Viet Thanh Nguyen: Defiant storytellers and scholars of memory

Niala Boodhoo walked nearly 80 miles along the Camino de Santiago this summer, an ancient Christian pilgrimage that's been meaningful for millions. A growing number of Americans—including non-Christians—are taking up this and other pilgrimages, for all sorts of reasons. Author and travel leader Phil Cousineau says the tradition of walking to find meaning is as old as travel itself. He is the author of "The Art of Pilgrimage, The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred," first published 25 years ago. He asks travelers to slow down and connect with the places they visit. For the final episode of 1 big thing, we slow down, too, for a conversation with Cousineau about finding elements of the sacred in travel. Pilgrimage, he says, is for everyone. Guest: Phil Cousineau is a freelance writer, teacher, and travel leader and author of "The Art of Pilgrimage, The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred." His forthcoming book is 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 [email protected]. You can send questions and comments as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Even though this is our last podcast episode, you can keep in touch with us! Sign up for Niala's substack. Subscribe to Axios' Essentials newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hundreds of thousands have been taking to the streets in Israel, ever since the bodies of six murdered Israeli hostages were found last week in a tunnel in Gaza. It marked an escalation by Hamas, Axios' Barak Ravid tells Niala Boodhoo. Ravid has been covering the war since the start, and reporting on the Middle East for his entire career. As we approach the one year anniversary of the start of this conflict, he brings us inside the negotiations, the protests, and the stark reality of this new chapter in the war. Guest: Barak Ravid, political reporter and Middle East expert for Axios covering foreign policy and the 2024 election. 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 [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Niala is launching a Substack! Subscribe here to stay in touch with her and follow her upcoming projects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before Vice President Harris became the Democratic nominee, Asian American voters were unenthusiastic about then-candidate Biden. But Harris has since energized the fastest-growing voter group in the U.S.: AAPI voters. Now, data suggests these voters could be a major factor in some swing states come November. Political scientist Karthick Ramakrishnan of AAPI data explains the power of Asian Americans to affect the race. Guests: Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of AAPI Data; researcher at UC Berkeley 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 [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UAW President Shawn Fain got a coveted spot speaking opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to share his message of fighting against corporate greed. With one million active and retired members, Democrats are hoping the UAW will help get out the vote for a Harris-Walz ticket. Organized labor's role in the election isn't just to bring people together, but get them to work with each other, Fain told Niala Boodhoo on stage at an Axios House DNC event this week. Fain talks about worker dignity and UAW's role in the upcoming presidential election in a special podcast live from the DNC. Guests: Shawn Fain, UAW President. 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 [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up an immigrant in the U.S., writer Viet Thanh Nguyen tried to make sense of the Vietnamese story. "There were these two very different versions of history and memory that were going around, and I was growing up very confused about what the actual history was," he tells Niala Boodhoo. That set him on a path to become a scholar and a writer about the past. The author of The Sympathizer on why we need "defiant storytellers" and "scholars of memory" now. Guests: Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Sympathizer" now also a series on Max. 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 [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last school year saw the First Amendment tested across college campuses. Protests over Israel's treatment of Gaza dominated headlines and disrupted commencements, while antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents on campuses rose. As another school year approaches, institutions are facing new free speech debates ahead. One lawyer who ran investigations into the Capitol insurrection and the Charlottesville rally, and one Senator who has sued the Biden administration over censorship, share their takes on the balance of free speech and safety on college campuses and online. Guest: Timothy Heaphy, partner at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher; lecturer at the School of Law at the University of Virginia; led investigations for the House Select Committee on the January 6th insurrection and the Unite the Right rally at UVA in Charlottesville; Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri); serves on the Committees of Armed Services, Commerce, Science, and Transportation; former Attorney General of Missouri. 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 [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans have long used the Bible to justify their politics. That's in part why today, younger Christians are rethinking their relationship to their faith, and the Bible's place in American political life. Kaitlyn Schiess says that's a good thing. She's the author of "The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here." For the second installment in our series about faith in American today, Schiess makes the case for how Christianity can play a healthier role in framing our politics. Revisit our first conversation in our series on faith in America, with Noah Feldman: What it means to be a Jew today. Guest: Kaitlyn Schiess, author of "The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here"; studies political theology at Duke Divinity School; and is co-host of the Holy Post podcast. 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 [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Nothing, nothing, can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition." President Biden explained his move to the American people in an address Wednesday night. Now, a new race lies ahead -- one no longer so focused on the past, between two candidates who've already done the job of president. So what is it about? Axios co-founders Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei take us inside their reporting. Guests: Axios co-founders Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei, authors of the Axios "Behind the Curtain" column 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 [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Based on this week's Republican National Convention, the assassination attempt on former President Trump seems to have unified the GOP. Alex Thompson is national political correspondent for Axios, and he says while conventions often put cleavages and frictions on display, Saturday's events have made many of those frictions within the party virtually disappear. Alex joins us for a special episode from the RNC in Milwaukee to lead us through this moment for the GOP. Plus: Axios' Sophia Cai recounts the threats she and other journalists faced after the Saturday shooting. Guests: Alex Thompson, Axios national political correspondent; Sophia Cai, national politics reporter at Axios. 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 [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The October 7th Hamas terrorist attack and Israel's ensuing war in Gaza have made Jews around the world look closer at the core of their faith and the role of Israel. Legal and religious scholar Noah Feldman has been digging into his own Jewish faith as he watches political and intergenerational conflict play out around him, on college campuses and beyond. He explores all this in a new book, and speaks with Niala for the first of several conversations on 1 big thing about faith in America today--and how changing religious identities affect us all. Guests: Noah Feldman, professor of law at Harvard University and author of "To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel and the Jewish People." 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 [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices