Loose-lipped and fast-talking, it doesn’t take much to get Jon Lovett fired up about the week’s headlines. In his new podcast, Lovett or Leave It (Crooked Media, iTunes), Obama’s witty former scriptwriter invites a panel to dissect the news in a way he describes as “very loose”.
“It’s a chance to catch up on the news and make fun of the bullshit we can barely make sense of every week, with a mix of substance and jokes and rants and bad impressions,” says Lovett, who barely pauses for breath. He is a man who wouldn’t seem out of place briefing Selina Meyer in Veep, except he really knows what he is talking about.
Giant whoops come from the audience at the mention of Trump’s healthcare bill failure and then the gloves are off as the guests lay in to the all-male caucus deciding on women’s health issues. “Lo and behold, they forgot to tell a lady to go,” jokes Lovett, while Transparent’s Michaela Watkins imagines the conversation: “Boob stuff! What if we got rid of the thing that smushes the boob into the thing?”
Being immersed in politics, Lovett assumes a lot of knowledge from his guests, who also include sports presenter Katie Nolan and his co-host from Pod Save America, ex-chief speechwriter for Obama Jon Favreau (who Lovett describes as “the second best speechwriter on the panel”). But those who don’t happen to have the inside track on what is happening in the White House aren’t afraid to mock him for it. “I just love that you’re asking an actress,” laughs Watkins as he asks how they fight back against Trump.
Lovett can squeeze a Trump diss out of any situation and even finds a way to mock him during the ads. When talk turns to a story about internet privacy, he ramps up the critique. “I think this didn’t get enough attention because the president is a corrupt moron,” he deadpans. He is preaching to a like-minded audience, but wouldn’t it be fun to throw a hardcore Republican into the quick-thinking bear pit and see what happens? Next week, Lovett promises a discussion about Trump’s tweets with Oprah and the pope. There’s as much chance of that as of anyone on this podcast swearing allegiance to Trump, but it’s still worth a listen.
If you like this, try … Pod Save America.
