Crooked Media

Last updated

Crooked Media
Crooked media logo.png
Type of site
News and political commentary
Available inEnglish
Headquarters Los Angeles, California [1]
Country of origin United States
Founder(s)
Key people
  • Sarah Wick (COO)
  • Tanya Somanader (CCO)
  • Neil Varghese (CFO) [2]
IndustryMedia production
URL crooked.com
LaunchedJanuary 2017;7 years ago (2017-01)

Crooked Media is a liberal/progressive American political media company. [3] It was founded in 2017 by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor, all former top Barack Obama staffers and former co-hosts of the Keepin' It 1600 podcast. Dan Pfeiffer, also a former Obama employee, co-hosts their flagship podcast Pod Save America with them.

Contents

The company's offerings encompass a network of podcasts; a news and opinion website; live shows and tours; and a social media and live streaming presence. It aims to foster open conversation between liberals and support grassroots activism and political participation.

The company's flagship podcast, Pod Save America, airs thrice weekly and averages more than 1.5 million listeners an episode. In Fall 2018, four Pod Save America one-hour specials aired on HBO. [4] By November of its first year, the podcast had been downloaded more than 120 million times, and 175 million times by February 2018. [5] [6]

The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. [1]

History

Favreau, Lovett, Vietor, and Pfeiffer hosted The Ringer's Keepin' It 1600 political podcast from March 2016 until December 2016. [7]

In 2016 Favreau, Lovett, and Vietor started podcasting and activism on a full-time basis. The three formed the Crooked Media company in January 2017 and launched a new podcast called Pod Save America the following month. [8] Pfeiffer opted not to join the company, and instead to co-host the Thursday edition of the show. [9] Crooked Media is named after a favorite term used by Donald Trump. When asked whether he thought Crooked Media was a 'media company', Favreau said, "I don't know if it's a political movement or a media company". [10]

The company announced a major expansion in October 2017 with the launch of Crooked.com, a text journalism site helmed by Editor-In-Chief Brian Beutler, a former New Republic senior editor. The expansion introduced the 'Crooked Contributors' network—a group of progressive journalists, activists, organizers, policy experts, campaign veterans, and comedians who would be featured in podcasts, videos, and articles produced by the company. [11]

The company uses advertising revenue to fund the business. [1]

Hosts

List of all Crooked Media podcast hosts
HostPodcastNotes
Abdul El-Sayed America Dissected
Aida Osman Keep It
Alyssa Mastromonaco Hysteria
Ana Marie Cox With Friends Like These
Ben Rhodes
  • Pod Save the World
  • Missing America
Clint Smith III Pod Save the People
Coco KhanPod Save the UK
Dan Pfeiffer Pod Save America
De'Ara BalengerPod Save the People
DeRay Mckesson Pod Save the People
Dr. Imani Walker Imani State of Mind
Erin Ryan Hysteria
Gideon ResnickWhat a Day
Ira Madison III Keep It
Jason Concepcion
  • Takeline
  • X-Ray Vision
Jon Favreau
  • Pod Save America
  • The Wilderness
  • Offline
Jon Lovett
  • Pod Save America
  • Lovett or Leave It
Josie Duffy Rice What a Day
Kaya HendersonPod Save the People
Kate Shaw Strict Scrutiny
Leah Litman Strict Scrutiny
Louis Virtel Keep It
Megan "MegScoop" ThomasImani State of Mind
Melissa Murray Strict Scrutiny
Nish Kumar Pod Save the UK
Patrick Radden Keefe Wind of Change
Phillip PicardiUnholier Than Thou
Priyanka AribindiWhat a Day
Rachel Bonnetta Hall of Shame
Rachna FruchbomHall of Shame
Tre'vell Anderson What a Day
Rebecca Nagle This Land
Renee MontgomeryTakeline
Samuel Sinyangwe Pod Save the People
Juanita TolliverWhat a Day
Tommy Vietor
  • Pod Save America
  • Pod Save the World

Podcasts

Crooked Media produces and distributes podcasts with numerous hosts, focusing on news and politics.

Pod Save America

Pod Save America is a twice weekly progressive political podcast. On Tuesdays it is hosted by Favreau, Vietor, and Lovett, and on Thursdays it is hosted by Favreau and Pfeiffer. Pod Save America explicitly aims to encourage its listeners to engage in activism and political persuasion. [10] [12] [13]

Pod Save America has run a number of special series and mini-series. For example, Tommy Vietor hosted a series on the 2020 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses, [14] and Dan Pfeiffer and Alyssa Mastromonaco hosted a series on the vice presidential candidate selection process. [15]

Pod Save the People

Hosted by organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson, [16] [17] Pod Save the People talks about culture, social justice, and politics by exploring the history, the language, and the people who are shaping the struggle for progress — and talking about the steps that each individual can take to make a difference. [18]

Pod Save the World

Hosted by Vietor and former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, Pod Save the World discusses foreign policy and international relations. [19]

Lovett or Leave It

Hosted by Lovett, former speech and joke writer for President Obama. Lovett or Leave it is a recording of a weekly live show and features the eponymous host dissecting the news with a panel of guests. The show features a variety of games, as well as one-on-one interviews that center around the week's news and American politics. [20]

Other series

Other podcasts that have been produced and distributed by Crooked Media include:

Tours

Crooked Media has produced multiple live tours. The first tour by Crooked Media podcasts was in fall of 2017. The tour featured live versions of Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave it, and appearances from DeRay Mckesson, Ana Marie Cox, and other guests. [42] Crooked Media tours have not just visited locations in the United States, including a 2018 tour with performances in Stockholm, Oslo, Amsterdam, and London. [43]

Activism

Crooked Media engages directly in political activism, including advocating for liberal policies and candidates, supporting get out the vote efforts, raising money, and encouraging political demonstrations. [5] In elections from 2017 onwards, the company has collaborated with MoveOn on direct activism efforts, such as directing Pod Save America listeners to Republican town-hall meetings, and with Swing Left and Indivisible to raise money and encourage activism relevant to the 2018 United States elections and the Affordable Care Act. [5] [44] The Los Angeles Times reported that according to Crooked Media, it raised $2.7 million and directed 22,000 volunteers to fill shifts in competitive races during the 2018 midterms. [45]

In May 2019, the Crooked Media campaign "Vote Save America" launched the Fuck Gerry(mandering) fund with Data for Progress to direct listener's donations to 14 of the closest races in Virginia. [46] [47] Ahead of the 2020 cycle, under the umbrella of Vote Save America, they raised $32 million in the third quarter of 2020, which was directed to Democratic candidates. [48] Through the Vote Save America program, Crooked Media has partnered with Fair Fight, an organization devoted to fighting voter suppression led by Stacey Abrams, [49] as well as with VoteRiders to spread state-specific information on voter ID requirements. [50]

Reception

The company's podcasts regularly sit near the top of the iTunes list of most popular podcasts. [10] New York Times has called Crooked Media 'the left's answer to conservative talk radio'. [5] Pod Save America was called "the nation's most popular political podcast" by Newsweek . [13] Reviewing the first episodes of the company's flagship podcast, The Guardian noted: "Pod Save America's commentators are sparky and funny—and they have a habit of talking a whole lot of sense." [51]

Related Research Articles

Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing left-leaning viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included syndicated and independent personalities such as Arnie Arnesen, Michael Brooks, Alan Colmes, Jon Favreau, Al Franken, Brad Friedman, John Fugelsang, Norman Goldman, Amy Goodman, Thom Hartmann, Kyle Kulinski, Jon Lovett, Rachel Maddow, Mike Malloy, Stephanie Miller, Michael Moore, David Pakman, Mike Papantonio, Dan Pfeiffer, Bill Press, Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, Sam Seder, Hal Sparks, and Tommy Vietor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Favreau (speechwriter)</span> American political pundit (born 1981)

Jonathan Edward Favreau is an American political commentator, podcaster, and the former director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alyssa Mastromonaco</span> American businesswoman and government official

Alyssa Mende Mastromonaco is an American author, podcaster, spokeswoman, and former government official. She served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for operations in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2014. She was the youngest woman to hold that position. She was later President of Global Communications Strategy & Talent at A&E Networks and the chief operating officer of Vice Media. She has also been a contributing editor at Marie Claire magazine. Since 2017, Mastromonaco has been a podcaster with Crooked Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Pfeiffer</span> American political advisor and commentator (born 1975)

Howard Daniel Pfeiffer is an American political advisor, author, and podcast host. He was senior advisor to President Barack Obama for strategy and communications from 2013 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Rhodes (White House staffer)</span> American speechwriter (born 1977)

Benjamin J. Rhodes is an American writer, political commentator and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting under President Barack Obama. With Jake Sullivan, he is the co-chair of National Security Action, a political NGO. He contributes to NBC News and MSNBC regularly as a political commentator. He is also a Crooked Media contributor, and co-host of the foreign policy podcast Pod Save the World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeRay Mckesson</span> American activist

DeRay Mckesson is an American civil rights activist, podcaster, and former school administrator. An early supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, he has been active in the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland and on social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram. He has also written for HuffPost and The Guardian. Along with Johnetta Elzie, Brittany Packnett, and Samuel Sinyangwe, Mckesson launched Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence. He is currently part of Crooked Media and hosts Pod Save the People.

<i>The Ringer</i> (website) American sports and pop culture website

The Ringer is a sports and pop culture website and podcast network, founded by sportswriter Bill Simmons in 2016 and owned by Spotify since 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Sinyangwe</span> Data scientist and activist

Samuel Sinyangwe is an American policy analyst and racial justice activist. Sinyangwe is a member of the Movement for Black Lives, the founder of Mapping Police Violence, a database of police killings in the United States and the Police Scorecard, a website with data on police use of force and accountability metrics on US police and sheriff's departments. Sinyangwe is also a co-founder of We the Protestors, a group of digital tools that include Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence and a co-host of the Pod Save the People podcast, where he discusses the week's news with a panel of other activists.

<i>Keepin It 1600</i> Weekly podcast about American politics

Keepin' it 1600 was an American political podcast produced by The Ringer and hosted by former Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett, and Dan Pfeiffer. Its name is a reference to the saying "keep it one hundred" and the White House's address of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittany Packnett Cunningham</span> American writer and activist (born 1984)

Brittany N. Packnett Cunningham is an American activist and the co-founder of Campaign Zero. She served as executive director for Teach for America in St. Louis, Missouri, then as a member of President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

Political podcasts are podcasts that focus on contemporary politics and current events. Most political podcasts maintain a connection with an existing media source such as a newspaper or magazine. They aim to inform or entertain or advocate a cause, usually for progressive causes, although there are some conservative podcasts. They are often cost-effective to produce, requiring minimal computer technology to operate. Their audiences are generally persons in interested in current events, and programs usually have a duration of a half hour to an hour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Lovett</span> American podcaster, writer, and television producer (born 1982)

Jonathan Ira Lovett is an American podcaster, comedian, and former speechwriter. Lovett is a co-founder of Crooked Media, along with fellow former White House staffers during the Obama administration, Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor. Lovett is a regular host of the Crooked Media podcasts Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It. As a speechwriter, he worked for President Barack Obama as well as for Hillary Clinton when she was a United States senator and a 2008 presidential candidate. Lovett also co-created the NBC sitcom 1600 Penn, and was a writer and producer on the third season of HBO's The Newsroom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Vietor</span> American political commentator and podcast host

Thomas Frederick Vietor IV is an American political commentator and podcaster. He was a spokesperson for President Barack Obama and the United States National Security Council from 2011 to 2012. He is a co-founder of Crooked Media with fellow former Obama staffers Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett, and co-hosts the podcasts Pod Save America and Pod Save the World.

<i>Pod Save America</i> American political podcast

Pod Save America is an American liberal/progressive political podcast developed and distributed by Crooked Media. The podcast debuted in January 2017 and airs three times per week, hosted by a rotating cast of former Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett, and Dan Pfeiffer.

<i>Pod Save the People</i> American political podcast

Pod Save the People is an American political podcast produced and distributed by Crooked Media. The show was created, and is hosted by activist DeRay Mckesson with co-hosts Kaya Henderson, De'Ara Balenger and Myles E. Johnson.

<i>Lovett or Leave It</i> Political podcast hosted by Jon Lovett

Lovett or Leave It is a weekly podcast hosted by speechwriter and screenwriter Jon Lovett. It is produced by Lee Eisenberg and distributed by Crooked Media. The theme song is by the band Sure Sure. Lovett has described the show as a way to talk about politics in plain language and has called the discussion "very loose."

<i>Pod Save the World</i> American podcast

Pod Save the World is a weekly American foreign policy podcast produced and distributed by Crooked Media, and hosted by former White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor and former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. In each episode, Vietor and Rhodes discuss foreign policy and international relations. The last 20–30 minutes of the episode, one of the hosts interviews a guest, usually a foreign policy expert or former government official. Notable guests have included former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, and US Senator and vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine.

Erin Gloria Ryan is an American writer, political opinion columnist, and podcaster. She is the host of Hysteria on the Crooked Media podcast network, and a contributor to The Daily Beast.

Pod Save the UK is a weekly British political comedy podcast produced and distributed by Crooked Media, in partnership with Reduced Listening. A spin-off of the podcasts Pod Save America and Pod Save the World hosted by comedian Nish Kumar and journalist Coco Khan, each episode generally features a discussion into a current political issue in the United Kingdom, such as republicanism and freedom of assembly, accompanied with an interview with one or two guests, usually experts and politicians.

Jessica Cordova Kramer is an American media producer and entrepreneur. She is CEO the podcast company Lemonada Media, which she cofounded with Stephanie Wittels Wachs. Kramer is also executive producer for many of Lemonada's podcasts, including Last Day, Everything Happens with Kate Bowler, and Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Kramer was also the founding executive producer of the podcast Pod Save the People, from Crooked Media.

References

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