William Maher is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show Real Time with Bill Maher (2003–present) and the similar late-night show called Politically Incorrect (1993–2002), originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC. In 2022, Maher started the podcast Club Random.
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.
Funny or Die is a comedy video website and film/television production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a regular staff of in-house writers, producers and directors, and occasionally from a number of famous contributors including Judd Apatow, James Franco and Norm Macdonald. The associated production company continues to make TV shows including truTV's Billy on the Street, Comedy Central's @midnight and Zach Galifianakis' web series Between Two Ferns.
Jonathan Edward Favreau is an American political commentator, podcaster, and the former director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ira Madison III is an American television writer and podcaster. He is the main host of the Crooked Media podcast Keep It! He is a former critic at The Daily Beast, GQ Magazine, and other publications.
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.
Crooked Media is a progressive American political media company. 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.
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."
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.
Brian Tyler Cohen is an American progressive YouTuber, podcaster, political commentator, and MSNBC contributor. In his YouTube channel, titled "Brian Tyler Cohen," he interviews political figures, reports on politics, and live-streams events, including debates and election results. His channel has over 2.5 million subscribers and 1.9 billion views. He also hosts a political podcast called No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen.
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.
