The Axe Files with David Axelrod
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.
Episodes
October 10, 2024 • 63 mins
Ilana Dayan, a prominent Israeli journalist, spoke with David last fall, just days after the October 7 massacre in Israel perpetrated by Hamas. One year later, David checked in with Ilana to talk about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s staying power, reporting on Gaza, recognizing the US’s political calculations in its dealings with Israel, the need for both war and diplomacy in the Middle East, and what happens next betw...
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October 3, 2024 • 64 mins
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been thinking about the economy since she was a young girl in the working-class neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, keenly attuned to how broader economic trends impacted the employment of her neighbors. Once she took her first economics class in college, she was hooked. She has since spent her career moving between academic and government roles, including many years at the Federal Reserve. Secr...
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September 26, 2024 • 68 mins
As a child, journalist Kasie Hunt eagerly awaited the arrival of “Time” magazine each week. She loved current events, which eventually piqued her interest in national security and journalism. She joined David to talk about growing up in a post-war period and watching 9/11 puncture that feeling of safety, covering Jan. 6 as a Capitol Hill reporter, what advice she would give a young campaign journalist, starting a new job at CNN whi...
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September 19, 2024 • 66 mins
At 11 years old, Roger Carstens, already an avid news consumer, was struck by stories of genocide in Cambodia. He resolved that when he grew up, he would work to alleviate human suffering. That mission took him to the Army and jobs in the non-profit sector and government, including his current role as the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. In this job, Amb. Carstens works tirelessly to bring home Americans wrongfully d...
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September 12, 2024 • 63 mins
DeMar DeRozan is a six-time NBA All Star and an Olympic gold medalist. But perhaps the defining legacy of his career will be his decision to speak out about his struggles with depression and mental health. He joined David to talk about growing up in Compton, California, surrounded by both gang violence and a strong, loving family; basketball as an escape; his drive to excel; the importance of speaking out about mental health; and h...
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September 5, 2024 • 32 mins
Kamala Harris has “Freedom.” Donald Trump has “God Bless the USA” (and a lot of cease-and-desist letters). What makes for a good campaign song? And why do we respond so viscerally to the ones that work? Audie talks with DJ Cassidy, who DJ'd the DNC Roll Call. And Dana Gorzelany-Mostak, who studies the use of music in political campaigns.
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August 29, 2024 • 66 mins
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi has joined David on The Axe Files many times to talk about her life, policy, and politics. With the recent release of her book, “The Art of Power,” the two again met to talk at the University Club of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. Although they spoke before an audience, it sounded more like a conversation between Pelosi and a roomful of friends as she reflected on the high points of ...
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August 22, 2024 • 67 mins
As Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to take the stage for the final night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention as the Democratic presidential nominee, we are re-airing a conversation David had with Harris back in 2017. At the time, she was the new senator from California. They sat down to talk about the prospects for criminal justice reform legislation in Congress, why she believes Supreme Court nominees must be approved...
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August 15, 2024 • 67 mins
Journalist Ezra Klein has been covering politics for two decades, first as a blogger from his undergrad dorm room and now as an Opinion columnist for The New York Times. He joined David to talk about the current political moment, the role of policy in elections, how Vice President Kamala Harris has stolen the spotlight from former President Donald Trump, why the normal political metaphors don’t fit the 2024 presidential race, and w...
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August 8, 2024 • 55 mins
Much has been said about perceived parallels between this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the 1968 convention, hallmarked by a violent response to anti-Vietnam War protestors and an incumbent who announced he would not seek reelection. Few are as qualified to speak on those comparison as Don Rose, a Chicago journalist, political strategist, and activist who was a leader in organizing the ’68 protests. He joined...
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August 1, 2024 • 66 mins
As a longtime reporter and observer of American politics and culture, Audie Cornish spends her days chronicling and analyzing history as it’s happening. This week, Audie joined David to talk about her own history: growing up in the “messy follow-up of integration” in Boston schools, being raised by immigrant parents, and unexpectedly finding herself on the path to journalism. Audie and David also discussed the state of American pol...
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July 25, 2024 • 69 mins
After reading about the Navy SEALs in middle school, Rep. Dan Crenshaw was determined to one day join their ranks. After 10 years as a Navy SEAL—including sustaining injuries in an IED explosion that left him with one eye—he was medically retired and turned his attention to serving the country as a legislator. As a Texas Republican, Crenshaw remains staunchly conservative, although he’s not shy about calling out the more fringe ele...
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July 18, 2024 • 65 mins
Ohio Sen. JD Vance made news this week when GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump selected Sen. Vance as his running mate. But Sen. Vance didn’t start out a Trump fan. Once a harsh Trump critic, he slowly transitioned to all-out supporter. Sen. Vance spoke with David in 2017 about his life and bestselling book “Hillbilly Elegy,” what it was that attracted working class voters to President Trump, and his political opinions on the ...
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July 11, 2024 • 57 mins
Political commentator and former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau watched the first 2024 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden with great concern. Now, he’s questioning whether Biden should stay in the race. He joined David to talk about voters feeling “gaslit” by the Biden campaign and White House, poll denialism, why a stellar convention performance by Biden and his supporters won’t move the needle, and the allure ...
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July 4, 2024 • 64 mins
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is known for chronicling the lives and leadership styles of some of America’s most prominent presidents. But for her latest book she focused on a different sort of subject: her husband, the late political adviser Dick Goodwin. Part memoir, part history, “An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s” tells the story of the decade through more than 300 boxes of Dick’s archives. Doris joined...
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June 27, 2024 • 60 mins
Dr. Anthony Fauci became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic. While Dr. Fauci stepped down as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in 2022, he still has stories to share. His new book, “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service,” recounts his triumphs and heartbreaks over 50 years in public health combatting everything from Ebola to SARS to HIV. He joined David to discuss his n...
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June 20, 2024 • 61 mins
Evgenia Kara-Murza did not intend to become a public figure. But that all changed after her husband, Russian political opposition leader and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, was arrested in Moscow in 2022. With Vladimir now serving a 25-year sentence in a Siberian prison, Evgenia has taken up his mission, advocating for the freedom of political prisoners and a democratic Russia. She joined David to talk about growing up during the d...
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June 13, 2024 • 61 mins
From darkened streetlights and abandoned homes to pervasive graffiti and long waits for emergency services, Mayor Mike Duggan inherited a Detroit rife with problems, but also potential. Since he took office in 2014, Mayor Duggan has helmed a turnaround for the city, overseeing rising standards of living and significant economic growth. Mayor Duggan joined David at the newly re-opened Michigan Central to talk about the revitalizatio...
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June 6, 2024 • 67 mins
When Leon Panetta was growing up in Monterey, California, his Italian immigrant parents often invited soldiers training at nearby Fort Ord to holiday dinners before they shipped out to World War Two battlegrounds. Later, as Secretary of Defense, Panetta’s thoughts returned to those service members when deploying young men and women to war. He sat down with David to talk about his long political career, his thoughts on the war in Uk...
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May 30, 2024 • 61 mins
Bill Walton, one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history and former basketball announcer, died this week. David talked with Bill back in 2016 about leadership, what he learned playing for John Wooden at UCLA, how his back troubles nearly drove him to suicide, his love of the Grateful Dead, and much more. We revisit that conversation this week.
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