Welcome to Axis ProRata, where we take just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech, business, and politics.

Brought to you by Silicon Valley Bank, Ideas Bank here.

I'm Dan Permac.

On today's show, Trump spins trouble for Soul Cycle and what comes after, Gen Z.

But first, corporate America's shooting range.

So we are now five days out from the incomprehensible and infuriated massacres in El Paso,

Texas and Dayton, Ohio, in which 31 innocent people were gunned down.

In El Paso, it was by a white supremacist who allegedly

wanted to kill Mexicans. In Dayton, well, we still don't yet have a motive. In both cases,

though, we know the weapons used. We know they were purchased legally, which of course

begs the question, why is it legal to purchase such weapons of war? The reality of guns is

that there is no political will in Washington, D.C. to make

any major moves, even mandating universal background checks, which seems so minimal and common

sense, remains stalled. So the big question now is if corporate America decides to put its

finger on the scales, as it has in several other socio-political issues. Remember, it's

not the government that makes guns

or ammo or transports them or finances them or sells them. It's private companies. If they

believe that gun violence represents a national health emergency, they, the companies, can be

the preventative care, no matter whether or not Congress ever acts. Stores choose what to sell

and not sell all the time. Banks make the same

decisions on loans. Shippers make the same decisions on what's in their trucks. If these companies

feel the issue is important enough, they could act. Now to be clear, I am not saying it's their

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