Axios Re:Cap

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Affirm, a “buy now pay later” company led by PayPal co-founder and former CEO Max Levchin, went public today at a valuation of nearly $15 billion – and then saw its share price more than double. Dan goes deeper with Levchin to discuss the IPO, the future of fintech and the role of payments processors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social media platform Parler is currently offline after being booted from Amazon's cloud hosting service. The move came just days after Parler was also removed from the Apple and Android app stores for allegedly violating terms of service related to violent threats on its platform. Dan digs into what happened at Parler, including the latest news that much of its content and metadata were scraped and publicly posted, with New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin exchange and digital wallet company Bakkt announced plans to go public via a SPAC, in a marriage of two of Wall Street's hottest trends. Dan speaks with new Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael to discuss the company, the deal and if this move will codify cryptocurrencies as part of mainstream American finance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the pandemic strengthens, America's labor market weakens, based on the latest monthly jobs report that showed a loss of 140,000 nonfarm payrolls. Dan discusses the numbers, what they really mean and where things could go next with Axios business reporters Courtenay Brown and Felix Salmon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much of what happened yesterday on Capitol Hill was not only predictable, but explicitly planned on Internet message boards where the MAGA movement gets the most darkly conspiratorial. Dan digs into what led to yesterday's insurrection and what comes next with NBC News' Ben Collins, who covers online disinformation, and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights attorney Arusha Gordon, who is leading a lawsuit against the Proud Boys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America's vaccination rollout is going much slower than expected, with only around 5 million vaccinations to date. Meanwhile, COVID-19 is causing record hospitalizations and deaths, with much of the country's economic and educational engine stuck in neutral. Dan digs into what's gone wrong and what happens next with STAT News senior reporter Helen Branswell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress on Wednesday will be asked to certify state electors, thus setting the stage for Joe Biden's inauguration as the country's 46th president on Jan. 20. But, like so many things in the Trump era, it won't be business as usual, as large groups of House and Senate Republicans say they will object to electors from at least four states. Dan discusses the process and the precedent with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee who will lead her party's response to objections on the Senate floor. Plus, Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein joins to discuss Georgia's senate runoff elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump and his allies have continued to baselessly rail against Dominion Voting Systems, whose machines will be used tomorrow in the Georgia runoff elections that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. Axios Re:Cap speaks with Dominion founder and CEO John Poulos about the controversies, the death threats and the "imminent" lawsuit his company plans to file. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August, Dan dug into middle class myths and realities with Jim Tankersley, a New York Times economics reporter and author of the book "The Riches of This Land." In many ways, it’s the story of why so many in the middle class were already on the edge before the pandemic began. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2020 was the year special purpose acquisition companies — SPACS — went mainstream. We revisit the rise of SPACs via Dan’s July conversation with Wall Street titan Bill Ackman, who was ahead of his time in 2012 when he used a SPAC to bring Burger King public.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices