Ep. 501 — Jason Kander

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

CNN

News

4.6 • 7.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2022

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ten years after serving in Afghanistan, Jason Kander was a rising star in the Democratic Party, testing the waters for a presidential run. In 2018, he shocked the political world when he ended his campaign for mayor of Kansas City to seek treatment for PTSD. He joined David to talk about falling in love with the Army, focusing on his career as a form of self-medication, trading presidential aspirations for personal healing, and his new book, “Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	And now, from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN Audio, the Axfiles, with
0:12.6	your host, David Axelrod.
0:18.8	When I first sat down for the Axfiles with Jason Cander in 2017, he was a fellow at the
0:24.2	Institute of Politics, having just run a phenomenal race for the U.S. Senate.
0:29.0	A Democrat, he came within a hair's breath of winning in an increasingly Republican
0:33.5	Missouri.
0:34.5	So Cander was a young man in a hurry.
0:36.2	There was buzz around him as a potential presidential candidate.
0:40.4	But it turns out he was living a lie.
0:42.6	Beneath his ebullient surface, Cander, an army veteran who served in Afghanistan, was suffering
0:48.4	from post-traumatic stress disorder, and it was turning his life upside down.
0:53.5	The year after we spoke, he abruptly dropped out of politics in public view to get the
0:58.0	help he desperately needed.
0:59.6	Now he's recounted that painful journey in a moving book, Invisible Storm, a soldier's
1:04.9	memoir of politics and PTSD.
1:07.6	The proceeds of the book, by the way, will go to the Veterans Community Project to help
1:12.0	other veterans in need.
1:13.6	Here's my conversation with the inspiring Jason Cander.
1:24.2	Jason Cander, it's great to see you again, my friend.
1:27.9	Thank you for interviewing me again.
1:28.9	Thank you for doing this.
1:30.2	You were a guest on this podcast way back in October of 2017.
	...

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