Jen and Dan chatting about work

May 27, 2024 6:32 PM

Jen Psaki with Dan Pfeiffer: Lessons from the White House [1h6m, Commonwealth Club] is a great conversation about being White House Press Secretary between that Press Secretary and Obama's Communications Director. They're both really personable and full of anecdotes; it's a great talk.
posted by hippybear (20 comments total)

Reallllly curious to know what the vibe is like in the Crooked office right now. Co-founder and primary funnyman Jon Lovett has been out for a few weeks, supposedly on some kind of vacation ("Eat, Pray, Lovett!"), but then the most recent episode of Pod Save America opened with about the most out-of-left-field possible explanation. The other hosts surely knew ahead of time and must have okayed his absence, but there is a definite edge to the jokes that suggest this was perhaps not the best time for it.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:08 PM on May 27, 2024

the smug 35-45-year-olds who make up the core of the Democratic elections machine will, quite literally, be the death of us all.
posted by turbowombat at 7:13 PM on May 27, 2024 [23 favorites]

As a regular host/cohost, I'd be shocked if he didn't tell them -- they were probably just making a joke at his expense -- but they're clearly not thrilled about it. It just struck me as a super weird thing for him to do. They've always been in the weeds with organizing and volunteering -- his speech to canvassing volunteers in Pennsylvania in 2018 was incredibly earnest and heartfelt -- so to fuck off to some reality TV island for weeks or months in the middle of a much more crucial election seems bizarrely out of character.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:22 PM on May 27, 2024

Maybe Jon couldn't tell them exactly why?
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:21 PM on May 27, 2024 [2 favorites]

smug 35-45-year-olds is the core metafilter demographic so at least we can empathise
posted by Sebmojo at 8:47 PM on May 27, 2024 [15 favorites]

I feel a little weird about Jen Psaki getting a show on network cable right from working in the White House. This episode of On the Media is a good discussion of that happening in today’s media environment. The “Keepin it 1600” crew wore thin for me after it felt like they were tied more closely to the democratic political machine and aiming for a chance at celebrity, but they’ve stuck it out far longer than i expected when I jumped ship, so good for them.

No doubt they can be thoughtful. I just feel a little icky about both press secretaries getting serious media jobs and former White House coastal white guys getting credit for a podcast on the merits of what, exactly?
posted by glaucon at 8:56 PM on May 27, 2024 [4 favorites]

I'll have you know I'm now 46.
posted by turbowombat at 9:04 PM on May 27, 2024 [4 favorites]

there was a lot of good things to learn there
15:50 "don't smile when you're talking about chemical weapons"
i'll remember that
posted by HearHere at 1:16 AM on May 28, 2024 [3 favorites]

My favorite bit was her saying when reporters acted up, she pretended she was working in a mental facility and just talked louder and slower.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:58 AM on May 28, 2024 [4 favorites]

I'm kind of tired of all the insider baseball which passes for content. It's a little too self-congratulatory and it just reinforces the perception that the people who serve at these levels are so well insulated and have built up so many connections that politics is just a fun little game, and that in turn makes honest and sincere appeals as to the importance of the election seem a bit disingenuous.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:14 AM on May 28, 2024 [22 favorites]

i've seen dismay about Jon Lovett joining Survivor elsewhere. I though it was just a few people, but surprised to see it here on MeFi as well. I had no idea he and crooked were so vital to the election.

thanks op for sharing this interview. i thought the part about Jen Psaki having to tell Biden that his sharing the story of losing his son did not go over well with the military families was so interesting and poignant.
posted by bluefly at 6:33 AM on May 28, 2024

Yeah... If Jon Lovett doing Survivor is a threat to democracy in the US.... Then you're all fucked.
posted by Pendragon at 7:09 AM on May 28, 2024 [3 favorites]

...well,
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:29 AM on May 28, 2024 [2 favorites]

i've seen dismay about Jon Lovett joining Survivor elsewhere. I though it was just a few people, but surprised to see it here on MeFi as well. I had no idea he and crooked were so vital to the election.

The problem here is that this election is advertised by Crooked as the one that could End Democracy as We Know It. If that's true, then Lovett is either profoundly selfish in withholding his talents to go on reality TV (in which case we shouldn't listen to him) or profoundly useless despite all his credentials (in which case we shouldn't listen to him). Or the Democrats are lying to raise money, that's always an option too.

It speaks to a more general problem, that is the perception of the Democratic Party as a welfare program for people too ugly and juiceless to make it in entertainment on their own merits. They have to fuck with the nuclear codes first to get people to pay attention to them. Possibly one of the reasons for the appeal of Trump--man is a huge narcissist but he's an overt and successful one, he never faked piety to get where he is.
posted by kingdead at 8:27 AM on May 28, 2024 [8 favorites]

The problem here is that this election is advertised by Crooked as the one that could End Democracy as We Know It

The problem is these types of grifters have said this for the last 35 years.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 9:07 AM on May 28, 2024 [3 favorites]

The problem is these types of grifters have said this for the last 35 years.

The Republican candidate is openly talking about embracing authoritarianism if elected, about serving beyond a second term, about deporting millions, about using the DOJ to imprison rivals, about firing all non-loyal civil servants. All of that out in the open, spoken out loud, to anyone that will listen.

I have done a bit of self-reflection on the hand-wringing I did about Romney, a candidate I didn't like but was hardly going to be a democracy killer, but we are still deeply damaged by the W administration (Iraq, Afghanistan, mortgage crisis, Alito, etc.).

The hand-wringing about the fate of democracy in the hands of the current GOP candidate is completely justified. Just listen, the plans are not secret.
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:36 AM on May 28, 2024 [11 favorites]

The hand-wringing about the fate of democracy in the hands of the current GOP candidate is completely justified. Just listen, the plans are not secret.

But first! Let's catch up on that dude's Survivor experience!
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 10:03 AM on May 28, 2024

Mod note: One comment removed. Let's keep the thread focused on the subject, but if you have any objections against the direction the thread is taking, feel free to flag such comments with a note rather than dismissing other members' point of views.
posted by loup (staff) at 12:09 PM on May 28, 2024 [1 favorite]

Jen Psaki with Lawrence O'Donnell — Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:56 PM on May 28, 2024

Man, people are way off on Crooked. I have been listening for years and am a paid subscriber, which means I get to be on the Discord server and participate in political discussions that are usually a lot better than Metafilter is lately. I'm also on the Vote Save America Slack, which is a hub for people to get out there and volunteer instead of just listening to podcasts. I agree that some of the content (like this interview) are a little inside baseball, but do we not want to know how government works behind the scenes? I wonder if people went this hard on AoC when she was first tweeting about all the bureaucracy she encountered (although I have a friend who dislikes her now because she got signed to a major label, i.e. Democrats in Congress).

Anyway, Crooked Media has a pretty diverse set of great podcasts, but they very frequently poke people to not just sit around listening to podcasts. A few I listen to:

(Vote Save America) - web site, not a podcast. Go here if you want to help with the November election!!! It's great for finding ways to help including canvassing, donations, meetups, etc. and has a Slack for meeting people and holding yourself accountable. Plus I like the 8-bit design.

Pod Save America - good companion to regular news sites for understanding the insanity going on with Trump and his party. Lots of analysis of what Biden needs to do, including criticism of Gaza policy and some "real talk" about what actually moves voters. Good interviews with various Dems give me hope that it's not all Biden establishment. A bit jokey at times, mostly due to Lovett. I like him OK, but I see him as the outside man temperament-wise. Having him off on a jaunt on Survivor really has zero impact on their content; might be better TBH.

Pod Save the World - My favorite as it's more serious and a fantastic roundup of all kinds of world political events that slip through the cracks (esp. Africa/the Americas). Ben Rhodes is one of the most knowledgeable people around on the successes and failures of US foreign policy. He worked on the Iran nuclear deal and was targeted by Israel in various personal attacks and defamation. He has been loudly criticizing the Biden administration on Gaza for the last 6 months and has been offering real solutions. Great interviews with human rights orgs, a couple of people in Gaza, and various diplomats.

Lovett or Leave It - Leave it in my opinion. So-so comedy with a mild dose of news that's better covered on PSA.

Strict Scrutiny - Fantastic, but very inside baseball on Supreme Court cases. Hosts are 3 women (1 of color) who are whip-smart law professors and point out all the flaws and bias in the 6-3 court's opinions.

Pod Save the People - hosted by DeRay Mckesson, who was a leader in the Ferguson protests, and other Black hosts. This is much more about activism issues affecting regular people like health care. Positive vibe. He has been distracted by a long-running court case against him around a police injury in Ferguson. It went to the Supreme Court.

Hysteria - very funny and good for letting off steam about women's issue. Lots of shit-talk about the patriarchy,

America Dissected - deep dive on American health care with Abdul El-Sayed.

What a Day - shorter daily podcast with a roundup of news and hot issues from a progressive perspective. Tre'vell Anderson is one of the hosts and is a Black nonbinary person.

The Wilderness - Must-listen for anyone trying to influence American politics. Each series (current is Season 4) is a deep dive into what real voters are actually thinking, especially swing voters and people like Obama-Trump voters, who are key to the election. IF you are involved in this election you need to hear this for a dose of humility and reality. Spoiler alert: People are shockingly uninformed, and the sorts of issues we fight about on Metafilter are nowhere near most people's minds.

(lots of others)

Hopefully this is helpful. I don't think it's fair to characterize CM as "smug 35-45 year-olds". The founders, um, know they are white dudes from inside the beltway and have grown their little empire into something very important to democracy, in my opinion.
posted by caviar2d2 at 6:34 AM on May 29, 2024 [6 favorites]