The Axe Files with David Axelrod

Jim Sciutto, CNN's chief national security correspondent, talks with David Axelrod about the impact his Jesuit education had on his worldview, the complex nature of the U.S.-China relationship, the key question that world leaders and diplomats are asking about the Trump administration, and the pressures he's feeling as a reporter in the Trump era. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, talks with David Axelrod about BuzzFeed's approach to journalism and how he responds to the organization's critics, why Donald Trump has reenergized the news media, why BuzzFeed decided to publish the Trump dossier without verifying its claims, and how the Clinton campaign in 2016 overcompensated for its mistakes in 2008. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

Senator John McCain talks with David Axelrod about the threat Russia poses to Western democracies, why he is more worried now about America than he has ever been before, what he misses most about his early days in the House and Senate, and why Donald Trump is no Ronald Reagan. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Maddon, manager of the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs, joins David before Opening Day to talk about his working class upbringing in Pennsylvania, his path towards an unconventional leadership style, the Cubs' prospects for a repeat, and more. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julián Castro, the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, talks with David Axelrod about why Housing and Urban Development programs are important to rural and urban communities and should be preserved; Donald Trump's strained relationship with the Latino community; the lessons Democrats can learn from 2016; and whether he plans to run for office again. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

Wendy Sherman, the former lead negotiator on the Iran nuclear deal, talks with David Axelrod about how her experience in social work prepared her for a career in politics and international diplomacy; the inner-workings of the Iran nuclear deal; and what the world must do to stabilize the belligerent regime in North Korea. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jackie Calmes, the veteran newspaper reporter, talks with David Axelrod about the pressures journalists face covering President Trump, her concerns for the future of the news business, her experiences covering three presidencies and the Gingrich Revolution in Congress, and her favorite article she wrote during her nearly 40-year career in newspapers. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Froman, the former U.S. Trade Representative, talks with David Axelrod about why technology and not free trade poses the biggest threat to middle class jobs and wages in America; what the U.S. stands to lose by withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement; and why American workers will be harmed by Donald Trump’s global trade policies. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, talks with David Axelrod about Donald Trump’s appeal in communities like South Bend; how urban economies can thrive amid the challenges posed by globalization; why he ran for chairman of the Democratic National Committee and his advice to the winner, Tom Perez; and why it’s “self-defeating” in the Trump era for Democrats to target other Democrats. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn...

Kamala Harris, the newly-elected senator from California, talks with David Axelrod about the prospects for criminal justice reform legislation in Congress, why she believes President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee must be approved with 60 votes, her argument for why Democrats should stop their infighting and unify against the Trump agenda, and how she’s adjusting to life in the Senate. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices...