Talking with Jon Lovett – Laughing Through Political Chaos
In 2016 speechwriter and Hollywood screenwriter Jon Lovett joined his fellow politicos Jon Favreau and Tommy Veitor to form Crooked Media, a progressive media network with shows, analysis, and sweet, sweet content that informs, entertains, and inspires action. Their first outing – the twice-weekly podcast "Pod Save America" – was an immediate hit with an audience rivaling that of Anderson Cooper's. Wired Magazine called the boyish Lovett the show's breakout star. Soon after, Lovett became host of his own podcast, "Lovett or Leave It," and joined Favreau and Veitor on sold-out shows throughout the country.
What has help make Lovett such a sensation is his sense of humor. During his tenure in the nation's capital he was called "Washington's funniest celebrity," equally at ease for writing speeches for President Obama as write jokes for the President's appearance at the White House Correspondents Dinner. When he left Washington for Los Angeles, he wrote for HBO's "The Newsroom" and the NBC series "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," a well-reviewed sitcom about a wacky First Family that was canceled after one season. But he was pulled back into politics – if on the entertainment side – when the day after Trump's election, Favreau, Veitor and Lovett ran out of gas on a Sunset Boulevard. While pushing their SUV, they came up with the idea of a network aimed at a liberal audience.
A New York Times profile put it this way: "More than 1,600 political podcasts – most of them anti-Trump – have appeared since the 2016 election, according to RawVoice, a podcast hosting and analytics company. 'Pod Save America, with nearly 120 million downloads to date, is the undisputed king of the field. But the show's numbers alone do not quite capture the nature of its accomplishment. With a shoestring budget and no organizational backing, its hosts seem to have created something that liberals have spent almost two decades, and hundreds of millions of dollars, futilely searching for: the left's answer to conservative talk radio."
Lovett brings "Lovett It and Leave It" to Boston's Boch Center Wang Theatre on April 10, then joins Favreau and Veitor the following night at the Wang for an evening of "Pod Tours America." For a complete list of dates,
"At these stops, show hosts Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett and Dan Pfeiffer will offer an honest assessment of American politics and the state of the nation, serving up current events through lively discussions and witty games like " OK="" Stop.'="" Anyone="" who="" wants="" to="" know="" more="" about="" politics,="" but="" wants="" to="" have="" fun="" doing="" it,="" will="" want="" to="" snag="" their="" tickets="" to="" these="" shows="" immediately,"="" reads="" its="" press="" release.
Additionally, Lovett will be appearing solo with "Lovett or Leave It" dates throughout the country. For those dates, follow this link.
Off stage, microphone and camera, Lovett is the partner of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow.
EDGE spoke to Lovett recently about his podcast, what to expect at one of their shows and being out in Washington.
EDGE:: Describe the premise of Lovett or Leave it?
Jon Lovett: Is a weekly week in review show where I am joined by comedians, politicians, journalists and others to break down the week's news. We talk about what happens, we make fun of what happened, we analyze news clips and break them down. We play games and quiz the audience on news and current events. Everyone get a turn on the rant wheel, which is a chance to yell about something that is on your mind. It's a mix of politics and comedy to help people get through this nightmare of a political era that we are living in.
EDGE:: So, who goes to your show?
Jon Lovett: Only the smartest and the best people [he laughs]. We have a lot of great listeners. The live shows are a great chance for a lot of people who are following politics closely or even not so close but have been sad or angry or participating for the first-time and who want to be part of a community who are going through this together.
EDGE:: Any sneak peeks into the Boston show? Have the guests been announced?
Jon Lovett: We haven't announced any guests yet, but hopefully we will soon. We like to have a mix of comedians and others that people recognize or fan favorites from the show. I love having local guests, politicians, and journalists to join us, so we can also discuss local issues that are near and dear to the hearts of the people from Boston.
EDGE:: What type of media do you enjoy when you're not consuming political news?
Jon Lovett: I would say that I am a pretty run-of-the-mill 36-year-old gay guy with Netflix and HBO. I have been watching "True Detective," Russian Doll," and I am enjoying "Schitt's Creek." I really am enjoying actually what the algorithm says that I should enjoy.
EDGE:: What do you think is the secret ingredient that has made Crooked Media such a success?
Jon Lovett: We started this company because we were upset and angry and we wanted to find a way to participate. I think the idea was based on two big frustrations. The first one is we felt that Donald Trump becoming president was a national emergency and everyone is going to have to pitch in and a lot of people we knew were asking us, how do I get involved, how I do I help? Lots were telling us they were more of an observer and need to do more participating to help make change. That emergency that Trump presented activated a lot of people to want to do more. Secondly, there is this deeper frustration with the conversation around politics. I think that Donald Trump is a symptom of a lot of problems: the rot in the Republican party, the rot in our culture that has elevated performative authenticity over actual integrity that has elevated reality show values over more tried and true values. But also, that the political conversation is broken and that there is a hunger for a different kind of conversation and that is what we have been trying to do. We have built out a network of people who all try to be honest about this political moment, but are not shying away from the importance of every person doing their part.
EDGE:: How has Crooked Media's success impacted you on a personal level?
Jon Lovett: I was a speechwriter for Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama. I was a political junkie when I was younger. I went right into politics, it was what I wanted to do. I left for a while and become a TV writer. Throughout 2016, I was feeling more and more like I was missing something, that being part of politics was important to me. Over the last two years, I have had this extraordinary experience of getting to not only build the company with two good friends and watch it grow, but most importantly to feel that we are involved in helping to make change. Personally, the most exciting thing is seeing people becoming part of our growing community.
EDGE:: Being in politics, did you feel pressure not to discuss your sexuality?
Jon Lovett: No, I was always open. There was never time that I didn't feel like I could be myself. Besides, I don't have a very good poker face and I can't stop myself from telling people basically anything about me.
EDGE:: Why do you think homophobia falls on the right-wing side of politics?
Jon Lovett: I think there are still a marginal portion of the Republican base that stills holds on to the ideology that being gay isn't normal, that being gay is wrong, and that society shouldn't embrace it. The country, as a whole, has moved on and Republican operatives know that. It's hard to believe that recently that Republicans were trying to produce a federal anti-gay marriage amendment and also in 2004 when Ken Mehlman and the National Republican Committee led a state by state effort to enshrine prejudice in every state constitution they could and how often they were successful. Not only in more conservative states but in places like California. My experience has always been that the younger conservatives were not on board with the anti-gay message of the people that they worked for and supported. Right now, we are in the middle of a transition, we have people like Mike Pence, Vice President, one of the most outspoken anti-LGBT figures in the Republican party that is not going to go away anytime soon. At the same time, you see Republicans much more interested in trying to excite their base by talking about issues like choice and abortion then talking about same-sex marriage. The shift in gay people being visible as meant that there has been a shift in the political spectrum.
EDGE:: Are you optimistic about the possibility of America correcting itself after this presidency?
Jon Lovett: I don't know, but I am optimistic that Donald Trump has forced people to rid themselves of several assumptions. I mean big assumptions, like the kind of racism that a lot of Americans will tolerate and even deeper, which is an assumption that everything always works out and everything will be ok. One of the realities that we must confront is when someone like Donald Trump comes president is that everything can fall apart if we are not careful. If we do not participate, if we don't get involved, if we don't pay attention then we concede our democracy to some of the worst forces in American public life. Donald Trump becoming president has woken a lot of people up and we have seen a major increase in activism and when he leaves we will face a pivotal decision on what we do next as a country. As a country, we need to learn and grow from how his presidency as has affected the American people on both sides.
EDGE:: What is the message you want your audience members to walk away with?
Jon Lovett: I created this show to entertain, inform, and inspire action. If people walk away having laughed, learned something new from a really insightful conversation or walk away with a new issue that they care about in a new way then that is what I call a successful show.
For more information on Crooked Media visit, .
Jon Lovett brings "Lovett It and Leave It" to Boston's Boch Center Wang Theatre on April 10. The following night, April 11, Lovett joins Favreau and Veitor for "Pod Tours America" at the same theater. For tickets for the Boston dates, the Boch Center website.
