How It Happened
29 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 4.4K ratingsElon Musk vs. Twitter: In the fifth season of How it Happened, hosted by Axios business reporter Erica Pandey, Axios reporters cover the collision between Elon Musk and Twitter through conversations with insiders at Twitter and members of Musk’s inner circle.
How it Happened is an Axios podcast docu-series featuring instant histories. Each season, Axios reporters bring you behind closed doors to hear the people and decisions shaping the biggest stories of our time.
Trump’s Last Stand: In the first season of How it Happened, national political reporter Jonathan Swan reveals the inside story of Donald Trump’s last few months in office. The story starts with his COVID-19 recovery and ends with the insurrection at the Capitol.
The Next Astronauts: In the second season of How it Happened, Axios space reporter Miriam Kramer goes behind the scenes at SpaceX and the preparations for the first all-civilian mission into orbit.
Trump's Big Deal: In the third season of How it Happened, Axios’ Middle East correspondent Barak Ravid and national political reporter Jonathan Swan will uncover the surprising negotiations that led to the Abraham Accords, the most significant Middle East peace agreement in a generation.
Putin's Invasion: In the fourth season of How It Happened, Axios’ World editor David Lawler pulls together analysis and reporting from across the Axios newsroom to explain how the invasion of Ukraine happened in slow motion over 8 years and then all at once.
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Episodes
Elon Musk vs. Twitter Part V: Cracks in the Empire
January 18, 2023 10:30 - 32 minutesHow It Happened: Elon Musk vs. Twitter Part V: Cracks in the Empire explores whether Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter has made his cross-industry empire too big for one billionaire to run. Host Erica Pandey examines Musk's first months as CEO of Twitter and the simultaneous challenges facing his other companies. Reporting from around the Axios newsroom unpacks lawsuits, a federal investigation, and more facing Musk's other companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink. Credits: This ...
Elon Musk vs. Twitter Part IV: Musk's Must-Do List
October 24, 2022 09:30 - 34 minutesHow It Happened: Elon Musk vs. Twitter Part IV: Musk's Must-Do List features reporting from Axios media reporter Sara Fischer about the challenges at Twitter that Musk could inherit — and what he might do about them. Fischer takes listeners inside Twitter to understand how the platform has struggled with content moderation over the years. The episode unpacks Musk's vision for free speech and what it could mean for a platform that has become the global public square. Credits: This series w...
Elon Musk vs. Twitter Part III: Musk Offers To Buy Twitter (Again)
October 06, 2022 21:08 - 17 minutesJust days before a trial to determine if Elon Musk would be forced to buy Twitter was scheduled to begin, Musk sent a letter offering once again to buy Twitter for the same price he'd originally offered in April. Musk has a unique tolerance for risk at his companies, but the surprise move still shocked the tech world, and it's not clear yet if it will successfully knock the trial off the docket. Media reporter Sara Fischer and business editor Dan Primack join the podcast for a conversation ...
Elon Musk vs. Twitter Part II: Empire of Risk
October 04, 2022 09:30 - 29 minutesHow It Happened: Elon Musk vs. Twitter Part II: Empire of Risk explores how Musk's philosophy on risk brings people far beyond his consumers and employees into the experiments he runs. Axios reporters Joann Muller and Miriam Kramer draw on years of reporting on Tesla and SpaceX respectively to detail how risk fits into Musk's framework at these companies. The episode also features interviews with people who have known Musk for years, who have watched him across his career. The episode exp...
Elon Musk vs. Twitter Part I: Not A Chill Normal Dude
September 16, 2022 09:30 - 37 minutesHow It Happened: Elon Musk vs. Twitter Part I: Not A Chill Normal Dude tells the story of Musk's meteoric rise to become the world's richest man and a cross-industry mogul. Through interviews with people who were instrumental early in Musk's career, the episode chronicles how Musk moved from industry to industry. The episode also features Musk in his own words over the years, reflecting on his career and ambitions, and examines how he uses Twitter. The reporting for this episode was done b...
Coming soon: Elon Musk vs. Twitter
August 30, 2022 09:30 - 1 minuteHow it Happened: Elon Musk vs. Twitter is a first-of-its-kind newsroom collaboration featuring exclusive reporting on the rise of Elon Musk to become world's richest man, the parallel rise of Twitter as the global public square, and the collision of these two titans this year. This documentary season is hosted by Axios business reporter Erica Pandey and features reporting from political reporter Jonathan Swan, media reporter Sara Fischer, business editor Dan Primack, space reporter Miriam Kra...
Putin’s Invasion Part V: The Fight for the Donbas
May 19, 2022 09:00 - 33 minutesHow It Happened: Putin’s Invasion Part V: The Fight for the Donbas goes straight to the frontlines of the war, seen through the eyes of a journalist who has been covering the war there and a soldier who has been fighting there, both since 2014. After the failed effort to take Kyiv, Russian President Vladimir Putin turned his focus to the Donbas, vowing to "liberate" the entire region, which was partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists before he launched his full-scale invasion on Feb...
Putin's Invasion Part IV: The view from Russia
April 11, 2022 09:10 - 26 minutesIn part four of How It Happened: Putin’s Invasion, Axios World editor Dave Lawler digs into polling indications that Russians are rallying around their president even as Western sanctions and global condemnations escalate. This episode features interviews with a top political opposition leader, the director of the leading independent polling firm in Russia, a prominent sociologist from the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences and a journalist on the ground in Moscow. Across these ...
Putin's Invasion Part IV: The View from Russia
April 11, 2022 09:10 - 26 minutesIn part four of How It Happened: Putin’s Invasion, Axios World editor Dave Lawler digs into polling indications that Russians are rallying around their president even as Western sanctions and global condemnations escalate. This episode features interviews with a top political opposition leader, the director of the leading independent polling firm in Russia, a prominent sociologist from the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences and a journalist on the ground in Moscow. Across these ...
Putin's Invasion Part III: How It Could End
March 28, 2022 09:00 - 25 minutesIn part three of How It Happened: Putin’s Invasion, Axios World editor Dave Lawler examines a difficult reality — that the only clear path to peace in Ukraine is a deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but the red lines drawn by the Russian and Ukrainian leaders do not intersect. This episode features interviews with Zelensky’s chief of staff, a member of Parliament in his party, two close observers of Putin and the Kremlin, and a former U....
Putin's Invasion Part II: The Consequences
March 11, 2022 12:00 - 23 minutesIn part two of How it Happened: Putin's Invasion, Axios world editor Dave Lawler explains how Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine catalyzed a chain of events that are reshaping our world. Lawler is joined by Axios managing editor Margaret Talev to discuss President Biden's decades of political experience with Russia and the sanctions the U.S. and Europe have brought against the country. Energy and climate reporter Andrew Freedman explains why it's so hard for the W...
Putin's Invasion Part I: How We Got Here
March 05, 2022 12:00 - 33 minutesIn part one of How it Happened: Putin's Invasion, Axios world editor Dave Lawler presents reporting and analysis from the Axios newsroom on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Lawler shares insights from a career covering global affairs and dozens of interviews with experts and high ranking officials about how Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power and how the autocrat has wielded it. The podcast also features Jonathan Swan, Axios national reporter and host of the first season of How I...
Coming Soon: Putin's Invasion
March 03, 2022 17:32 - 1 minuteIn How it Happened: Putin's Invasion, Axios World editor Dave Lawler curates the best of Axios' reporting and analysis on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, explaining how the conflict played out in slow motion across eight years and then suddenly escalated. Lawler will share insights from a career covering global affairs and dozens of interviews with experts and high ranking officials about how Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power and how the autocrat has wielded it. The podcast wil...
Trump’s Big Deal Part I: May Your House Be Destroyed
December 13, 2021 10:00 - 26 minutesAxios Middle East correspondent Barak Ravid and national political correspondent Jonathan Swan tell how Donald Trump’s grand plan to broker peace between the Israelis and Palestinians was doomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to compromise and a series of bizarre choices that alienated the Palestinians. Through exclusive reporting and a new interview with Trump and others closely involved, Ravid also reveals that the supposed bromance between Trump and Netanyahu is a m...
Trump’s Big Deal Part II: From Secret Alliance to the Abraham Accords
December 13, 2021 10:00 - 26 minutesAfter Donald Trump’s peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians failed, there was a desperate attempt by the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates to stop Israel from annexing part of the occupied West Bank. That effort led to the most significant Middle East peace agreement in a generation. With exclusive reporting, Axios Middle East correspondent Barak Ravid tells national political correspondent Jonathan Swan what led to Trump’s success and its effects. Note: This episode contains some e...
Coming soon: Trump’s Big Deal
December 11, 2021 18:00 - 1 minuteAxios’ Jonathan Swan is back with a sneak preview of How It Happened’s third season, coming later this month. With exclusive reporting, Swan and Axios’ Barak Ravid tell us the surprising story of the Abraham Accords — the deal between Israel and four Arab states which is changing the Middle East.
The Next Astronauts Part V: The Launch
October 05, 2021 09:30 - 31 minutesAxios space reporter Miriam Kramer follows the Inspiration4 crew to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. to cover their launch and catches up with each of them after their return. Kramer takes listeners to the press center at the Kennedy Space Center and inside of a pre-launch press conference with the four civilian astronauts the day before launch. Kramer reports on the launch from on the ground and analyzes the livestream hosted by SpaceX, including the abrupt termination of r...
The Next Astronauts Part IV: Risk
September 14, 2021 12:57 - 25 minutesAxios space reporter Miriam Kramer learns how the Inspiration4 crew is grappling with risk, something every company in the space industry and all astronauts must confront. Kramer speaks with the crew, the parent of a crew member, and a former NASA safety expert about how memories of the Challenger explosion have shaped the way the space industry prepares astronauts for risk. In conversations with crew members Jared Isaacman and Chris Sembroski and with their spouses, Kramer explores how uni...
The Next Astronauts Part III: What It Takes
September 07, 2021 09:30 - 24 minutesAxios space reporter Miriam Kramer goes inside SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California, to see the factory floor, the Inspiration4 crew's training regimen and how this mission fits into SpaceX's broader goals. Kramer speaks with SpaceX senior leadership and tours the facility, culminating in a chance to see a brand new bubble window built specifically for the Inspiration4 crew. She gets to sit in on the crew training in a cockpit simulator and learn about the various scenarios they a...
The Next Astronauts Part II: The New Right Stuff
September 02, 2021 09:30 - 24 minutesAxios space reporter Miriam Kramer unpacks who historically has been able to go to space and why the selection of Inspiration4 crew members Sian Proctor and Hayley Arceneaux is a break from the status quo. Kramer shares what she asked Elon Musk in 2020 as the Dragon capsule flew humans for the first time on the same day of nationwide Black Lives Matter protests — and how he answered. She learns Proctor's story, from her birth in Guam where her father was a contractor for the Apollo 11 missi...
The Next Astronauts Part I: A Few Ordinary People
August 31, 2021 09:30 - 24 minutesAxios space reporter Miriam Kramer traces how a multi-day orbital mission to space without professional astronauts came together in just a matter of weeks. Kramer takes listeners back to February of 2021, to a press call where SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made a stunning announcement. She brings listeners into her conversations with billionaire benefactor and mission commander Jared Isaacman to learn how he commissioned and designed the mission. She chronicles how the other three crew members were...
The Next Astronauts Prologue
August 17, 2021 09:30 - 8 minutesIn How it Happened: The Next Astronauts, Axios space reporter Miriam Kramer follows the first space flight to orbit without professional astronauts. Kramer will take listeners inside the story of the Inspiration4 mission, which SpaceX aims to launch on September 15. The podcast will chronicle the selection of these four civilians and their training at SpaceX headquarters. Kramer will go behind the scenes, bringing listeners into conversations with the crew as they grapple with challenges, t...
Trump's Last Stand: An Off-The-Books Mission
May 28, 2021 09:30 - 23 minutesIn this bonus story for How It Happened: Trump's Last Stand, Axios political correspondent Jonathan Swan details a botched attempt, made during President Trump's final days in office, to rapidly withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Trump desperately wanted ending America's longest war to be part of his legacy. Instead, it will be Joe Biden's. Nonetheless, in a recent interview with Swan, Trump took credit for Biden's announcement, insisting he set in motion a plan that could not be st...
Trump's Last Stand Part V: Where It Ends
February 15, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutesNational political correspondent Jonathan Swan tracks the unfolding of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, revealing what happened in the Senate and at the White House — and what it means. Swan brings listeners into the secure room where senators sheltered in place, heard remarks from both President Trump and President-Elect Biden, and deliberated how to resume the vote certification process. Swan also reports on the reaction inside the Trump administration, where officials were rapidly ...
Trump's Last Stand Part IV: The Point Of No Return
February 08, 2021 12:00 - 23 minutesNational political correspondent Jonathan Swan chronicles how President Donald Trump destroyed his most valuable political relationship — his partnership with Vice President Mike Pence — and set the events of January 6 into motion. Swan uncovers the surprising catalyst that drove a wedge between Trump and his most loyal ally, a vice president often described as "subservient." Swan tracks Trump's increasing desperation as December became January and how he turned up the pressure on Pence to ...
Trump's Last Stand Part III: The Break With Barr
February 01, 2021 12:00 - 22 minutesNational political correspondent Jonathan Swan reveals the story behind President Trump's break from Attorney General William Barr, who had been deeply loyal and a key bridge between Trump and the Republican establishment. Swan takes listeners into the room for two explosive, consequential meetings that led to Barr's resignation. By examining the breakdown of the relationship between Trump and Barr, Swan shows how Trump began to turn on not just his campaign team, but his most crucial allie...
Trump's Last Stand Part II: The Legal Team
January 25, 2021 12:00 - 20 minutesNational political correspondent Jonathan Swan traces how Donald Trump's strategy to dispute the result of the 2020 election evolved from targeted lawsuits to embracing — and amplifying — conspiracy theories. Starting with the Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference and digging into subsequent meetings, Swan offers new reporting on how Rudy Guliani and Sidney Powell became the faces of Trump's legal strategy. Swan's reporting takes listeners behind closed doors, where President Trum...
Trump's Last Stand Part I: Where It Starts
January 18, 2021 22:16 - 20 minutesIn part one of How It Happened: Trump's Last Stand, Axios political correspondent Jonathan Swan draws a direct line from President Trump's Election Night speech, in which he falsely declared victory, to the insurrection on the Capitol on January 6. But, but, but: The story really starts in early October, as Trump is recovering from COVID-19 and struggling to turn around a flailing campaign. New episodes out each Monday. In the meantime, subscribe to our daily news shows, Axios Today and Axios...
Coming soon: How It Happened: Trump's Last Stand
January 15, 2021 14:57 - 1 minuteAxios's new documentary series premieres Monday. Featuring the reporting of Jonathan Swan, go inside the last days of the Trump administration with never before reported details.