Niala Boodhoo walked nearly 80 miles along the Camino de Santiago this summer, an ancient Christian pilgrimage that's been meaningful for millions. A growing number of Americans—including non-Christians—are taking up this and other pilgrimages, for all sorts of reasons. Author and travel leader Phil Cousineau says the tradition of walking to find meaning is as old as travel itself. He is the author of "The Art of Pilgrimage, The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred," first published 25 years a...
Sep 12, 2024•30 min
Hundreds of thousands have been taking to the streets in Israel, ever since the bodies of six murdered Israeli hostages were found last week in a tunnel in Gaza. It marked an escalation by Hamas, Axios' Barak Ravid tells Niala Boodhoo. Ravid has been covering the war since the start, and reporting on the Middle East for his entire career. As we approach the one year anniversary of the start of this conflict, he brings us inside the negotiations, the protests, and the stark reality of this new ch...
Sep 05, 2024•23 min
Before Vice President Harris became the Democratic nominee, Asian American voters were unenthusiastic about then-candidate Biden. But Harris has since energized the fastest-growing voter group in the U.S.: AAPI voters. Now, data suggests these voters could be a major factor in some swing states come November. Political scientist Karthick Ramakrishnan of AAPI data explains the power of Asian Americans to affect the race. Guests: Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of AAPI Data; researcher at UC Berkel...
Aug 29, 2024•23 min
UAW President Shawn Fain got a coveted spot speaking opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to share his message of fighting against corporate greed. With one million active and retired members, Democrats are hoping the UAW will help get out the vote for a Harris-Walz ticket. Organized labor's role in the election isn't just to bring people together, but get them to work with each other, Fain told Niala Boodhoo on stage at an Axios House DNC event this week. Fain talks ab...
Aug 22, 2024•26 min
Growing up an immigrant in the U.S., writer Viet Thanh Nguyen tried to make sense of the Vietnamese story. "There were these two very different versions of history and memory that were going around, and I was growing up very confused about what the actual history was," he tells Niala Boodhoo. That set him on a path to become a scholar and a writer about the past. The author of The Sympathizer on why we need "defiant storytellers" and "scholars of memory" now. Guests: Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer ...
Aug 15, 2024•22 min
The last school year saw the First Amendment tested across college campuses. Protests over Israel's treatment of Gaza dominated headlines and disrupted commencements, while antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents on campuses rose. As another school year approaches, institutions are facing new free speech debates ahead. One lawyer who ran investigations into the Capitol insurrection and the Charlottesville rally, and one Senator who has sued the Biden administration over censorship, share their tak...
Aug 08, 2024•22 min
Americans have long used the Bible to justify their politics. That's in part why today, younger Christians are rethinking their relationship to their faith, and the Bible's place in American political life. Kaitlyn Schiess says that's a good thing. She's the author of "The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here." For the second installment in our series about faith in American today, Schiess makes the case for how Christianity ...
Aug 01, 2024•22 min
"Nothing, nothing, can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition." President Biden explained his move to the American people in an address Wednesday night. Now, a new race lies ahead -- one no longer so focused on the past, between two candidates who've already done the job of president. So what is it about? Axios co-founders Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei take us inside their reporting. Guests: Axios co-founders Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei, authors of the Axios "Behi...
Jul 25, 2024•21 min
Based on this week's Republican National Convention, the assassination attempt on former President Trump seems to have unified the GOP. Alex Thompson is national political correspondent for Axios, and he says while conventions often put cleavages and frictions on display, Saturday's events have made many of those frictions within the party virtually disappear. Alex joins us for a special episode from the RNC in Milwaukee to lead us through this moment for the GOP. Plus: Axios' Sophia Cai recount...
Jul 18, 2024•20 min
The October 7th Hamas terrorist attack and Israel's ensuing war in Gaza have made Jews around the world look closer at the core of their faith and the role of Israel. Legal and religious scholar Noah Feldman has been digging into his own Jewish faith as he watches political and intergenerational conflict play out around him, on college campuses and beyond. He explores all this in a new book, and speaks with Niala for the first of several conversations on 1 big thing about faith in America today-...
Jul 11, 2024•21 min
As we celebrate 248 years of being a democracy, has the U.S. Supreme Court become the most powerful branch of government? We put that to Jeff Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, who in his latest book delves deep into the thinking of the founding fathers. For a special July 4th episode we asked him for his take on the immunity ruling and the SCOTUS term behind us, and his own 1 big thing: how the founding fathers' thinking about the courts and democracy matters today. G...
Jul 04, 2024•21 min
One in every three adults in the U.S. has some kind of criminal record. That makes finding a job much harder, and has consequences not just for individuals and communities, but also takes a major economic toll on the country. One leader says businesses can advance the effort for so-called second chance hiring much faster than government. How her organization encourages businesses to help each other put more people back into the workforce. Guests: Maha Jweied, CEO of the Responsible Business Init...
Jun 27, 2024•22 min
Climate change, inflation, and unreliable supply chains are just some of the challenges small-scale farmers globally are facing today. Alloysius Attah grew up on a farm in Ghana and has seen it all first hand. Now, as tech advances in agriculture and AI have opened new possibilities for farmers, he's helping small-scale farmers take advantage by providing access to critical information in their native languages. His organization Farmerline started in Africa and now works with more than 2.2 milli...
Jun 20, 2024•20 min
Reshma Saujani, founder of Girl Who Code, saw the pandemic push women out of the workforce and make existing workplace inequalities worse. "We have not made the workforce work for moms," she says. With her campaign called Moms First, she launched a tool last year that uses generative AI to help moms-to-be apply for paid leave benefits in New York. Soon it will be available in all other states where paid leave is available. For our second conversation on using AI to uplift people and promote equa...
Jun 13, 2024•19 min
Some 38 million people live in poverty in this country – nearly 12 percent of the population. The problem remains especially bad in New York City, where the poverty level among kids alone has jumped 66% since 2021. The Robin Hood Foundation has provided millions of dollars of grants to fight poverty in New York for more than 3 decades. Now, its CEO says the foundation famous for using investment principles to tackle poverty is enlisting AI in the fight. Niala spoke with Rich Buery Wednesday live...
Jun 06, 2024•19 min
Elections officials have faced violent threats since the 2020 presidential election, and five months out from the next vote, Secretaries of State are on the front lines. Colorado's Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold has seen a 600% rise in threats against her in recent months. Niala spoke to Secretary Griswold about protecting elections and officials in the lead-up to 2024. Guest: Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Bott...
May 30, 2024•21 min
Interest in birdwatching has been booming, and Ed Yong is one of the millions who have fallen hard. Yong is a Pulitzer-prize winning science writer previously of the Atlantic, where he was one of the first journalists to deeply investigate long COVID. He says birding has has a transformative impact on his life in the last year, and hopes the same might be true for COVID long haulers. Plus: one unique effort to save a bird population in Hawaii. Guests: Ed Yong, science writer and author of "An Im...
May 23, 2024•22 min
In his more than 15 years in pro football, NFL quarterback Steve Young made his name on the field as one of the most efficient passers of all time. But after his retirement, he turned his career to private equity, co-founding the firm HGGC in 2007. Now, Young is watching the recent surge in private equity investments in sports teams, and making the case for private equity buyers in the NFL. Axios business editor Dan Primack sat down with Young to talk about his business and the future of footbal...
May 16, 2024•21 min
Fei-Fei Li is widely known as the godmother of AI, thanks to her groundbreaking research in the field. You can draw a straight line from her early work to the generative AI of today. Now, she's at the forefront of what comes next, which includes bringing together generative AI and robotics for use across industries. Niala visited Dr. Li's lab at Stanford last week and spoke with her about the very latest applications of AI, and what's at stake in their development. Guests: Dr. Fei-Fei Li, profes...
May 09, 2024•21 min
Republican lawmakers have come a long way on climate change since the days of tossing snowballs in the U.S. Senate a decade ago. Today, an 80+ member Conservative Climate Caucus wants to elevate Republicans' voices on climate, while maintaining conservative principles. But former President Donald Trump is still at odds with that mission. The Caucus' new chair, Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, tells us her plan. Guests: Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Republican representing Iowa's rep...
May 02, 2024•21 min
Retired WNBA legend Sue Bird knows just how far women's basketball has come. Arguably the greatest WNBA player in history, she was also part of negotiating a major collective bargaining agreement in 2019 that set the stage for big changes for players. "We've been trying to get people to pay attention, to see what we've all seen behind closed doors," she says, "and now it feels like society finally caught up with us." Sue was one of the voices this week at TN50: The Business of Women's Sports Sum...
Apr 25, 2024•17 min
Hospitals are supposed to be safe havens in a war. But Avril Benoît, the U.S. executive director for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says that's not the case in places including Sudan, where this week marks a year since the start of a brutal civil war. More than 14,000 people there have been killed, 8 million have been displaced, and some 25 million are in dire need of humanitarian aid as the health system crumbles. But the world's eyes--and dollars--are elsewhere, leaving groups like MSF begging ...
Apr 18, 2024•21 min
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...
Apr 11, 2024•20 min
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-...
Apr 04, 2024•21 min
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 cha...
Mar 28, 2024•21 min
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 ...
Mar 21, 2024•21 min
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 presid...
Mar 14, 2024•21 min
It's estimated only one percent of medical research spending globally goes toward female-specific conditions that aren't related to cancer. But even as underfunding of women's health persists -- companies focused on women's health are innovating. Dr. Sara Naseri is working to reframe menstrual blood as a diagnostic tool rather than waste, with her company called Qvin. It received FDA clearance in January of this year for a new kind of blood test: a diagnostic menstrual pad. Plus, Axios senior he...
Mar 07, 2024•21 min
New laws in at least 14 states are forcing teachers to rethink how they teach history when it comes to race in particular. For the last day of this Black History Month, one education leader on why having more Black teachers, and leaning into Black teaching traditions, can help all students get a better handle on American history. Plus, Axios Miami's Sommer Brugal on the education view from Florida, more than a year and a half since Florida's "Stop WOKE Act" went into effect. Guests: Sharif El-Me...
Feb 29, 2024•18 min
Last year was one of the worst in recent memory for layoffs across media. Job losses in digital, broadcast and print news increased almost 71 percent from 2022, according to a recent report. Victor Pickard, professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania, says the current situation amounts to a "systemic market failure." To fix it, he proposes a bold new plan. Plus, Axios' Sara Fischer with her top reasons for journalism's decline; and Karen Rundlet, CEO of the ...
Feb 22, 2024•21 min
