The Axe Files with David Axelrod

Carl Hulse, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times, reflects on how Congress has changed during his years covering the institution, discusses what Paul Ryan’s political future may hold, and provides some insight into how Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination might play out after the presidential election. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/priv...

Secretary of State John Kerry talks to David about his service in Vietnam, why he chose to concede quickly after losing the 2004 presidential election, and his time in the U.S. Senate and how the institution has changed in recent decades. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tim Kaine, the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee and senator from Virginia, talks to David about his experience doing missionary work in Honduras with the Jesuits and the liberation theology he was exposed to there, why Congress should pass a new military authorization to fight ISIS, and why it’s better to choose optimism over pessimism. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, vi...

John Heilemann, co-managing editor of Bloomberg Politics and best-selling author of Game Change, talks with David about Trump’s electoral end game, his own short but momentous stint as a political aide, and why his personality traits were ultimately better suited to journalism. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

Ron Brownstein, columnist at The Atlantic and longtime political journalist, talks to David about working for Ralph Nader in the 1970s, the intersection between Hollywood and Washington, and the demographic realities that will likely determine the presidential election. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

Maureen Dowd, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times, talks with David about growing up in Washington, D.C., how newsrooms have changed since she became a journalist in the 1970s, and how she views the presidents and would-be presidents she’s covered over her career. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, talks with David about his foreign policy vision, the Johnson administration’s approach to illegal drugs, and his infamous Aleppo moment. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fareed Zakaria talks to David about some of the most intractable problems around the globe—including how America should respond to the social and political upheaval in the Middle East, and to escalating tensions with Russia. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton," talks to David about what he learned from meeting Stephen Sondheim in high school, what would surprise the Founders about our politics today, his advocacy for Puerto Rico as Congress debated how to address the island's debt crisis, and why he can't allow his creative output to be held captive to his own successes. To learn more ab...

Tom Brokaw, the legendary NBC News journalist, talks to David about his humble roots in South Dakota, covering the last days of the Nixon White House, the experience of being a news anchor during national tragedies like the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion and the 9/11 attacks, and the best news source he ever had. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Lear...

Barney Frank, longtime former congressman from Massachusetts, talks with David about his involvement in the civil rights movement, the challenges he faced as a gay man in public life in the 1970s, his work on the landmark Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, and what Congress needs to do to start functioning again. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Le...

Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, talks with David about the three years he spent in a Catholic seminary, his first job in politics working for Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry, and the challenges he faced as leader of the Republican Party. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po...

Karl Rove, former White House senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, and the mastermind behind President George W. Bush’s two presidential campaigns, sits down with David to discuss his early passion for politics, his assessment of the Bush years, and Donald Trump’s difficult road to winning the White House. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more...

EJ Dionne, long-time op-ed columnist for The Washington Post and author of “Why the Right Went Wrong", chats with David about his start in journalism, the Catholic Church under Pope Francis, what Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton need to do to win the election, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

Peter Hart, a veteran U.S. pollster who has helped produce the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll for the last three decades, speaks to David about the odds of Donald Trump winning in November, what he thinks Hillary Clinton should do to defeat him, the history and future of polling, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices....

Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, sits down with David to discuss her memories of the White House, her mother’s strength in the wake of her father’s death, her wide-ranging career from the New York City Dept. of Education to her current role in Asia, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

Academy Award-winning screenwriter of 'The Imitation Game' Graham Moore sits down with David to discuss what motivated him to speak publicly about his struggles with mental illness, why he likes writing historical fiction, his love of science, his new novel, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...

Father Michael Pfleger, senior pastor at Saint Sabina Church and social activist on Chicago's South Side, sits down with David to discuss violence and police accountability in Chicago and across the nation, the influence that Martin Luther King Jr. had on him as a young boy, his thoughts on Hillary Clinton, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Lear...

Robert Gibbs, former White House press secretary for President Obama, sits down with David to discuss his childhood in Alabama, his experience working for Sen. Fritz Hollings, Obama's 2008 campaign, life in the White House briefing room, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack joins David to talk about his humble beginnings in Iowa, his relationship with Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party's struggles in rural America, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick joins David to discuss his upbringing in Chicago, his experience studying in Darfur, police-community relations, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Dickerson, host of “Face the Nation,” sits down with David at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to talk about the genesis of the Trump campaign, the death of real news, his new book, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legendary musician Paul Simon sits down with David at the DNC in Philadelphia to chat about the 1970 breakup of Simon & Garfunkel, this fall's presidential election, and why he’s not retiring just yet. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SE Cupp, CNN commentator and conservative columnist, talks to David about why she won’t vote for Donald Trump in November, her time as a professional ballet dancer when she was a teenager, her battle with depression and an eating disorder, her views on the conservative movement in the U.S, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your...

Mark McKinnon, a veteran GOP strategist who was chief media advisor for President George W. Bush’s campaigns in 2000 and 2004, sits down with David at the Republican national convention in Cleveland to discuss his switch from the Democratic to the Republican Party, his media career and political reform projects, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy...