Every day when I wake up, I usually do a quick scan of my messages before picking a podcast to play as I get ready for work. For the past couple of years, I have been an avid follower of several channels, one of which is Pod Save America from the Crooked Media suite of podcasts.
For those of you who may have never heard of it, Pod Save America is a liberal political podcast hosted by a handful of President Obama’s former staffers:
- Jon Favreau, Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting
- Tommy Vietor, Assistant Press Secretary and National Security Spokesman
- Jon Lovett, speech and joke writer
- Dan Pheiffer, White House Communications Director and Senior Advisor
Commenting on the national political landscape ever week, these guys leverage their past experience working directly with the President and senior Senate and House leaders to break down complex issues for the rest of us.
Every so often, they’ll record a session with a live audience. Last month, my brother got us a couple of tickets to go see them at the Greek Theater just below Griffith Observatory. As with any podcast, I often don’t know what the hosts look like since I only hear their voice, so it was incredible seeing all of them in person!
In this specific episode, they were donating a majority of the ticket sales to a group of organizations dedicated to increasing voter turnout in the next election. Because of the fundraising aspect, they included special guests, such as Jemele Hill, Maggie Rogers, Amanda Seale, Best Coast, and Jim James. It was incredible listening to both the political commentary and hearing performances from these stars.
It was really fun being a part of a live episode for Pod Save America. Seeing the four guys riff off one another and discuss deep political issues truly demonstrated how intelligent and experienced they were. If you’re interested in understanding the state of our politics with an insider lens, definitely check out Pod Save America!
Published on September 4th, 2019
Last updated on April 1st, 2021