Jon Lovett

Last updated

Jon Lovett
Jon Lovett SXSW 2017.jpg
Lovett in 2017
Born
Jonathan Ira Lovett

(1982-08-17) August 17, 1982 (age 42)
New York City, U.S.
Alma mater Williams College (BA)
Occupations
  • Speechwriter
  • podcaster
  • television producer
  • screenwriter
  • comedian
Years active2004–present
Political party Democratic
Partner Ronan Farrow (2011–2022)

Jonathan Ira Lovett (born August 17, 1982) is an American podcaster, comedian, journalist, and former speechwriter. Lovett is a co-founder of Crooked Media, along with Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor. All three formerly worked together as White House staffers during the Obama administration. [1] Lovett is a regular host of the Crooked Media podcasts Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It . As a speechwriter, he worked for both President Barack Obama and 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 .

Contents

Early life and education

Lovett was born in Manhattan and grew up in Woodbury, Long Island in a Reform Jewish family of Ukrainian ancestry [2] that operated a box factory started by his grandfather. [3] He attended Syosset High School.

Lovett graduated from Williams College in 2004 with a degree in mathematics. [4] His senior thesis, Rotating Linkages in a Normed Plane, [5] led to a related publication on the same topic in American Mathematical Monthly . [6] Lovett was the Williams College class speaker at his commencement ceremony in 2004. [7]

After graduation, Lovett spent a year working as a paralegal and doing stand-up comedy on the side. [4] [8]

Political speechwriter

Lovett (fourth from left) with President Obama and other speechwriters in 2011 Barack Obama talks with speechwriters, 2010.jpg
Lovett (fourth from left) with President Obama and other speechwriters in 2011

In 2004, Lovett volunteered for John Kerry's presidential campaign. He was asked to write a statement for the candidate, and his work led to an offer of a writing internship. [9] He briefly worked in Jon Corzine's Senate office. [5] He was hired in 2005 to assist Sarah Hurwitz as a speechwriter for then-Senator Hillary Clinton, [5] and he continued to write speeches for her through her 2008 presidential campaign. [9]

When Clinton lost the 2008 Democratic primary contest, Lovett won an anonymous contest to write speeches for President Barack Obama in the White House. [9] Lovett wrote speeches in the Obama administration for three years, working closely with Jon Favreau and David Axelrod. [3] Prominent speeches that he wrote include policy speeches on financial reform and don't ask, don't tell, [5] as well as remarks at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. [10]

Lovett secretly officiated the first same-sex marriage in the White House, before the Obama administration supported same-sex marriage. [10] [11] [12]

Media career

Television

In 2011, before Barack Obama ran for reelection, Lovett left the White House and moved to California to become a screenwriter, [13] [14] citing a desire to write independently and focus on creative comedy full-time. [5] He collaborated with Josh Gad and Jason Winer on the television series 1600 Penn , of which Lovett was a co-creator, executive producer, and writer from 2012 until its cancellation in 2013. [15] He then worked as a writer, producer, and advisor on season three of HBO's The Newsroom. [10] From 2012 to 2015, Lovett also contributed opinion pieces to venues like The Atlantic . [16] In 2024, he competed on the 47th season of the CBS reality television show Survivor ; he was the first contestant voted off the season. [17]

Crooked Media

Starting in March 2016, Lovett co-hosted The Ringer's political podcast Keepin' it 1600 with former fellow Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor. [18] The podcast was intended to cover the 2016 presidential race and not expected to continue after that. [19] But after the November 2016 election, Lovett, Favreau and Vietor wished to become engaged in politics again without having to leave Los Angeles or return to political campaigning. [19] So they founded a liberal media company, Crooked Media, with the flagship podcast Pod Save America. [20] Crooked Media, and Pod Save America in particular, has been compared to previous left-wing efforts like Air America to match America's conservative talk radio, and Lovett has been characterized as providing comic relief to the programming. [19] The company has since launched a range of podcasts, several of which regularly feature Lovett.

In March 2017, Lovett began hosting Lovett or Leave It , a panel show podcast produced by Crooked Media. [21] The podcast, typically recorded in front of a live audience in Los Angeles, embarked on national and international tours featuring live versions of both Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It. [22] He was also involved in launching Crooked Media's voter recruitment and education project, Vote Save America. [23]

Personal life

Lovett is gay. [14] He and investigative journalist and author Ronan Farrow became romantically involved in 2011. [24] [25] In October 2019, Farrow published Catch and Kill, where he publicly announced their engagement after proposing to Lovett in an earlier draft of his book. [26] [27] However, in a March 2023 episode of his podcast, Lovett or Leave It, Lovett stated that he was single after the end of a "10 and a half year" relationship. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronan Farrow</span> American journalist (born 1987)

Satchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow is an American journalist. The son of actress Mia Farrow and filmmaker Woody Allen, he is known for his investigative reporting on sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein, which was published in The New Yorker magazine. The magazine won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for this reporting, sharing the award with The New York Times. Farrow has worked for UNICEF and as a government advisor.

In the United States, a designated survivor is a person in the presidential line of succession who is kept distant from others in the line when they are gathered together, to reduce the chance that everyone in the line will be unable to take over the presidency in a catastrophic or mass-casualty event. The person is chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from such events such as State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations. The designation of a survivor is intended to prevent the decapitation of the government and to safeguard continuity in the presidency if the president, the vice president, and others in the presidential line of succession die. The procedure began in the 1950s, during the Cold War, with the idea that nuclear attack could kill government officials and the United States government would collapse.

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">Yes We Can (will.i.am song)</span> 2008 promotional single by will.i.am featuring various artists

"Yes We Can" is a song produced by The Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, released as promotional single on February 2, 2008.

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

Jonathan Edward Favreau is an American progressive 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, a political commentator, and a 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">Cody Keenan</span> American speechwriter

Cody Keenan is an American political advisor and speechwriter who served as the director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama. Keenan studied political science at Northwestern University. After graduation, he worked in the U.S. senate office of Ted Kennedy, before studying for a master's in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. After graduation, he took a full-time position on Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. In 2009, he assumed the position of deputy director of speechwriting. After Jon Favreau left the White House in 2013, Keenan took over as director of speechwriting.

<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 acquired by Spotify in 2020.

Pineapple Street Studios is a podcast studio based in Brooklyn, New York. In August 2019, it was acquired by Entercom. Pineapple's work includes multi-episode narratives, investigative journalism, branded podcasts, and talk shows. They have created series for companies like Nike, Hulu, Netflix, HBO, and The New York Times. In 2020, they led all podcast companies with two Peabody Award nominations, for The Catch and Kill Podcast with Ronan Farrow and Running From Cops. Twelve of their shows have reached #1 on Apple Podcasts.

<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.

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">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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crooked Media</span> American political podcast network

Crooked Media is an American progressive political media company. It was founded in 2017 by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor, all former top Barack Obama staffers and 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.

<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 Ben Rhodes, the former Deputy National Security Advisor. In each episode, Vietor and Rhodes discuss foreign policy and international relations.

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.

References

  1. ↑ "Team". Crooked Media. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  2. ↑ Jon Lovett (September 28, 2019). "Lovett or Leave It". crooked.com (Podcast). Crooked Media. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Talking Trump Transition With President Obama Speechwriter Jon Lovett". Hugh Hewitt. November 22, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Creative Artists Agency Bio". Creative Artists Agency. Archived from the original on September 12, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Horowitz, Jason (September 2, 2011). "Jon Lovett's written for the president, but will that get him to Hollywood?". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  6. ↑ "American Mathematical Monthly August-September 2007". Mathematical Association of America. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Commencement 2004". Williams College. June 6, 2004. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  8. ↑ Wilstein, Matt (November 15, 2017). "Jon Lovett on Bringing Late-Night Flavor to Political Podcasts". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 "Jon Lovett speaks on politics, election season". The Tufts Daily. October 15, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 "Aspen Ideas Festival Bio". Aspen Ideas Festival. 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  11. ↑ "FIREWORKS EDITION – REVEALED: A clandestine gay wedding in the White House during Obama's first term (officiant: Jon Lovett) – CHRISTIE to return to MORNING JOE after 18 months – SCOTT WALKER joins Sn". POLITICO. July 4, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Obama's Former Speechwriter Reportedly Held Secret Same-Sex Marriage at the White House". July 7, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Q&A: Jon Lovett, Former Obama Speechwriter, on His NBC Comedy 1600 Penn". Time Magazine. January 10, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  14. 1 2 "White House Speechwriter Leaving for Hollywood". The Atlantic . September 6, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Jon Lovett Filmography". IMDb. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  16. ↑ "All Stories by Jon Lovett". The Atlantic . 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  17. ↑ Frank, Jason P. (May 23, 2024). "Jon Lovett to Leaf It on Survivor". Vulture. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  18. ↑ "'Obama bros' learn to love Hillary". Politico. October 6, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 Zengerle, Jason (November 22, 2017). "The Voices in Blue America's Head". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  20. ↑ Rutenberg, Jim, Opposition and a Shave: Former Obama Aides Counter Trump , Media, The New York Times, March 20, 2017
  21. ↑ "Obama's former speechwriter launches new podcast". iNews. March 22, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Pod Save America announces nationwide tour". Consequence of Sound. August 16, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  23. ↑ Lidsky, David (October 13, 2018). "The Pod Save America TV show is not going to save democracy–or even your Friday nights". Fast Company. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Full transcript: Journalist Ronan Farrow on Recode Decode". Vox. Vox Media. May 4, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  25. ↑ Lear, Norman (2017). "Jon Lovett". All of the Above with Norman Lear. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  26. ↑ Farrow, Ronan (October 15, 2019). Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators. Little, Brown and Company.
  27. ↑ Arnold, Amanda (October 16, 2019). "Ronan Farrow Proposed to His Fiancé in a Draft of Catch and Kill". The Cut . Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  28. ↑ Jon Lovett (March 18, 2023). "If It Ain't Woke Don't Fix It". Lovett or Leave It (Podcast). Crooked Media. Event occurs at 4:42.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.