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And now, from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN Audio, the Axfiles, with your host David Axelrod.

When it comes to covering global conflicts, there's no one better than Clarice Award.

Now the Chief International correspondent for CNN she's brought to life the stories of people living and fighting on the front lines from Syria and Iraq to Yemen and most recently Afghanistan.

But her life and journey to becoming the intrepid courageous and highly decorated journalist may surprise you.

I spoke with Clarice this week just days before the 20th anniversary of 9-11. Here's our conversation.

Clarice Award is such a pleasure to be with you. So thank you for taking the time.

I'm going to start off by asking you a question that I don't think I've done a whole bunch of these podcasts, hundreds and hundreds of them.

And I don't think I've ever started off by saying where the hell are you?

It's a good question. I am at my parents house in France right now because I cannot return to my home in London in the United Kingdom because Afghanistan and Pakistan are both on a red list in the UK.

What do you mean that if I went back to the UK I'd have to do 11 days in a hotel quarantine. So instead I came to my parents house and my kids came here and so.

You're right, right, riding out the quarantine in comfort and with your family.

Yes, exactly.

Good, good. It's a good plan.

But you understand why I ask because we're used to seeing you in the most peculiar places, yet generally with people armed people around you and all kinds of mayhem going on.

So it's actually nice. I'm looking at a portrait of you in a nice living room and it seems.

It's funny. You should say that because I did Anderson Cooper show the other night and before the shop they were like, it's just so nice to see you in an elegant room.

Yes, no one's ever seen me in an elegant room before or in peace and quiet. I mean that alone. Yeah, distinguishes you. Well listen, I want to talk about your remarkable career, but your story itself strikes me as remarkable.

And the way you came to this point in life and your childhood struck me as kind of like a cross between doubt and Abby and Nora Efron. That's actually perfect. You nailed it.

You split your time between two continents. Tell me about your family. Your dad was kind of upper crust British. Your mom was American. Have they meet. Tell me all of that.

So my father was a Henry fellow at Yale and after he did his undergraduate in Cambridge and he didn't know anyone in the US and through I guess and someone acquaintance of my grandmother's he was given my mother's friends, family's information to that they would sort of look after him sometimes on weekends and

so then years later, my mother's friend was always talking about Rodney Rodney handsome Rodney and then years later my mother went to London and was like, you need to hook me up with handsome Rodney.

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