Episode list

Ahead of Tuesday's high-stakes Senate runoffs in Georgia, WSJ's Cameron McWhirter talked to Republican voters to understand how Trump's barrage of attacks on their governor and secretary of state is affecting their vote and their loyalty to the party.

The federal government set a goal of vaccinating 20 million people by the end of 2020. But the rollout fell far short. WSJ's Jared Hopkins explains why vaccine distribution is going much more slowly than expected.

West Virginia has administered first doses of Covid-19 vaccines at one of the highest rates in the country. Covid Czar Dr. Clay Marsh tells people how the state did it by forgoing the federal government's plan.

Mass chaos engulfed the U.S. Capitol today as a pro-Trump mob stormed the building in objection to the results of the election. WSJ's Gordon Lubold described what he saw on the ground at the Capitol.

In the weeks before Wednesday's attack on the U.S. Capitol, people were openly planning violence online. WSJ's Deepa Seetharaman describes the patchwork of policies that have allowed extremists to organize on the internet.

Silicon Valley has long been resistant to organized labor, but last week a group of Google employees announced the formation of a union. WSJ's Bowdeya Tweh on the activism that led to this moment and union member Andrew Gainer-Dewar on why he joined.

House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment against President Trump this week, accusing him of "incitement of insurrection." WSJ's Siobhan Hughes, who covered Mr. Trump's first impeachment, explains how this impeachment could play out differently.

Google, Apple and Amazon took steps over the weekend to effectively shut down the social media site Parler, which had been used to organize the attack on the Capitol. WSJ's Keach Hagey explains why they did it and what it means for the future of speech and tech.

Casino magnate and billionaire Sheldon Adelson died this week at the age of 87. WSJ's Julie Bykowicz explains the mark Adelson left on politics as a Republican megadonor.

The U.S. military completed one of the most significant drawdowns of the Afghan war today. There are now just 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, the lowest number since 2001. WSJ's Sune Rasmussen went to Kabul to hear from Afghans what the withdrawal means for them, and their country.

As the end of Donald Trump's presidency approached, the Trump Organization believed there was money to be made after Trump left the White House. WSJ's Brian Spegele and Rebecca Ballhaus explain how the assault on the U.S. Capitol could upend those plans.

Joe Biden was sworn in today as the 46th president of the United States. WSJ's Siobhan Hughes was at the ceremony, and Ted Mann was on the streets outside.

A new strain of coronavirus that arose in the U.K. could become dominant in the U.S. by March. WSJ's Daniela Hernandez explains the science behind the emerging threat.

Reporter Peter Grant has been walking one stretch of Brooklyn since the beginning of the pandemic, talking to struggling business owners. Recently, he's found a new phenomenon: people who've decided now is the right time to open a new business.

Two billionaire investors battled for years over the fate of Herbalife, a nutritional shake company. This month saw the final chapter of the strange saga that WSJ's David Benoit likens to "Mean Girls meets Wall Street."

The U.S. job market made a remarkable comeback in 2020, after the pandemic wiped out more than 20 million jobs. But it wasn't nearly enough for a full recovery. WSJ's Eric Morath explains why many economists think that 2021 could be a record-setting year for job growth - and how that optimistic outlook could fall apart.

President Biden revoked the permit for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day in office. But as a candidate early in the presidential race, the pipeline wasn't a priority. WSJ's Tim Puko explains how the pipeline became a symbol and day-one agenda item for the Biden White House.

As the vaccine rollout around the country hits obstacles, corporate America says there's a better way. WSJ's Sarah Krouse explains how companies are stepping in to address distribution woes, and one CEO details his company's effort.

In the middle of the GameStop frenzy last week, Robinhood users woke up to find they couldn't buy many of the market's hottest stocks. The app had placed unprecedented restrictions on trading. WSJ's Peter Rudegeair explains why Robinhood did it and the backlash it's facing as a result.

Congress is debating a third round of stimulus checks to Americans. WSJ's Richard Rubin talks through the upsides and downsides to stimulus checks, why they're neither "stimulus" nor a "check," and people hear how the listeners spent their money.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced yesterday that he plans to step down as CEO. WSJ's Bradley Olson explains how Bezos's relentless drive grew Amazon into a goliath and what the next CEO will mean for America's biggest online retailer.

One of President Biden's closest advisors, Steve Ricchetti, has ties to lobbying that go back decades. WSJ's Julie Bykowicz tells the story of how Steve Ricchetti and his brother Jeff climbed the ranks of lobbying and government.

When Vincent Orr decided to buy a house, he didn't get a mortgage. He paid cash, and he's not alone. WSJ's Ben Eisen explains why Black Detroiters still have a tough time getting mortgages decades after racist redlining policies officially ended.

Donald Trump is the first president to be impeached twice. Now, the Senate will vote on whether or not to convict him. WSJ's Siobhan Hughes outlines what's different about this impeachment and what problems it could raise on both sides of the aisle.

General Motors has committed to making all its vehicles electric by 2035. WSJ's Mike Colias explains GM's history making electric vehicles and why it's now going all-in.

Companies with no business plan, no profit, and no revenue are flooding Wall Street. They're called SPACs, and investors are pouring money into them. WSJ's Maureen Farrell explains the forces behind the market's SPAC boom and what it could mean for investors.

Five WallStreetBets members tell the story of how they ended up on the Reddit forum and how they felt when it upended the stock market.

Apple is launching a new privacy feature that Facebook says could severely hurt its business by making it harder to target consumers with ads. WSJ's Deepa Seetharaman explains why the dispute has been years in the making.

Australia is poised to pass a law that would compel tech companies like Google and Facebook to pay news organizations for links. In response, Google threatened to turn off search, and Facebook said it wouldn't let users share articles. WSJ's Mike Cherney explains what's at stake.

As a federal judge, John Gleeson would have to impose decadeslong sentences for certain crimes. Now, he's on a mission to undo some of those same sentences. Time to talk to the WSJ's Corinne Ramey, Gleeson and one man who's been freed by Gleeson's strategy.

Robinhood is able to offer free trading on its app thanks to a practice known as payment for order flow. WSJ's Alexander Osipovich explains how it works and why Congress has questions about it.

Last year, President Trump banned most new visas for foreign workers, arguing unemployed Americans would take those jobs instead. But as WSJ's Alicia Caldwell explains, even with high unemployment, many of those positions were left unfilled.

Texas's deregulated power sector was considered a model for delivering cheap electricity, but the power outages last week revealed shortcomings. WSJ's Russell Gold unpacks what went wrong.

Dominion Voting Systems, the voting-machine maker, was swept up in a storm of allegations about its role in the 2020 election. Time to speak with Dominion's CEO, and WSJ's Alexa Corse describes how the company is fighting back.

Billy Markus created the cryptocurrency Dogecoin on a lark, based on a viral dog meme. Eight years later, his creation is worth billions of dollars. Markus and WSJ's Caitlin Ostroff explain how crypto's jokiest coin went to the moon.

Facebook's new oversight board is preparing to rule on whether Donald Trump should be banned from Facebook permanently. Time to talk with one of the board's co-chairs, former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, about how the board is weighing the decision and what it means for free speech on the platform.

Major film studios are starting to embrace a strategy never before seen in Hollywood: releasing films directly to streaming. Director Lee Daniels joins to discuss what that change has meant for his new film, "The United States vs. Billie Holiday," and what it could mean for the future of filmmaking.

Novavax is a vaccine company that for decades never brought a vaccine to market. Before the pandemic, they were on the verge of bankruptcy. WSJ's Gregory Zuckerman and Novavax's Dr. Gregory Glenn explain how the company's fortunes are now changing thanks to its Covid-19 vaccine, which is delivering promising results.

AMC, the world's largest movie theater chain, was facing possible bankruptcy after the pandemic dried up moviegoing. But early this year, retail investors rallied to #SaveAMC. WSJ's Alexander Gladstone spoke with AMC CEO Adam Aron about how he set the company up to benefit from an unexpected stroke of luck.

WeWork's biggest shareholder, Softbank, has been dogged by its obligations to the coworking company's co-founder, Adam Neumann. WSJ's Maureen Farrell tells the story of how, after a year, the company severed ties with Neumann and why going public may now be on the horizon.

Even with high unemployment, certain industries are having a hard time finding enough workers. WSJ's Sarah Chaney Cambon explains why some companies are increasing wages and benefits as a result. People also talk to Aaron Jagdfeld, the CEO of a generator company, about the lengths he's taken to recruit workers.

The oil industry's top lobbying group is poised to embrace a climate policy it had fought for years. WSJ's Timothy Puko explains what's behind that reversal, and what it says about the new political reality facing fossil fuels.

After already spending more than $3 trillion on economic relief packages this past year, Congress is set to pass another $1.9 trillion bill. Time to speak with top White House economist Jared Bernstein about the benefits - and risks - of so much spending.

Ana Liss describes what she says was inappropriate behavior from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo when she worked in his office from 2013 to 2015. WSJ's Jimmy Vielkind talks about the scandals swirling around the three-term governor that have led to calls for his resignation.

Google says that by next year it will completely do away with third-party cookies, and it won't support any technology that tries to replace them. WSJ's Sam Schechner talks about what the move means for Google, and he bids goodbye to the rhino t-shirt that follows him everywhere.

In the last 10 years, China has cornered the market on a key ingredient needed for electric car batteries: lithium. Now, one company is trying to change that by mining the metal in America. WSJ's Scott Patterson tells the story of Piedmont Lithium and one of its founders, geologist Lamont Leatherman.

Elmhurst Hospital in Queens was at the epicenter of New York City's Covid-19 outbreak. WSJ's Katie Honan speaks to three doctors who were inside the hospital as that crisis was unfolding about what it was like and how they're coping now.

As Covid-19 vaccinations race along, elderly Black and Latino people are getting left behind. WSJ's Daniela Hernandez explains why. Time to also talk to a doctor trying to get his elderly father a vaccine and a community organizer in Miami.

Fresh off his $69 million sale, the digital artist known as Beeple says he's not trying to "blow up" the contemporary art world. And WSJ's Kelly Crow explains how a new technology led to a historic sale.

An interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci about how efforts to vaccinate the country are going, what it will take for work and school to return to normal and whether the pandemic is ending.