Squawk Pod

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual gala returned to New York City on Sunday, and hundreds of celebrities walked the red carpet to celebrate the Costume Institute’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” Exhibit. Making a splash among entertainment’s wealthiest elite, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez donned an Aurora James gown with a loud message: “Tax the Rich.” Robinhood’s payme...

House Democrats outlined a bevy of tax hikes on corporations and wealthy people to fund an investment in the social safety net and climate policy that could reach $3.5 trillion. CNBC’s Robert Frank reports on the possible impact for high-earners and considers possible timeline for implementation, and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein says there is “no doubt we will have a tax increase” by...

In remembrance of September 11, 2001, New York Times foreign affairs columnist Tom Friedman, Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Partners CEO and chairman Howard Lutnick, and CNBC’s Contessa Brewer reflect on that tragic day, how the world was shaped by it, and what’s next, at home and abroad. Lutnick remembers over two thirds of the Cantor Fitzgerald employees lost in the 9/11 attacks, and speaks to the Ca...

GameStop’s latest  quarterly report did little to answer Wall Street’s--and Reddit’s--concerns about the company’s turnaround plan and sky-high stock price. Ben Mezrich, author of “The Anti-Social Network,” joined to discuss his book about the Gamestop saga and how it continues to shake up Wall Street. Lululemon shares hit a fresh, all-time high after the retailer blew past Wall Street’s expectati...

Private venture- and private equity-backed companies have a homogeneity problem: Black directors have consistently held only 1 percent of board seats at these companies, and Latinx directors have held even less. Gabrielle Sulzberger of Two Sigma and Ursula Burns, former Xerox CEO, founded the Board Diversity Action Alliance, and they have data to prove that now is the time to make a change. CNBC’s...

Microsoft President Brad Smith discusses cyber risks in the digital age, and explains his company’s effort to support federal, state, and local governments in building safe online infrastructure. He details Microsoft’s pledge to invest $20 billion in cybersecurity over the next 5 years and the chip shortage hitting global markets. Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rin...

In August, the US economy added only 235,000 jobs, much less than economists were expecting. The hiring blitz at bars and restaurants came to an abrupt halt in August as more Covid-19 cases and a scarcity of willing workers kept employers from adding to payrolls. CNBC’s analysis of the August 2021 jobs report shows a loss of 42,000 jobs in food services and drinking places last month. Nela Richard...

At least 22 people were killed as the remnants of Hurricane Ida battered New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. NBC meteorologist Bill Karins reports on Ida’s path and the record rain and flooding that deluged the region and triggered states of emergency on Thursday. CNBC’s Ylan Mui and Walter Isaacson, history professor at Tulane and renowned author, discuss how the extreme weather may impact pr...

As students return to physical classrooms, cases of Covid-19 are ticking up among children. The Academy of American Pediatrics President Dr. Lee Savio Beers discusses classroom safety and a timeline for a kids’ vaccine. In a survey of 400 U.S. CEOs, KPMG found that American executives are optimistic about the economy, despite more and more delays to the return to office. Paul Knopp, KPMG U.S. CEO...

America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan came to an end as the Americans stationed there finished their evacuation. CNBC’s Eamon Javers details the military’s next steps for extracting the remaining group of Americans in the country, as well as the Biden administration’s strategy to monitor the Taliban. CNBC’s Frank Holland reports on how residents of New Orleans are planning for the days ahead as the...

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as a Category 4 storm with winds of 150 miles per hour, one of the strongest storms to hit the region since Hurricane Katrina. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) discusses the damage caused by Hurricane Ida as over one million people in the region--including his own family--are without power. The United States is a day away from ending its evacuation mis...

The U.S. and its allies have warned that more terrorist attacks in Kabul are likely, as the deadline for military withdrawal from Afghanistan draws near. CNBC’s Eamon Javers reports on the latest information gathered after the twin suicide bombings in Kabul. Children are now being hospitalized in record numbers across the United States, and doctors are warning that it could get worse as physical c...

Delta Air Lines is the first company to raise health insurance premiums for employees that are not vaccinated against Covid-19. Shellye Archambeau, board member of Verizon, Okta and Nordstrom, discusses whether this move is the beginning of a movement from employers, and shares how executives are weighing vaccine incentives and ultimatums in the boardroom. J.M. Smucker CEO Mark Smucker says inflat...

Johnson & Johnson announced that it has enough data to support administering a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Following the announcement, the CDC tweeted that they need more data and information before recommending a booster dose from J&J. CNBC’s Meg Tirrell reports on the new research supporting the booster. Tim Cook was named CEO of Apple 10 years ago. He took over Apple at a turbulent ti...

The House has once again delayed a planned vote to advance two key proposals that make up President Joe Biden’s economic agenda. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) and Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) discuss the path forward for an infrastructure deal and a budget resolution. Major companies – from Walt Disney to Walmart – have already mandated Covid-19 vaccines for some or all of their employees, and now that the...

The FDA has fully approved Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine. Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins explains what this approval might mean for vaccine hesitancy across the country. He also answers questions about vaccine safety for children, as young people prepare to return to school amid an uptick in cases of the Delta variant. Beloved game show Jeopardy! is host...

In an extended interview, sports icon and 39-time Grand Slam champion Billie Jean King discusses the 2021 U.S. Open Tennis Championship amid pandemic and her autobiography, “All In.” As more and more professional athletes speak out about mental health in sports, King considers her own experience with mental health, the media, and activism. In a conversation exclusive to Squawk Pod, Joe Kernen shar...

Social media giants Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube each have differing policies on how the Taliban can interact with their platforms. As the group gains control in Afghanistan, investor Kevin O’Leary and Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt debate social media’s responsibility to censor the Taliban, or not. A third vaccine shot in the U.S. has prompted a global debate about vaccine acces...

After Target delivered second quarter financials topping all analyst expectations, CEO Brian Cornell sits down with Becky Quick to discuss his business investment strategies. The two talk omnichannel growth, employee support, and consumer tastes. The U.S. government is recommending vaccinated adults take a booster Covid-19 vaccine, and former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb explains who, when,...

New York is not dead, according to Jerry Seinfeld, New Yorkers, and real estate mogul Jeff Blau, CEO of Related Companies. Blau discusses the real estate rebounds in NY-based rentals and sales, and shares his outlook for Hudson Yards tenants and Covid safety. CNBC’s Robert Frank shares statistics on the city’s rebound, but flags low subway ridership and office presence as potential obstacles to re...

The Afghan government has fallen to the Taliban, and global politics are shifting in response. CNBC’s Dan Murphy in Abu Dhabi considers the global and regional ramifications of the Taliban’s movements, as well as what’s at stake for President Biden, as he weighs an American response. Former State Department Official Evelyn Farkas, a longtime proponent of withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan, c...

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb discusses the FDA’s approval of a booster Covid-19 vaccine for immunocompromised Americans. In an extended interview, he discusses cases of the Delta variant, longevity of vaccine efficacy, and what’s to come in the fall. Plus, CNBC’s Kate Rogers explains what all this means for small businesses and restaurants. In a conversation exclusive to Squawk Pod,...

Bitcoin, ethereum, blockchain, the Senate, and a whole lot of volatility. Andrew Ross Sorkin explains why so many people are talking about the cryptoeconomy, in a conversation exclusive to Squawk Pod. Capitol Hill, the SEC, and the global public are grappling with what these tokens are--securities, maybe--and how to regulate them. Alesia Haas, CFO of Coinbase, the world’s largest cryptocurrency ex...

In an extended interview, legendary short-seller Jim Chanos discusses AMC’s meme stock journey, movie theaters, apes, Reddit, and all. Short interest in AMC is rising in the wake of AMC’s quarterly financial report, but Wall Street is warning retail investors that the “Mother of All Short Squeezes” that they’re waiting for, may not be as fun a play as they’re expecting. Hosted by Simplecast, an Ad...

While President Biden and leaders across corporate America have been encouraging, incentivizing, and even requiring that employees get vaccinated, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has vocally opposed mask mandates, vaccine mandates, and Covid-19 passports. In a lively interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin and Becky Quick, Senator Cruz defends his stance on masks in schools and weighs in on employer rights to r...