The Axe Files with David Axelrod

By The Institute of Politics & CNN

What's The Axe Files with David Axelrod about?

David Axelrod, the founder and director of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, and CNN bring you The Axe Files, a series of revealing interviews with key figures in the political world. Go beyond the soundbites and get to know some of the most interesting players in politics.

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Ep. 560 — Tim Alberta

12.07.2023

Journalist Tim Alberta grew up in the evangelical church and has watched with both concern and interest as some factions of the faith have changed over the years. Following the death of his pastor father, Tim decided to take a ...

The Axe Files with David Axelrod episodes:

12.07.2023 Ep. 560 — Tim Alberta Journalist Tim Alberta grew up in the evangelical church and has watched with both concern and interest as some factions of the faith have changed over the years. Following the death of his pastor father, Tim decided to take a ...
11.30.2023 Ep. 559 — Sen. Mallory McMorrow Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow always wanted to design cars. While that didn’t quite pan out—although she did spend some time working for Mattel on Hot Wheels—she has made a name for herself as a legislator after a speech she ...
11.23.2023 Ep. 558 — Walter Massey Dr. Walter Massey is a uniquely accomplished and fascinating American. Raised in the segregated South, Walter became one of only a handful of Black physicists in the 1960s and went on to hold leadership roles at laboratories, universities, and briefly ...
11.16.2023 Ep. 557 — Amb. David Pressman Ambassador David Pressman has spent decades working on human rights, from positions at the White House to years as a human rights lawyer and nonprofit leader. He is continuing to fight for human rights and democracy as the current Ambassador ...
11.09.2023 Ep. 556 — Obama 15-Year Anniversary Special This week, we’re bringing you a special episode of The Axe Files. In honor of the 15th anniversary of President Barack Obama’s historic election, David assembled a group of key players who made the 2008 Obama campaign happen. Jon Favreau, ...
11.02.2023 Ep. 555 — McKay Coppins Journalist McKay Coppins has been linked to Sen. Mitt Romney since he covered Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. As a fellow Mormon from Massachusetts, McKay was seen as a “Mormon whisperer” by his fellow reporters on the trail. Now, with the ...
10.26.2023 Ep. 554 — Ilana Dayan Israeli journalist Ilana Dayan has anchored "Uvda,” the leading investigative news program on Israeli TV, for 30 years. She joined David this week to talk about the first 24 hours after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, America’s involvement in ...
10.19.2023 Ep. 553 — Walter Isaacson Writer Walter Isaacson grew up in a family full of engineers and spent his spare time making radios and televisions sets. While he became a journalist and author instead, his interest in technology and science remained and has informed his ...
10.12.2023 Ep. 552 — David French David French has held many roles: religious-liberties attorney, army officer, writer and political commentator, and outspoken critic of Donald Trump. French joined David to talk about the dissonance he felt in adhering to his conservative Christian values in the face ...
10.05.2023 Best of the Axe Files: Rep. Nancy Pelosi This week, we’re revisiting a 2015 interview with Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Then serving as House Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi spoke with David about her childhood in Baltimore, her tenure as Speaker of the House and all of its challenges, the ...
09.28.2023 Ep. 551 — Lawrence Wright As a child, journalist and writer Lawrence Wright cherished his summer visits to the library with his mother when he would load up cardboard boxes with books to devour. His love of reading evolved into a love of writing, and ...
09.21.2023 Ep. 550 — Susan Rice After a decades-long career in public service spanning three presidential administrations, Susan Rice left her post as President Biden’s domestic policy advisor in May 2023. Rice joined David to talk about the differences between working on domestic policy and national ...
09.14.2023 Ep. 549 — Gov. Jay Inslee After decades in public office and a 2019 run for president focused on fighting climate change, Washington Governor Jay Inslee recently announced he would not seek reelection in 2024. Gov. Inlsee joined David to talk about where we are in ...
09.07.2023 Ep. 548 — Scott Galloway Born in California to immigrant parents, Scott Galloway says that he’s the product of an America willing to invest in unremarkable people. While Scott has made a name for himself as an entrepreneur, author, professor, and outspoken podcast host, he’s ...
08.31.2023 Ep. 547 — Amb. Oksana Markarova Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova grew up during the downfall of the Soviet Union. She spent much of her career helping rebuild Ukraine’s economy after the country became independent, working in the private sector before joining Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance. She ...
08.24.2023 Ep. 546 — Sally Yates Former US Deputy Attorney General and Attorney General for the Northern District of Georgia Sally Yates has been mostly quiet about the indictments facing former President Donald Trump—the man who fired her as Acting Attorney General just days after he ...
08.17.2023 Ep. 545 — Arthur Brooks Arthur Brooks has held many roles in his life: professional French horn player in Barcelona, leader of the American Enterprise Institute, and now a professor of happiness at Harvard. The author and social scientist has a new book on the ...
08.10.2023 Ep. 544 — John Podesta John Podesta was looking forward to retirement when he got a call from the Biden administration asking him to serve as the senior adviser to the President for clean energy innovation and implementation. A long-time advocate for the environment in ...
08.03.2023 Ep. 543 — John King After seven years as the host of CNN’s “Inside Politics,” John King is stepping away from the anchor desk and returning to his reporter roots, traveling the country to talk to Americans across the political spectrum ahead of the 2024 ...
07.27.2023 Ep. 542 — Adrian Perkins After graduating from Harvard Law School, Adrian Perkins decided to forgo the traditional job at a top-tier law firm, instead opting to return to his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana as a candidate for mayor. After one term, punctuated by the ...
07.20.2023 Ep. 541 — Sen. Tammy Baldwin As a child, Sen. Tammy Baldwin suffered a months-long illness, leaving her with a preexisting condition that made obtaining health insurance impossible. The experience inspired her to pursue public office, first locally from her home in Madison, Wisconsin, and later ...
07.13.2023 Ep. 540 — Jon Meacham Historian and writer Jon Meacham’s most recent book, “And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle,” dives deep into Lincoln and the why behind the actions of America’s 16th president, from personal to political. Jon joined David to ...
07.06.2023 The Axe Files presents The Assignment with Audie Cornish This week The Axe Files team is sharing an episode of CNN’s The Assignment with Audie Cornish. One year after Roe v Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, we were wondering: what is happening to people caught ...
06.29.2023 Ep. 539 — Supervisor Bill Gates Lifelong Republican Bill Gates was working as a lawyer and serving on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona’s most populous county when the 2020 election upended his life. Maricopa County became a hub of the Stop the Steal ...
06.22.2023 Best of the Axe Files: Vladimir Kara-Murza This week, we’re revisiting a 2018 interview with Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition activist who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April 2023 after speaking out against the war in Ukraine. Vladimir was just 10 years old during ...
06.15.2023 Ep. 538 — President Barack Obama Since leaving office in 2016, former President Barack Obama has been a careful observer of the ebbs and flows of democracy around the globe, speaking out on the subject and building coalitions through the Obama Foundation. President Obama joined David ...
06.08.2023 Ep. 537 — Kaitlan Collins CNN’s Kaitlan Collins arrived at college as a chemistry major, but the die-hard Crimson Tide fan soon realized life in a science lab was not her calling. After scouring the university’s course book, she decided to give journalism a try. ...
06.01.2023 Ep. 536 — Michael Wilbon As a child, Michael Wilbon was allowed to argue about sports and politics at the dinner table—as long as he backed up his point. That early training helped launch Michael into a distinguished career as a sportswriter, columnist, and co-host ...
05.25.2023 Ep. 535 — Sen. Mark Kelly Arizona Senator Mark Kelly never planned to go into politics. But in the years after his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, was shot in an assassination attempt, the former astronaut decided to put aside his space suit and run for ...
05.18.2023 Ep. 534 — Gretchen Carlson Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson sued the network’s longtime boss Roger Ailes for sexual harassment in 2016, catapulting her into a broader fight for women’s rights. Since leaving Fox News, Gretchen has become a force in advocating for safer ...
05.11.2023 Ep. 533 — Gov. J.B. Pritzker Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has carved out a national profile as a staunch advocate for abortion rights and gun control, raising speculation last summer that a 2024 presidential run was in his future. While he confirmed he won’t take on ...
05.04.2023 Ep. 532 — Rep. Katie Porter California Rep. Katie Porter is best known for wielding a whiteboard during congressional hearings, stumping CEOs and government officials on how their actions impact everyday Americans. As a single mother who grew up on a farm in Iowa, Rep. Porter ...
04.27.2023 Ep. 531 — Brandon Johnson Chicago mayor-elect Brandon Johnson started his campaign trailing in the polls with little name recognition among Chicago voters. But with the help of the Chicago Teachers Union, the former teacher and CTU organizer built a progressive movement, ultimately winning the ...
04.20.2023 Ep. 530 — Asa Hutchinson Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson recently announced he’s running for president in 2024. While Gov. Hutchinson has less name recognition than other Republican primary contenders—primarily\ Donald Trump—he hopes to draw a contrast between himself and other candidates by eschewing outrage ...
04.13.2023 Ep. 529 — Neil King Jr. From trying his hand as a monk at a monastery in Sri Lanka to reporting from Prague following the collapse of the Soviet Union, former reporter Neil King has traveled all over the world. In March 2021, he set out ...
04.06.2023 Best of The Axe Files: Christiane Amanpour This week, we revisit a 2017 conversation with CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour. She joined David in London to discuss growing up in Iran during the revolution, her experience covering the first Gulf War, her relationship with John F. ...
03.30.2023 Ep. 528 — Theo Epstein Theo Epstein made a name for himself in baseball by helping teams facing significant championship droughts, like the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, capture World Series wins using data and analytics. He now works for Major League Baseball, where ...
03.23.2023 Ep. 527 — Jen Easterly CISA Director Jen Easterly got an early taste of government as a sixth grader when her class was featured in a commercial for then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan. The ad never made it to air, but Director Easterly continued in public ...
03.16.2023 Ep. 526 — John Hendrickson Since childhood, journalist John Hendrickson has lived with a stutter: wrestling with it, searching for escapes from it, and working to accept it. John, who rose to national prominence after interviewing then-presidential candidate Joe Biden about his own stutter in ...
03.09.2023 Ep. 525 — Amb. Michael McFaul In high school, Michael McFaul developed an interest in the Soviet Union that would eventually lead to him serving as US Ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, McFaul emerged as a vocal ...
03.02.2023 Ep. 524 — Peter Meijer Just days after he was sworn in to Congress, former GOP Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan watched in horror as protestors stormed the Capitol. Deeply unsettled by the experience, he voted to impeach President Trump, opening a lane for a ...
02.23.2023 Ep. 523 — Beto O'Rourke Beto O’Rourke shot to national prominence in 2018 when he narrowly lost to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in an unexpectedly close election. Two years later, he ran in the Democratic presidential primary, and, in 2022, he ran for governor of ...
02.16.2023 Ep. 522 — Amb. Tom Nides As a Jewish kid growing up in Duluth, Minnesota, Amb. Tom Nides didn’t plan to be a diplomat some day. After a career spanning roles in government and business, he took on the position of US ambassador to Israel in ...
02.09.2023 Ep. 521 — Gov. Gavin Newsom Growing up with severe dyslexia, California Governor Gavin Newsom questioned his own intelligence and path forward. But things began coming together in college when he embraced his interest in politics. Gov. Newsom joined David to talk about his childhood, the ...
02.02.2023 Ep. 520 — Tim Ryan A chance meeting with his Congressman during a high school football banquet set Tim Ryan on a path to politics, from a seat in the Ohio Senate, to two decades in the U.S. House of Representatives, to a bid for ...
01.26.2023 Ep. 519 — Sec. Antony Blinken Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a circuitous path to government, working in journalism, law, and the movies before landing a job in the Clinton administration. He still has varied interests; while he spends his days meeting with world leaders, ...
01.19.2023 Ep. 518 — Amanda Gorman When poet Amanda Gorman was 5 years old, she was already in the habit of waking up before dawn to write; her mother paid her a quarter each morning she stayed in bed past 6 a.m. Poetry became Amanda’s outlet ...
01.12.2023 Ep. 517 — Gov. Chris Sununu Although New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has said that he was a shy child, he has no problem with the spotlight now; there is widespread speculation that he will run for president in 2024. As a popular Republican governor in ...
01.05.2023 Ep. 516 — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer In 2022, Democrats in Michigan made history when they took control of state government for the first time in 40 years. At the top of the ticket was Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who won reelection by nearly 11 percentage points. Governor ...
12.22.2022 The Axe Files presents The Assignment with Audie Cornish This week The Axe Files team is sharing an episode of CNN’s The Assignment with Audie Cornish. Each week Audie pulls listeners out of their digital echo chambers to hear from the people who actually live the headlines. From the ...

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