Podcast appearances and mentions of David Litt

Our Listen Up panelists are back and ready for Episode 8! S1. E7 - Sweet Charity - Mon, Nov 15, 2004Director - Andy CadiffWriters - Tony Kornheiser, David Litt, Jeff MartinWhen Tony sees Megan's enormous cell-phone bill, he has enough of her selfishness and taking everything for granted, so he signs her up for a Big Buddy program for single-parented latchkey kids, where she is assigned as Big Sister to little Amy. So Megan signs Tony up to run with her 5-kilometers-sponsored (by him) run for the charity, which nearly gives him a heart attack, but they bring in the most. Alas Bernie recognizes the organizer, Buddy Freeman, as a renowned crook who steals the money raised by his fake charities. Mikey even planned to sell his beloved baseball-card collection for Buddy's benefit, so Tony refuses to believe it's fake, but sees for himself the next day..YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkniEq0FZCAEMAIL: WTFCPODNET@GMAIL.COM or www.loyallittlespod.com

Some years ago, I used this text as part of an article I published. (Apologies for being the first to mention Christmas on 7th May 2025.) "My mother who never went abroad in her life was the owner of a passport. It was called Christmas, and it marked the completion of one journey and the beginning of another. To her, Christmas was a way of saying we've arrived, we're here, we've come through. Poverty, illness, worries, bills, all the dangers, the reefs, the storms, we're past. We were at anchor in a lagoon of quiet water before again venturing upon the high seas. And, like all passports, Christmas was not to be tampered with. Safely dwelt in its unwavering sameness. Every moment of the day itself was a re-run of the same moment a year ago and would itself be repeated a year hence." Hugh Leonard - Short Story Christmas Time Machine Back then, when I had the first draft of the article ready, I had Grammarly check the text (an excellent tool for those like me who could be better at spelling and grammar). The poor program nearly had heart failure (if computers have hearts?) and told me everything about the paragraph was incorrect. Today, I pasted the paragraph into an AI platform, and it said the following "The passage is evocative and metaphorically rich, but a few tweaks could enhance its clarity, flow, and emotional impact. Here are some suggestions:" Am I going to let AI correct one of Ireland's best-loved writers? No way! Too often, when I'm coaching clients for an important presentation they keep insisting that they need a script. Here is my reply: Scripts are for actors, yet the best actors always want to reduce the text. They know that a gesture or a change of tone can impart more meaning than memorising and delivering lines. Years ago, there was a famous Northern Ireland comedian, Frank Carson, whose catch phrase was "It's the way I tell 'em" The same applies whether you are looking to create a presentation to inform, bring about a change, or win sales and investment. It's the way I tell them - still applies. I coach people to have a conversation with their audience. Converse with people, and they will listen and more importantly engage with you. Here is an excellent piece of advice from one of Obama's speechwriters, David Litt, in his book, 'THANKS, OBAMA' "People hate words and love pictures" I would suggest that words, when used correctly, can create pictures. The secret is to add detail to your conversation. Please reread Hugh Leonard's opening to his short story, and you will understand what I mean. By Executive Coach Andrew Keogh of Aristo.ie

Donald Trump feels like a TV character – and if you're a Sopranos fan, you might have noticed a similarity with Tony Soprano. Both are imposing egomaniacs, desperate to control their families, get more power and indulge themselves along the way. Jacob Jarvis is joined by former Obama speechwriter and fellow Sopranos superfan David Litt to discuss the comparisons and what the HBO show can teach us about the world of MAGA.  Read David's piece: The Sopranos Is the Perfect Show to Help Us Understand the Trump Era.   We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.    This episode is sponsored by Proton Pass, to find out more visit http://proton.me/pass/thebunker www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Produced by Liam Tait. Audio production by Simon Williams. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Art by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production    www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's uncertainty among the Democrats as Donald Trump prepares to take up the White House reins. The Republican Party has attained a decisive victory, winning the presidency with Donald Trump, majority in the Senate - and holding a strong lead in the House of Representatives. David Litt, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama, says inflation and economic troubles contributed to a difficult environment for the Democrats. "It was really a full-scale shift compared to 2020. I think the biggest thing the Democrats faced was a headwind from inflation - that was a serious problem in the United States." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 7 November 2024, Donald Trump's the new US president-elect, so what does this mean for NZ trade and world peace? A fascinating insight from Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. Democrats are waking up with a bad hangover - Barack Obama's former speechwriter David Litt hazards a guess where it all went wrong for Kamala Harris. Plus, law expert Randy Zelin on what happens now with Donald Trump's numerous convictions and criminal charges. In other news, the Treaty Principles Bill has been unveiled, the All Blacks team to take on Ireland has been revealed and Heather is feeling very very very smug. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael welcomes David Litt with his book "Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think." The democracy you live in today is different—completely different—from the democracy you were born into. You probably don't realize just how radically your republic has been altered during your lifetime. Yet more than any policy issue, political trend, or even Donald Trump himself, our redesigned system of government is responsible for the peril America faces today. What explains the gap between what We, the People want and what our elected leaders do? How can we fix our politics before it's too late? And how can we truly understand the state of our democracy without wanting to crawl under a rock? That's what former Obama speechwriter David Litt set out to answer. Original air date 18 June 2020. The book was published on 16 June 2020.

On this week's episode of 'The Saturday Show with Jonathan Capehart': A week of unprecedented developments in Donald Trump's legal odyssey.  Tabloid testimony in his hush-money election-interference criminal trial and stunning arguments before the Supreme Court as Trump continues his quest for total immunity, regardless of his actions. Legal analysts Anthony Coley and Renato Mariotti break down the significance of the proceedings. And chaos erupts on campuses across the country. As pro-Palestinian protests spread, we'll take a closer look at what's fueling them and what happens when politicians like House Speaker Mike Johnson enter the divide. Colin Jost and President Biden are set to deliver punchlines at tonight's White House Correspondents Dinner. David Litt, former Obama speech writer, explains what it's like to write those jokes, and which ones work best. All that and more on “The Saturday Show with Jonathan Capehart.” 

President Biden is expected to deliver his Stay of the Union address tonight in front of Congress in a moment he must seize as a Biden-Trump rematch is set for the White House. Dan Cluchey, the former senior speechwriter for President Biden, who worked on multiple major Biden speeches during the 2022 State of the Union speech and the 2021 inaugural address and David Litt, speechwriter for then-president Obama join to discuss what Biden's strategy might be for tonight's speech.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I've been a television writer for the past 27 years. While I've written on some amazing shows, the work that I'm most proud of is my new book, A Paper Orchestra. It's the funniest, it's the deepest, and it's the one that will hit you hardest in the heart. These are the deeply personal, true stories of an awkward, sensitive man searching for the things that are most important: identity, love, forgiveness, and redemption. It's available now for your reading pleasure.Show NotesFree Writing Webinar - https://michaeljamin.com/op/webinar-registration/A Paper Orchestra on Audible - https://www.audible.com/ep/creator?source_code=PDTGBPD060314004R&irclickid=wsY0cWRTYxyPWQ32v63t0WpwUkHzByXJyROHz00&irgwc=1A Paper Orchestra on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Audible-A-Paper-Orchestra/dp/B0CS5129X1/ref=sr_1_4?crid=19R6SSAJRS6TU&keywords=a+paper+orchestra&qid=1707342963&sprefix=a+paper+orchestra%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-4A Paper Orchestra on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203928260-a-paper-orchestraA Paper Orchestra on Website - https://michaeljamin.com/bookFree Writing Webinar - https://michaeljamin.com/op/webinar-registration/Michael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/courseFree Screenwriting Lesson - https://michaeljamin.com/freeJoin My Newsletter - https://michaeljamin.com/newsletterAutogenerated TranscriptMichael Jamin:Yeah, but the problem is they don't help you. They design the book cover. You don't get a choice of what the book cover is. Maybe they give you three choices, but that's about it. They decide how they want and they decide what the title of the book is because you sold 'em the rights. So why am I giving away all this power to someone who hasn't earned it? Why am I making them rich? Why am I giving them any creative input at all when the whole point of this was for me to have a hundred percent creative input? You are listening to What the Hell is Michael Jamin talking about conversations in writing, art, and creativity. Today's episode is brought to you by my debut collection of True Stories, a paper orchestra available in print, ebook and audiobook to purchase and to support me on this podcast, please visit michael jamin.com/book now on with the show. Hey everyone, it's Michael Jamin. Welcome back to What the Hell Is Michael Jamin talking about the podcast where we explore art, creativity, and writing. Oh, it's a big announcement today, Phil. Phil's back, big dayPhil Hudson:Back. Happy to be back. Thank you for having me.Michael Jamin:Big day. We're finally building up. This has been a long project. Phil book, my book, A Paper Orchestra Drops or dropped if you're hearing this. It's available, it's, it's alreadyPhil Hudson:Dropped. It's available yesterday, so go get it now.Michael Jamin:It's called a paper orchestra and it's a collection of personal essays. If you're a fan of David Sedaris, I think of it as David Sedaris meets Neil Simon. And this has been my passion project for years. I've been working on this and I'm very excited to put it out in the world. As you can get it on print, you can get it on audiobook, you can get it as ebook, however you consume your books, and you can get it everywhere. You can go get it on michael jamin.com. You can find it on Amazon, on Barnes and Noble or Audible for the audio audiobook. Anywhere, anywhere you get Apple. If you want to get the ebook, it's everywhere, Phil. It's everywhere.Phil Hudson:It's like you got a real publishing deal except you didn't.Michael Jamin:Well, I'm doing it myself,Phil Hudson:And we'll go into that. I want people to understand you chose to self-publish this at this point, but that's not how we started. And we've talked a bit about that when we changed the podcast title and we talked a bit about it. We're talking about your live shows, but I think this is like, let's celebrate Michael Jamin a little bit today because you're always talking to people to build the mountain, to climb. You are now at the top of that mountain, and I imagine you're looking over and saying, oh crap, look, that other peak there I've got to get to now.Michael Jamin:Yeah, I already am. Yeah, for sure. Lot of it. And I hope this inspires a lot of you. There's so many people who are like, I want to sell my screenplay, or I want to help me break in, help me, help me. But there's so much that you can do. So unempowering disempowering, you're basically hoping that someone else is going to make your career, buy my script, make my movie. But there's so much that you can do on your own, and you may think it's more work because you're doing it yourself, but it's actually less work because now you don't have to count on someone else to do it for you. You can stop begging, you can stop worrying about all the rejection because when you're selling your scripts or trying to, you're going to get rejected by 99 out of a hundred people. But if you just build it yourself, there's so much you can do. The year we live in, it's so empowering. Everyone has a phone and you can shoot on your phone, you can make a movie. Everyone has a miniature movie studio. There's so much we all can do and on our own. And so I'm just going to share a little bit about the journey that I've been on when I started writing this book.So basically this started well over four years ago, maybe five years ago. I told my wife that I was just at a point in my life where I felt a little disheartened by, a little bored by what I was writing in television because when I write for tv, and I'm very grateful to have a job and a career, but I'm always writing what someone is paying me to write. And I'm very rarely writing what I want to write. I'm paying what someone pays me to write or what I can sell, but that's not how I started writing when I was in college and in high school. I just wanted to write what I wanted to write. And so I went for a walk with my wife one day and I was like, I have a really bad idea. I'm thinking of writing a collection of personal essays, which is what David Seras writes. And I love his writing. I've read everything. He's written multiple times. You show him your card, you got a card back there, don't you? Oh yeah. Yeah. He actually, I sent him a piece of fan letter, a fan mail three years ago. But I've read him so much. I knew that he would respond. He talks about, I knew he would respond. It just took him three years to respond, but it was very kind of him.So yeah, so I started writing. I wanted to write this project. I wanted to write what I want to write. I wanted to tell stories the way I wanted to tell them without network notes, without a partner, without. I just wanted to see what I can do on my own without having someone telling me what to do or breathing down my back or saying, no, it should be this or that. What can I do? And so I told that to Cynthia and she said, that's a great idea. And I said, but you don't understand even if I sell it, I'm not going to make a lot of money from it and it's going to take me years and years to do. She goes, you got to do it anyway, because if you do, you will find yourself in the process. And I was like, okay.And at the time, I was really in a bad place. I was just very upset about stuff mentally. I was in a bad place. I was like, okay, I'll start writing. And that's what I did. I remember I had listened to a lot of David C's audio books, but I had never read him. So I was like, I better read him. And then I bought a bunch of books and I read the first one. I remember I was lying in bed. I was reading the first book and I'm about halfway through and I'm thinking, where's this guy going? What's he doing here? Where's he going with this? And then I got to the end of the piece and the ending was such a wonderful ending. I was like, oh my God. And I almost threw the book across the room. I was, I was so mad.I was like, this is going to be so much harder than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be easy or natural, not easy, but just considering I'm a writer, I didn't think it would be that difficult. So then I just started studying him and I got all his books and I read them multiple times over and over again, and the more I read, I was just trying to look for patterns and trying to learn from him. And that kind of just began, that was the beginning of this journey just to study, study what I wanted to do.Phil Hudson:You're constantly telling people to study their craft, and you talk about story and story structure. You have a course on that. Most of your content you put on social media is dedicated to helping people understand that your webinars are often about resetting people's expectations about what a writing career looks like and helping them focus on what really matters. And the undertone that I've witnessed over the last two, two and a half years of this process with you of at least starting the podcast and helping with social media and that stuff, it's all based under the reality or the realization that creativity is worth doing just to be creative and that there's value in that process beyond monetary pay or paychecks.Michael Jamin:Well, yeah, for sure. When I first started writing these stories, the first two, first several were not very good. I was writing in David Sari's voice because I didn't know how else to do it. The ironic thing, as a TV writer, I'm always writing in someone else's voice. I'm writing in the character's voice or the voice of the show, but this is my voice, and this is the first time I actually had to do that. And so because I'm a good mimic and because I had just read so much of him, I was kind of writing, I was kind of the writer like him, and I thought the first two stories were good. And then I set it down for a couple of weeks and I read it with fresh eyes and I thought, oh, this is terrible. It felt like a cheap knockoff. It felt like me pretending I was him and I hated it.I threw all those stories out and then I had to figure out, okay, what's my voice? And that was a long discovery. But the reason why, this is a long way of saying this, those first several stories I wrote, I don't know, maybe six or seven stories, and it just take months and months. At one point, I reach out to my agent. I'm at a very big prestigious Hollywood agency. They do. They represent me in film and tv, and I reached out to my agent. I told him what I was working on. I said, Hey, do we have a book agency, a book department? He said, of course we do. What do I know? I tell him what I was doing. I said, can you hook me up with one of your agents? He goes, sure. So I reach out to their agents. This guy's in New York now, he doesn't have to take, just so people know, I told 'em what I was doing. He doesn't have to take me on as a client, but he has to take the call.I'm banging them. They got to take the call. He doesn't have to bring me on to represent him in books though. And so I told him what I was doing. He goes, oh, that sounds interesting. Send me what you have. I go, well, I only have a handful of stories, but I'll send you what I have. So I emailed them to him. I never heard back. I didn't hear back for probably six months at this point. And I'm still writing more stories. It doesn't matter, whatever. I'm thinking maybe he read it, he didn't read it, he doesn't like it, whatever. I'm not going to stop writing them though. And I just kept on writing all these stories. Finally, six months later, he reaches out to me. He goes, I'm so sorry it took me so long to read these. I love them. Let's get on the phone and talk about them.I was like, sure. He goes, and he was like, when we spoke, he said, he said, do you have any more? Because he only read whatever. I sent him maybe six stories, and I go, as a matter of fact, yeah, I'm almost done with the collection. Give me another couple of weeks and I'll send you the entire collection. So at that point, but again, I'm writing it because I want to write it. I want to do this. I'm not thinking about how much money I'm going to make. I'm thinking about the process of writing and figuring out how to learn. I had to relearn how to write because I'm a TV writer who now is writing books. There's a little difference. There's some difference to it.Phil Hudson:Yeah. A couple things here. I love the narrative, and I don't want to interrupt the narrative, but I think there's some topics that are coming up here. Is it okay if we just dive into those for a second? Yeah, please. Okay. You talked about David Sedaris and you were reading this and you're like, where is this going? And then it ended in this way. That was almost upsetting because it was so beautiful and so well done. What I'm hearing you say is something you talk about regularly on the podcast and in your social media content, which is the way you unpack your story is the job of being a writer. And that's almost effectively what I'm hearing is that's your craft and your tone and your style. You still have to understand story structure and you understand these things. But the unpacking, would you say that that's an example of what you're talking about when you say how you unpack something matters?Michael Jamin:Yes, and the thing is, I've really tried to study him. I think he's the gold standard. I think he's a master, a beautiful writer. There's certain things I was able to learn and certain things I was not able to unpack. And so I learned a lot from him for sure. But some things still remain a mystery to me from how he writes. I can't see through it, and I'm good at seeing through some stuff. So take that for what it's worth. I do remember thinking, I had long conversations with my wife when we were about this. I didn't want people to think that the book was written by a sitcom writer. I wanted it to be funny and dramatic, but I didn't want people to say, oh, this guy's, I wanted it to be a little smarter than just a sitcom, I guess. And so I was very self-conscious about that.And we had long conversations of Is this art? How do I make art? What is art? How do I do this? So it feels like art and what I really came, it was a really eye-opening moment for me, and it came from much of what I learned about how to do this. I learned not from writers, David is probably the only writer who I really studied a lot for this book, but I learned a lot from watching interviews with musicians, ironically, about how they approached their art. And I found that to be more helpful than listening to other writers. And one of the really interesting things, I was like, well, we know there's a market for what David Sedera says. We know people like what he does, so why am I trying to reinvent things? Why not just kind of do what he's doing? And there's two reasons why not.One, I'm not him. I can't be him ever. And that's almost the tragedy of the whole thing is I want to write, this guy can write, but I never ever will. So you're going to have to let go of that, which is almost tragic. But the other thing is, it's my responsibility not to, as an artist, if you want to make art, then add, you have to bring new to the equation. You have to bring new, and that actually, I picked up, I believe I picked up from an interview with watching Pharrell talk about music.Phil Hudson:That's awesome.Michael Jamin:Which is basically he's saying, listen, your job is to bring something new to the conversation, is to put the youness into it. Whatever is you, that's what you have to put into it. And that was very reassuring to hear it from him. I was like, oh, okay, now I can lean into me.Phil Hudson:This resonates with me. And what I wrote down here is that you can look outside of your space for inspiration. And I think this again ties to the fact that creativity is self, it's for the self. Rick Rubin, the producer, you're familiar with him. I think most people are at this point. I was just watched a clip of him in an interview and he said, I have never made music for a fan. When you do, it's bad when I make it for myself or when I do it because it's something that I like that resonates with the listener. And would you say that's what you're doing here is you're writing this for you in your tone because it's the best pure expression of your art?Michael Jamin:Well, yes, yes and no. Some of it, it's very truthful. It's very painfully truthful. It's very intimate. I go there. I think that's what makes it interesting. I think that's my job as a writer. It's my obligation as a writer is to figure out what the truth is and figure out how to tell it. But I also keep the audience in mind, and maybe that's just because of my background as a team writer.Phil Hudson:Yeah, you're an entertainer to a degree because that's what you do, is you want people to tune in for 23, 25 minutes per week, have a good time, forget their worries, and then leave having gotten something from what you've done. Well,Michael Jamin:It's also,Phil Hudson:But I don't know, that negates what Rick Rubin's talking about because it's like when you read, when you're putting out here, do you feel like you are getting the same value out of it that you would hope a reader would, or are you hoping the reader gets more value out of it than what you're getting out of it?Michael Jamin:Well, I don't know. I mean, first I keep them in mind. I picture my reader with a remote control in their hand. That's just become from me, a TV writer. So how do I make sure this story is compelling so that they want to turn the page? But I do keep them in mind in terms of how do I make this story not about me, but about all of us. And I think that's important because this has the danger of becoming very self-indulgent. These are true stories from my life, but I tell them in a way with art, so that you really feel like you're reading a character in a book. I am a character. The character of Michael is in this story, so it's not like, and then this happened, then this happened. I'm not telling you how I broke into Hollywood, although there are stories about that. I'm really telling you about the stories. These are stories of rejection. These are stories of triumph. There are stories there meant to be, the details are mine, but the stories are all of ours. So that's how I feel I'm telling them is like, okay, so that you can totally relate to this so you can feel, okay, I had something very similar and me explaining it to you helps you understand it, hopefully.Phil Hudson:And not to jump ahead, I saw you last year for my birthday, do a performance. My wife and I came out and there's a story, was it, is that what it's called?Michael Jamin:The Goul? Yeah, thePhil Hudson:Goul. Still a year later, 13 months later, still thinking about that goul because as a new father and then hearing your perspective as a father with children leaving the home, yeah, there's a lot of beauty and regret in that story that is paralleling the decisions I'm making now with my children who are young and what I want my life and my relationship to be like with them. So yeah, I think you absolutely check that box. You said, I've heard you say before, you want people to leave and sit there and think about it, have been impacted by what's happening. And I can tell you that that's been very true for me.Michael Jamin:That's been my, because, so Phil came to, I performed this, and if you want to see me perform, you can go to In Your Town if I travel with it, michael jamin.com/upcoming. But that's one of the stories. That's actually one of the stories I gave out to reviewers to review the book and people, they like that story. But yeah, my goal when I write any story, and hopefully I achieve this, is people say, I couldn't put it down. That seems to be the nicest thing you could say about a book. I couldn't put it down. I want you to put the book down. I want you to get to a chapter and just be so moved at the end of it that you're not ready to move forward. You just want to sit in that emotion for however long it takes you, whatever it is, just sit in it.I don't want you to, it's not meant to be consumed that way. And one of the things that I tried to achieve, I made, we did an audio book and I hired whatever. I partnered with Anthony Rizzo, who's the composer I worked with on Marin. He's a really talented writer composer. And so for the audio book, I would send him each chapter. And then I said to him, he's like, what do you want? I go, no, no, no. I want you to read this piece, interpret it. Tell me what it sounds like to you in music. What's your version of, he's an artist. What does this sound like to you in music? And that's what he came back with. And so at the end in the audiobook, if you prefer to consume it that way, at the end of the story, we go right into the music and it forces you, or not forces you, but allows you to sit in it. It allows you to sit in whatever motion it is. The music carries you out for 30 seconds or however long it is, just so now you can experience it in music, which I love that I just love. I thought he brought so much to the audiobook. I'm so grateful he hopped on board.Phil Hudson:I normally listen to audiobooks at 1.5 to 1.75 speed, and then the music kind of throws that off. This is one I would absolutely listen to in real time. JustMichael Jamin:Slow it down. Yeah, down,Phil Hudson:Slow it down and just sit in it and give yourself the treat and the opportunity to sit in that. I think very often we are constantly looking for the next thing or to get ahead or checking off stuff on our list. And that's not what this book is. This book is a sit in it, allow yourself to feel it. Think about how you can apply it. There's just some beautiful life lessons in here as well.Michael Jamin:Yeah, I hope so. That was my goal.Phil Hudson:Yeah, I think it's achieved. And I've talked to several people in your advanced reader group who feel the same way.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:And you've got fans in there, but these are people who are very sincere with their compliments as well. And there's some great compliments coming your way from that advanced group.Michael Jamin:And so thank you. Honestly, I like to do more of this kind of writing, and this is, to me is very fulfilling at this stage of my career. To me, it's more exciting doing this than writing a TV show that might be seen by millions of people writing something that can make someone just make you laugh, but then feel something. It's funny, I have sort of a recipe and I'm wondering, people can see through it at some point, but I don't really care. My recipe is if I can get you to laugh in the beginning, I just want you to open up. Let's just start laughing about stuff and it start, most of my stories start out very fun and light, and then you kind of relax into, oh, this is going to be fun. And you let your guard down, and as soon as your guard comes down, then I hit you as really hard, as hard as I can with something emotional where I talk about, and because you're in my writing course, you'll know where this happens, where this happens structurally. And then at that point, once I hit him in the heart, there's no point in being funny anymore. The humor has already achieved its goal, which is to you to get your guard down. And soPhil Hudson:Engaged, paying attention, it's something, some advice, I know it's standard advice, but it advice used specifically gave me a long time ago, which is it's easy to kill people. It's hard to make them laugh, and so you're almost checking the box on the humor part, so they're completely engaged and engrossed in what's going on, which is why the emotional impact of the reality of this story hits so hard later. Yeah,Michael Jamin:There were times I thought maybe I'm being too funny here in the beginning, I'm not even sure, but because I didn't want any of this to feel silly, I just wanted it to be fun until, but yeah, tonally, there's, I guess some stories are a little lighter than others for sure.Phil Hudson:Yeah, it's good stuff. Going back to what you're telling though, in this narrative of how we got to where you are, you said that you reached out to your agent who got you in touch with the literary agent effectively for books and publishing, and a lot of people, myself included, might be tempted to submit to the agent and then wait and do nothing. And you made a point of saying you continued to write. And the question when he came back is, do you have more? So a lot of people, I think the mistake is that they're putting all their eggs in the basket. And we see this all the time with the questions on the webinars for the podcast, for your live q and as, when you do them on social media, whatever it is, how do I get an agent? How do I get a representative? How do I get a showrunner attached? How do I do this? And it's like you say you're putting all the power in the hands of somebody else and you're saying that's the wrong thing to do. And because you didn't, because you're writing for yourself to do the job, and you didn't wait for one person to make your career, you were even more successfulMichael Jamin:In getting, and he doesn't care. I mean, he's a good guy and everything, but he doesn't care if I achieve this. What does he care? All he wants is, is he going to make money from this? And that's fair enough. He has to make money, so my dream is my dream. I have to make my dream happen. And so yes, then turned it into him. We sent it out, and then the feedback I got was, Hey, this is really great, but platform drives acquisition. I said, well, what does that mean? It means you need to have a social media following. I said, really? It's not good enough that it's well written. No, not anymore. Maybe 30 years ago. But today the industry publishing has changed as much as Hollywood has changed, it's really can they sell it? And now it's sold on social media. You're expected to have that.And I was a little upset about that. I was like, why can't it just be good enough? Everyone loved it, but platform drives acquisition. I said, all right, well, how big of a social media following do I need? This is two and a half years ago. And I couldn't get a straight answer that no one really knew, but especially in the space of They had a good point, Phil. They really did. It's not like this is not a novel. These are personal essays. But like I said, they're told story-wise, not if you didn't know me. You'd be like, oh, this is a nice story. But it just so happens that it's true. But the point that they made was, or maybe I made it with myself. I think that's what it was. I was like, if you were to go to Barnes and Noble and my book was on the shelf, why would someone buy it if they don't know who I am?Because there's true stories. Who cares if you don't know who I am? And that's a fair thing to ask. Why would someone pick it off the shelf? Now, here's the thing, as I was arguing with myself, but here's the thing. No one goes to Barnes and Nobles anymore. That's not where people get books. I mean, they exist, but most people just get it online. Most of the books are sold online. So why do I need to be in Barnes and no, I don't. I need, I mean, I can be, but it's not necessary. And so I was like, okay. And then I was like, well, if I build the platform, if I get a big following and people want to support me and buy the book curious and they like what I have to say and they think I'm talented, great. But then why do I need a publisher?What do they bring to the equation, honestly? Oh, they can get your book in barge. Oh, well, great, but no one goes there anymore. So what exactly did they do? And by the way, they get most of the money. I'm like, okay, well, they help you design the book cover, but the problem is they don't help you. They design the book cover. You don't get a choice of what the book cover is. Maybe they give you three choices, but that's about it. They decide how they want and they decide what the title of the book is. You sold 'em the Rights. So why am I giving away all this power to someone who hasn't earned it? Why am I making them rich? Why am I giving any creative input at all? When the whole point of this was for me to have a hundred percent creative input? I remember at one point, because I had talked to other people in the publishing world and they thought your title could be better. It's called the Paper Orchestra. I was like, yeah, but I think I like the title, but no one really knows what it means. And I'm like, yeah, you got a good point. No one knows what it means untilPhil Hudson:I remember this conversation,Michael Jamin:And then it was ironically, I had a long talk with my daughter. It was on my birthday, and we went for a long walk, and she's so smart, and she says, well, why are she said to me, I thought the whole point of the book was for you to just write what you wanted to write without anyone giving you No. I said, yeah. She goes, well, why are you changing the title? I said, yeah, why am I changing the title? Why am I second guessing myself? So I did it my way. I did a hundred percent my way, and this is my book.This is my expression without having anyone telling me it's wrong, it's different. It should be this or that. Along the way. I got to say, Phil, it's so frustrating for, it's so frustrating to hear this kind of stuff, I think, but it's like I understand what people want. I want this. I want a complete creative expression. And to me, that's the satisfaction. Whether I sell a hundred copies or one copy or a million copies, it's the process that I got so much joy out of. And I think that's what people will enjoy. I mean, it's like I had so many agents, even afterwards, they find me on social media, they reach out to me, go, and I tell 'em what my book is, and they go, oh, that sounds nice, but if you write a young adult novel, I can sell that for you. Or if you write a how to book, we can sell that. I'm like, if I don't want to write those, this is what I want to write. This is exactly what I wanted to write. You got to do it yourself.Phil Hudson:That's right. And that's what you tell people. You got to basically make your mountain, create your mountain, and then climb your mountain.Michael Jamin:And all of it's doable. It's just going to take a long time, but it's going to take less time to build your mountain and climb it than it's for you to beg someone to make your life.Phil Hudson:And begging someone to make your life means you owe them and they have power over you.Michael Jamin:And it's also, but you're going to hear no so many times you're going to get so much rejection. Who needs it? Why not just put all that creative energy into what you want to achieve instead of why are you wasting your energy hitting people up on LinkedIn? What's the point of that?Phil Hudson:This is something in business I'm bad about because we've talked about it before. I own a digital marketing agency. That was my career path before I moved to LA, and I still operate that agency, and we do nothing on LinkedIn. And I was like, well, you got to be on LinkedIn. That's where the businesses are. And I was like, I get that Our business is almost purely word of mouth, and it's because I'm not out shaking my can, asking people to put money in it. We stand on the value of the work that we do, and then that's referral work that goes out to other people. And that's not the way to grow to a business that's going to end up on the New York Stock Exchange or end up something you can trade. But what it is, it's a lifestyle business that creates a way for me to do what you're doing, which is to make my art, to be creative, to live my life the way I want without having to be beholden to somebody else dictating what I do with my time and my hours. And what I'm hearing you say is it's effectively the same thing for your book is had you gone with an agent who sold your book to a big publisher, you would now be mandated to do things in a certain way and you would've lost all of the same creative control. And it almost sounds like it would spoil the whole experience for you.Michael Jamin:It's hard to say. I mean, in the beginning, that's how I thought I had to do it. And then I realized I didn't have to who it could have been a great experience. I don't know. I mean, we'll never know, but I also know it's not necessary even a little bit, not in today's world. And if I do another book, maybe I will use a publisher, maybe not. I don't know. But the point is, if I do, they're going to pay me for it. You know what I'm saying? This first one's on me. I have to prove myself. Sure. If they want in on Michael Jamin, they're going to have to pay me or else, because now the power has shifted.Phil Hudson:Yeah. I can't remember if we've ever talked about this, but this came up in conversation this week's Kevin Hart, where he worked, traveling, doing standup comedy, getting names, getting emails after shows, building a fan base. And then when he got his first big deal, they were like, all right, and then we'll need you to send this out to your email list. And he said, it's a million dollars. And they said, what? He says, you didn't work to build that list. You don't get my people and mine. I put in the blood, sweat and tears on this. You did not. You're going to pay me for that blood, sweat and tears.Michael Jamin:And what happened?Phil Hudson:They paid him everyMichael Jamin:Time they paid him. Yeah. Pay the man and a lot of this, and you've helped out as well with enormously, just in terms of the podcast and help me with marketing and all that stuff and the website. Yeah, but it's still one of these things. Build it first. This is the order in which you need to do things when you make it first and then people will join in. People will want a piece of that. They either want to help you or they'll want part of your success or whatever. It's not the other way around. It's not, Hey, help me make my dream. No one wants to help you make your dream. No one cares about your dream. You build it first and then they'll come out of the woodwork and decide whether they want a piece of you or not, because they can make some money off of it.But it's so much more empowering when you look at it that way. It's like, Hey, I have something to offer here. I have something great. I'm not even offering it. I have something great here. Do you want a piece of it or not? And the answer, they know, okay, that's fine. I will do it without you. But it's the other, you know what I'm saying? It's not like, Hey, help me make it out. Hey, help me. Then you're begging. It's the other way around. I have something great and I'm going there. I'm doing it with or without you. Up to you, you can decidePhil Hudson:It's field of dreams, right? If you build it, they will come. Yeah.Michael Jamin:You got to build it first though.Phil Hudson:You got to build it first. You have to do the crazy thing. You have the lofty idea. You got to go make the baseball field in the middle of your corn field in Nebraska orMichael Jamin:Wherever. And people say, though, I don't know how to do that. But if you are a creative person and you want to get into a creative field, writing or screenwriting, whatever, be creative, prove how creative you are, you'll figure it out.Phil Hudson:Figure it out. Yeah, go cut your teeth. I think it's this metaphor for life though, which is we have to do things that are difficult and hard and things that we don't enjoy because that's how we learn and grow and get better. And redefining failure I think was a big deal for me because failure was something I just tried to avoid at all costs, to the point that I would do nothing if I thought I wasn't going to be 100% successful. So imagine doing that, trying to be a writer when writing is rewriting, you're not going to be okay the first 10, 15 drafts or whatever. Oh, god. And so if you have this fear of failure and what is failure? So redefining what these things means is very important. And when you start looking at failure, a lot of very smart people have said that failure is just the fastest way to get to success. You just have to fail as fast as possible so that you can achieve your goal. And it's just learning what not to do. And so many quotes about that.Michael Jamin:That's one of the things. Another thing that I picked up from another musician, David Bowie, as I was trying to figure out what art is, and he said something very similar. He said, art is basically is taking something from within yourself and figuring out a way how to express it so that you can help understand yourself and the world around you. And he goes, but to make something really great, you have to swim in water. That's just a little too deep to stand in. And that's when something great can happen. When you're in a little over your head, that's when the art is made. And it's the same thing what you're saying. It's like you got to do things that are out of your comfort zone, and that's how you achieve things.Phil Hudson:Yeah. So social media, being a public persona, subjecting yourself to just some of the most crazy things you've told me people say to you and your comments and your dms and just horrible things. HorribleMichael Jamin:Internet is horrible. I don't get a ton of hate, but I do get hate. But that's a double-edged sword of doing this. But also then it was also, okay, I put myself on social media as a screenwriter, as a TV writer, and here I'm sharing my expertise working in the business for 27 years, but I also have show you that I have to show you that I'm actually good at what I do, so that I try to make my posts funny. Or sometimes I just do a post. It's all funny so that you feel like, okay, maybe this guy can write as opposed to just me saying, I can write, showing you that I can write. So there's that kind of bridge I have to cross.Phil Hudson:Yeah. The exercise of putting yourself out there though is just something you were hesitant to for years and years and years. I think since I met you, I've been telling you, you need to be on social media. You need to grow a social media following, and it was just not your thing. And what I appreciate about your story with this book is you care so much about this book and doing this thing for yourself that you're willing to do the uncomfortable, which is be public facing person who is willing to put yourself out there almost every single day for two and a half years despite what anybody says, because that is what is required for you to make sure that you are able to have the maximum impact as you can with this thing that's so important to you. And that is something most people aren't willing to do.Michael Jamin:You are listening to, what the Hell is Michael Jamon talking about? Today's episode is brought to you by my new book, A Paper Orchestra, a Collection of True Stories. John Mayer says, it's fantastic. It's multi timbral. It runs all levels of the pyramid at the same time. His knockout punches are stinging, sincerity, and Kirker Review says, those who appreciate the power of simple stories to tell us about human nature or who are bewitched by a storyteller who has mastered his craft, will find a delightful collection of vignettes, a lovely anthology that strikes a perfect balance between humor and poignancy. So my podcast is not advertiser supported. I'm not running ads here. So if you'd like to support me or the podcast, come check out my book. Go get an ebook or a paperback, or if you really want to treat yourself, check out the audio book.Go to michael jamin.com/book, and now back to our show. I mean, I have people who go on social and things. I go on social media. There's a lot of influencers that I follow or whatever, usually experts in their field, but many of them, or most of them don't use their real name. They don't because they want that anonymity, and I don't blame them, but I can't do that. If I'm talking about my book, you got to know what my name is. And so I end everything is Michael Jamon writer. That's scary to put your real name out there. And so there's that as well.Phil Hudson:This is scary in a real way too. I'm aware of at least two police reports we've had to file for people who've been insane.Michael Jamin:Yeah, there's some insane people out there, but really insane and nothing too dangerous. I had to report,Phil Hudson:But its hateMichael Jamin:Speech. You still have to reportPhil Hudson:It. It speech, it's hate speech. It's threatening. It's angry language, and the things that you're talking about are wild. They're not invoking it. One of the compliments I think you get for people is how you respond to criticism. It's like you could destroy people because you have that capacity.Michael Jamin:I could do that with my words. You'rePhil Hudson:The definition of a good man, and the fact that you are dangerous with your words and you choose not to use it,Michael Jamin:I would believe me, I would tear them apart and make them look silly, but it doesn't help me any. It doesn't actually help me. So I just, I'm getting there rolling in the dirt with them, and then we both get dirty. So for the most part, I just ignore, but I also talk to other creators how they handle the same thing. It's this new internet fame. It's a strange territory.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Well, we were just talking earlier today about how you went. Did you go into a Kinko's or something to PrinceMichael Jamin:And stuff? Yeah, I went to a Kinko's. I got spotted in the wild.Phil Hudson:Yeah, somebody knew who you were and it was more common. Shout out Chris. Chris on the podcast, but it's like the first time, I remember the first time that really happened to you. I remember you told me You'll never believe what happened. I was out in this place and somebody shotted Michael Jamon Ry from their car. It's just a weird thing.Michael Jamin:It's just odd. Yeah.Phil Hudson:I've had a taste of that through association, and I've talked about it on the podcast as well, where we went to our wrap party for Tacoma FD season four, and one of the assistant editors comes up and he goes, dude, I got to tell you, my wife works in the industry and she's an accountant, and she brought over her accountant friend, and they were like, oh, what Jody do you work on? And he was like, I work on Tacoma Dean. And she's like, oh, I listen to Phil Hudson's podcast.Michael Jamin:Oh,Phil Hudson:Wow. And he's like, I didn't even know you had a podcast. I was like, ah. It's a strange feeling. And then later that night, one of our accountants, it must be accountants who listened to our podcast, they brought someone over to the party's like, yeah, listen to your podcast. I was like, it feels weird. And I'm not even Michael Jammin. I'm just a guy who's on there.Michael Jamin:Yeah, it's strange to put yourself out there like that, but you're doing it,Phil Hudson:But you're doing it.Michael Jamin:I'm doing it, but I also, yeah. And also, listen, if you want to know more about me, then you'll definitely read the book. The book is very vulnerable, but it's still weird. I don't know. I felt like, well, David Sedaris can do it. I can do it. But I also, I think that's interesting about, I do think that's interesting about this kind of writing is that as opposed to writing a novel that you're making up and you are making up these characters, I feel like the stakes are higher when you're reading something like my book, because you, oh, this character's real, and he's really going through, it's not like when you're reading a fake a movie or watching a movie or reading a book, a novel and the character dies or whatever gets injured or something. Part of you can still say, okay, it's still made up. It's not real. That's just an actor going through something and the actor's pretending. But when you read this, you go, oh, this is real. This is a real person. This is not made up. And I do feel like it raises the stakes, and in some way, I feel like this is my answer to ai, to what if everyone's worried that AI is going to take writer's jobs? This is my answer to that, which is, AI cannot do this. AI is not capable of telling a story about me. That's real. I have to do that.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Someone just yesterday I saw someone posted that asking AI to write about, to write about something is having them listen to a thousand hours of people talking about pizza and then asking it to make a pizza is just like, it's not going to come out. It's just not going to come out.Michael Jamin:I get a lot of people in my comments and they'll say things when I talk about ai, you clearly don't understand ai, and I want to say, you clearly don't understand writing. That's what you don't understand. Yep.Phil Hudson:It's the human condition. I mean, we've been talking about this forever. That's what Star Trek is, right? It's data figuring out what it means to be human. The thing that comes to mind for me is this, for random clip, I saw probably when it was airing real time in the early nineties, and my dad was watching it and it's data talking about how, oh, boy, time flies. And he couldn't understand the expression, time flies. And so he sat and watched an egg boil over and over and over again. He's like, it takes exactly eight minutes and 32 seconds or egg to boil because he couldn't understand or comprehend it from the machine side. And so it's all about that. Even machines want to be more human. And rioting is exploring the human condition. Yeah,Michael Jamin:That's right. That's right. So if you want to understand yourself and you write, and then to me getting back to the book, that's what this process was figuring out who I am, figuring out who I, and it's so interesting because all these patterns kept on emerging. I got write a story and I'd get halfway through it, and I'm thinking, why would this character, and let's say this story is something that I did when I was 11 or whatever, why would this character do that? Why would I have done that? And a lot of times I just didn't know, why would I do that? It didn't make sense. Then I'd write something, I'd go, no, that doesn't feel true. That feels like the TV version. What's the real version? And then I'd have to think of another memory from that time. And I think, oh, I wonder if those two are related. And now I'm figuring out who I am. And I'm like, oh, that's why I would do that. That makes sense. Which is so interesting to finally be able to understand yourself at the end of this book. I'm like, oh, I know who I am.Phil Hudson:In some of my research for one of the pilots I wrote about special operators in the Seal team, six Delta fours, green Berets, army Rangers. I was listening to a bunch of podcasts, and one of 'em was talking about this principle that your level of trauma or your level of struggle is the same as mine. Even if something I've been through has been more horrific. From an objective perspective, our perception of my worst trauma and your worst trauma are equally impactful. And I'm wondering, we had very different childhoods, and we've talked a bit about mine and a little bit about yours, but does that process of exploring, why would you do things as a child? Is that healing for you?Michael Jamin:And it was healing and helpful. A lot of these stories, I feel, are apologies to various people I've heard over my life, and it's not written to be an apology, but when you're telling the truth, it's an apology. When you're acknowledging your end of it, it's an apology. And so I'm not writing it, Hey, please forgive me. It's just about the truth. And so, yeah, I really, it's so helpful, and hopefully this is what people will respond to. When you read the book, you go, oh, man, yeah, thank you for that. Thank you for putting to words what I couldn't do because I'm not a writer. Yeah,Phil Hudson:Yeah. That's the stuff that stays with us, right? It's a metaphor for things we're going through. And I think one of the most impactful lessons I learned in film school was the cool job effect.Michael Jamin:What is that?Phil Hudson:So it was this Russian director who showed the same shot of a man, and then he put it against a starving child or a child in a casket or food, or a beautiful woman. And at the end, everyone came up. And that actor was incredible. When he looked at the food, I could feel his desire for food. When he looked at that girl, I could see the pain of her death. And when he saw the woman, I could feel the lust. It's the exact same shot of the same man. And it's the subjective projection that one puts onto art that allows you, it's an unconscious way for you to make sense of your world and import what your experience is in on something, which is why art has always been a part of humanity. It's why it's something that we have always, I think, sought after. It's not entertainment from a sedation perspective where we're trying to avoid it. Sometimes it's that, but very often the things that impact us and mean something, they are things that we need to experience because they make sense. They allow us to make sense of our world.Michael Jamin:Right. That's a good point that you point that out. Yeah. It's like I feel like I've played a part of that in writing sitcoms sometimes, and there's a place for it. You'll come home after a long day, you just want to thrown out and laugh and really not be challenged and not go there, but for this piece. And there's nothing wrong with that. People want to be entertained. But for this,Phil Hudson:People still learn from that too, that people need that, and it serves a role too.Michael Jamin:They need that. But for this, I didn't want that. I wanted to go way deeper than that. I wanted to because I wanted to feel something. Because my contention as a comedy writer, and I know this is true, is that when you write that humor, write something funny. Or if you go, sometimes you'll go see a standup who's hilarious, but then you leave and you are hard pressed to remember one joke that you liked, or you're hard pressed to remember what you even liked about it. You go, I just spent an hour laughing, but I don't really remember any of it. I know I enjoyed myself, but I can't, it's not with me anymore. And what I really wanted to do was write something that would stay with you after this. So you were still feeling like we talked about, you're still feeling it. And you can't just do that with comedy. You have to mix drama into it. Because comedy, that's not what comedy does.Phil Hudson:Well, I mean, your course and what I've seen you do in your craft and sitcoms as well, this is really key point, is why do we care about this thing? The reason we don't care. That's the story. And that's the personal, and that's the people. And so, I mean, this has been your point, and what you've been teaching for years and years anyway is none of it matters unless it means something. And that is the drama part of the comedy. That comedy can break things and it can move us and give us that ebb and flow and that roller coaster effective emotions. And those are beautiful experiences to have in sitcoms or dramas or dramedies. But it's the, why are we watching this? It's the human thing. It's that human piece. That's what you're saying. That's what I'm hearing.Michael Jamin:Yeah. What's at stake here? What's really at stake? And again, I studied other writers. Some I thought did it great, and some I didn't think did it well at all. And so I was trying to hold myself to that higher standard of the ones who did it really well, because I knew what I, what I wanted out of this.Phil Hudson:And again, we've started by saying, you've climbed this mountain, and there's another mountain.Michael Jamin:There's another mountain. Sometimes people have said to me like, well, are you going to turn this into a TV show? It's so odd. It's so odd. Or a movie that somehow I was even watching, what was I watching, American Fiction, that movie. And there's a line in it where this author, she had a book that was a bestseller, and then she's giving an interview and someone said, oh, maybe they'll a hear. They're making a movie out of it. And she's like, well, I can't tell you anymore as if a movie is better than a book or a TV show is better than a book. A book could be a book, a book. What's wrong with a book? Just being a book.So I don't either have any plans to turn this in TV show. If anyone, could it be me? I am a TV writer. I could have very specific ideas on how I would want to do it, and whether a buyer would want to do that or not, I don't know. But I wouldn't compromise how I'd want to do it. But the best way to make it happen, if it did happen, I would have to sell a lot of books first. So if anyone wants to see it happen, then get a book. And then I would actually make content behind the scenes on TikTok, Hey, look at me now I'm meeting with this studio. And now if that's the ride you want to go on, then in order to go on that ride, I have to sell a lot of copies. But again, that's not my goal. Show support. You can if you're curious, but again, that's not my goal. The goal of this was only one thing. I want to write a book that moves people was never a TV show. I can write a TV show. I write TV shows. That's not what I wanted to do.Phil Hudson:And if you want to be moved, you have to buy a copy of the book because if you're listening to this and you want to experience what Michael has put together, you have to buy a copy of the book because that is, I know the number you've invested significantly into just making this happen for yourself. This is not some random cousin who's like, Hey, I wrote a book and I put it on Amazon publishing. This is the real deal. I mean, lift your book up if you don't mind, so people can see the cover. This has been out for a minute, but even just the story of this cover and how you got this cover and found this artist and license, it is a beautiful story in and of itself.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Okay. That's another thing. So I wanted to cover,Phil Hudson:Before we dive into this, I just wanted to point out too, when you were talking about, you looked at all these other writers and people and you said, that's who I want. That's the level I want to be at. You've done this one. Whatever you do next, you're still going to be saying the same thing. All right. What's the next level of professionalism or craft that I can get to? And that's because you are a pro, and that's what you tell people to be a professional, which is constantly striving to be better than the last time.Michael Jamin:Yeah. There are a lot of writers or authors, maybe indie authors, they're cranking out books. I'm like, Jesus, I cranked this out. This took four years. I didn't crank this out. This was worked on really, I really worked on it.Phil Hudson:But talk about your cover. I apologize for interjecting there. I just wanted to get that point across that you're still going to be pursuing that. Excellent. And that's what makes people stand out. Excellence stands out in a world, I hope so.Michael Jamin:Yeah, make something good and people will, okay, so for the cover, I wanted a good cover, but the book is funny and it's also very poignant. And so I looked at other books that I thought were really good, and so I found this one guy who had actually designed some of David Sari's early covers. I didn't know this guy, but obviously he gets comedy. So I read, his name is Steve Snyder. I just found him on Instagram. I don't know him from a hole in the wall. And I DMed him. I slid into his dms and I told him what I was working on, and I told him, I noticed how weird it's for me to reach out to him. And he goes, oh, well, send me your manuscript. So I did. And then a couple weeks went by, he wrote back. He goes, I love it. I'm in. And now this guy, he's like 80 or something, but he was retired. He goes, I'll come back out of retirement to make the cover for you. I go, great, but just so you know, I don't know what my budget is. He goes, oh, I'll do it for free. I want to be part of it. I love it. I want to be part of it.Phil Hudson:Wow, Michael, just let that sit. I know you've internalized that, but we talk about to everybody. You got to own the wins and you got to celebrate the victory. He's like, what does that mean to you that this accomplishedMichael Jamin:Desire? It was very validating. It was very, and then I was like, alright, well, I'll just figure out what I'm going to pay you later, but, but then as we were moving down the line, he's retired, so he was getting, I just made plans. I'm going to be traveling from, he goes, I want to do this, but I don't think I can get it done on time. He goes, I was like, okay, I don't want to, okay, maybe you can refer somebody. So he recommended one of these accolades, one of the people he trained under him. And so I reached out to her same deal. And so I want hiring her, Jenny Carro. She did a wonderful job with the cover, but getting the cover. And then when we finally got the cover and I reached out to Steve again, I go, here's the cover.You want to see it? And he goes, oh, damn. I love it. I wish I didn't drop out. That's awesome. But what happened with Jenny? So she came back with a bunch of covers that were good, but they didn't feel right. There was something about it didn't feel right. It was like almost, and then she had one cover, and I hate to keep going back and forth with her. I was like, I don't want to discourage her. So one was almost good, almost like right, but not quite right. And then I was intent. I was going to use it. And then for some reason I happened to see an ad on Facebook. It was an article about artists or whatever. So I click on this article and I'm reading the article, and then there's other, I see the cover that she was going to license for my, she was going to license some artwork for my cover, and I recognize it.I go, that's it. And I click on it to discover more about what this artist had done. And then, which took me to his website or his Instagram page, I don't remember. And then I discover all his other work and I go, that's the one. So this is a licensed piece of art from this Dutch artist named Tune Juin. And I reached out to him, I want to license this art for your book, for my book. And he goes, great. It was just a boy sitting on words. And the title is a paper orchestra. And so it's not, what does it mean? It's just a boy struggling with words. That's all it is. And that's what the book is. It's about a boy who grew up to be a man who struggled with words.Phil Hudson:Do you remember what I told you when you told me that story? You remember what I calledMichael Jamin:It? What did youPhil Hudson:I said, that's Providence.Michael Jamin:Providence, yeah. There was a lot of that. There was a lot of just, Hey, that's the universe telling me this is what your cover should be. And once I saw it, I go, that's it. We're done. We're done. We could stop looking.Phil Hudson:And then here's an artist who is putting art out that I would consider to not be standard, normal art that you would think about in a normal way. And then here he is featured in this article, and then here, now you're reaching out and his art is now supporting and improving your art. It's a beautiful thing.Michael Jamin:And then the same thing with Anthony Rizzo, who did the music. When I got him aboard, I go, listen, Anthony, I'm making this audiobook. I don't know how much I can pay you. He goes, I don't care. I want to be part of it. So I was like, okay. And then I had a small budget for him, but then I got this brand deal from Final Draft. I go, oh, good. I can give him whatever I was going to pay him. Now I can pay him additional money from this brand deal. It doesn't come really out of my pocket. Its money. It's kind of found money. So I just give it right to him. That's great. That'sPhil Hudson:Great. I love that, man. Your network will pay in spades if the work you do is quality and you're a good person. I've seen that for you. I've seen that for myself. I've seen it in lots of other people. People want to be a part of your project if what you're doing means something and you're kind. And if you were Dick, imagine you were the showrunner and you were throwing tantrums and going on Tirades on Marin. Do you think anybody, I would want to work with you on this.Michael Jamin:Yeah. But there's that. And like I said, there's also build it for, if I started this by saying, reaching out to these people on Instagram or whatever, Hey, I have this idea that I want to make. Will you be part? No, come back to me when you're done, basically. And so for everyone who has a movie they want to make or a scene, alright, shoot a scene on a park bench with your phones. They're like, you don't need to spend $10,000. You could do it for 50. Whatever you need.Phil Hudson:Jamie Kaler, who I think you're going to have on the podcast, he just Captain Polonsky on Taco D and a bunch of other stuff. I had a long running series as well. He's got a series that he did with another known actor called Dad's in a Park, I think is what it's called. It's him on a bench with another dad just talking about dad stuff.Michael Jamin:And where's that on YouTube?Phil Hudson:I'll find it. I think it's on YouTube and Instagram. But it's so real and funny. It's like, yeah, this makes sense. And it's two great actors who are just doing their thing. And it plays and it plays really well. It's very funny.Michael Jamin:And when you look at people doing interesting things, this is what I say, people who are just popping, who just broke onto the Hollywood scene somehow. Somehow they have a special on Netflix or somehow they're a star of a show or a movie, whatever. Look how they did it. They did it themselves. And then Hollywood discovered them because Hollywood was like, oh, we can make money off this person.Phil Hudson:It's the fable. It wasn'tMichael Jamin:The other way around.Phil Hudson:It's a fable of overnight success that is never overnight success. There was always something before that. EveryMichael Jamin:Time, these are people who are already building it, people like me, people like you who are already building it, and then people see go, oh, what's that fool over there building? I want in on it. And that fool's going to say, well, you can be in or you can either way. I'm doing it without you. So come along for the ride if you wantPhil Hudson:Going to happen. I had love to talk about some of the endorsements of your book, if that's okay. I don't want to embarrass you with some of this stuff. How do you feel about telling the John Mayer story?Michael Jamin:Oh my God. That's anotherPhil Hudson:Thing. I think it's a great story. And I'll just say this. Michael will always be very hesitant about bringing in friends or colleagues to talk about his stuff. And he's made it ver

Our guest is Presidential speechwriter and bestselling author, David Litt. There's pizza news and our topic is "pizza and caviar". David Litt is a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama. He is the New York Times bestselling author of 2018's “Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years”, and 2020's “Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think”. Checkout DavidLittbooks.com for more information. David  has a new book coming out in 2025. David talks about the food scene while working in the White House, White House bathrooms, his early days playing Dungeons & Dragons, and why he chose to have a book release party at Comet Ping Pong in DC.  This podcast is brought to you by Ooni Pizza Ovens. Go to Ooni.com for more information.Follow us for more information!Instagram: @pizzapodparty @NYCBestPizza @AlfredSchulz4Twitter: @PizzaPodParty @ArthurBovino @AlfredSchulzTikTok: @thepizzapodpartyThreads: @pizzapodparty @NYCBestPizza @AlfredSchulz4

Watch The Breakdown with Rick Wilson & Tara Setmayer, streaming live at 9pm ET #LPTVTune in for guests Judd Legum, author + founder of Popular Information newsletter, and David Litt, former Obama speechwriter + author

We caught up with David Litt this week about his pilot, Young Professionals. At age 24, David, became one of the youngest White House speechwriters in history. In this interview, you'll hear about David's journey into politics and comedy writing. David and Andrew reminisced about their time on The Exit Players, the oldest improv troupe at Yale. David told us why he joined the Obama campaign in 2008 and how he became the head writer for The White House Correspondents dinner. He shared a story about the hardest he ever made President Obama laugh and spoke on how challenging it is to write a political comedy in today's climate. We also got his thoughts on The West Wing and Veep and how they totally nailed what it's like to be a staffer in the white house. It was a great interview that we know you'll enjoy. Thanks for listening! Enjoy!Get the video for the table read of Young Professionals for as little as $5 by going to https://maximumfun.org/joinFor more Dead Pilots Society episodes and information about our live shows, please subscribe to the podcast!Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter, and visit our website at deadpilotssociety.com

Our dead pilot this month is called Young Professionals and was written by David Litt, who, at age 24, became one of the youngest White House speechwriters in history. David is also the author of two bestselling books: "Thanks, Obama" and "Democracy in One Book or Less". Young Professionals follows five friends who struggle to make a difference in the broken, bizarre, hopelessly absurd world of Washington DC. It's Veep meets Broad City! The project was initially set up at Comedy Central and then this version was developed at ABC, both times with Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer (Broad City) attached to executive produce. It's a true insider's view of what it's like to be young and trying to change the world in the nation's capital!As always, we had a great for this one including John Harlan Kim (911), Olivia Sui (Smosh, Do Revenge), Karan Menon (tik tok), Alexxis Lemire (The Half Of It), Sandeep Parikh (The Guild), Noah Segan (Poker Face), Joel Spence (Big Little Lies), Isabella Gomez (One Day At A Time), Hal Lublin (The Venture Bros), and Andrew Reich with stage directions. Thanks for listening and enjoy!If you'd like to see the video feed of Young Professionals, you can do so by going to maximum fun.org/join and become a member for as little as $5. For $5 you'll get our entire catalogue of bonus content and a bunch of bonus episodes too! Tune in next week for our interview with Steve. Thanks for watching and supporting our show! Enjoy! For more Dead Pilots Society episodes and information about our live shows, please subscribe to the podcast!Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter, and visit our website at deadpilotssociety.com 

Michael's conversation with former presidential speechwriter David Litt, on his book "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years." Original air date 19 September 2017. The book was published on 19 September 2017.

David Litt is the Creator and Showrunner of the hit TV Series King of Queens. He's written on shows like Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Out of Practice, Big Bang Theory, and more.Show NotesDavid Litt on IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0514439/Michael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/courseFree Screenwriting Lesson - https://michaeljamin.com/freeJoin My Watchlist - https://michaeljamin.com/watchlistAuto-Generated TranscriptDavid Litt:The lesson I'd like to impart if there is one. It really is fun to be a wise ass and funny and make everybody laugh. But you gotta bring something to the table or you're just gonna get fired. Yeah. Yeah. You've great to be funny and crazy and do bits and hopefully bring up the level of people's spirits in the room because it can get Yeah. It get arduous. Yeah. Yeah. But if that's all you do and you're not contributing, you're gonna be extraction and you're gonna get, so that, that's something that gets earned over time.Michael Jamin:You're listening to Screenwriters Need to Hear This with Michael Jam. Hey everybody, it's Michael Jam and welcome back to Screenwriters. Need to hear this. I have a very, very special guest today. This is my old friend David Lit, who is the creator of perhaps one of the last giant hit multi-camera sitcoms. King of Queens. King of Queens. That's, there really haven't been too many multi-camera hits. There's been a couple, but not many. And so here he is, DavidDavid Litt:And not many that have run 25 years continuously.Michael Jamin:You mean still in syndication? You mean still running somewhere? StillDavid Litt:Never been off the air since 98.Michael Jamin:Wow. Well we're gonna get to all that. I want hear. Let me just give you a little bit of roll up. So, cuz I want people gonna wanna know what else you had done. So you actually wrote on Real Monsters, which is My wife was a voice on that show. I think we talked about that. She was DizzleDavid Litt:Dizzle, Yeah. Now that character may have left. I left to do a sketch show.Michael Jamin:What showDavid Litt:Was that? After? About six months. So I was there, but was I o uh and Crumb.Michael Jamin:Crumb. Interesting now. Okay.David Litt:Great place to work, by the way, for anybody who has the opportunity.Michael Jamin:What in KidsDavid Litt:Classy.Michael Jamin:What's that? Where you cut out?David Litt:I dunno, Classy Cupo. Oh yeah. A great place toMichael Jamin:Work. But they, Are they still making stuff though?David Litt:I don't know. They used to rug wraps. I don't know if they still do, but they're unbelievably opposite and really great to creatives. AndMichael Jamin:So, in other words, if we can build a timeDavid Litt:Machine, My first,Michael Jamin:So your advice,David Litt:My first job I got was on a Real Monsters and the earthquake hit the first day I started. Right. The North Northridge quite there. So to their credit, they paid everybody, even though they were closed for a couple of weeks. They paid everybody.Michael Jamin:Interesting. They were in the studio too. How well did you get that job? Cause okay, let's start from the beginning. You're from Queens. You live that life of King, right? And so we'll get there, but how did you get your first job On writing?David Litt:Yeah. I don't like to brag by telling people I'm from Queens, but Yep. You can't hide. I amMichael Jamin:.David Litt:. Not obvious.How did I get that job? Here's how I fast forwarding a little bit. I moved from New York to LA the first week or two I was there. I made a commitment. I was gonna go to every party I got invited to. Cause I'm not a party guy. I don't like going to these, but I felt like I had to make friends. I needed to meet people. So somebody, a friend of a friend said, Hey, come to this party out in the Palisades. I said, Okay. I meet this kind of diminutive little woman. Little girl. Very sweet. We chatted for an hour and I go home and I get a call the following day from her and my ego. I'm thinking, Oh ha, she's totally into me,Michael Jamin:.David Litt:But she wasn't, as it turned out, she wasn't into me at all. But she had a job for me and wanted to know if I was interested in it or not. And of course, little did she know I was living on my credit cards. I was literally, I had four credit cards maxed. And I was taking cash off the fifth to pay the four. DidMichael Jamin:You have anyDavid Litt:Kinda, And she was going, Are you interested? It was, by the way, I still remember it was 2000. It was 2000 a week. And I was like, Yeah, I'm interested,Michael Jamin:But you wait. She and she worked for Klasky Shpo.David Litt:Her name was Laverne McKinnon. A shout out to her. She made my career, She made my life. I mean, she took a chance. She didn't know me from shit. She just thought, Oh, this guy's buddy.Michael Jamin:And you had a script ready. She must have read your script.David Litt:No, not at that point. She subsequently read something. But at that point it was like she was going on instinct. Like, Oh, this guy made me laugh. Wow. We have a comedy coming up and she, let's bring him in and meet withMichael Jamin:Him. And so she worked with in development at, SheDavid Litt:Was right underneath Arlene and Klasky and gpo. That's the Klasky and the Tupo.Michael Jamin:And they're the producers of that, the show that, But how long had you been in LA at that point? And how were you making a living before that at all?David Litt:Let me think. Yeah, she was okay. I had literally just gotten out here. I was living in New York and I was working in advertising and I was writing sketches sat, I was writing sketches for Saturday Night Live. They didn't know I was writing sketches for them, but I was doing it right. Somebody I knew and a manager named Barry Secunda. Okay. He managed Franken and Davis and another guy I feel like I owe a lot to because he didn't hang up on me. He didn't like, He said, Come in, let me read your stuff. He read all my shitty sketches that were, at the time I thought, this is genius. Now, when I read them now, I'm like, no. Yeah. So he hooked me up with a manager here in LA that he knew. And he was very encouraging.This is Barry . He said, Look, your stuff is great. You have the potential, but you've gotta get out to California. You cannot be a full-time comedy writer from New York. It's very difficult. And that's one thing when people call me for advice, I always ask them, A lot of people, the main thing, they don't wanna move away from their family, their home, their friends. That's the scariest thing you could do , but you've got to be ready to do it because you're very, very likely not gonna get a job if you're not in Los Angeles. I say this all the time, once you get good in Los Angeles, once you get Michael Jamin level, you can live anywhere in the world. Yeah. Not you a different Michael Jam. Yeah. That I have to.So I, at that point, I made the choice, I'm gonna move. And luckily I had supportive parents. They were like, Here's five grand, go move and chase your dream. They didn't make fun of me or tell me not to do it. Or I bought ps. It's not like I had much choice. I had one semester of Queens College . I had no other real alternatives. So you think not like I'm dropping at med school. . So then I got here, and at that first, Let me think. Yeah, pretty much the first week I was here is when I met Laverne and got that job. Maybe it was two weeks.I don't know if I, Did I ever tell you the story of I moved from New York, I give up the most phenomenal studio rent. Anyone who knows New York, it's such incredible thing to get a rent controlled or rent stabilized apartment. I still remember $580 a month for a gorgeous studio. They had just redone it, knew everything. And I had to make a choice. Do I leave this and move? I mean, I would still be living in that apartment. So finally I got the guts to move. Okay. My agent, what happened is, I'll give a little secret, I don't even know if they do this anymore, but there's something they made back then called the Hollywood Created Directory. Right? It was a big green book and it had all the agents in it, their phone numbers, what agencies they were with. So what I would do every day after my day, my shitty day job, which made me wanna hang myself in advertising. I worked at CBS with a couple of very nice people. They were not the problem. I was the problem , just get that outta the way.So I went out to a couple of agents in la, about three or four of 'em said, We really love your material. I was shocked. I didn't think I was going to get any agent. And as it is, I wound up getting my pick of about three or four, Not a level, but d plus level. Some pretty good agents. What we now would probably call boutique agents. The somebody at Broer was interested. Broer Carlin. Yeah. Yeah. So, right. Yeah. I mean, you of what I speak, but listen to this. It gets so great. I decide to load. I've never been to Los Angeles in my life. I load everything up on a truck. My buddy, I know one person in la he goes, Stay on my couch until you find yourself an apartment. It's fine. I said, Okay, great. I appreciate it. I get out here, The agent that decided to take me on, I don't know if I should give her name or not, but she says, I want you to meet me. There was a place called Cafe Fro. Yes. I don't know if you remember it. It was on Melrose. It was a big in West Hollywood. In West Hollywood. And I was, like I said, doing the multiple credit card thing. And I needed a job. So I had just applied there to Cafe Fro and they were about to start me on Monday. . So here I am, meeting with my agent on a Wednesday, Thursday.So I'm right now, picture this, My stuff is still on a moving truck coming across the country with no destination because I haven't found an apartment yet. I'm going to look for an apartment and I'm gonna then call the moving company and say, Here's where you need to deliver to. So in the meantime, over lunch, as we're having lunch, this agent is acting kind of odd. And I'm like, Why is she acting so weird? So finally it comes out, she says, Listen, I need to let you know I'm leaving the agency. It was innovative artists. She goes, I'm leaving the agency. And I'm like, I'm not joking. I just got there. Hadn't been there 24 hours. Right? I'm like, Okay, well I'll go with you. Where are you going? She says, No, I'm leaving the business entirely and I'm suing them for sexual harassment. I, we'll have to get the name afterwards. Cause I think you may have had the same agent. .So she . I'm not joking. . Well, I have to say that we turned out to be good friends as time went on. I don't wanna give too many specifics, but we'll talk after. Yeah, yeah. We'll talk off the air. But the good stuff is off the air. I don't want the four people listening to know . But what happened is, and by the way, tapping this whole thing, when we get outside to get our cars, she goes, Do you have money? I don't have any money and I can't pay the valet part. , I pay for her valet. But here's where the story turns into a positive. So I called all the agents back that I had that had been willing to take me on and that I had passed on. And I told them what happened. I said, I came out da da blah blah. Luckily I had left it on good terms. And I did wind up connecting with a great agent at Premier Artists . Her name was Susan Sussman. Okay. A great one of those agents that knows how to start people on their way to their first job. This is back in the days when people had actual patience with your career and would nurture you along and you know, remember that baby.And she was great. And that was when I fortuitously met this woman from Klasky, Cheapo and I, within two days or something, I called Susan Sussman and I said, Look, I think I may have a job. Can you negotiate this for me? . And the rest was history. She took me on. And that was that.Michael Jamin:Yeah. But then why did you leave real monsters so quickly though?David Litt:I left Real monsters because I, It was a real Monsters was a Nickelodeon children show. And that wasn't, while it was writing and a great introductory job, it wasn't my dream. I mean, I didn't come out to write children's comedy and you who know me, that's not really my wheelhouse. Right. IMichael Jamin:Should go.David Litt:Yeah. I left because I had gotten through a friend a contact to do this show called The News. It was a takeoff of Saturday Night Live directed by the son of Don Wilson who direct Saturday Night Live. His name was Michael Wilson. He was the producer of the news. And it was sketch showsAnd we had so much fun. It was such a great gig. It was like everyone off in their offices writing sketches, . And then what would happen is every three weeks we all went down to Florida to Orlando for budget reasons and we shot on whatever that dolly would, or whatever it was. Some sound stages down there. Wow. It was such a great gig. So much fun. Now I would probably be a little snobby about it, but at the time it was just a great job. And we would write all the sketches in LA at Sunset Gour. Right. Some of the writers would write one or two sketches with each other, sell 'em alone. And the best sketches made it down to Florida and gotMichael Jamin:What became of some of those.David Litt:Got writing, got on the air.Michael Jamin:Cause a sketch writing is so specific. Did many of them go onto sitcom writing or are you in touch with any of them?David Litt:I'm in touch with a couple of them. Not many made the transition.Michael Jamin:Yeah.David Litt:I guess. What are they doing now? Trying to think. There's not a lot of sketch work for people. So if you can't do it, you're screwed. I mean, if you can't do something else, what are you gonna do? There's not a lot of work for, Yeah, I mean Sketch is a very, very specific art that you either get it or you don't. How to end the sketch. Right. Sometimes there is no end and you just chop it off in a very douchey, uncomfortable way. Right. I'm sure everyone is seeing those sketches where you're like, Wait, that's the ending . But that said, it was the kind of job where you went in. You did as well as you let yourself do. There was no one looking at theirDavid Litt:watch.Michael Jamin:Hey, it's Michael. If you like my videos and you want me to email them to you for free, join my watch list. Every Friday I send out my top three videos. These are for writers, actors, creative types. You can unsubscribe whenever you want. I'm not gonna spam you and it's absolutely free. Just go to michael jam.com/watchlist.David Litt:Okay. So were, I'm sorry. So you were saying you were working as a property manager? It was reaching a point though, where I was, it was so tempting to have free rent, but I was getting pulled in two directions. It was like I'm getting my sketches on the air and I'm getting a call. My toilet is Blo . So I'm like running home from a table read to fix a toilet. So finally, again, much New York, I had to make a hard choice and get away from the comfortable, these look pretty good on me and get away from the comfortable. And I quit the job and I wound up getting, moving out, getting an apartment. And that was that. Then from there, let me think from there, Oh yeah, then I wrote an Ellen Spec, Remember Ellen? Of course with Ari Gross. And I love that show.And by the way here, this is a great lesson for anyone who cares enough to listen to what I'm saying. , a lot of times people say, I wrote a lot of specs. I probably wrote about 12 or 15 specs. I wrote a Herman's head. I wrote a lot of just shows I really liked. I didn't worry so much about will it get made, Will it, I just knew it was like sharpening my knife. And I wrote an Ellen, which everybody was like, Why are you writing an Ellen? No one's watching it. It's not, Back then the big ones were mad about you and mm-hmm Seinfeld. And I said, I just love it. I don't know. I mean, I love it so I wanna write it. And so I wrote it. And then Michael Whitehorn, who I co-created King of Queens with, he and I had already worked together on a show called, He had hired me on a show called Ned and Stacy with Tom Church.Michael Jamin:That was another great show.David Litt:Yeah. I loved it. It was a lot of fun. Michael was a great teacher and mentor. He would let me come to the mixes. I, I was still a staff writer at that point and he was bringing me to the mixes to,Michael Jamin:Or just you. Did he take, did he really just,David Litt:He was taking anybody who felt they wanted to go. A lot of people just wanted to go home after a long day. But if you were really dedicated and wanted to learn, he was 100% about including you and explaining how come you're doing that? Why can't you, can't we do it this way? And he would explain and it made some really just dumb questions. I would ask him. And he was great. And I think from Ned and Stacy it became obvious. We worked well together, . So that when King of Queens came along, he was very open to writing something together. Sony had a standup comic on stand or whatever, a holding deal,Which was Kevin James and Michael called me and he said, Look, I found this comic, I think he's pretty special. What do you think? And I watched it and I thought he was incredible too. Now, if I'm being honest, I needed the gig. I probably would've said he was incredible no matter what. But he was, you could just tell Kevin was special. So the next thing, Michael and I are writing this pilot together and that was another great experience. We wrote the whole thing in three weeks, . It took no time at all. It was, you know how it is, even with songwriters at least talk aboutMichael Jamin:David Litt:When they write a great song, it doesn't take it take a month, it takes 10 minutes. Right.Michael Jamin:But what'sDavid Litt:Interesting is, and that's howMichael Jamin:But you like, Sorry, go ahead. Well what's interesting is because was his cloud, he had a good idea, but he also, you needed him, right? Because he had a lot more clout. He wasDavid Litt:Way bigger. Oh yeah.Michael Jamin:Right.David Litt:Yeah, very much so.Michael Jamin:Some of those people think, Well how am I, do I sell my show? But they're like people off the street, you know, have to find someone who's in the position who can sell a show.David Litt:Yeah. I mean, without getting into too many specifics, I will say that after N and Stacy, I was sort of the golden child in the new writers that were out here. I was a little bit sought after and I got on a show that doesn't need to be named, but it was for me, it started out as one show and became another. And I just felt like, hey, this isn't what I signed on to do. . And that made them very angry. Coming from New York thought I'm going to use the honesty approach and I'm just gonna tell it. It is, Well it would've been better for me just to say my uncle died and I gotta leave instead of the truth. Because the truth hurt. The truth was rather they kept asking me, In fact, I remember, what show are you going to? What did you get an offer? I kept saying, I don't have any other offer. It's not about another show. I had the balls even at that point.Michael Jamin:Yeah. You ever do that now, Ever?David Litt:I don't think so.Michael Jamin:Yeah.David Litt:I don't think I would now. But at that time I just was filled with myself enough that I said, So what happened was, in that interim is when Kevin, as, when Michael came to me with KevinMichael Jamin:David Litt:And the studio was the same studio of the show, I just left and they were not having it. They were like, We want you never to work again. We intend on ruining you. We want to squash you like a bug. They were very upset at my hubris that I had said they were done. To Michael's credit, he fought for me. I mean, he didn't have to , but he went to the mat. He was like, Look, if you don't bring David in on this, I I'm not gonna write it.Michael Jamin:Wow. And that show made a ton of your show made a ton of money for the studio.David Litt:It did. It did well, yeah. Yes it did very well. Yeah. It changed my life. He changed my li Michael changed my lifeMichael Jamin:And then, Okay, go on. Do you wanna tell a little more more of that, Creating King Queens or getting it how the pilot shot and I'm sure people want to hear yourDavid Litt:Yeah, sure. Yeah, we wrote the pilot, like I said, it took two or three weeks. It just flowed. It was likeMichael Jamin:Then casting it. Okay, you had Kevin for sure and then you had aDavid Litt:Casting. Well we'd already had Kevin and we knew, well the second we met with Leah, we knew that's our couple.Michael Jamin:WeDavid Litt:Had tried to get Jerry Stiller, but he didn't wanna do it. Initially he was coming off ofMichael Jamin:Seinfeld,David Litt:Seinfeld and he just didn't really wanna do another series. But when he read the script, I guess it clicked. He got it. So once we had those three in place, it came together at that point. HowMichael Jamin:Were the ratings in the beginning when you finally got on the air?David Litt:The ratings in the beginning were solid but not stellar. We built pretty well. The thing that benefited us a lot was being Kevin, being friends with Ray Ram Romano,Michael Jamin:David Litt:Kevin doing guest spots on Ray's show. There was a lot of crossover and a lot of helping hands and it made it a lot easier to stick around a while and do crossovers cuz they were in each other's worlds.Michael Jamin:It's so sad cuz those days are over. Those days. Are those, It just seems like it's, Yeah,David Litt:It is kind of sad. I mean it's unfortunate because it's a great format if you do it right and not a hacky old fashioned wayMichael Jamin:Then okay, so you did that show 200 or so episodes cause that, Okay, I wanna say how I met you. I met you, we on, I was on out of practice, we were both on, and I guess we brought as a consultant, you were full time in out practice, right?David Litt:I had an overall deal at Paramount. Right. And they assigned me to out of practice, I think it was like two days or three days a week.Michael Jamin:And I remember being on that show, that was Chris Lloyd and joking and Chris Lloyd, he later co-created Modern Family. Chris Lloyd, he Rand Frazier. He has more Emmys on. He has a mantle full of Emmys like that.David Litt:Yeah. Chris is aMichael Jamin:Emmys. And so Chris is really one of the most highly regarded writers in Hollywood comedy writers in Hollywood. And I just remember, and I couldn't be remembering that wrong, but in my memory meeting you, this is how you would write a scene if you wanted to have a comedy writer join , a TV show, if you're writing a scene, a comedy writer enters a room. This is how you would've written it. Cause I remember we were working on a story and you were late and you came in your faces, you burst into the door, we're working. So suddenly the door flies open and then your face is kind of red because you're, you're probably running through the parking lot cause you're gonna be late and you're carry couple of boxes of gum gum and the room was false silent. Right. Cause you just in, you're like, Sorry I'm late. And then I think I was the first to break the silence. I was like, Oh, okay. You the gum. Right? And you Yeah. And you without missing. Yeah. Yeah. I got plenty of gum. Don't worry about the gum and you just it down.I, the rumor was that you were brought onto the show because, so some comedy writers are, they're not very funny in real life, but they can write a scene. They know how to be funny on paper. And then some commentaries just are just funny the minute you meet them . Right. And that was you. And you came in and it was really part of it was like this guy David, he's, we want him cuz he's gonna lighten the mood. He's just kind of, he's got . He's gonna lighten the mood in the room. And that's exactly what you did every day. It was always like . I mean, I can't remember. There's so many. WellDavid Litt:It's funny because I loved, I really surprised myself with how much I loved working with Joe Keenan and Chris Lloyd. Yeah. Their reputation was a little bit maybe serious. Yeah. But fra, they weren't like jokes.Michael Jamin:What'dDavid Litt:You say?Michael Jamin:They were the Frazier guys. So they had this reputation of being kind of these very smart and serious writers. And they certainly were both are amazing, amazingly talented writers. Oh yes. Had the seriousness about 'em. And you were brought on almost like the comic relief to the comedy verse .David Litt:Yeah. I think they enjoyed me. I was the fun monkey.Michael Jamin:Right. And it was because that was, you had already had your King of Queens money. , like none of us had that money in our back pocket. ButDavid Litt:Right. Everybody was nervous.Michael Jamin:We were worried about being fired. Right.David Litt:Yeah, you're right. I was a little more relaxed cuz I wasn't sweating it so much. But once I got to know them, I wanted to do a great job for them.Michael Jamin:Yeah. I remember one time, this is one of my favorite stories, is that we're stuck on a story beat. We're stuck on this thing for, I don't know, an hours or whatever, we're struggling this beat. And then you kind of broke the silence. You go, okay, here's the bad version. Let me tell you the bad version of the scene. And then you had spent five minutes laying out what you thought, what's the hackiest worst version of the scene? . And then Chris Lloyd just looks at you. He goes, What's the good version? And you just go, Oh, I don't have that . And you always fucking lost it. Oh my God. It was so funny. Oh my God. WasDavid Litt:That the room where I used to have some funny bits that I would literally take around different rooms in there? Yeah. I'm trying to remember, was that the one where I would do milk and cookies time where I would stop for a minute, just totally, No, I would say to Chris, I'd go, Chris, it's milk and cookies time. And he'd go, Okay, go ahead. And I would literally just shut off and have milk and cookies at my desk while everybody else continued to work. It was so funny.Michael Jamin:, I remember you coming in. I remember you. I mean, I remember you coming in, you were one of the first people to buy an iPhone. And I think you came in with, I think you upgraded to an iPhone too. And you came go like this iPhone too is gonna change my life. It's gonna change my life. And I said, I think I said no. But you said the same thing about the first time you got the first iPhone and the iPhone. You go, Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I said that. But I mean it now. I mean , you really the two . I know I said it before, but the two, it's gonna change my life. theDavid Litt:Two is the oneMichael Jamin:. You're writing so much. Oh my God, you just made everyone laugh so much. I remember one time, , maybe I shouldn't even say it, but I'm gonna say it anyway unless you tell me to cut it out. We were on the stage floor watching rehearsal and you lean over to me real quietly and you go, Do you think Chris would mind if I flew to New York now , I think he would. Cause he's, he's paying you, He wants here for the rewrite. And you go, Yeah, yeah, you're probably right. And that was the last I heard of it. And then we go back to the room and you're nowhere to be found . And then you phone rings a couple hours later and I'm like, Hey man, where are you? You go, I'm at the airport. I'm getting on a plane. I can't talk. Tell Chris I'm not gonna make itDavid Litt:.Michael Jamin:It's just so funny. And we were just all just laughing about it. Everyone throws the funniest bossiest thing. Yeah, you're right. You'd get mad.David Litt:I did. I pulled a great one. I was on, according to Jim and the way they work there, each room would take a half of the script and go off. And I remember it was like we had our half and we were all working and one day after, I don't know, we were maybe 10 pages in. I got up and I to go to the ostensibly to go to the bathroom. But instead I couldn't fight the urge to just keep going to my car and go home.Michael Jamin:. I couldn't find it.David Litt:So I get home and there's the greatest messages from the producer of the show going, David, I It's Suzanne, you just left to go to the bathroom and you haven't come back yet. We're just getting concerned. So I guess we'll see in a couple minutes and then another 10 minutes. Another message. David, it's Suzanne, did you let us know what happened? You're not back here and we're getting worried. And then the third message was like, Did you go home? Oh Michael Jamin:Like, wait, did you get in trouble for doing that?David Litt:I did not.Michael Jamin:, I did not. See if you're funny enough you can get away with this stuff. I would. WellDavid Litt:That's what the lesson I'd like to impart. If there is one, it, it's really is fun to be a wise ass and funny and make everybody laugh. But you've gotta bring something to the table or you're just gonna get fired.Michael Jamin:Yeah,David Litt:Yeah. You've great to be funny and crazy and do bits and hopefully bring up the level of people's spirits in the room because it can get arduous.Michael Jamin:Yeah.David Litt:But if that's all you do and you're not contributing, you're gonna be abstracted and you're gonna get So that that's something that gets earned over time.Michael Jamin:Yeah, for sure. Then well what? And so, oh God, that just hurts. It hurts my stomach. Thinking how funny that was .David Litt:Tell 'em the story about the, what do you call it? The drone.Michael Jamin:The drone.David Litt:Was that with you? Where I brought a drone in on Oh no wait, that was Big bang.Michael Jamin:Yeah. You right. I should mention these are you also worked on Big Bang for a little bit. What'd you do? What was that story?David Litt:Yeah, who was that if it wasn't you, Chef? Well I bought a drone . Okay. And at the time they were very new. They go up a hundred feet and over. And so I bring it inAnd I'm like, Hey guys, how neat are these? And it was another writing group. Oh I know who it was. It was, Do you know Peter? Oh God. Shit. Anyway, it doesn't matter. You would know him. But we all went outside to use this brand new technology. So I'm like Guys, check it out. Next thing we know I let it goes up and continues to go up. I couldn't get it to go down and we lost it in the sun. We're looking and we never found it. It just got stuck in the treetop. It's probably still there.Michael Jamin:.David Litt:It was like $120 drone. I used it once to make it go hundred feet in the air. I never saw it again. That was the fun we hadMichael Jamin:. Oh my God. Oh yeah. I mean that's the people don't it really sitcom. Right. Really is a fun job if you're with funny people. But it's not so funny.David Litt:It's a great job. I don't know. People need to understand. I am a dinosaur. I mean the experiences I had you probably wouldn't have anymore.Michael Jamin:Yeah, I think so.David Litt:Which is a real shame because it's comedy and it should be fun.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Funny. Cause we, Jay Cogan did, Do you know Jay? Have you worked with Jay?David Litt:Yeah, of course. I've never, Okay. I worked with Jay on Den Stacy.Michael Jamin:Oh wow. He, because he did this podcast a couple a week or two ago and he kind of said the same thing. Rooms have tend to change that he would do a lot of room bits and you kind of really can't really do so many of those room bids anymore. But for what it's worth better or worse. But the world has changed. And I don't remember, I even remember after out of practice, you really wanted to do, you just wanted to consult. You wanted to come in a couple days a week and consult, which was something you could do a couple years before you could. There was some demand for that. And now there's just no room for that anymore.David Litt:Yeah. The real EM emeritus writers, the writers that were really looked up to, could get a job a day on doing punch up on one show a day on another . And those times right around then went away and there were no more jobs to be had of that Ill, Yeah, I mean that was my complete, my absolute dream was to be able to go to one show two days a week and maybe another show, another two days a week and have fun and have a great time. But the budgets at that time started shrinking. And the allowance for somebody to come in one day a week just wasn't there.Michael Jamin:Part of, I think about that part of the benefit, what we had when we were coming up is that we almost came through in a school. You get on a sitcom, you learn from the people who had a ton of experience before you and everyone kind of came from the school and you learn the craft from people before you.David Litt:Mm-hmmMichael Jamin:, that doesn't really exist anymore cuz those shows don't exist. So you know, you're winging it a little bit, but if you're a young writer, you're kind of winging it.David Litt:There's also a bit of a scary environment now. I think there's a lot of competition. and it, it's putting somebody under your wing and being patient with them is you don't see it as much because you could be costing yourself the job. You could be training somebody to take a job away from you.Michael Jamin:Well also, I don't know mean maybe, I don't know. My experience is that the orders are shorter. You're not gonna be on Aer if you're on a street show. You might be doing 10 weeks out of the year or whatever. You're not doing, you're working weeks or 40 weeks. You're working . So know you're what you got going on in there correctly. gonna nothing. What do you having a pastrami sandwich. . All right. So what do you do now? What? I know you were developing on the side, you're constantly working on stuff. What's going on there?David Litt:Write it down. I'm being a little lazy. I should be better at what I'm doing. But I'm working on a screenplay. I had a screenplay idea, and that was my next step was I wanted to become a script doctor. I really wanted to come in and do and fix screenplays, punch them up, et cetera.Michael Jamin:Right. I dunno how many there is for that either.David Litt:I don't either. Mean, my feeling is like, do what you love and do the best you can at it. And don't worry so much about the money. I have the luxury to be able to do that.Michael Jamin:Right.David Litt:But , I really love, my dream would be to get a call and come in and work a couple of days a week on punching this script up or making that script funny. But for now, I like working on an idea. I had an idea that kind of hit me. That's something I wanna finish. So that's what I'm doing right now. And it's great cuz your time's your own, you know, can work on it in the morning and do whatever you want later in the day. I'm also trying to do some dog rescue stuff.Michael Jamin:You're a dog rescue, so you walk around with a net into alleys.David Litt:. Yes. It's like in the cartoons with the big cargo net. No, I found out this horrifying thing that there are these wet markets in China that eat dogs. Alive. Alive.Michael Jamin:Alive. That's alive. That's too fresh.David Litt:That's too fresh. Yeah. . So I've wanted to start volunteering for dogs for a while. So I'm thinking about, I've been taking care of a cat for the past four months. She has since disappeared as of last week. I can't find her anymore.Michael Jamin:Taking care is not the right word then. . Yeah.David Litt:No taking bad care. But the writing is something I will never stop doing. I mean, I love it. Some days, even a week, I might go and get lazy and drop off, but it keeps me sane. It's a fun way to keep your imagination going and it's really a different thing when you're doing it for yourself as opposed to as a job or to make money or to pay your bills. That's a different set of stress and responsibilities. Yeah.Michael Jamin:Do you have any other advice for new aspiring writers?David Litt:Any advice for what?Michael Jamin:New and a new and upcoming writers.David Litt:It is a great way to make a living. There is nothing more satisfying than making a living as a writer, but just stick with it. Don't treat it like something you do when you feel like it. If you wanna write, give yourself hours. I don't know how you guys write, but I make sure I'm in front of that computer. At least three, four hours a day. 11 till two, 11 till three. And if nothing comes at all fine. But I was there trying to write. Sometimes you're gonna get something great and sometimes you're not, but you gotta put the time in to do it.Michael Jamin:Absolutely right. David led, creator of co-creative, King of Queens, a friend for many years. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with this podcast here with everyone. I really appreciate.David Litt:Thank you for having me. I like,Michael Jamin:Right. That's it everyone. So thank you for listening. If you, again, I'm gonna plug what else we got going on here. If you want to sign up for my free weekly newsletter, it's michaeljamin.com/watchlist to find out what's going on there. And yeah, that's it. Oh, and I dunno when this is gonna drop, but of course I got for my touring schedule to see me see my one man show A Paper Orchestra. You can go to MichaelJamin.com/Live upcoming sign up there. Right. Everyone, thank you so much and thank you again, David Litt.Michael Jamin:Hey, it's Michael. One more thing. Come see me perform. I'm going to be in Boston area, actually Amesbury, Massachusetts on November 12th and 13th at the Actor studio performing my show, a paper orchestra. And then I'm gonna be back in Los Angeles on December 10th and 11th again at the Moving Arts Theater Company. So tickets are on sale. Go get 'em at michael jamin.com/live. It's a small, intimate venue. I'm gonna be performing for my collection of personal essays and each one's gonna be followed by like a 20 minute q and a. We get to talk about the work. It's a fun event. So I hope to see you there. Go get them tickets again are at michaeljamin.com/live and of course, sign up to my weekly newsletter. That's called the Watch List at michaeljamin.com/watchlist.Phil Hudson:This has been an episode of Screenwriters. Need to Hear This with Michael Jamin and Phil Hudson. If you'd like to support this podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review and sharing this podcast with someone who needs to hear today's subject. For free daily screenwriting tips, follow Michael on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @MichaelJaminWriter. You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @PhillAHudson. This episode was produced by Phil Hudson and edited by Dallas Crane. Until next time, keep writing.

Engage at the Bush Center, Presented by NexPointEffective leadership begins with making connections, and humor is a way to build rapport, ease into uncomfortable conversations, and help to bring joy during difficult times. It's no coincidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has emerged as an inspirational leader to his people, began his career as a comedian.In our own democracy, humor remains vital as a tool of both diplomacy and leadership. It's also a way to hold our leaders accountable. On March 8, 2022, Bush Center President and CEO Ken Hersh moderates a panel discussion about humor in the Nation's highest office featuring Karen Hughes, a longtime advisor to President Bush; Landon Parvin, the author of many humorous speeches delivered by presidents at White House Correspondents' Association dinners and other lighthearted occasions; and David Litt, a bestselling author and former Funny or Die producer who served as a speechwriter to President Obama. The program complements the special exhibit Liberty and Laughter: The Lighter Side of the White House, open now at the Bush Center.RelatedWatch event videoLearn more about Engage at the Bush Center, presented by NexPoint

From the archives: I talk to David Litt- former head joke writer for President Obama. We dive into what made Obama funny in the Oval Office; and contrast that to Trump's vastly different sense of presidential humor. (Trump's humor wheelhouse: mocking a disabled reporter and making fun of a sexual assault victim.) You might also know David Litt from his recent appearance on Newsmax - where he was booked to discuss Elon Musk hosting SNL_ but instead blasted the network for spreading election fraud lies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voting rights around the country are being severely curtailed. In fact, according to the Brennan Center, as of March 24, legislators have introduced 361 bills with restrictive provisions in 47 states. That's 108 more than the 253 restrictive bills tallied as of February 19, 2021 — a 43 percent increase in little more than a month. With instances of voter fraud virtually nonexistent, the rationale for much of this legislation is dubious at best. Voting rights shouldn't be a partisan issue. Join The Common Good and experts, Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School, Carol Anderson, author and Chair of African American Studies at Emory University, and David Litt, author and former speechwriter to President Obama. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Love a good wedding movie or television episode?! Christina Jeurling Birro, host of the podcast Pop Culture Confidential, shares behind the scene stories of the making of some of her favorite wedding movies and television shows of all-time! Movies: The Deer Hunter 01:56 The Godfather 05:13 Goodfellas 6:44; 8:39 My Big Fat Greek Wedding 08:02 Steel Magnolias 09:25 Runaway Bride 14:23 When Harry Met Sally 16:05 Crazy Rich Asians 19:28 TV: The Crown 21:58 The Office 25:31 Parks and Rec 26:53 Schitt’s Creek 27:49 Follow Pop Culture Confidential on Twitter, Instagram and your favorite podcast app! Get to Know Christina: Journalist Christina Jeurling Birro interviews the most innovative and influential people working in television, film, entertainment and pop culture. Pop Culture Confidential is an international interview podcast with industry professionals from film, TV, journalism, media and more. Guests on Pop Culture Confidential include: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Cox, Pamela Adlon, Cynthia Nixon Gloria Steinem, Alicia Vikander, John Turturro, Paul Raci, Jeremy Strong, Arian Moayed former Obama speechwriter David Litt, Brian Tyree Henry, Padma Lakshmi, Kaitlyn Dever, Anthony Ramos, Emily Blunt, David Sedaris, Susan Sarandon, Sterling K Brown, Netflix Ted Sarandos, Henry Winkler, director Damien Chazelle, director Paul Feig, Kate Mulgrew and Uzo Aduba, Jean Smart, Mark Ruffalo, director Tom McCarthy Spotlight, Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, sitcom producer Chuck Lorre, screenwriter Steven Knight, director Kirsten Johnson, legendary casting director Ellen Lewis (Goodfellas, Forrest Gump), Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Carrie Coon, Academy Award winning set decorator Star Wars/Alien Roger Christian, Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi, writer/producer Allison Silverman (The Colbert Report, Kimmy Schmidt), Joe Toplyn a head writer on The Late Show with David Letterman and many more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day.  Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 800 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls. David Litt entered the White House as a speechwriter in 2011, and left in 2016 as a senior presidential speechwriter and special assistant to the president. In addition to writing remarks for President Barack Obama on a wide range of domestic policy issues, David served as the lead joke writer for several White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues. Since leaving government, David's work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Boston Globe, among others. From 2016-2018 he was the head writer and producer for Funny Or Die D.C., and he has developed TV pilots for Comedy Central and ABC.  David's New York Times bestselling memoir, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, was published in 2017. His second book, Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think, was published in June 2020. If you haven't yet seen the clip of him on Newsmax here it is  Born and raised on Buffalo’s East Side as one of six children, India Walton became a full-time working mother at the age of just 14. She earned her GED while pregnant with twins who were born prematurely, an experience that inspired her to become a nurse in the same NICU where her boys’ lives were saved. As a healthcare worker, India became a representative in the 1199 SEIU union, standing up for both workers and patients from picket lines in Buffalo to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, where she was invited to speak at a national women’s rights rally in 2014. Continuing to serve as a nurse in Buffalo Public Schools, India witnessed the health disparities among our most vulnerable citizens and became determined to change the systems that cause these injustices. India’s commitment to systemic change called her to become a community organizer for Open Buffalo, establishing herself as a thought leader on a wide range of issues including criminal justice reform and fair housing. Her work on the latter led her to be named the founding executive director of the Fruit Belt Community Land Trust, for which she worked with longtime residents to develop permanently affordable housing. Having proven her passion for caring for people from infants to elders, India is real, resilient, and ready to be the next Mayor of Buffalo. Pete on YouTube Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page

--On the Show: --Jamal Greene, Professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia University and author of "How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights Is Tearing America Apart," joins David to discuss rights, freedom, liberty, and much more. Get the book: https://amzn.to/3y65kaf --President Joe Biden's approval rating climbs further, now to 63%, buoyed by high approval for Biden's handling of the pandemic, and the economy --Donald Trump published six erratic and delusional blogs posts in a period of just two days --Joe Biden announces that unemployment insurance free riders, who are supposedly turning down jobs to remain on unemployment, will lose benefits --Fox News reporter Peter Doocy is still desperate for a successful gotcha moment against Joe Biden's White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, but fails once again --Fox News guest Randi Weingarten calls out Fox News for its lies during a segment on the network with anchor Martha MacCallum --Former Barack Obama speechwriter David Litt calls out Newsmax for its lies about the 2020 election during a segment on Newsmax about Elon Musk's recent hosting of Saturday Night Live --Voicemail caller asks about relationships between vaccinated and non-vaccinated people --On the Bonus Show: Lafayette Square open for first time post-Trump, US will protect gay & trans people against healthcare discrimination, new push for permanent free school lunch, much more... ✌️ Listen to the UNFTR podcast at https://davidpakman.com/republic

Sam and Emma host journalist Cory Doctorow to discuss his new book “How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism” on the issue of tech monopolies, antitrust laws, and what we can do to reign in Facebook and Google. They explore big tech’s self-portrayal as mind manipulators, how their power comes from a historically cooperative relationship between the government and monopolies, and Doctorow dissects how increased interoperability and expansive antitrust laws can begin to break up this relationship. Then, Sam and Emma talk Republicans getting out to suppress the vote, and watch Texas Representative Rafael Anchia explain the unsurprisingly racist relationship between purity and voting laws to a somehow surprised Briscoe Cain. And in the Fun Half: The group chats horrible bosses, cancel culture’s cross-species impact, and monopolies as a natural endpoint of capitalist accumulation, before Ryan from NJ helps unpack the unemployment myths Fox has been peddling. Next, Coop calls in to explore the democratization of Brooklyn’s energy grid, Adam from NY talks progressive chances in purple districts, and Sam and Emma watch David Litt jump on Newsmax’s Monday blues. Plus, your calls and IMs! Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ (Merch issues and concerns can be addressed here: majorityreportstore@mirrorimage.com) The AM Quickie is now on YouTube Subscribe to the AM Quickie at https://fans.fm/amquickie Make the AMQ part of your Alexa Flash Briefing too! You can now watch the livestream on Twitch Check out today's sponsor: Stitcher Premium: Today’s episode of Majority Report is brought to you by season 2 of the podcast Blowback — exclusively available on Stitcher Premium. To listen now and get a free month of Stitcher Premium, go to stitcher.com/premium and enter the promo code MAJORITY when you select a monthly plan. Headspace: Headspace is your daily dose of mindfulness in the form of guided meditations in an easy-to-use app • It’s advancing the field of mindfulness and meditation through clinically-validated research. Go to headspace.com/majority for a free one-month trial, with access to Headspace’s full library of meditations for every situation. Brooklinen has buttery soft and breathable sheets; plush and absorbent towels; cozy robes; and comfy loungewear you’ll want to put on and never take off. Go to Brooklinen.com and use promo code MAJORITYREPORT to get $20 off, with a minimum purchase of $100. Check out Joshua Kahn Russell's friend, activist and organizer Casey Harrell who is raising money to treat his ALS diagnosis. Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/ Subscribe to AM Quickie writer Corey Pein’s podcast News from Nowhere, at https://www.patreon.com/newsfromnowhere Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel! Check out The Nomiki Show live at 3 pm ET on YouTube at patreon.com/thenomikishow Check out Matt’s podcast, Literary Hangover, at Patreon.com/LiteraryHangover, or on iTunes. Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada, at patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!) Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BF1nn

President Biden set to deliver his first prime time address to the nation today, a speech you can hear right here on KCBS Radio. Mr. Biden will speak on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic as well as making his case for the 1.9 billion dollar relief package he signed into law this morning.   To discuss further, KCBS Radio anchors Jeff Bell and Patti Reising, as well as KCBS Radio Reporter Mike Dewald, were joined by David Litt, former Senior Speechwriter to President Obama and the author of Democracy in One Book or Less. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. I have one sponsor which is an awesome nonprofit GiveWell.org/StandUp for more but Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 800 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls. David Litt entered the White House as a speechwriter in 2011, and left in 2016 as a senior presidential speechwriter and special assistant to the president. In addition to writing remarks for President Barack Obama on a wide range of domestic policy issues, David served as the lead joke writer for several White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues. Since leaving government, David's work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Boston Globe, among others. From 2016-2018 he was the head writer and producer for Funny Or Die D.C., and he has developed TV pilots for Comedy Central and ABC.  David's New York Times bestselling memoir, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, was published in 2017. His second book, Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think, was published in June 2020. Pete Dominick on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page Please consider a paid subscription to this daily podcast. Everyday I will interview 2 or more expert guests on a wide range of issues. I will continue to be transparent about my life, issues and vulnerabilities in hopes we can relate, connect and grow together. If you want to add something to the show email me StandUpwithPete@gmail.com Join the Stand Up Community

Former President Obama speechwriter David Litt joins John Williams to talk about what feeling should be evoked in President Joe Biden’s inaugural speech. David Litt is the author of Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years.

Former President Obama speechwriter David Litt joins John Williams to talk about what feeling should be evoked in President Joe Biden’s inaugural speech. David Litt is the author of Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years.

David Litt entered the White House as a speechwriter in 2011, and left in 2016 as a senior presidential speechwriter and special assistant to the president. In addition to writing remarks for President Barack Obama on a wide range of domestic policy issues, David served as the lead joke writer for several White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues. Since leaving government, David's work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Boston Globe, among others. From 2016-2018 he was the head writer and producer for Funny Or Die D.C., and he has developed TV pilots for Comedy Central and ABC.  David's New York Times bestselling memoir, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, was published in 2017. His second book, Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think, was published in June 2020. Jamie Merisotis is a globally recognized leader in philanthropy, education, and public policy. Since 2008, he has served as the president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. He previously served as co-founder and president of the nonpartisan, Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Higher Education Policy and as executive director of a bipartisan national commission on college affordability appointed by the U.S. president and congressional leaders. Merisotis is the author of AMERICA NEEDS TALENT, which was named a Top 10 Business Book of 2016 by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association. Merisotis is a frequent media commentator and contributor. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Journal, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Politico, Roll Call, Washington Monthly, and other publications. Follow Jamie on Twitter and get his new book "Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines"  Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page Please consider a paid subscription to this daily podcast. Everyday I will interview 2 or more expert guests on a wide range of issues. I will continue to be transparent about my life, issues and vulnerabilities in hopes we can relate, connect and grow together. If you want to add something to the show email me StandUpwithPete@gmail.com Join the Stand Up Community Stand Up is also brought to you this month by GiveWell.org GiveWell is a nonprofit dedicated to finding outstanding giving opportunities and publishing the full details of our analysis to help donors decide where to give. GiveWell.org/Standup

In celebration of the end of a shitshow era - we bring this CH!01 Select: From mocking a disabled reporter to making fun of a sexual assault victim - Donald J. Trump has proven there is a vastly different sense of presidential humor coming from the White House. I interviewed David Litt - head joke writer for President Obama - for a story in the NY Observer, to get his take on Trump as a purveyor of jokes and humor. We discuss his insights and the history of humor coming from the White House. Trump is no comedian. But I’m sure he’d claim to be the funniest president in history – EVER! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina Greer is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University - Lincoln Center (Manhattan) campus. Her research and teaching focus on American politics, black ethnic politics, urban politics, quantitative methods, Congress, New York City and New York State politics, campaigns and elections, and public opinion. Prof. Greer's book Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream (Oxford University Press) investigates the increasingly ethnically diverse black populations in the US from Africa and the Caribbean. She finds that both ethnicity and a shared racial identity matter and also affect the policy choices and preferences for black groups. Professor Greer is currently writing her second manuscript and conducting research on the history of all African Americans who have run for the executive office in the U.S. Her research interests also include mayors and public policy in urban centers. Her previous work has compared criminal activity and political responses in Boston and Baltimore. She is the host and producer of The Aftermath with Christina Greer on Ozy.com http://www.ozy.com/topic/the-aftermath. Prof. Greer received her BA from Tufts University and her MA, MPhil, and PhD in Political Science from Columbia University. David Litt entered the White House as a speechwriter in 2011, and left in 2016 as a senior presidential speechwriter and special assistant to the president. In addition to writing remarks for President Barack Obama on a wide range of domestic policy issues, David served as the lead joke writer for several White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues. Since leaving government, David has written speeches, op-eds, and jokes for Fortune 100 CEOs, professional athletes, leading philanthropists, and prominent political figures. His New York Times bestselling memoir, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, was published in 2017. His second book Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think, was published in June 2020. He is currently developing a sitcom for ABC based on his life in DC. Please consider a paid subscription to this daily podcast. Everyday I will interview 2 or more expert guests on a wide range of issues. I will continue to be transparent about my life, issues and vulnerabilities in hopes we can relate, connect and grow together. If you want to add something to the show email me StandUpwithPete@gmail.com Join the Stand Up Community sign up for a paid subscription How To Vote In The 2020 Election In Every State. Everything you need to know about mail-in and early in-person voting in every state in the age of COVID-19, including the first day you can cast your ballot in the 2020 election. (FiveThirtyEight / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)* *Aggregated by What The Fuck Just Happened Today? Pete on Twitter Pete on YouTube Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page PLEASE SIGN UP FOR A PAID SUBSCRIPTION     

Former speechwriter for Barack Obama, David Litt and Greg Swenson from Republicans Overseas discuss the second and final presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee where no mute button was needed.

Former speechwriter for Barack Obama, David Litt and Greg Swenson from Republicans Overseas discuss the second and final presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee where no mute button was needed.

Intergenerational Politics is a podcast created by Jill Wine-Banks and Victor Shi dedicated to engaging all generations in politics with weekly unfiltered conversations with experts across the nation. Be sure to subscribe to and rate us on Apple Podcasts. You can also find us on Spotify or any other podcast streaming services.Intergenerational Politics on social media:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/intergenerational-politics/id1522241906Twitter: https://twitter.com/IntrgenpoliticsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/intergenpoliticspodcast/

David Litt, former speechwriter to President Obama, is our guest this week. The author of the book ‘Democracy in One Book or Less’ talks to us about the 2020 election, Trumps messaging these last 20 days, the Amy Coney Barrett hearings, threats to the democracy, voter suppression and more. In 2011, at age 24, ,David Litt was hired as a White House speechwriter and for almost 5 years, he wrote speeches for President Obama. In 2017 he wrote  the book "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years",  which became a New York Times bestseller. And now he is out with his excellent , new book ‘Democracy in One Book or Less’ Twitter @davidlitt

In today’s show, Erin is joined by author and former White House speechwriter, David Litt. David’s new book, Democracy in One Book for Less, was released earlier this summer, and humorously discusses the ways in which American democracy has changed since its founding and how we can work together to fix the problems in our democracy today. This vivacious discussion comedically covers many aspects of our democracy that David feels were glossed over in his history classes. Check out David’s new book, Democracy (In One Book or Less): https://amzn.to/2H0fYJJ

Former Obama speechwriter David Litt joins the MMRC to chat with Nate Orshan, Aaron Viles and Kimberly Cecil Jones about how Mitch is destroying our democracy as described in his new book, "Democracy in One Book or Less," Doug follows some dark, dark Mitch money, and Nate, Kimberly & Aaron dive into ads, forums, and the RNC as the race between #RichMitch and Amy McGrath heats up! Join the Mitch McConnell Retirement Committee (MMRC), an all-volunteer group of activists from central Kentucky committed to educating Kentucky voters about how Mitch McConnell's dangerous agenda threatens our commonwealth, on our weekly podcast, #MoscowMItchMonday. The Mitch McConnell Retirement Committee #MoscowMitchMonday Support our campaign! https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mmrc2020 Facebook Live - Mondays at 7pm https://www.facebook.com/MMRC2020/live/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMRC2020/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommitteeMitch Instagram: http://instagram.com/mmrc2020/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRmA-EhvIxXTe3UcmCpTayA Medium: https://medium.com/@MMRC/ Website: http://retirementformitch.com/ "Mitch, Please!" by Nato: Listen, laugh, hum, VOTE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmaqgszCYgU&t=1s Live and Post Production by www.couchfiremedia.com

Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris to be his vice-presidential running mate is a reminder that the fall election season is about to start in earnest.In this episode, we discuss solutions for America's voting crisis. People of all political persuasions have expressed concerns about holding an election in the COVID pandemic. President Trump made unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud. Many have protested the barriers faced by voters who find it difficult or nearly impossible to have their say in elections. In Georgia this summer, some voters waited in line for 5 hours to make their voices heard, while New York election officials took many weeks to count absentee ballots and get the results from congressional primary elections.This podcast is produced with assistance from the Democracy Group podcast network. We feature groundbreaking interviews from "Democracy Works" podcast with elections expert, MIT political science professor, Charles Stewart, and former Obama speechwriter David Litt, who appeared recently on "Democracy Matters" podcast.David Litt is the author of the new book, “Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think.”Charles Stewart has spoken with election officials across the country about election security, and how to successfully implement voting-by-mail, while ensuring that in-person voting during COVID is safe. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today Amanda talks to David Litt, a former speechwriter for President Obama and author of “Democracy In One Book Or Less.” Litt explains why, despite living in a democracy, the will of the people is so rarely implemented. He describes why understanding the rise of Mitch McConnell is key to understanding our democratic decay, and recounts visiting McConnell’s old frat house to look for answers. They discuss historical precedents for crying “voter fraud” and how throughout history, losing parties tend to eliminate voters instead of making themselves more electable. Finally, they deliberate whether we’re facing the end of democracy, or the return of it.

From entering the White House as a speechwriter at age 24 to writing most of President Obama's White House Correspondents Dinner jokes for four years, David Litt got into politics at a young age and quickly rose to the top of his profession. He joined the Millennial Politics Podcast this week to discuss his career in the White House, the current troubles facing our nation, and his new book, Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think. Litt talks about his first book, a memoir recapping his time in the White House, and how his experience is different from others who have written similar books because of how young he was at the time. In discussing his newer research and writing, he diagnoses some major problems facing American democracy and how they are often extremely intertwined. With those connected issues, Litt says, also come connected solutions. He weaves in a fun story about the connection between Mitch McConnell and a fraternity house in Northern Kentucky. Litt also speaks about how Democrats should govern if they do win back the Senate and the Presidency, including whether they should look to abolish the filibuster and how they use their legislative power. I think that Democrats ought to be more comfortable using the tools available to them... in order to not just win elections but in order to make the playing field fairer. Lastly, the Litt discusses some of the speeches he wrote for President Obama and the type of work he did while working in the administration. He also gives us a look into what it was like working in the White House, including an embarrassing story regarding an experience he had on Air Force One. If you liked this episode, be sure to like and subscribe to our podcast, rate us five-stars, and leave a review. It's one of the best ways for new listeners to find us. Stay tuned for our next episode. If you'd like to continue the conversation, David Litt can be found on Twitter @DavidLitt, Nathan can be found @NathanHRubin, and Sam can be found at @JeskeSam.

Jared Yates Sexton is part political analyst , part historian and all thoughtful. I love talking to this dude and we had a great conversation. I highly recommend his book his twitter and now his podcast David Litt's @DavidLitt was one of President Obama's speechwriters. His New York Times bestselling memoir, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, was published in 2017. His second book Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think, was published in June 2020. He is currently developing a sitcom for ABC based on his life in DC. I love speaking to him. Read his excellent piece at WashPO Republicans are right; election fraud is real. They are perpetrating it. and CNN Primary voting was a disaster. The general election doesn't have to be that way This podcast is booked , hosted , edited and produced by Pete Dominick. Please consider a paid subscription

On this week's episode, former Obama speech writer and NY Times best selling author, David Litt, joins the podcast to discuss his latest book, "Democracy in One Book or Less." Litt discusses his view on eliminating the Electoral College, solutions to voter suppression, anecdotes about crashing Mitch McConnell's frat house, compares lines at Disney World to voting, behind the scenes at the White House Correspondents Dinner with President Obama and more. Tara takes on Trump's Fourth of July Race baiting speeches, the politics of masks, Trump's disrespect of the military and other political hot topics.

In his new book, Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think, David Litt addresses some of the most pressing challenges facing democracy, including partisan rancor, gerrymandering, campaign finance, voter suppression, political corruption, the legislative filibuster and how people are represented (or not) in our political system. David especially focuses on voting rights, and how efforts over time to suppress voting rights based largely on race, ethnicity, and class have led to socioeconomic and political inequalities we see today. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/07-08-democracy-matters-episode-30.shtml

Justin talks with former speechwriter for President Obama, David Litt. David talks to Justin about his new book, “Democracy in One Book or Less,” and how we can repair our democracy in 6 months with some key fundamental changes to our political system. David also talks about the coolest part about working inside the White […] The post Former White House Speechwriter David Litt on Writing President Obama's Jokes and His New Book about Shattering Mitch McConnell's Dreams appeared first on Just In News Podcast.

This week, we’re joined by former speechwriter for Obama, David Litt, who talks to us about his book “Democracy in One Book or Less,” why DC should have statehood, and how the best way to get a job is by being the only applicant!

Former White House speechwriter David Litt on fixing America's broken democracy.. You can find out more about him on Twitter @DavidLitt or at DavidLittBooks.com and his book 'Democracy In One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think' is available to purchase now https://www.amazon.com/Democracy-One-Book-Less-Doesnt/dp/0062879367 The Hardy Report is a political news and current affairs podcast, bringing you interviews with a range of activists, campaigners and politicians from across the political spectrum in the United States and the United Kingdom. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thehardyreport/support

Joining us today is former Obama speechwriter and best selling author, David Litt. He has a new book called, "Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think." So basically he’s gonna tell us how we fix our democracy... Also, we take an easy dunk on Trump but remind you why we must play hard for every minute, right to the last buzzer!

If you have problems with our current system of government, it’s probably of little comfort to know we tweaked it over many decades to work this way. David Litt, a speechwriter for President Obama, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how we became so disenfranchised and polarized – and about how we can address these issues. His book is“Democracy In One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think.”

Today’s episode is a treat. We’ve invited David Litt, one of President Obama’s speechwriters, on to the show. He’s very funny, and we’d be lying if we said it wasn’t a bittersweet interview remembering when we had a president who had a sense of humor and was able to complete a sentence. David’s got a new book out, Democracy in One Book or Less, and we think you’ll find our conversation inspiring. I know we sure did. --- This episode is sponsored by · Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew: Former Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson and NFL player Andrew East sit down to share their most vulnerable sides and open up like they never have before. https://open.spotify.com/show/7aGLm9HYn9mEyVr1FDzrpa?si=bgb4jh_nTyGiIabdk8BD8g --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

In his new book: Democracy: In One Book or Less fmr. Obama speechwriter and NY Times bestselling author brings fascinating and often startling detail to all the ways the GOP thwarts democracy.

Hey Guys All paid subscribers are invited to join me this Friday night at 8ET to hangout on zoom. I hope to see you there! My parents join me at the top of today's show to react to today's news and make bird noises 27:05 Sarah Kendzior is a writer and scholar. She is the Co-host of a very important podcast called @gaslitnation She is the author of the bestsellers THE VIEW FROM FLYOVER COUNTRY (2018) and  HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020) which we talked about today HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT is a history of the past forty years of American decline and how Trump and his cohort both enabled and benefited from elite criminal impunity. It’s also the story of what it’s like to live day to day in an America dominated by a transnational crime syndicate masquerading as a government — and what that entrenched corruption means for future generations. If you want to understand where we’re going, you need to know the truth about how we got here 1:08:17 David Litt  a former speechwriter for President Obama and is also a NY Times best selling author of Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years. We talked about his really great, important, well written and researched new book Democracy in one book or less Please sign up for a paid subscription to this daily podcast

A vexing part of our democracy is that even overwhelmingly popular policies are sometimes not enacted into law because of political stalemates. This not only threatens the stability of our democracy, but also creates disillusionment among voters. This week, Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang discuss important questions about the health and future of our democracy with David Litt, former speechwriter to President Barack Obama and author of “Thanks Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years" and "Democracy in One Book or Less.”  They touch on Mitch McConnell’s “rules of the game,” down-ballot elections, and how humor can change minds.

Scott speaks with President Barack Obama's former speechwriter David Litt. He's the author of a new book that just hit bookshelves today entitled “Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think.” After starting work at the White House while 24-years-old, they gave David the privilege of authoring four of President Obama's White House Correspondents dinner speeches, including the famous "drop the mic" speech that launched a thousand memes. After leaving public service, Litt went to Funny or Die! who made him their D.C. office's head producer while he published his first book, “Thanks Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years.” Our wide-ranging interview includes inside details of David's new book and behind the scenes stories about his time with President Obama. It's a poignant picture of what an American president needs to do and what's missing from the White House today, in addition to a manual for how we can fix our democracy. Buy our book about the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden here. Read the entire transcript here. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dworkinreport/support

Fauci says he wouldn't go to Trump's rally and Pence had lunch at an Iowa diner with no mask or social distancing. Both men are on Trump's coronavirus task force. Peter Baker, Melissa Murray, Robert Costa, Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, Mayor Steve Adler, and David Litt all join to discuss.

Is the U.S. really a democracy? How does voting actually work? And who came up with these rules? I want to know who the f*** the electoral college is, why do they exist, and what democracy really looks like. And how to get there. So I called up David Litt, former speechwriter for Obama, among others. He says, “We have an electoral college for a number of reasons. And they’re all bad.” So you’ll learn about that. You’ll learn why the U.S. government technically isn’t really a democracy. And here’s a longer list of lessons: Which parts of the country get overlooked in voting Why swing states have the most power How much say we “the people” really have in voting The difference between the popular vote and electoral college How much power the electoral college really has The math behind WHY the electoral college currently favors Trump How race plays a role in our current democracy  Why the number of swing states has decreases  The history of states becoming “red” or “blue” How to find out if your state “matters” in the election How property rights impact voting How slavery impacts voting today And more I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast. Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts Stitcher iHeart Radio Spotify   Follow me on Social Media: YouTube Twitter Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the U.S. really a democracy? How does voting actually work? And who came up with these rules? I want to know who the f*** the electoral college is, why do they exist, and what democracy really looks like. And how to get there. So I called up David Litt, former speechwriter for Obama, among others. He says, "We have an electoral college for a number of reasons. And they're all bad." So you'll learn about that. You'll learn why the U.S. government technically isn't really a democracy. And here's a longer list of lessons: Which parts of the country get overlooked in voting Why swing states have the most power How much say we "the people" really have in voting The difference between the popular vote and electoral college How much power the electoral college really has The math behind WHY the electoral college currently favors Trump How race plays a role in our current democracy Why the number of swing states has decreases The history of states becoming "red" or "blue" How to find out if your state "matters" in the election How property rights impact voting How slavery impacts voting today And more I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast. Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts Stitcher iHeart Radio Spotify Follow me on Social Media: YouTube Twitter Facebook ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn

Bradley is joined by David Litt, former speechwriter and special assistant for President Obama and lead joke writer for White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues. Bradley and David discuss his top 5 democracy reforms and David’s new book, Democracy: In One Book or Less, which comes out tomorrow.

Andrew Rannells, the actor, singer, and performer best known for originating the role of Elder Price in “The Book of Mormon” and playing Elijah Krantz in HBO’s “Girls,” shares his story in Too Much is Not Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthood. In conversation with David Litt, a speechwriter for President Barack Obama and author of the New York Times bestseller, Thanks, Obama. This program was held March 14, 2019. 

Especially after the events of the past few days, it’s hard to believe that there are people who are paid to make the president funny. Does the current White House resident, for example, really need people to write jokes for him when he’s hanging out with Kanye? It turns out sometimes they do. Which brings us to this weeks episode. This time around, we interview David Litt. Mr. Litt was a head speechwriter for the Obama White House and charged with the task of making the president a funny man. He’s recently written a memoir of his White House years, Thanks Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years and shared some of his thoughts on the challenges of writing for Kanye’s newest BFF. But that’s not all! Oh no. Harmon and Scott will also analyze the Trump Kayne summit, Harmon expresses his love for Steely Dan and Scott helps to correct the historical record on the drunkenness of General (and later President) Grant.

From mocking a disabled reporter to make fun of a sexual assault victim - Donald J. Trump has proven there is a vastly different sense of presidential humor now coming from the White House. I recently interviewed David Litt - head joke writer for President Obama - for an upcoming story in the NY Observer, to get his take on Trump as a purveyor of jokes and humor. We discuss his insights and the history of humor coming from Trump - The President. Trump loves laughing at the misfortunes of others. Trump doesn’t love laugh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He was President Obama's Comedy Writer. She was the White House Stenographer. More than any other presidency, Barack Obama’s eight years in the White House were defined by young people – twenty-somethings who didn’t have much experience in politics (or anything else, for that matter), yet suddenly found themselves in the most high-stakes office building on earth. Now — for the first time in Harrisburg — speechwriter David Litt will be joined on-stage by stenographer Beck Dorey-Stein for a hilarious conversation on what it meant coming-of-age in the Obama White House.

It's done. Brett Kavanaugh is a Supreme Court Justice. Most of the media coverage of his confirmation centered on the sexual assault allegations made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford but that's only one part of the story. In this episode, learn about the procedural tricks employed by Senate Republicans and the George W. Bush administration to place Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court and hear highlights from over 40 hours of Brett Kavanaugh's policy-oriented confirmation hearings that most of the country didn't see. Please Support Congressional Dish - Quick Links Click here to contribute a lump sum or set up a monthly contribution via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Use your bank’s online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North Number 4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD117: Authorization for Limitless War Additional Reading Blog: Why the ACLU opposes Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court by Susan N. Herman, ACLU, October 3, 2018. Article: California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault by Emma Brown, The Washington Post, September 16, 2018. Records: Records, papers, decisions: Kavanaugh records and the Presidential Records Act, related author Meghan M. Stuessy, FAS.org, August 27, 2018. Report: ACLU report on Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, ACLU, August 15, 2018. Article: Brett Kavanaugh ruled Consumer Financial Protection Bureau structurally unconstitutional by Manuela Tobias, Politifact, July 25, 2018. Article: There's no conspiracy between Trump and Kennedy. There's just the swamp by David Litt, The Washington Post, July 3, 2018. Article: Donald Trump made Justice Kennedy an offer he couldn't refuse by Abigail Tracy, Vanity Fair, June 29, 2018. Article: Inside the White House's quiet campaign to create a Supreme Court opening by Adam Liptak and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times, June 28, 2018. Article: Here's what is known about the surprising choice to lead the CFPB by Francine McKenna, Market Watch, June 18, 2018. Article: The clock is running out on Mick Mulvaney by Renae Merle, The Washington Post, June 12, 2018. Article: Official cause of death for Antonin Scalia released by David Warren, Dallas News, February 2016. Article: George W. Bush's bizarre bathroom self-portraits laid bare by audacious hack by Sam Byford, The Verge, February 8, 2013. Resources Case Information: Carpenter v. United States Executive Order: Further Implementation of the Presidential Records Act Sound Clip Sources Hearing: 2004 Kavanaugh Judicial Nomination Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, April 27, 2004. Witness: Brett Kavanaugh Sound Clips: 1:14:14 Senator Jeff Sessions (AL): Judges, if you’re confirmed, are not accountable to the public. You never stand for election again. You hold your office for life. Many of your decisions are unreviewable ultimately, and it leaves the American people subject to decisions in an anti-democratic forum unless that judge restrains him or herself and enforces the law as written or the Constitution as declared by the people of the United States. 1:24:15 Senator Patrick Leahy (VT): The question is secrecy in government, and this administration has shown more secrecy than any administration I’ve served with, from the Ford administration forward. You were the author, one of the first indicators of this increase in secrecy, Executive Order 13233, that drastically changed the Presidential Records Act. It gave former presidents, their representatives, and even the incumbent president, virtual veto power over what records of theirs would be released, posed a higher burden on researchers petitioning for access to what had been releasable papers in the past. After the order was issued, a number of historians, public interest organizations, opposed the change. The Republican-led House Committee on Government Reform approved a bill to reverse this. A lawsuit to overturn it was filed by Public Citizen, American Historical Association, Organization of American Historians, and a number of others. Why did you favor an increase in the secrecy of presidential records? Brett Kavanaugh: Senator, with respect to President Bush's Executive Order, I think I want to clarify how you described it. It was an order that merely set forth the procedures for assertion of privilege by a former president, and let me explain what that means. The Supreme Court of the United States in Nixon v. GSA in 1977, opinion by Justice Brennan, had concluded that a former president still maintains a privilege over his records, even after he leaves office. This was somewhat unusual because there was an argument in the case that those are government records. But the Court concluded that both the current president and the former president have the right to assert privilege to prevent the release of presidential records. That’s obviously a complicated situation. The issue was coming to a head for the first time because there’s a 12-year period of repose, so 12 years after President Reagan left office was when this President Bush came into office, and there was a need to establish procedures. How’s this going to work, two different presidents asserting privilege or having the right to review? No one really had a good idea how this was going to work. The goal of the Order was merely to set forth procedures. It specifically says in Section 9 of the Order that it’s not designed in any way to suggest whether a former president or a current president should or should not assert privilege over his records. You’re quite right, Senator Leahy, that there was initial concern by historians about the Order. I think it was—I like to think it was based on a misunderstanding, and Judge Gonzales and I undertook to meet every 6 months or so with a large group of historians, first to discuss the Order and explain it, and then after that, to discuss any problems they were having with the Order, and to help improve it, if they suggested ways for improvement. I think those meetings, I think the historians who’ve come to see us, have found them useful, and I think we helped to explain what we had in mind and what the president's Order meant in terms of the procedure. So, that’s my explanation of that Order. Hearing: 2006 Kavanaugh Judicial Nomination Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, May 9, 2006. Witness: Brett Kavanaugh Sound Clips: 58:44 Senator Orrin Hatch (UT): I also want to acknowledge the presence of Mr. Kavanaugh’s parents. I’ve known them for a long time. Ed Kavanaugh, for many years, he headed up the major trade association, the Cosmetic, Toiletries, and Fragrance Association, and he is deservedly admired by many in this town. And his mother served with distinction as a state court judge in Maryland for many, many years. 1:47:15 Senator John Cornyn (TX): Of course, as you know, I met you a number of years ago when I was Attorney General of Texas and had the honor to represent my state in an argument before the United States Supreme Court, and that was Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, which involved a question of whether school children could voluntarily offer a prayer or an inspirational saying before school football games in Texas. And as you know, the Court ultimately ruled against that voluntary student prayer in the case. And Chief Justice Rehnquist, in dissent, said that the Court's ruling exhibited hostility to all things religious in public life. And I’m very concerned about that because I do believe that the founders thought that the posture of the government with regard to religious expression should be one of neutrality, not hostility. I realize as a lower court judge you’re going to be bound by the Supreme Court's precedents, but I wonder if you would address the issue of religious liberty and religious speech insofar as how you believe in your position as a circuit court judge, how you would approach those issues. Brett Kavanaugh: Senator, if I were confirmed to be a D.C. Circuit judge, I would of course follow the precedent of the Santa Fe case. That case addressed a question that had been left open in the Lee v. Weisman case in 1992. In that case, there was a school-sponsored prayer at a graduation ceremony where the government was actually involved, and one of the questions that was left open was, what happens if a student or a private speaker participates in a school event as a private speaker? And in the Santa Fe case, I think the Court concluded, based on the facts and circumstances of the case, that it could be attributed to the school and so was a violation of the Establishment Clause. I think the overall area represents a tension the Supreme Court has attempted to resolve throughout the years in terms of facilitating the free exercise of religion without crossing the Establishment Clause lines that the Court has set out for many years now. I know that the Court in recent years has made clear in a number of cases that private religious speech, religious people, religious organizations cannot be, or should not be, discriminated against and that treating religious speech, religious people, religious organizations equally—in other words, on a level playing field with nonreligious organizations—is not a violation of the Establishment Clause. In past years there had been some suggestion that treating religious organizations the same way in the public square as nonreligious organizations could sometimes be a violation of the Establishment Clause. I think the Court's really gone to a principle of equality of treatment does not ordinarily violate the Establishment Clause—again, equality of treatment of religious speech, religious people, religious organizations; equality in the public square. That's been something we've seen over the last, I'd say, decade or a little more. 2:04:00 Former Senator Sam Brownback (KS): But just give me your view of the Constitution as a document itself. Is this a—can you put yourself in a category? Do you have a view that it’s established as a living document, as a strict constructionist of the Constitution itself? Brett Kavanaugh: Senator, I believe very much in interpreting text as it’s written and not seeking to impose one's own personal policy preferences into the text of the document. I believe very much in judicial restraint, recognizing the primary policymaking role of the legislative branch in our constitutional democracy. I believe very much, as a prospective inferior court judge, were I to be confirmed, in following the Supreme Court precedent strictly and absolutely. Once as a lower court judge, I think that’s very important for the stability of our three-level system for lower courts to faithfully follow Supreme Court precedent, and so that’s something that I think’s very important. In terms of the independence of the judiciary, I think that’s something that’s the hallmark of our judiciary, the hallmark of our system, that judges are independent from the legislative branch and independent from the executive branch. I think that’s central to my understanding of the proper judicial role. Hearing: 2018 Day 1 Part 1 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 4, 2018. 12:55 Senator Chuck Grassley (IA): Good morning. I welcome everyone to this confirmation hearing on the nomination of— Senator Kamala Harris (CA): Mr. Chairman? Sen. Grassley: —Brett Kavanaugh— Sen. Harris: Mr. Chairman? Sen. Grassley: —to serve as Associate Justice— Sen. Harris: Mr. Chairman, I’d like to be recognized for a question before we proceed? Unknown Speaker: Regular order, Mr. Chairman. Sen. Grassley: —of the Supreme Court of the United States. Sen. Harris: Mr. Chairman, I’d like to be recognized to ask a question before we proceed. The committee received just last night, less than 15 hours ago— Unknown Speaker: Mr. Chairman, regular order. Sen. Harris: —42,000 pages of documents that we have not had an opportunity to review or read or analyze. Sen. Grassley: You’re out of order. I’ll proceed. Sen. Harris: We cannot possibly move forward, Mr. Chairman, of this hearing. Sen. Grassley: I extend a very warm welcome to Judge Kavanaugh— Sen. Harris: We have not been given an opportunity to have a— Sen. Grassley: —to his wife, Ashley— Sen. Harris: —meaningful hearing on the nominee. Sen. Grassley: —his two daughters, their extended family and friends— Senator Mazie Hirono (HI): Mr. Chairman, I agree with my colleague, Senator Harris. Mr. Chairman— Sen. Grassley: —Judge Kavanaugh’s many law clerks— Sen. Hirono: —we received 42,000 documents that we haven’t been able— Sen. Grassley: —and everyone else joining us today. Sen. Hirono: —to review last night, and we believe this hearing should be postponed. Sen. Grassley: I know this is an exciting day for all of you here, and you’re rightly proud of the judge. Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT): Mr. Chairman, if we cannot be recognized, I move to adjourn. Sen. Grassley: The American people— Sen. Blumenthal: Mr. Chairman, I move to adjourn. Sen. Grassley: —get to hear directly from Judge Kavanaugh later this afternoon. Sen. Blumenthal: Mr. Chairman, I move to adjourn. Mr. Chairman, we have been denied—we have been denied real access to the documents we need to advise— Unknown Speaker: Mr. Chairman, regular order is called for. Sen. Blumenthal: —which turns this hearing into a charade and a mockery of our norms. Sen. Grassley: Well— Sen. Blumenthal: And Mr. Chairman, I, therefore, move to adjourn this hearing. Sen. Grassley: Okay. Protester: This is a mockery and a travesty of justice. This is a travesty of justice, and we’ll not go back. Cancel Brett Kavanaugh. Adjourn the hearing. Leave me alone. Leave me alone. Unknown Speaker: _______(02:07—What do we have to do? Trump? We may have to work with Trump. In a demonstrative adjourn, we have to have—) Unknown Speaker: We’re not in an executive session. Sen. Blumenthal: Mr. Chairman, I ask for a roll-call vote on my motion to adjourn. 18:40 Senator Mazie Hirono (HI): Mr. Chairman, it is also— Senator Chuck Grassley (IA): I think that I— Sen. Hirono: Mr. Chairman, it is also not regular order for the majority— Sen. Grassley: Senator Hirono— Sen. Hirono: —to require the minority to pre-clear our questions, our documents and the videos we would like to use at this hearing. That is unprecedented. That is not regular order. Since when do we have to submit the questions and the process that we wish to follow to question this nominee? Sen. Grassley: Senator— Sen. Hirono: I’d like your clarification. Sen. Grassley: Senator Hirono— Sen. Hirono: I’d like your response on why you are requesting— Sen. Grassley: —I would ask that you— Sen. Hirono: — ____(00:30) order to submit our questions, too. Sen. Grassley: —I ask that you stop so we can conduct this hearing the way we have planned it. Maybe it isn’t going exactly the way that the minority would like to have it go— Protester: [unclear] Sen. Grassley: —but we have said for a long period of time that we were going to proceed on this very day, and I think we ought to give the American people the opportunity to hear whether Judge Kavanaugh should be on the Supreme Court or not. And you have heard my side of the aisle call for a regular order, and I think we ought to proceed in regular order. There will be plenty of opportunities to respond to the questions that the minority is— Protester 2: We didn’t vote for Judge Kavanaugh. [unclear] Sen. Grassley: —legitimately raising. Unknown Speaker: Get her thrown out of here, my god. Protester 3: [unclear] Sen. Grassley: And we will proceed accordingly. Unknown Speaker: What did she say? Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI): Mr. Chairman, under regular order, may I ask a point of order, which is that we are now presented with a situation in which somebody has decided that there are 100,000 documents protected by executive privilege, yet there has not been an assertion of executive privilege before the committee. How are we to determine whether executive privilege has been properly asserted— Protester 4: [unclear] Sen. Whitehouse: —if this hearing goes by without the committee ever considering that question? Why is it not in regular order for us to determine before the hearing at which the documents would be necessary whether or not the assertion of privilege that prevents us from getting those documents is legitimate or indeed is even an actual assertion of executive privilege? I do not understand why that is not a legitimate point of order at this point, because at the end of this hearing, it is too late to consider it. Senator Patrick Leahy (VT): Mr. Chairman, if I might add to this, on the integrity of the documents we’ve received, there really is no integrity. They have alterations, they have oddities, attachments are missing, emails are cut off halfway through a chain, recipient’s names are missing—many are of interest to this committee, but it’s cut off. The National Archives hasn’t had a chance to get us all that we want, even though you said on your website the National Archives would act as a check against any political interference. But— Protester 5: [unclear] Sen. Leahy: —I’d check after the hearing is over, there’s no check, I think we ought to at least have the National Archives finish it, and to have for the first time, certainly in my 44 years here, to have somebody say there’s a claim of executive privilege when the president hasn’t made such a claim, just puts everything under doubt. What are we trying to hide? Why are we rushing? Hearing: 2018 Day 1 Part 2 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 4, 2018. Hearing: 2018 Day 2 Part 1 Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 5, 2018. Witness: Brett Kavanaugh Sound Clips: 53:00 Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA): What would you say your position today is on a woman’s right to choose? Brett Kavanaugh: Well, as a judge— Sen. Feinstein: As a judge. Kavanaugh: As a judge, it is an important precedent of the Supreme Court—by “it,” I mean Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey—and reaffirm many times Casey is precedent on precedent, which itself is an important factor to remember, and I understand the significance of the issue, the jurisprudential issue, and I understand the significance, as best I can, I always try and I do hear, of the real-world effects of that decision, as I try to do of all the decisions of my court and of the Supreme Court. 1:02:35* Brett Kavanaugh: I can tell you about the U.S. v. Nixon precedent, and I did about Chief Justice Burger’s role in forging a unanimous opinion—and, really, all the justices worked together on that—but Chief Justice Burger, who had been appointed by President Nixon—appointed by President Nixon—writes the opinion in U.S. v. Nixon, 8-0—Rehnquist was recused—8-0, ordering President Nixon to disclose the tapes in response to a criminal trial subpoena. A moment-of-crisis argument, I think July 8, 1974. They decided two weeks later a really important opinion, a moment of judicial independence, important precedent of the Supreme Court. 1:09:49 Senator Orrin Hatch (UT): I’d like to turn now to your work in the Bush administration. As you know, my Democratic colleagues are demanding to see every, every piece of paper or every single scrap of paper you ever touched during your six years in the Bush administration, in part because they want to know what role, if any, you played in developing the Bush administration’s interrogation policies. Well, six years ago, Ranking Member Feinstein, who was then the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a good one at that, issued a lengthy report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program under President Bush. The report detailed the origins, development, and implementation of the program. In 2014 a declassified version of that report was released to the public. The declassified version, or report, runs well over 500 pages, and your name appears nowhere in it. Now, I, myself, spent over 20 years on the Intelligence Committee. I know the quality of its staff and the work that they do, and I know the ranking member and how diligent she is. If you had played a role in the Bush administration’s interrogation policies, I think the ranking member would have discovered it. Numerous administration lawyers appear in the report, but not you. And that should tell us something. With that said, Judge Kavanaugh, I want to ask you for the record: what role, if any, did you play in developing or implementing the Bush administration’s detention and interrogation policies? Brett Kavanaugh: Well, the policies that are reflected and described in Senator Feinstein’s extensive, thorough report were very controversial, as you know, Senator—the enhanced interrogation techniques— Sen. Hatch: Right, right. Kavanaugh: —and the legal memos that were involved in justifying some of those techniques also were very controversial when they were disclosed in 2004. And I was not involved. I was not read into that program, not involved in crafting that program nor crafting the legal justifications for that program. In addition to Senator Feinstein’s report, the Justice Department did a lengthy Office of Professional Responsibility report about the legal memos that had been involved to justify some of those programs. My name’s not in that report, Senator, because I was not read into that program and not involved. There were a number of lawyers—and this came up at my last hearing—a number of lawyers who were involved, including a couple who were then judicial nominees. At my last hearing, I recall Senator Durbin asking about whether I also was likewise involved as these other judicial nominees had been, and the answer was no, and that answer was accurate, and that answer’s been shown to be accurate by the Office of Professional Responsibility report, by Senator Feinstein’s thorough report. 2:37:49 Senator Lindsey Graham (SC): So when somebody says post-9/11, that we’ve been at war, and it’s called the War on Terrorism, do you generally agree with that concept? Brett Kavanaugh: I do, Senator, because Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force, which is still in effect. And that was passed, of course, on September 14, 2001, three days later. Sen. Graham: Let’s talk about the law and war. Is there a body of law called the law of armed conflict? Kavanaugh: There is such a body, Senator. Sen. Graham: Is there a body of law that’s called the basic criminal law? Kavanaugh: Yes, Senator. Sen. Graham: Are there differences between those two bodies of law? Kavanaugh: Yes, Senator. Sen. Graham: From an American citizen’s point of view, do your constitutional rights follow you? If you’re in Paris, does the Fourth Amendment protect you as an American from your own government? Kavanaugh: From your own government, yes. Sen. Graham: Okay. So, if you’re in Afghanistan, do your constitutional rights protect you against your own government? Kavanaugh: If you’re an American in Afghanistan, you have constitutional rights as against the U.S. government. Sen. Graham: Is there a longstanding— Kavanaugh: That’s long-settled law. Sen. Graham: Isn’t there also a long-settled law that—it goes back to Eisentrager case—I can’t remember the name of it— Kavanaugh: Yeah, Johnson v. Eisentrager. Sen. Graham: Right. —that American citizens who collaborate with the enemy have considered enemy combatants? Kavanaugh: They can be. Sen. Graham: Can be. Kavanaugh: They can be. They’re often—they’re sometimes criminally prosecuted, sometimes treated in the military sense. Sen. Graham: Well, let’s talk about “can be.” I think the— Kavanaugh: Under Supreme Court precedent— Sen. Graham: Right. Kavanaugh: —just want to make….yeah. Sen. Graham: There’s a Supreme Court decision that said that American citizens who collaborated with Nazi saboteurs were tried by the military. Is that correct? Kavanaugh: That is correct. Sen. Graham: I think a couple of them were executed. Kavanaugh: Yeah. Sen. Graham: So if anybody doubts, there’s a longstanding history in this country that your constitutional rights follow you wherever you go, but you don’t have a constitutional right to turn on your own government, collaborate with the enemy of the nation. You’ll be treated differently. What’s the name of the case, if you can recall, that reaffirmed the concept that you could hold one of our own as an enemy combatant if they were engaged in terrorist activities in Afghanistan? Are you familiar with that case? Kavanaugh: Yeah. Hamdi. Sen. Graham: Okay. So the bottom line is I want every American citizen to know you have constitutional rights, but you do not have a constitutional right to collaborate with the enemy. There's a body of law well developed long before 9/11 that understood the difference between basic criminal law and the law of armed conflict. Do you understand those differences? Kavanaugh: I do understand that there’re different bodies of law, of course, Senator. Hearing: 2018 Day 2 Part 2 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 5, 2018. Witness: Brett Kavanaugh Hearing: 2018 Day 2 Part 3 Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 5, 2018. Witness: Brett Kavanaugh Sound Clips: 25:10 Brett Kavanaugh: My case, I upheld, importantly I upheld limits on contributions in the RNC case and in the Bluman case, and the Supreme Court has upheld contribution limits generally but struck them down when they’re too low in cases like Randall v. Sorrell, and McCutcheon. 54:45 Brett Kavanaugh: The religious tradition reflected in the First Amendment is a foundational part of American liberty, and it’s important for us as judges to recognize that and not—and recognize too that, as with speech, unpopular religions are protected. Our job—we can, under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, question their sincerity of a religious belief, meaning, is someone lying or not about it? But we can’t question the reasonableness of it, and so the Supreme Court has cases with all sorts of religious beliefs protected—Justice Brennan really the architect of that. So religious liberty is critical to the First Amendment and the American Constitution. 1:50:00 Brett Kavanaugh: All the significant wars in U.S. history have been congressionally authorized, with one major exception—the Korean War. And the Korean War is an anomaly in many respects, and I think some of—the fact that it was undeclared and unauthorized really did lead to the Youngstown decision. But, you know, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War, the AUMF against al Qaeda, the 2003 Iraq War, and then going back, World War II, World War I, the War of 1812—they’re all congressionally authorized. You can go back throughout, and I specify that. And so the war power, the power to take the nation into war, at least a significant one—and there’s some questions about short-term air strikes and things like that—but a significant war, that’s the biggest of all, and that’s something that Hamilton talked about in ’69 and that our historical practice, I think, is actually lived up to. I don’t mean to footnote Korea—that’s an enormous exception—but since then, they’ve all been congressionally authorized. 1:56:30 Senator Ben Sasse (NE): And one of the reasons that the executive branch seems so powerful right now is, again, because of how weak the legislature is. I mean, it’s a fundamental part of why we have the term “president.” In the 1780s, this wasn’t a very common term in the English language. “President” was just a nounified form of the name “presiding officer,” and we made it up, our founders made it up so that we wouldn’t have a term that sounded a lot like a king. And so we wanted to be sure that the term “presiding officer” sounded pretty boring and administrative, because the legislative, the policymaking powers were supposed to sit in this body, and the Article Two branch is supposed to preside over and execute the laws that have been passed. It’s not supposed to be the locus of all policymaking in America, but one of the reasons we have some of these problems with so many of these executive agencies is because Congress regularly doesn’t finish its work, punch those powers to Article Two, and then it’s not clear who exactly can execute all those authorities. And so we end up with this debate about the unitary executive, and you had a different term for it, but unpack for us a little bit why you have a different view about both the prudence and the constitutionality of one-person-headed independent executive agencies or pseudo-independent agencies versus commission-structure-headed independent agencies. Brett Kavanaugh: The traditional independent agencies that were upheld by the Supreme Court in Humphrey’s Executor in 1935 are multi-member independent agencies. And so usually sometimes three, five, occasionally more, but they’re multi-member independent agencies, and that’s been all the way through. And then the—for the significant independent agencies—the CFPB—and I had no—it’s not my role to question the policy or to question the creation of the new agency. In fact, I think it was designed for efficiency and centralization of certain overlapping authorities. It’s not my role to question that policy. Someone challenged the fact that it was headed, for the first time on something like this, by a single person. And a couple things, then, I wrote about in my dissent in that case—I’ll just repeat what I wrote in the dissent—I said, “First of all, that’s a departure from historical practice of independent agencies, and that matters according to the Supreme Court.” They had a previous case involving the PCAOB, where they had different innovation there that the Supreme Court had struck down in part because of the novelty of it. So departure from historical practice matters because precedent always matters, including executive precedent. Then, diminution of presidential authority beyond the traditional independent agencies in this sense. With traditional independent agencies, when a new president comes in office, almost immediately the president has been given the authority to designate a new chair of the independent agencies, so when a new—when President Obama came in, was able to designate new chairs of the various independent agencies, and the chairs, of course, set the policy direction and control the agenda. That’s historically been the way. That does not happen with the CFPB. And finally, having a single person—just going back to liberty—who’s in charge, who’s not removable at will by anyone, not accountable to Congress, in charge of a huge agency is something that’s different and has an effect on individual liberty. So a single person can make these enormous decisions—rule makings, adjudications, and enforcement decisions, all of them—and from my perspective—I am just repeating what I wrote here. I’m not intending to go beyond what I wrote in that opinion that was an issue of concern. And I did put in a hypothetical because it seems abstract that—I think we’ll realize this issue with that agency or any other—when a president comes in to office and has to live for three, four years with a CFPB director appointed by the prior president. And then I think everyone’s going to realize—of a different party— Sen. Sasse: Right. Kavanaugh: — in particular—and then I think everyone’s going to realize, wow, that’s an odd structure. Now, maybe not, but that’s what I wrote in my opinion that that will seem very weird because that’s not what happens with all the traditional independent agencies. And so whenever any president leaves and has appointed in the last two years a CFPB director, the new president might campaign on consumer protection. Let’s imagine, okay, presidential campaigns on consumer protection and consumer issues and then comes into office and can’t actually appoint a new CFPB director for the whole term of his or her office, that’s going to seem, I think, quite odd structurally. At least, that’s what I said in my opinion. Hearing: 2018 Day 2 Part 4 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 5, 2018. Witness: Brett Kavanaugh Sound Clips: 4:45 Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT): I want to talk about Jane Doe in Garza v. Hagen. As you know, she was a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor who came across this border, having escaped serious, threatening, horrific physical violence in her family, in her homeland. She braved horrific threats of rape and sexual exploitation as she crossed the border. She was eight weeks pregnant. Under Texas law, she received an order that entitled her to an abortion, and she also went through mandatory counseling, as required by Texas law. She was eligible for an abortion under that law. The Trump administration blocked her. The Office of Refugee Resettlement forced her to go to a crisis pregnancy center, where she was subjected to medically unnecessary procedures. She was punished by her continued requests to terminate her pregnancy by being isolated from the rest of the residents. She was also forced to notify her parents, which Texas law did not require. And the pregnancy, which was eight weeks, was four weeks further when you participated on a panel that upheld the Trump administration in blocking her efforts to terminate her pregnancy. The decision of that panel was overruled by a full court of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. It reversed that panel, and the decision and opinion in that case commented “the flat barrier that the government has interposed to her knowing and informed decision to end the pregnancy defies controlling Supreme Court precedent.” And it said further, “The government’s insistence that it must not even stand back and permit abortion to go forward for someone in some form of custody is freakishly erratic.” In addition to being erratic, it also threatened her health because she was unable to terminate her pregnancy for weeks that further increased the risk of the procedure—one study said 38 percent every week her health was threatened. She was going through emotional turmoil. And yet, in your dissent, you would have further blocked and delayed that termination of pregnancy. All of what I said is correct, hence to the facts here, correct? Brett Kavanaugh: No, Senator. I respectfully disagree in various parts. My ruling, my position in the case would not have blocked— Sen. Blumenthal: It would have delayed it. And it would have set imperiously close to the 20-week limit under Texas law, correct? Kavanaugh: No. We were still several weeks away. I said several things that are important, I think. First— Sen. Blumenthal: Well, I want to go on because I can read your dissent, but I want to go to— Kavanaugh: Well, but you read several things, respectfully—first of all, I think the opinion was by one judge that you’re reading from that was not the opinion for the majority. Secondly, I was trying to follow precedent of the Supreme Court on parental consent, which allows some delays in the abortion procedure so as to fulfill the parental-consent requirements. I was reasoning by analogy from those. People can disagree, I understand, on whether we were following precedent, how to read that precedent, but I was trying to do so as faithfully as I could and explained that. I also did not join the separate opinion, the separate dissent, that said she had no right to attain an abortion. ____(04:29) I did not say that. And I also made clear that the government could not use this immigration-sponsor provision as a ruse to try to delay her abortion past, to your point, the time when it was safe. 21:15 Brett Kavanaugh: And I said, thirdly, that if the nine days or seven days expired, that the minor at that point—unless the government had some argument that had not unfolded yet that was persuasive, and since they hadn’t unfolded it yet, I’m not sure what that would have been—that the minor would have to be allowed to obtain the abortion at that time. Hearing: 2018 Day 2 Part 5 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 5, 2018. Hearing: 2018 Day 3 Part 1 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 6, 2018. 30:35 Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA): It’s my understanding that by agreement with private lawyer Bill Burke, the chairman has designated 190,000 pages of Kavanaugh’s records “committee confidential,” and by doing this, Republicans argue members can’t use these documents at the hearing or release them to the public. Unlike the Intelligence Committee—and I’ve been a member for about two decades—the judiciary committee doesn’t have any standing rules on how and when documents are designated “committee confidential.” Previously, the judiciary committee has made material confidential only through bipartisan agreement. That has not been done in this case. So this is without precedent. Republicans claim that Chairman Leahy accepted documents on a committee-confidential basis during the Kagan administration. It’s my understanding that those documents were processed through the National Archives, not private partisan lawyers, and Republicans agreed. Ninety-nine percent of Elena Kagan’s White House records were publicly available and could be used freely by any member. By contrast, the committee has only seven percent of Brett Kavanaugh’s White House records and only four percent of those are available to the public. No Senate or committee rule grants the chairman unilateral authority to designate documents “committee confidential.” So I have no idea how that stamp “committee confidential” got on these documents. 39:10 Senator John Cornyn (TX): Mr. Chairman, I’m looking at a Wall Street Journal article, back during the Elena Kagan nomination. It says, document production from Elena Kagan’s years in the Clinton White House counsel’s office was supervised by Bruce Lindsey, whose White House tenure overlapped with Ms. Kagan. Bill Clinton designated Mr. Lindsey to supervise records from his presidency in cooperation with the National Archives and Records Administration under the Presidential Records Act. So President Bush, by choosing Mr. Burke, is doing exactly what President Clinton did in choosing Bruce Lindsey for that same purpose. 1:51:22 Brett Kavanaugh: My religious beliefs have no relevance to my judging. I judge based on the Constitution and laws of the United States. I take an oath to do that, and for 12 years I’ve lived up to that oath. At the same time, of course, as you point out, I am religious, and I am a Catholic, and I grew up attending Catholic schools. And the Constitution of the United States foresaw that religious people or people who are not religious are all equally American. As I’ve said in one of my opinions, the Newdow opinion, no matter what religion you are or no religion at all, we’re all equally American, and the Constitution of the United States also says in Article Six, no religious tests shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. That was an important provision to have in the founding Constitution to ensure that there was not discrimination against people who had a religion or people who didn’t have a religion. It’s a foundation of our country. We’re all equally American. Hearing: 2018 Day 3 Part 2 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 6, 2018. 22:30 Senator Mike Lee (UT): What you were asked about was whether or not you were involved in crafting the policies that would govern detention of enemy combatants. Is that right? Brett Kavanaugh: That’s correct. Sen. Lee: And that was a classified program, classified at a very high level, presumably compartmentalized such that you would have had to have been read into that program in order to participate in that process. Is that right? Kavanaugh: I believe that’s correct. Read in. I wasn’t necessarily using the formal sense of that, but what I meant is I was not a part of that program. Sen. Lee: Okay. But that is a binary issue. You were either involved in the development of that policy or you were not. Kavanaugh: That’s correct. Sen. Lee: And you were not. Kavanaugh: That’s correct. Sen. Lee: And Tim Flanigan, who was, I believe, at the time the White House counsel. Kavanaugh: He was the deputy counsel. Sen. Lee: The deputy counsel. Has confirmed that you were not involved in that. Kavanaugh: That’s correct. Sen. Lee: We have your word and the word of the then-deputy White House counsel. Then, there is a separate issue. Well, I guess one could argue a related issue, but a separate— Protesters: [unclear] Unknown Speaker: ____(01:17—I don’t know if it’s worth it, but he said something that got read into it. I don’t know whether people understand what it means.) Sen. Lee: I assume that won’t be counted against me, there. Unknown Speaker: It will be counted against you. Sen. Lee: Oh, okay. All right, well, I’ll have to speak more quickly then. When we talk about being read into, that is a colloquial term that we sometimes refer to. It’s government speak that talks about being cleared to discuss certain classified matters. In any event, you were not brought into the development of this policy. Kavanaugh: That’s correct. Sen. Lee: Secondly, there was a separate, arguable related, but a distinct issue involving a meeting where you were asked for your opinion about how Justice Kennedy might react to certain legal arguments that people in the administration were pushing. Is that right? Kavanaugh: That’s correct. Sen. Lee: And you answered that question. Kavanaugh: I said that indefinite detention of an American citizen without access to a lawyer, which at the time was what was happening in that particular case, would never fly with Justice Kennedy. Hearing: 2018 Day 3 Part 3 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 6, 2018. Hearing: 2018 Day 3 Part 4 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 6, 2018. 18:25 Senator Jeff Flake (AZ): Specifically, what impact does technology have on the Fourth and the First Amendments? Brett Kavanaugh: So I think the Carpenter case explains that once upon a time if a piece of information of yours ended up in the hands of a third party, and the government got a third party, that really wasn’t of any effect on your privacy. But now when all of our data is in the hands of a business, a third party, and the government obtains all your data, all your emails, all your tax, all your information, your financial transactions, your whole life is in the hands of a data company, and the government gets that, your privacy is very well affected. And that’s the importance, I think, of the Carpenter decision is that it recognizes that change in understanding of our understandings of privacy, and I think going forward, that’s going to be a critical issue. 1:27:10 Brett Kavanaugh: One of the things that we have to do as judges, as I’ve emphasized many times in this hearing, is maintain the independence of the federal judiciary, independence from politics, independence from political influence or public pressure or public influence. And part of that, part of the canons for federal judges, federal judiciary, is that we don’t attend political rallies, we’re not allowed to donate to political campaigns, support political candidates, put bumper stickers on our cars, signs in our yards. And one of the things I decided—we are allowed, technically, to vote, but one of the things I decided after I voted in the first election, and I read something about how the second Justice Harlan decided not to vote in elections because he thought that reinforced the independence that he felt as a judge. And I thought about that, and I decided to follow that lead. I’m not saying my approach is right, and other judges take a different approach on that, and I fully respect that. But for me it just felt more consistent for me, with the independence of the judiciary, not to vote, because I’ve always considered voting a sacred responsibility and one in which I think very deeply about the policies I’m supporting and the people I’m supporting, and that seemed almost as if I were taking policy views, at least to myself, into the voting booth, and I didn’t want to do that as a judge. So I decided to follow the lead of the second Justice Harlan. I’ll be the first to say I’m not the second Justice Harlan. He was a great justice on the Supreme Court and someone, of course, who I would be—if I were to be confirmed—honored to be on that Court and follow in his lead. Senator John Kennedy (LA): So you don’t vote in political elections. Kavanaugh: I do not vote in political elections. Sen. Kennedy: Interesting. Hearing: 2018 Day 3 Part 5 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 6, 2018. Hearing: 2018 Day 3 Part 6 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 6, 2018. Hearing: 2018 Day 3 Part 7 Kavanaugh Judicial Confirmation Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 6, 2018. Hearing: Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Hearing, Professor Blasey Ford Testimony, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 27, 2018. 3:37 Dr. Christine Blasey Ford: When I got to the small gathering, people were drinking beer in a small living room/family room-type area on the first floor of the house. I drank one beer. Brett and Mark were visibly drunk. Early in the evening, I went up a very narrow set of stairs, leading from the living room to a second floor to use the restroom. When I got to the top of the stairs, I was pushed from behind, into a bedroom across from the bathroom. I couldn’t see who pushed me. Brett and Mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them. There was music playing in the bedroom. It was turned up louder by either Brett or Mark once we were in the room. I was pushed onto the bed, and Brett got on top of me. He began running his hands over my body and grinding into me. I yelled, hoping that someone downstairs might hear me. And I tried to get away from him, but his weight was heavy. Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. He had a hard time because he was very inebriated and because I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit underneath my clothing. I believed he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling. This is what terrified me the most and has had the most lasting impact on my life. It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me. Both Brett and Mark were drunkenly laughing during the attack. They seemed to be having a very good time. Mark seemed ambivalent at times, urging Brett on, and at times telling him to stop. A couple of times I made eye contact with Mark and thought he might try to help me, but he did not. During this assault, Mark came over and jumped on the bed twice while Brett was on top of me. And the last time that he did this, we toppled over, and Brett was no longer on top of me. I was able to get up and run out of the room. Directly across from the bedroom was a small bathroom. I ran inside the bathroom and locked the door. I waited until I heard Brett and Mark leave the bedroom, laughing, and loudly walked down the narrow stairway, pinballing off the walls on the way down. I waited, and when I did not hear them come back up the stairs, I left the bathroom, went down the same stairwell, through the living room, and left the house. I remember being on the street and feeling this enormous sense of relief that I escaped that house and that Brett and Mark were not coming outside after me. Hearing: Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Hearing, Professor Blasey Ford Testimony, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 27, 2018. 1:22:10 Senator Dick Durbin (IL): Dr. Ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe Brett Kavanaugh assaulted you? Dr. Christine Blasey Ford: 100 percent. Hearing: Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Hearing, Judge Kavanaugh Testimony, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 27, 2018. 10:04 Brett Kavanaugh: This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. This is a circus. 18:04 Brett Kavanaugh: From 2001 to 2006 I worked for President George W. Bush in the White House. As staff secretary, I was by President Bush’s side for three years and was entrusted with the nation’s most sensitive secrets. I travelled on Air Force One all over the country and the world with President Bush. I went everywhere with him, from Texas to Pakistan, from Alaska to Australia, from Buckingham Palace to the Vatican. Three years in the West Wing, five and a half years in the White House. 2:57:20 Senator John Kennedy (LA): None of these allegations are true. Brett Kavanaugh: Correct. Sen. Kennedy: No doubt in your mind. Kavanaugh: Zero. I’m 100 percent certain. Sen. Kennedy: Not even a scintilla. Kavanaugh: Not a scintilla. One hundred percent certain, Senator. Sen. Kennedy: Do you swear to God? Kavanaugh: I swear to God. Meeting: Meeting on Brett Kavanaugh Nomination, Senate Judiciary Committee, September 28, 2018. 4:12:55 Senator Jeff Flake (AZ): I have been speaking with a number of people on the other side. We’ve had conversations ongoing for a while with regard to making sure that we do due diligence here. And I think it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to, but not more than, one week in order to let the FBI continue—to do an investigation, limited in time and scope to the current allegations that are there, and a limit in time to no more than one week. And I will vote to advance the bill to the floor, with that understanding.   Community Suggestions See Community Suggestions HERE. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)  

David Litt joined Obama's campaign in 2008 while an undergraduate student at Yale University. Three years later, at age 24, he found himself at the White House as the lowest-ranking member of President Obama's speechwriting team. For five years he wrote speeches, starting with brief remarks on infrastructure, slowly working his way through the echelons until he was composing jokes for several White House Correspondents' Association Dinners as a senior speechwriter. He left in 2016 and is now the head writer/producer for Funny or Die.rnrnIt's a journey outlined in his memoir, "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years." Join us as Litt shares his perspectives on politics, hope, and the enduring power of the written word.

David Litt in conversation with Matt Walsh at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years. The talk took place on September 25, 2017 at the Moss Theatre in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Live Talks Los Angeles, visit www.livetalksla.org

How do you write a joke for the president of the United States? How do you come up with something that will seem perfectly cutting but not too cruel, silly but not stupid? How do you not denigrate the highest office in the land with — sniff — comedy? Those were all questions David Litt, a speechwriter for President Obama and one of the folks most instrumental to Obama’s comedy monologues at the White House Correspondents Dinner, had to face when he worked in the White House. And after he left, he wrote his memoir Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years, a whole book about his time working for the president, complete with lots of advice on how to write jokes for the president. Todd talks with Litt this week about the strengths and limitations of political comedy, the joke he wrote for Obama that he’s most proud of, and the similarities between working at the White House and his new gig at Funny or Die. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Thursday Strange Days listeners! This week, we take a bird's eye view of foreign policy, corruption, and conflict in the Middle East with the brilliant Rula Jebreal, a Middle East Policy analyst, journalist, screenwriter, and university professor. Then we have "Thanks Obama" author David Litt share what it was like working at his dream job as a speech writer in The White House during the Obama years. And finally, as part of our “Flip that Seat” series, we interview veteran and West Virginia State Senator Richard Ojeda, who once survived a brutal beating two days before his primary, and recovered to become a Democratic State Senator in the heart of Trump country and is now on the warpath to represent his district in Washington. Enjoy!

What does it take to write a killer joke for the President of the United States? About thirty bad ones, first, says David Litt, former speechwriter for President Obama and writer/producer for Funny or Die.

Former Obama White House speechwriter, David Litt, joins us to talk about what it was like being part of the process in creating some of the President's more humorous speeches — such as Luther, Obama's anger translator at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. His stories are not only hilarious but also show some of the coolest parts of working behind the scenes in the White House.

What's it like to work in the White House as a presidential speechwriter — at the age of 24, no less? That's what we asked David Litt, who did just that when he entered the White House in 2011, serving as one of President Obama's speechwriters until 2016. Described as the “comic muse for the president,” David also led the White House Correspondents' Dinner presentations and had a hand in adding humor to many of President Obama's speeches. In a live discussion in Chicago, David talked about what it was like working in the Obama White House, why a President's words matter, and how he managed the enormity of crafting jokes for the Leader of the Free World. Please enjoy our conversation with David Litt, moderated by University of Chicago Senior Associate Dean, Jeremy Edwards.

First Draft interview with David Litt.

We break down 8 tracks and 2 books for your listening pleasure. In this episode: Partner - Play the Field Hurray for the Weekend - Hungry Ghost Coeur de Pirate - Drapeau Blanc A Giant Dog - Hero for the Weekend Northern Pikes - Big Blue Sky Lizzo - Water Me Operators - Nobody James McAlister, Bryce Dessner, Sufjan Stevens, and Nico Muhly - Jupiter Cléa's Books: Minnow Trap and Minnow Trap 2, by Brian Horeck Jamie's Book: Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years, by David Litt

David Litt is an American political speechwriter and author of the memoir Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years. He is currently the head writer/producer for Funny or Die's office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“[President Obama] knew who I was, but he knew who a lot of people were,” David Litt, a former speechwriter for the president, told me in this podcast. He wrote speeches for the president. Now he writes for “Funny or Die”. And before the White House, David wrote for “The Onion”. His style is satirical, humorous and self-deprecating. When Obama made you laugh, there’s a chance it was really David Litt. So I asked him, “What’s the funniest thing you wrote that you were happy the president said?” “Oh man, it doesn’t sound that funny when I say it, but, it got at a truth about politics that we probably could have expressed otherwise,” he said. The joke was told at the 2013 Correspondents dinner. Obama said, ‘I know Republicans are still sorting out what happened in 2012, but one thing they all agree on is they need to do a better job reaching out to minorities. And look, call me self-centered, but I can think of one minority they could start with." Humor helps us tell the truth. And it helps us remember the truth. And sometimes it just gives us a break from the chaos. Like the time Reagan needed surgery after getting shot. He said to the surgeon, “I hope you’re a Republican.” And everyone remembers that. “You don’t have to be the president’s right-hand man or woman to contribute to your country,” David said. “I mean, you certainly can be and those are important stories, but I wanted to write a book about this other side of public service.” So I wondered, could I do it? Could I write for a president? And how did he transition from “The Onion” to the Oval? “In America, your place in history isn’t determined for you,” David said. It’s not determined by where you’re born or who your parents are. “You make your own place in history as an American.” When Obama first became a senator, a reporter asked him, "What will be your mark in history?" The young Barack Obama laughed and said, "I haven't even sat at my desk yet." Then he repeated this story at a commencement speech in 2005. (I'm paraphrasing.) But he told the students, "You haven't sat at your desk yet… but you still have a choice." I wondered how he did that… how he connected this small part of his personal history to this larger idea of making your mark. “It’s called the ladder of meaning,” David told me. “I forget who coined the phrase, but at the bottom of the ladder are basic details and at the top of the ladder are big values.” “One of my favorite speeches is the speech Martin Luther King delivered the night before he was shot. He talks about surviving an assassination attempt. A deranged woman, stabbed him with a letter opener. It almost got to his heart. Doctors told him that if he sneezed, he would die. This got out in the press and he got a letter from a nine year old, white girl who said, ‘I just wanted to let you know I’m glad you didn’t sneeze.’” Then Martin Luther King gives his speech about the progress of civil rights. “He prefaces everything with saying, ‘I too am glad I didn’t sneeze because If I had sneezed I wouldn’t have been able to tell you all about a dream that I had.’” “He’s connecting this very meaningless moment (a sneeze) with these incredibly important national events.” It was beautiful. He used imagery. “I’ve been to the mountain top.” He used passion and love. He used the top of the ladder and the bottom. This episode isn’t about politics. It’s about how words make history. And with every new word, you can make your own history, too. Thanks for reading! Make sure to check out the show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/david-litt/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"[President Obama] knew who I was, but he knew who a lot of people were," David Litt, a former speechwriter for the president, told me in this podcast. He wrote speeches for the president. Now he writes for "Funny or Die". And before the White House, David wrote for "The Onion". His style is satirical, humorous and self-deprecating. When Obama made you laugh, there's a chance it was really David Litt. So I asked him, "What's the funniest thing you wrote that you were happy the president said?" "Oh man, it doesn't sound that funny when I say it, but, it got at a truth about politics that we probably could have expressed otherwise," he said. The joke was told at the 2013 Correspondents dinner. Obama said, 'I know Republicans are still sorting out what happened in 2012, but one thing they all agree on is they need to do a better job reaching out to minorities. And look, call me self-centered, but I can think of one minority they could start with." Humor helps us tell the truth. And it helps us remember the truth. And sometimes it just gives us a break from the chaos. Like the time Reagan needed surgery after getting shot. He said to the surgeon, "I hope you're a Republican." And everyone remembers that. "You don't have to be the president's right-hand man or woman to contribute to your country," David said. "I mean, you certainly can be and those are important stories, but I wanted to write a book about this other side of public service." So I wondered, could I do it? Could I write for a president? And how did he transition from "The Onion" to the Oval? "In America, your place in history isn't determined for you," David said. It's not determined by where you're born or who your parents are. "You make your own place in history as an American." When Obama first became a senator, a reporter asked him, "What will be your mark in history?" The young Barack Obama laughed and said, "I haven't even sat at my desk yet." Then he repeated this story at a commencement speech in 2005. (I'm paraphrasing.) But he told the students, "You haven't sat at your desk yet... but you still have a choice." I wondered how he did that... how he connected this small part of his personal history to this larger idea of making your mark. "It's called the ladder of meaning," David told me. "I forget who coined the phrase, but at the bottom of the ladder are basic details and at the top of the ladder are big values." "One of my favorite speeches is the speech Martin Luther King delivered the night before he was shot. He talks about surviving an assassination attempt. A deranged woman, stabbed him with a letter opener. It almost got to his heart. Doctors told him that if he sneezed, he would die. This got out in the press and he got a letter from a nine year old, white girl who said, 'I just wanted to let you know I'm glad you didn't sneeze.'" Then Martin Luther King gives his speech about the progress of civil rights. "He prefaces everything with saying, 'I too am glad I didn't sneeze because If I had sneezed I wouldn't have been able to tell you all about a dream that I had.'" "He's connecting this very meaningless moment (a sneeze) with these incredibly important national events." It was beautiful. He used imagery. "I've been to the mountain top." He used passion and love. He used the top of the ladder and the bottom. This episode isn't about politics. It's about how words make history. And with every new word, you can make your own history, too. Thanks for reading! Make sure to check out the show notes here: https://jamesaltucher.com/2017/10/david-litt/ And don't forget to subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts! ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in...

Our Jewish guest this week is David Litt, author of Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years, a memoir about his time as a speechwriter in the Obama White House. He tells us about teaching President Obama to say 'chag sameach' for a Passover video, writing jokes for the White House Correspondent's Dinner, and the time his grandpa sent him a water pipeline proposal to show the president. Our gentile of the week is U.S. Naval War College professor Thomas Nichols, whose latest book is The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters. He explains how experts today have been branded as out-of-touch elites and experience itself is being shunned—and how President Trump is the avatar of this cultural shift. We also discuss how his students' view of him changed after he was on Jeopardy, and why Jews feel such an affinity for Greeks. Come see us live on October 25 at the Manhattan JCC! Get your tickets here. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com—we may read your note on air. Follow us on Twitter: @tabletmag , @markopp1, @liel, and @stuffism. This episode is brought to you by Harry’s. Get a free trial shave set—including razor handle, blades, and gel—when you sign up at Harrys.com/Unorthodox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Litt entered the White House in 2011 and left in 2016 as a special assistant to the president and senior presidential speechwriter. Described as the “comic muse for the president,” David was the lead writer on four White House Correspondents’ Dinner presentations and has contributed jokes to President Obama’s speeches since 2009. He is currently the head writer/producer for Funny or Die’s office in Washington, DC. David has also written for The Onion, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, and the New York Times. He lives in Washington with his girlfriend and their two goldfish, Humphrey and Camille. Full of hilarious stories and told in a truly original voice, his first book, Thanks, Obama (https://www.amazon.com/Thanks-Obama-Hopey-Changey-White/dp/0062568450/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1508343668&sr=8-1) is an exciting debut about what it means – personally, professionally, and politically – to grow up. Special Guest: David Litt.

Amna and Alyssa break down last week's chat with Obama speechwriter David Litt, tackling your feedback on privilege in America, and share a preview of next week's interview with Zak Ebrahim, the son of imprisoned convicted terrorist El Sayyid Nosair. Ebrahim talks about how he rejected the hate in which he was raised, and is now paving a path towards peace. Like what we're doing? Leave a review! ----> http://bit.ly/2nkax9i * ABOUT AMNA NAWAZ: Amna Nawaz is ABC News' digital anchor and an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has reported from across the U.S. and around the world. Amna launched "Uncomfortable" to tackle the issues that divide our country, and to better understand how we move past them. Follow Amna on Twitter: http://abcn.ws/2m4DuF6 Follow Amna on Instagram: http://abcn.ws/2mLRYyb Discover more podcasts: http://bit.ly/2eBJMNa

Cenk Uygur interviews David Litt, author of Thanks, Obama and President Obama’s speech writer. Litt explains how he landed his job at the White House, life before and after the White House, his interactions with Obama, and his take on Trump’s speech skills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Litt was a White House speechwriter in the Obama Administration between 2011-2016. David was 24 years old when he was hired, making him one of the youngest White House speechwriters in history. His new book "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years" is a humorous memoir about his government service. Full show notes available at http://www.ktla.com/frankbuckleyinterviews.

Former Obama speechwriter David Litt talks about landing a White House gig, making fun of Donald Trump, and his new book, "Thanks, Obama." Like what we're doing? Leave a review! ----> http://bit.ly/2nkax9i * ABOUT AMNA NAWAZ: Amna Nawaz is ABC News' digital anchor and an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has reported from across the U.S. and around the world. Amna launched "Uncomfortable" to tackle the issues that divide our country, and to better understand how we move past them. Follow Amna on Twitter: http://abcn.ws/2m4DuF6 Follow Amna on Instagram: http://abcn.ws/2mLRYyb Discover more podcasts: http://bit.ly/2eBJMNa

Former Obama speechwriter David Litt discusses his early days as a field organizer for Obama in 2008, his botched interview with the CIA, and other lessons learned during his ongoing career in politics as told in his new book, "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years."

This week on a special MashReads Podcast, Aliza talks to former Obama speechwriter David Litt about his new memoir "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years.” Litt shared stories about his White House experience, his advice for young writers, and why his comedic memoir is really a love story. As always, we ended the show with recommendations: David recomments "A River Runs Through It" by Norman Maclean, which Litt reads about twice a year. He also recommends "The Chief Inspector Gamache" series by Louise Penny, of which Litt says “it deals so much with the inner life of people as opposed to just the whodunit. And finally, for budding writers, Litt recommends "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath. “That book was kind of the Bible at the speechwriting firm where I worked. It’s about what makes an argument, a story, or a point memorable.”

Amna and Alyssa recap comments from last week's episodes featuring Michael Medved, and LZ Granderson. Plus, a preview of next week's conversations with former Obama speechwriter, David Litt. Like what we're doing? Leave a review! ----> http://bit.ly/2nkax9i * ABOUT AMNA NAWAZ: Amna Nawaz is ABC News' digital anchor and an Emmy-award winning journalist who has reported from across the U.S. and around the world. Amna launched "Uncomfortable" to tackle the issues that divide our country, and to better understand how we move past them. Follow Amna on Twitter: http://abcn.ws/2m4DuF6 Follow Amna on Instagram: http://abcn.ws/2mLRYyb Discover more podcasts: http://bit.ly/2eBJMNa

Season 2 is almost over! This week Kamau and Hari are joined by Damon Young (Co-founder of VerySmartBrothas.theroot.com) and David Litt (author of "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years") to discuss the power of the pen. Young explains Pittsburgh culture and headline structure. Litt lets us in on the challenges and triumphs of writing for President Barack Hussein Obama. If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, call in and tell us what YOU'VE learned this season by dialing 646-389-3721. Your voice may appear in next week’s finale episode.Follow our guests!Damon Young (@VerySmartBros)David Litt (https://www.thanksobamabook.com)Resource:Hurricane Maria Community Recovery Fund (www.mariafund.org)Send us your comments using the #politicallyreactive. Thanks! Check out Hari’s tour dates and albums at Harikondabolu.com and for all Kamau’s projects check out wkamaubell.com.

Presidential speechwriter David Litt reflects on his political coming of age in the Obama White House, fiction vs. reality on The West Wing, and his sometimes nemesis in the White House research department.  He talks about President Obama's sense of humor, writing for the White House Correspondents Dinner speeches, and self-deprecation as a political tool.  Plus, he shares some of the jokes that DIDN’T make it into the President’s speeches. Order David Litt's book Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years on Amazon or download the audio version on Audible. Follow David on Twitter at @DavidLitt and check out some of his more recent shenanigans at www.funnyordie.com. Today’s episode is sponsored by Nadex.  Please take a minute to take our annual listener survey at www.podsurvey.com/KICK.  Visit www.kickassnews.com for more fun stuff.

Working in the White House sounds impressive, but speechwriter David Litt says it’s not like The West Wing. Some days you just find salmon in a toilet, or have to tell the president that he looks like Hitler. Litt shares his experience as a self-described unimportant person working in the most important place in America. Litt’s new book Thanks, Obama is out now, and you can find him on Twitter. In the Spiel, it’s a sports talk hot take.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Working in the White House sounds impressive, but speechwriter David Litt says it’s not like The West Wing. Some days you just find salmon in a toilet, or have to tell the president that he looks like Hitler. Litt shares his experience as a self-described unimportant person working in the most important place in America. Litt’s new book Thanks, Obama is out now, and you can find him on Twitter. In the Spiel, it’s a sports talk hot take.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It turns out the key to a great conversation: Book a comedy-writing presidential speechwriter as your guest. That’s what we have for you today. David Litt worked in the Barack Obama White House as Special Assistant to the President and senior presidential speechwriter. Those are awfully formal titles, and David seems like he’s anything but awfully formal. What he is is awfully funny. And smart. He wrote many of President Obama’s funniest bits – from Correspondent Dinner speeches to his Happy 90th Birthday shout out to actress Betty White. David also knows policy, and wrote serious speeches on issues like immigration and race. To mangle a line from David’s book where he’s describing someone else: He’s the speechwriting equivalent of a two-way player. David is now Head Writer and Producer for Funny or Die’s Washington DC office. But more immediately and relevant to David’s personal interests, he is author of the new book: Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years, A Speechwriter’s Memoir. It’s a great read, and you will really like the book. Here’s why: First, it’s funny. But, the guy’s a comedy writer. I’m not gonna lie – I expected it to be funny. A book by a comedy writer better be funny. But more than funny, the book reveals David’s stories – his sharp eye – about the White House and President Obama. Not look-at-me-saving-democracy-and-the-future-of-the-world stories. Human stories. I came away from the book feeling like I understood working in the White House and President Obama better. Finally, and I asked David about this, his book and David himself are not cynical in the least about the positive role government can play and the high honor that comes from working in public service. At a time when cynicism seems to know no bounds – especially about government and politics – it was really nice to read a book by someone who knows government isn’t perfect, but it’s a cause worth joining. Before I begin with David, I want to repeat an ask that I’ve been making on these podcasts – from me to you: I hope you like these conversations. If so, I’d appreciate if you’d take a moment, go to iTunes, and, if you’re so moved, leave a 5-star review. The ratings really matter. As always though, if you don’t like the conversations, please forget I ever mentioned it. That’s it. Here’s my conversation with David Litt.

David Litt was writing speeches for President Barack Obama when he was 24. His new book about the experience is called "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years." David talks to Sam about falling in love with then-candidate Obama, working his way to the White House after an internship spent playing minesweeper, getting his dream job, meeting the President, joining his team of speechwriters, how Obama used language, orchestrating moments like Obama's 'Anger Translator' bit with Keegan-Michael Key, and how David came to realize the President was not as infallible has he had once believed. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org and follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders.

Michele and Igor chat with David Litt, a former speechwriter for then-President Barack Obama and author of “Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years,” released today. Litt discusses his experience as the go-to joke writer for the president, how he embarrassed himself more than once, and a pro-tip about sending angry emails.

David Litt is the former senior presidential speechwriter for President Obama and he wrote his jokes, too. On this Good One, Litt shares about what it's like to write for the former president, why Obama is pretty good at delivering jokes and how they finally managed to incorporate Keegan-Michael Key's character of Luther, Obama's anger translater, into the White House Correspondence dinner. 

Special guests Sam Richardson (Veep, Detroiters) and David Litt (former speechwriter for Obama, Funny Or Die) join us to talk politics - and all the ways they can interfere with our relationships. Subscribe to FOUND so you never miss an episode: smarturl.it/foundp Thank you to our sponsors: Blue Apron - Get 3 meals free on your first order when you visit them here: www.blueapron.com/Found Zip Recruiter - Post your resume for free and learn how to hire smarter: www.ZipRecruiter.com/Found Harry's - Get a free trial of a high quality razor here: www.harrys.com/Found Watch a preview of Genius, the new show on National Geographic about Albert Einstein, starring academy award winner Geoffrey Rush: NatGeoTV.com/Genius We'd like to hear from you. Find us on Twitter @FOUNDPodcast or Facebook.com/FOUNDPodcast, and please complete a quick survey at www.wondery.com/survey.

Politics, power, and comedy. We speak with David Litt, former senior presidential speechwriter for Barack Obama and head writer/producer at “Funny or Die” DC, and author Rudolph Herzog who’s book “Dead Funny” documents humor in Hitler’s Third Reich.

Mike talks with David Litt who, from 2011 to 2016, was a speechwriter for President Obama. Mr. Litt is also the New York Times bestselling author of the book Thanks Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years ( https://www.amazon.com/Thanks-Obama-Hopey-Changey-White/dp/0062568450/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= ). His latest book is Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think ( https://www.amazon.com/Democracy-One-Book-Less-Doesnt/dp/0062879367 ) , which they discuss on this episode. *Topics Mike & David cover include:* * If Mitch McConnell's “blatantly transactional” politics make him a good Majority Leader * The legally disenfranchised -former felons and non-citizen immigrants * The “unofficially disenfranchised” * Discouraged voters * Gerrymandering * The (not so) Great Compromise * Electoral College reform * Why Democrats are so much more intent on changing the rules than Republicans Follow David Litt on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/davidlitt ) *Be part of the discussion* on the Politics Guys ‘ BipartisanPolitics ( https://www.reddit.com/r/BipartisanPolitics/ ) ' community on Reddit. Join the conversation on *The Politics Guys Facebook page* ( https://www.facebook.com/politicsguyspage/ ). Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-politics-guys/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy