Axios

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022. 

Alayna Treene, political reporter and co-author of Axios Sneak Peek, joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to talk about her experience covering Congress in 2021 and where things stand heading into next year's midterms.

Yesterday was a historic day in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, during the first ever official visit to the UAE from Israel. This took place 15 months after the Abraham Accords normalized diplomatic relations between Israel, the UAE and three other Arab countries. The latest season of the Axios "How it Happened" podcast has new reporting on the backstory from Barak Ravid.

• And, the creator economy boomed in 2021.
• Plus, federal student loan payments are coming back.

Guests: Axios' Barak Ravid and Sara Fischer.

Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Lydia McMullen-Laird, Jayk Cherry, and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

Go deeper:

• Trump says Netanyahu "never wanted peace" with the Palestinians

Axios Re:Cap is revisiting some of this year’s biggest stories and what they say about where technology, business, politics and more are headed in 2022. 

Sara Fischer, author of Axios Media Trends, joins Axios Re:Cap senior producer Naomi Shavin to discuss why the Facebook Papers' news cycle was so bad for Facebook — and where its parent company, Meta, goes from here.

This episode tells the previously unreported story of how a desperate attempt to stop Israel from annexing part of the occupied West Bank led to the most significant Middle East peace agreement in a generation.

Dive in: In the finale of our two-part season, Axios Middle East correspondent Barak Ravid tells national political correspondent Jonathan Swan how Trump's failure to make peace between the Israelis and Palestinians led to an unexpected success.

• In episode 1, we explored the dramatic collapse of Trump's plan to broker "the deal of the century." Listen here or on your favorite podcast provider.

The death toll continues to rise in Kentucky after devastating tornadoes touched down in the state Friday night. More than 80 people are confirmed dead and scores more injured. Some of the worst damage and the highest toll may be in southwestern Kentucky, but at least two dozen tornadoes were on the ground across six different states. Towns have been flattened and infrastructure devastated. Ten of thousands are without electricity and temperatures have been hovering around freezing.

• And, what we learned about living with COVID this year.

Guests: Axios' Andrew Freedman and Sam Baker.

Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Lydia McMullen-Laird, Jayk Cherry, and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

Go Deeper:

• Kentucky governor: More than 80 presumed dead, "entire towns flattened"
• COVID cases and deaths are on the rise

This story comes from the new season of the “How it Happened” podcast. Subscribe to listen to the whole story, including audio recordings of a never before-heard interview with Donald Trump.

Former President Donald Trump contends that one big reason his "ultimate deal" between the Israelis and Palestinians collapsed is that then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu never wanted to make peace.

The big picture: Trump went from a failed Middle East peace plan to four normalization deals between Israel and Arab states within the span of one chaotic, tension-filled year. This behind-the-scenes account of how that happened is based on interviews with Trump and nearly all of the other key players.

This story comes from a brand new season of the “How it Happened” podcast. Subscribe to listen.

The day before a historic diplomatic deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates was to be signed in August 2020, then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to back out.

Why it matters: The Abraham Accords would be seen as both Netanyahu's and Donald Trump's biggest foreign policy achievement. They came about through brinksmanship, tension-filled meetings, angry phone calls and agile diplomacy, all sparked by Netanyahu's threat to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

In this episode, Axios Middle East correspondent Barak Ravid and national political correspondent Jonathan Swan explore the dramatic collapse of Donald Trump's plan to broker "the deal of the century" between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Dive in: In an exclusive interview, Trump tells Barak that former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bears much of the blame. He also reveals that their supposed bromance is over, saying of Netanyahu: “F--k him.” 

• In part 2, hear how a surprise breakthrough emerged from the wreckage of Trump's peace plan: the Abraham Accords. Listen here or on your favorite podcast provider.