Politics is crazy-making, and the discussion around politicsâon cable news, on op-ed pages, on Twitterâis even worse. So itâs kind of unbelievable that the antidote to this ongoing madness is a group of podcasts about politics, in which conversations on the issues of today function as a countermeasure to the frustration, alienation, and anger that rational-thinking people experience every day in Trumpâs America. Crooked Mediaâthe online media company started by former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Dan Pfeiffer, and Jon Lovettâdrops aural bundles of sanity several times a week, and their podcasts arenât just required listening for more than a million people, but have become trusted sources of political opinions and a vital mouthpiece for the left.
This week, Lovett, who co-hosts the semiweekly Pod Save America podcast with his Crooked Media co-founders, is bringing his solo project to Portland. Itâll be the first time a Crooked Media podcast has taped here since the company formed as a response to Trumpâs election in November 2016. Lovett or Leave It is a gabby and outspoken weekly podcast that plays loosely with the variety-show format. (After working as a speechwriter for Obama, Lovett wrote for television, including co-creating the sitcom 1600 Penn.) Lovettâs show is always recorded live, and more often than not, itâs flat-out hilarious, featuring a panel of guest comedians and games played with audience members for prizes.
In another era, this might sound like some hokey, Capitol Steps-style bullshit. Itâs anything but. Weâre living in perhaps the most absurd time in American history, and Lovett or Leave Itâs humor does not depend on satire, thank god. (I think America might finally be beyond satirizing.) Instead, Lovettâs show often functions as a cathartic scream into the void, and heâs adopted a tongue-in-cheek, self-aggrandizing persona whose frankness and tendency to rant serve as a vicarious release valve for listeners.
Yuks aside, Lovett or Leave It and Crooked Mediaâs other shows take their politics refreshingly seriously. As a recent New York Times profile on the company pointed out, past political humor outlets such as Jon Stewartâs The Daily Show would often refuse to come down on one side or the other, instead retreating to the sidelines where they could smirk at the left or right with equal distance. Crooked Media has zero interest in appearing unaffiliatedâthese guys worked for a Democratic president and on Democratic campaigns, and their podcasts often explicitly detail what listeners can do to help Democratic causes (such as the recent election of Alabama senator Doug Jones over Trump-backed alleged child molester Roy Moore).
Lovett, Favreau, and Vietor just concluded a trip to Europe slyly dubbed the âAmerican Apology Tour,â during which they tackled foreign policy issues. But as for what Lovett will be discussing in Portland on Lovett or Leave It, itâs impossible to predictâthe news cycle moves far too quickly. Thereâs a good chance there will be some impressive guests on his panelâpast guests include Norman Lear, Sarah Silverman, Kumail Nanjiani, Cameron Esposito, Jenny Slate, Hari Kondabolu, and Ronan Farrow. But whatever Lovett and his guests end up talking about, listeners across the globe will soon have it in their earbudsâand theyâll definitely be laughing along.