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Chris LaCivita, GOP campaign pro and mastermind behind some of the party’s most ruthless yet effective political ads, says he focuses on a simple mandate—getting his boss elected. In the weeks following his successful stint as co-manager of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, the former Marine joined David to talk about his upbringing in the Pittsburgh area; how his military experience informs his campaign work; what made Trump’s 2024 campaign different from 2016 and 2020; and his take on the impact of trans rights, abortion, and Joe Biden on the 2024 presidential race.
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Democratic pollster John Anzalone wants voters to know that pollsters are not prognosticators. Instead, they use their findings to help craft strategy and messaging, and John has some advice for the Democratic Party after the 2024 election. He joined David to talk about the over saturation of lower quality polling, the need for Democrats to retool their economic message and focus on the American Dream, what hurt Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and what Democrats can learn from their deep bench of future leaders.
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This week, The Axe Files reaches a milestone: 600 episodes. For this anniversary show, CNN’s Anderson Cooper sat down with David to talk about the origins of The Axe Files, some of the most memorable moments from the podcast, what David has learned about people and politics through the show, and what David will be watching for on election night.
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Charlamagne tha God—born Lenard McKelvey—got his start in radio by chance, but once he started, he was hooked. He now co-hosts The Breakfast Club, a nationally syndicated morning show reaching millions of listeners each month. He talked to David about growing up in a small town in South Carolina, addressing his mental health and how it changed his relationship to his father, working his way up in radio to his current role and what makes The Breakfast Club work, and his thinking on the 2024 presidential election and his frustration with the narrative around Black voters.
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CNN’s John King loves being an anchor, but looking back on the past few presidential elections, he felt he was missing something from inside his Washington, D.C. bubble. So, he decided to get back on the road, traveling from state to state and talking to people on the ground in the lead up to the 2024 election with his All Over the Map project. John joined David to talk about how Donald Trump is using immigration to try to build support in the suburbs, if abortion on the ballot will lead to ticket splitting, Washington’s disconnect from the rest of the country, and where the 2024 election stands today. (For more from All Over the Map, click here.)
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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 between Israel and Iran.
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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. Secretary Yellen joined David to talk about the barriers women face in finance, the economic implications of immigration, China and tariffs, and why government intervention in the financial system is necessary.
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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 while learning she had a brain tumor, and what she learned from that life-altering experience.
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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 detained across the globe. He talked with David about what keeps him up at night, the importance of entering negotiations with humility, his journey with spirituality, and his focus on the families of the hostages he works to free.
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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 his new book, “Above the Noise: My Story of Chasing Calm.”
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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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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 her career, Joe Biden exiting the presidential race, and the importance of protecting the Constitution on Election Day.
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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 with 60 votes, her stance on immigration, and much more.
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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 why he thinks Gov. Tim Walz was the bold pick to join Harris on the Democratic ticket.
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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 David to talk about 1968 and today, how protests against the war in Gaza could affect the DNC, how focusing on abortion issues may have helped Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise, and his surprise—and delight—at her selection of Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
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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 politics, how Vice President Kamala Harris is meeting the moment as a presidential candidate, and Audie's CNN podcast, “The Assignment.”
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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 elements of his party. Rep. Crenshaw joined David to talk about losing his mother at a young age, the need for tougher immigration laws, the importance of aiding Ukraine, his disdain for Tucker Carlson, and the importance of voting in primaries.
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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 social and economic difficulties facing everyday Americans.
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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 of the demagogue and need for citizens to reengage in democracy.
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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 David to talk about the book, the parallels between the 1960s and today, the state of American democracy, and what can be learned about the present by looking to the past.
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