1: David Axelrod

The intersection of politics, tech, and media is where all the action is. Since the 2016 election, politics and the media business have become inseparable. We’ve elected an entertainment figure as President of the United States. The  media political conversation is shaped and driven by tech platforms, and Twitter and Facebook have become totally central to politics.

For the inaugural episode, Ben visits David Axelrod, formerly Senior Adviser to President Obama, in Chicago to talk about Axelrod’s perspective on what was perhaps the original fake news story of this political era, his personal history with Trump, and the influence of Fox News.

Follow Ben Smith at @BuzzFeedBen, and hear him on this week’s episode of The Axe Files.

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