Axios Today

Yesterday in Tokyo, gymnast Sunisa Lee became the sixth U.S. woman to win an Olympic all-around gold. She’s the first Hmong American to not only win but compete at the Olympics.

• Plus, how climate fares in the infrastructure deal.
• And, U.S. GDP growth falls short of expectations.

Guests: Kare 11 News anchor Gia Wang, Axios' Ben Geman and Courtenay Brown.

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, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• U.S. gymnast Suni Lee wins Olympic gold in individual all-around
• Senate Dems' tricky climate infrastructure message
• U.S. economy grew at a 6.5% rate last quarter, missing expectations

From Portland to New Orleans, heat watches, warnings, and advisories are in effect across 19 states. It’s just the latest in a series of extreme heat waves, floods and wildfires across the world that have been made worse by the ongoing climate crisis. How should we be thinking about how to solve all of these climate calamities?

• Plus, what it takes to put up a monument.
• And, U.S. women win gold at the Olympics.

Guests: Author of Ida B. The Queen, Michelle Duster, Axios' Andrew Freedman, and Ina Fried.

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, Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• Climate solutions could cause their own problems
• Watch: A conversation on racial inequality
• U.S. defeats Russia for gold in women's 3x3 basketball

Yesterday, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol held its first hearing. Four officers shared difficult testimony about the physical and verbal assaults they endured while responding to the riot.

• Plus, the pandemic’s latest turning point.
• And, the youngest victims of Myanmar’s military coup.

Guests: Axios' Margaret Talev, Dave Lawler, and Ina Fried.

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, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• CDC: Vaccinated people in COVID hotspots should resume wearing masks
• Capitol Police officer slams Trump for false claims about Jan. 6 rioters
• The international stories you missed this week
• Japan tops U.S. 2-0 for softball gold

Yesterday, the Department of Veterans Affairs became the first federal agency to require its employees to be vaccinated. The news came as officials from New York City and the state of California announced similar mandates for their workers.

• Plus, tempering expectations for the Jan. 6 committee.
• And, what COVID-19 taught us about friendships.

Guests: Axios' Caitlin Owens, Alayna Treene, Mike Allen, Ina Fried, and author of Friends Forever, Suzanne Degges-White.

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, Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• The floodgates have opened for vaccine mandates
• Pelosi appoints GOP Rep. Kinzinger to Jan. 6 committee
• Our ever-changing “friendscapes”

The recent protests in Cuba were driven largely by food shortages and prices. But it’s not just Cuba. About a tenth of the world’s population was undernourished in 2020 as world hunger hit a 15-year high. That’s according to a recent report by the United Nations that outlined how the pandemic has reversed years of progress in global malnutrition.

• Plus, American journalism divided.
• And, the standout Olympic stars from Team USA.

Guests: Axios' Bryan Walsh, Sara Fischer and Kendall Baker.

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, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• Rising global food prices could presage social unrest
• Journalism's two Americas
• The post-Phelps Olympics

For Americans, the Tokyo Olympics will be a test of what patriotism looks like in 2021. Axios and our partners at Momentive have polled more than 5,000 people on their feelings about the U.S. and other countries at the Games.

• Plus, the scope of the opioid epidemic.
• And, the Delta variant grips Capitol Hill

Guests: Axios' Dave Lawler, Bob Herman and Sarah Mucha.

Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Margaret, Talev, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Dan Bobkoff, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Sabeena Singhani, Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• Drug distributors, J&J reach $26 billion opioids settlement
• Exclusive poll: What the Olympics tell us about patriotism
• The Capitol petri dish
• Backyard bumblebee count

Back in June, the House of Representatives passed a resolution launching a special committee to investigate the Jan. 6th insurrection at the Capitol. Republican leader Kevin McCarthy could choose five committee members, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi would have veto power and the final say.

On Wednesday, Pelosi rejected two of McCarthy’s pro-Trump appointees, saying they could have “an impact on the integrity of the investigation.”

• Plus, an eerie first Olympic dispatch from Tokyo.
• And, why some rural Democrats are running against their own national party’s image.

Guests: Axios' Alayna Treene, Ina Fried, and Alexi McCammond.

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, Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• McCarthy pulls Republicans from Jan. 6 select committee after Pelosi rejects picks
• Olympic soccer players take a knee against racism
• Swing Country: Rural Dems run from party

As the Delta variant spreads and COVID safety measures loosen across much of the country, many are starting to think about the fall and how kids will stay safe when they return to crowded classrooms.

• Plus, finding housing for reunited migrant families.
• And, fallout from the world’s first atomic bomb.

Guests: Axios' Marisa Fernandez, Stef Kight, 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, Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• Delta variant now makes up 83% of U.S. COVID cases, CDC director says
• Latinos still coping with the fallout of 1st nuclear explosion

Companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars to be sponsors at the Olympic games — an investment that can mean big returns. But this year, the pandemic has put sponsors in a very tight spot.

• Plus, GOP leaders fight for a say in blue cities.
• And, the Delta variant in the U.S., by the numbers.

Guests: Axios' Hope King, Danielle Chemtob, and Sam Baker.

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, Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• Olympics to miss the mark for many sponsors
• “Burn the ships”: Tariq Bokhari wants the GOP to take back Charlotte
• "A pandemic of the unvaccinated"

The flood waters in Germany and Belgium have started receding with more than 180 people dead. It’s the worst flooding the region has seen in decades and comes on top of a worsening COVID outbreak throughout Europe.

• Plus, why car prices are driving inflation.
• And, retailers turn to facial recognition technology.

Guests: Axios' Dave Lawler, Kim Hart and Felix Salmon.

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, Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin, and Alex Sugiura. 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:

• At least 184 people dead after devastating European floods
• Facial recognition surges in retail stores
• Why cars are driving inflation