Mark Preston is Vice President of Political & Special Events and Senior Political Analyst for CNN — but that doesn’t even begin to describe his role at the network.

He cut his teeth covering the Jon Benet Ramsay case, the Olympic bombing and then decided he needed more excitement — so he came to Washington, D.C. For as good as he is at his work, he spends half of today’s conversation giving credit to those who mentored him, those he learned alongside of, and those he credits for the long list of awards he has earned. Mark Preston’s humor shines through in this winding tale of how we got here — and it’s his self-deprecating humor that keeps everyone around him laughing.

Come for the war stories, stay for the lightning round. It’s the first of 2025, and it’s a fun one.

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