The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Many individuals have two jobs, but none quite like Raphael Warnock. On most weekdays, he patrols the halls of Congress as the Senior Senator from the state of Georgia. However, he also holds the position of senior pastor at the storied Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Preaching from the same pulpit that his idol, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once graced—a man he shares much in common with. Last week, David sat down with Reverend Warnock, Senator Warnock, to discuss his extraordinary journey f…Show morerom the housing projects of Savannah to these esteemed positions, and how he utilizes his platform to further Dr. King’s social justice mission.
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Feb 8, 2024
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Stephanie Murphy truly is a great American story. Born in Vietnam a few years after the war, she and her family fled tyranny and were rescued at sea by the U.S. Navy. Raised in a trailer park in Virginia, she worked her way through college and graduate school. Post 9/11, she became a young star at the Department of Defense, working as an analyst at the highest levels of the Pentagon. Later, she was elected to three terms in Congress where she stood out from the partisans, ideologues, and bloviat…Show moreors, earning a reputation as an earnest and incisive problem solver. In the end, however, Stephanie Murphy may be most remembered for her service on the fateful January 6th committee. She joined David to talk about all of this, and more.
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Feb 1, 2024
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Jeff Zeleny is one of America’s very best political reporters, with decades of experience covering national campaigns for the Des Moines Register, the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, ABC, and CNN. David sat down with him the day of the New Hampshire primary to glean his insights into the current race. Their conversation also delved into Zeleny’s personal journey – from his Nebraska farm childhood influencing his reporting to overcoming a lifelong speech impediment, establishing him as one of America’s premier broadcast journalists.
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Jan 25, 2024
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
John Miller has seen a lot. Born into the world of journalism as the son of a National Enquirer reporter, Miller’s upbringing immersed him in a world of celebrities, club owners, mobsters, and law enforcement. Miller has spent his life toggling between television, journalism, and law enforcement. He has covered some of the most significant national security and crime stories in the past four decades, including a rare interview with Osama bin Laden. Miller has also served at the highest levels of…Show more the FBI, the nation’s two largest police departments, and the office of the Director of National Intelligence. He joined David to discuss his expansive career and share his unique perspective on the intersections of crime, journalism, and national security.
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Jan 18, 2024
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Mick Mulvaney knows a lot about the central players in the Republican nominating drama. With a background as the former budget director and acting chief of staff to Donald Trump, Mulvaney played a crucial role in the political landscape. Serving in Congress alongside Ron DeSantis and co-founding the House Freedom Caucus, he offers a unique perspective on party dynamics. Sharing anecdotes from his time as a South Carolina legislator alongside state representative Nikki Haley, Mulvaney joins David in a reflective conversation on the current state of the Republican race and the twists and turns of his own political journey.
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Jan 11, 2024
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
This week The Axe Files team is sharing a special episode of Anderson Cooper’s extraordinary podcast All There Is. It’s a conversation about grief with President Joe Biden, who has faced more than his share in life. In it, he offers moving memories, lessons, and insights that are well worth hearing.
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Jan 4, 2024
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
This holiday season, we are revisiting a conversation from March 2017 with Madeleine Albright, the trailblazing American scholar, diplomat, and Secretary of State. She passed away in 2022, but her inspiring personal story and her extraordinary insights into this complicated world are timeless.
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Dec 28, 2023
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Before June 28th 2022, few Americans knew of Cassidy Hutchinson, the young former White House staffer. But that all changed that day when she appeared as a surprise star witness at a hastily called televised hearing of the House Select Committee on January 6th to share what she knew about the events leading up to and following the storming of Capitol Hill by a pro-trump mob. But her own life story is worth hearing and compellingly told in her new book “Enough”. Cassidy joined David to talk about her book, her time in the White House, her relationship with the Republican Party, and her life now.
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Dec 21, 2023
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Although author Sara Paretsky grew up in Kansas, she said it was her summer in Chicago volunteering during the civil rights movement in 1966 that marked the “defining experience” on her life. Second wave feminism similarly influenced Sara, culminating in the creation of V.I. Warshawski, a stereotype-smashing, hardboiled, female private eye, who leads 22 of Sara’s crime novels. Sara joined David to talk about her family history, the recent rise in antisemitism, using her writing to give voice to the marginalized, the creation of V.I. Warshawski, and Sara’s work on abortion and women’s rights.
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Dec 14, 2023
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
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 closer look at American evangelicalism. He published the book “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism” in December 2023. Tim joined David to talk about his new book, the profitability and politicization of the evangelical moveme…Show morent, the Moral Majority and the history of evangelical victimization, Donald Trump’s threat to religious freedom, and the real Nikki Haley.
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Dec 7, 2023
