformation through advertising.
Guests: Dr. Alondra Nelson, former acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Biden administration, professor at the Institute for Advanced Study; Gordon Crovitz, co-CEO and co-editor in chief of NewsGuard, former publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
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 podcasts@axios.com. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.
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Alondra Nelson: AI chatbots get elections info wrong

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 Axios What's Next Summit in Washington, D.C. this week, where he makes his case for capturing voters in the center, and keeping the U.S. involved in oil and gas production.
Plus, Axios politics reporters Hans Nichols and Alex Thompson give us context.
Guests: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.); Axios' Alex Thompson and Hans Nichols.
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 podcasts@axios.com. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.
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Sen. Joe Manchin: What's at stake when we lose the center

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 2024, and how one union leader wants to wield it.
Plus, Axios markets correspondent Emily Peck with the big picture.
Guests: Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; Emily Peck, markets correspondent for Axios.
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 podcasts@axios.com. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.
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Understanding the action on Capitol Hill

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