Axios Re:Cap

American technologists have begun sounding alarm bells about the U.S. falling behind China on artificial intelligence, including when it comes to defense applications. Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Brandon Tseng, co-founder of a defense drone software startup called Shield AI, to better understand the technical, policy and ethical issues at stake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The top business story of 2021 has been stock market democratization, as hordes of younger investors have begun using mobile apps to buy shares in everything from GameStop to Google. Dan digs into this trend with Lauren Simmons, the host of the new reality series "Going Public." At 22, Simmons was the youngest-ever female trader on the New York Stock Exchange and only the second Black female trader in its history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Collectibles and art have gone digital, enabled by a new sort of technology known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Just recently, Canadian singer and visual artist Grimes earned $6 million via an NFT auction, while a maker of digital basketball cards was valued at around $2 billion by venture capitalists. Dan digs into the NFT craze with David Pakman, a partner with VC firm Venrock and one of the earliest investors in one of the first NFTs, called CryptoKitties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Affordable Care Act is still standing, despite numerous GOP efforts to repeal it and progressive pleas to expand it. Dan talks with Jonathan Cohn, a longtime health care reporter at the Huffington Post and author of a new book on the ACA called “The 10 Year War,” to learn where the law stands today and what we should expect to come next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airbnb and DoorDash went public within 24 hours of each other, yesterday released their first ever quarterly earnings reports on the same day, and are both expecting big changes to business when the pandemic recedes. In this episode, Dan and Tony Xu dig into the company’s earnings report and what’s next for DoorDash, delivery and restaurants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airbnb and DoorDash went public within 24 hours of each other, yesterday released their first ever quarterly earnings reports on the same day, and are both expecting big changes to business when the pandemic recedes. In this episode, Dan and Brian Chesky dig into the company’s earnings report and what’s next for Airbnb, travel and hospitality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Berkshire Grey, a maker of robots for e-commerce warehouses, yesterday agreed to go public via a SPAC led by John Delaney and affiliated with the VC firm of AOL founder Steve Case. Dan speaks with Delaney about what the deal tells us about the future of e-commerce, low-skilled labor and SPACs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big corporations and top CEOs are putting pressure on Congress and the White House to pass economic stimulus measures as the political debate drags on. Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Heather Higginbottom, a former Obama administration official and president of the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter, about why her organization just published its first-ever set of policy recommendations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many companies last month stopped making political donations, particularly to members of Congress who voted against certifying the presidential election results, with the movement owing much to a CEO meeting held just hours before the Capitol insurrection. Dan talks with Yale School of Management's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who convened that gathering and says CEOs are standing firm.‪ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old physician's assistant and childhood cancer survivor, today was named the second crew member for Inspiration4, which is set to be the first-ever all-civilian space flight. Dan digs into the story behind the flight, Arceneaux's selection and what Inspiration4 means for the future of space tourism with Axios Space editor Miriam Kramer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many counties, Florida’s Brevard County originally planned to use one system for COVID-19 vaccine appointments, but it didn’t work. Eventbrite is now being used to help schedule vaccinations in 40 states and numerous counties, including Brevard. Dan goes deeper with Eventbrite co-founder and CEO Julia Hartz to learn how her company has responded to this unexpected use of Eventbrite’s platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wednesday night, staring down looming Australian legislation that would force Facebook and Google to pay publishers in the country for content that appears on their platforms, Facebook pulled the plug on news. Producer Naomi Shavin digs in with Axios media reporter Sara Fischer on why Facebook pulled news articles off its site, what it means for Australian users and publishers, and what it means for other countries that want to pursue similar legislation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 3 million Texans are without power and more than 20 are dead, due to a perfect storm of extreme weather, a failure to winterize energy infrastructure and an antipathy toward regulation. Dan digs into what this experience should teach Texas and other states about the future, with Andrew Freedman, deputy weather editor at the Washington Post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. government last year discovered that it was the victim of the largest-ever cybersecurity breach in its history, in which Russian hackers allegedly used a software exploit to access a deep trove of sensitive information. It was the latest escalation in a digital battle that is only expected to escalate, via a global black market where governments can buy everything from ways to hack laptop cameras to power grids. Dan goes deeper with Nicole Perlroth, a New York Times cybersecurity reporter who just published a book titled "This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around 35 million Americans have been vaccinated and roughly 1.6 million more are getting shots a day, but it’s been a bumpy road to get to this point, as state and local distribution plans have been beset by bureaucratic and technological blunders. Dan examines one of the biggest tech failings — a $44 million vaccination appointment system built by Deloitte that most states are backing away from — with investigative health care journalist Cat Ferguson.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices