The Axe Files with David Axelrod

Mike Leavitt, former governor of Utah, talks with David Axelrod about the Republican path forward on the Affordable Care Act, the health care lessons he learned serving as President Bush’s Health and Human Services Secretary, his views as a former EPA administrator on effective ways in which to address climate change, 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

Nancy-Ann DeParle, one of the lead authors of the Affordable Care Act, talks with David Axelrod about Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare, the consequences for people and for the health insurance market if the law is repealed without an adequate legislative replacement, and her argument for why the Affordable Care Act is working.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

J.D. Vance, author of the bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy, talks with David Axelrod about what it was that attracted working class voters to President Trump, why he’s so concerned by the clustering of homogenous communities in America, and what he thinks could be done to help address the social and economic difficulties in rural and urban areas of the country.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Bai, the national political columnist for Yahoo! News, talks with David Axelrod about the intersection between politics, media, and celebrity; the media’s role in Donald Trump’s political rise; and how news organizations can effectively cover President Trump and the new administration.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legendary journalist Carl Bernstein talks with David Axelrod about his memories as a young copy boy at The Washington Star, the details of the landmark reporting he did that exposed the Watergate cover-up and led to President Nixon’s resignation, how he grappled with the forces of celebrity after he became a cultural figure, and what he thinks investigative reporters should be looking at with regard to President Trump.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Natalie Jaresko, Ukraine's former Finance Minister, chats with David Axelrod about her Ukrainian-American upbringing in Chicago, how Russia’s violation of international norms could portend global upheaval, and the potential costs of a Trump administration's isolationist policy both in the United States and globally.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cody Keenan, former chief speechwriter to President Obama, talks with David Axelrod about his evolution from intern in the speechwriting department of the 2008 Obama presidential campaign to becoming the President’s chief speechwriter; how President Obama collaborates on the speechwriting process; and what it was like to serve in the White House for eight years.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, talks with David Axelrod about growing up in deep-red Texas as the daughter of prominent Democratic activists, the gains made in women’s health over the past eight years, and in what ways that progress may be lost if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thomas Friedman, three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times, talks with David Axelrod about the prospects for the Middle East peace process in the Trump era, the rapid changes transforming society which he chronicles in his latest book, and why he disagrees with President Obama's decision to not pursue more direct American intervention in the Syrian civil war.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations for the World Series champion Chicago Cubs, chats with David about growing up in Massachusetts, becoming general manager of the Boston Red Sox at only 28 years old, how his use of advanced analytics helped steer the Red Sox and Cubs to curse-breaking championships, 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