The Axe Files with David Axelrod

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