LINCOLN - Pete Ricketts and David Axelrod engaged in a revealing and wide-ranging discussion while the governor was in Chicago a week ago for an appearance at the University of Chicago and you can listen in on their conversation on the latest Axe Files podcast online.

Axelrod, a guiding figure in President Barack Obama's historic 2008 election, his successful reelection bid in 2012, and as senior adviser to the Democratic president for eight years, and Ricketts, Nebraska's two-term conservative Republican governor.

A range of topics were discussed on the podcast, from the Ricketts family, the family-owned Chicago Cubs, the governor's unsuccessful bid for a 2006 Senate seat, his sister's same-sex marriage, and his pro-life views opposing abortion.

The two spoke in depth about the governor's support of the death penalty as a Catholic, despite Pope Francis' encyclical calling upon all Catholics to advocate for the abolition of capital punishment.

Additionally, they talked about Ricketts' Second Amendment defense of gun rights in the wake of the latest massacre of 19 elementary school students and two teachers in Texas.

Tough and sometimes uncomfortable questions were raised by Alexrod during their conversation.

"You can't buy a bazooka or a cannon," Axelrod said. "Why semi-automatic guns?"

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