1 big thing

Latest Episodes:

Sue Bird: "Society finally caught up" with women's basketball Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

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 Summit from Axios and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment, and she spoke with Axios' Sara Fischer on the sidelines of the event about the momentum behind women's basketball and the work still ahead.

Guests: Sue Bird, WNBA player for 19 years with the Seattle Storm, and Partner & Chief Strategy Officer, Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura and Jay Cowit. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

Avril Benoît: Is ignoring humanitarian law the new norm? Apr 18, 2024

Show notes

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 for international help. Benoît tells Niala how Sudan shows us the fragile state of humanitarian law in crisis zones today.

Guests: Avril Benoît, executive director for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières in the United States

Duncan McIntyre: Electrifying school bus fleets Apr 11, 2024

Show notes

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 provide context and a look at what's next.

Guests: Duncan McIntyre, CEO and founder at Highland Electric Fleets; Jael Holzman, Axios energy and climate reporter; Nathan Bomey, Axios business reporter

Anna Hehir: Banning the most dangerous autonomous weapons Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

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-founder Mike Allen, author of Axios AM and Axios PM

Alondra Nelson: AI chatbots get elections info wrong Mar 28, 2024

Show notes

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 chatbots in the 2024 elections and more.

Plus: Niala talks to Gordon Crovitz of Newsguard about how major brands are unintentionally funding disinformation through advertising.

Guests: Dr. Alondra Nelson, former acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Biden administration, professor at the Institute for Advanced Study; Gordon Crovitz, co-CEO and co-editor in chief of NewsGuard, former publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

Sen. Joe Manchin: What's at stake when we lose the center Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

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 and gas production.

Plus, Axios politics reporters Hans Nichols and Alex Thompson give us context.

Guests: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.); Axios' Alex Thompson and Hans Nichols.

Lee Saunders: Flexing union muscle Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

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 president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; Emily Peck, markets correspondent for Axios.

Dr. Sara Naseri: Menstrual blood as a diagnostic tool Mar 07, 2024

Show notes

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 yearfor a new kind of blood test: a diagnostic menstrual pad.

Plus, Axios senior health care editor Adriel Bettelheim on innovations in women's health.

Guests: Dr. Sara Naseri,CEO and co-founder of Qvin; Axios' Adriel Bettelheim

Sharif El-Mekki: Building the Black teacher pipeline Feb 29, 2024

Show notes

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-Mekki, founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development and a former school principal; Sommer Brugal, Axios Miami reporter.

Victor Pickard: A new business model for journalism Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

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 Institute for Nonprofit News, on the local and nonprofit news efforts giving her hope.

Guests: Victor Pickard, professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania