
About this episode
When Nikole Hannah-Jones was a high school student at a predominantly white school in Waterloo, Iowa, she complained to a teacher that the school newspaper wasn’t covering stories that mattered to Black students. He told her she had two options: stop complaining or start writing for the paper and telling her own stories. She joined the paper, launching what became a celebrated career writing for publications like ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine. Nikole is well known for her reporting on segregation and racial inequities in education but recently won a Pulitzer Prize for The 1619 Project, which traces the legacy of slavery throughout American history. She joined David to talk about what it was like growing up in working-class Iowa, how she finds motivation in being underestimated, and the inspiration and creation of The 1619 Project.
To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Get every episode summarized
Each time The Axe Files with David Axelrod publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from The Axe Files with David Axelrod

Ep. 605 — Ambassador Rahm Emanuel
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Dec 19, 20241:05:08pending

Ep. 604 — Scott Jennings
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Dec 12, 20241:05:19pending

Ep. 603 — Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Dec 5, 202452:12pending

The Best of The Axe Files: Jon Meacham
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Nov 28, 20241:02:13pending