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/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hugh Hewitt, columnist and radio host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show," talks to David about his time as a young researcher to President Richard Nixon, how he went from describing Trump as a “stage-IV cancer” to supporting his candidacy, his thoughts on Hillary Clinton and Judge Merrick Garland, 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

Jeffrey DeLaurentis, chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, sits down with David to discuss his career at the State Department, his three posts in Cuba, the Obama administration’s push to normalize relations between the two countries, and much more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Newton Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, sits down with David to discuss the clandestine role he and his agency played during the Cuban missile crisis, his personal reminiscences of Lyndon Johnson, Adlai Stevenson and others, the legacy of President Obama, 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

Maggie Haberman, presidential campaign correspondent at The New York Times, chats with David about her family’s journalism background, her time on the City Hall beat, what it was like covering 9/11, the 2016 race, 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

Paul Begala, adviser to the pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC Priorities USA, talks to David about his loss to Hank the Hallucination at the University of Texas, his years working for President Bill Clinton, his thoughts on the 2016 race, 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

Sen. Susan Collins, Republican from Maine, chats with David about her two decades on Capitol Hill, her relationship with Hillary Clinton, why she is not yet ready to endorse Donald Trump, 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

Isaac Lee, chief news and digital officer of Univision News and CEO of Fusion, chats with David about his grandfather fighting the Nazis and later moving to Colombia, the death threats Lee received as editor in chief of one of Colombia's leading investigative magazines, how millennials consume news today, and his concerns about Donald Trump. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Minnesota Senator Al Franken talks with David about his journey from comedian to politician, his work on mental health issues, Congressional dysfunction, the Orlando shooting, 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

Bill Walton, one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history and former basketball announcer for ABC, ESPN, and NBC, chats with David about the importance of leadership, what he learned playing for John Wooden at UCLA, how his back troubles nearly drove him to suicide, and his new book “Back from the Dead.” To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beth Myers, who served as senior adviser to Mitt Romney on his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, sits down with David to discuss her wide-ranging career from working with Karl Rove in Texas to Romney in Massachusetts, the state of the Republican Party in 2016, and how a recent stroke changed her life. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tim Philips, president of Americans for Prosperity, chats with David about growing up in South Carolina, his admiration of Ronald Reagan, and leading the conservative advocacy movement. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Harkin, retired Democratic senator from Iowa, sits down with David to discuss his four decades in Congress, his work on the Americans with Disabilities Act, his take on the 2016 presidential race, and much more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeff Greenfield, an award-winning journalist who writes for the Daily Beast and Politico, chats with David about what it was like working for Robert F. Kennedy before his assassination in 1968, his views of the current presidential race, and much 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 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sits down with David at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics to discuss his childhood in New York City, his tenure at the Justice Department, his views on Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, and much more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leading Israeli news anchor Ilana Dayan chats with David about her career as a reporter in Israel, her thoughts on Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, U.S.-Israeli relations, and the prospects for a two-state solution. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Katie Couric, global anchor for Yahoo News, sits down with David in her New York apartment to discuss her wide-ranging journalism career from 9/11 to “The Today Show” to her 2008 interview with Sarah Palin, her views on the current media landscape, and the 1998 death of her husband Jay after a nine-month battle with colon cancer. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, chats with David in New York about growing up in Ireland, how she went from a sports reporter at Yale to writing a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on U.S. foreign policy, and her take on the Obama administration's approach to conflicts in Libya, Syria, and elsewhere. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Nutter, former mayor of Philadelphia, speaks with David about going from nightclub disc jockey to City Council representative to mayor of the country’s fifth-largest city, his views on how to improve community policing, and his take on a possible Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton general election. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Stewart, comedian, author, and former host and executive producer of "The Daily Show," chats with David in Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago to talk about Donald Trump and the 2016 election, lessons from lobbying in Washington, what he's working on today, 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

Journalist and host of CNN’s “AC360” Anderson Cooper talks with David about his new book, becoming a self-appointed embed in Burma and Somalia, Donald Trump’s relationship with the media, 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

Frank Bruni, author and columnist for the New York Times, chats with David about his long and diverse career in journalism from New York to Detroit to Rome, Donald Trump's odds of winning the general election, gay marriage, 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

Patrick Kennedy, former Democratic congressman from Rhode Island and son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, chats with David about growing up in the Kennedy family, his battle with mental illness and addiction, his new book “The Common Struggle” 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

Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute and author of “The Conservative Heart,” chats with David about his time living in Europe, the U.S. Immigration debate, how to combat the current political polarization, 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

Republican strategist Mike Murphy sits down with David at the Institute of Politics to discuss his time at Georgetown as a member of the College Republicans, his time on the McCain campaign’s Straight Talk Express in 2000, his assessment of Jeb Bush’s failed bid for the Republican nomination, 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

David Plouffe, former campaign manager for President Obama and currently a top adviser at Uber, chats with David Axelrod about his start in politics working for Sen. Tom Harkin in Iowa, Obama’s election in 2008, the use of data in campaigns, and his assessment of the 2016 race for the White House. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices