For followers of US politics, the voices of the 'Pod Save America' hosts have been a part of the weekly podcast schedule for years. The opportunity to see them in the flesh was too good to pass up, and boy did they deliver.
Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor and Dan Pfeiffer were in Brisbane for one night only, delivering a jocular analysis of US politics from the Democratic point of view. The team were part of Barack Obama’s administration, with the Jons leading on speechwriting, Vietor the spokesperson for National Security and Pfieffer advising on Strategy and Communications. Now liberated from government, they give free, frank and often funny takes on current events, taking swipes at ineffectual Democrats as much as Republicans.
While serious in their approach to news and policy, the team really know how to put on a show. For their live audience, they interspersed discussion of the latest US news with games taken from sister show, 'Lovett Or Leave It'. In one game, Jon Lovett roamed the audience asking either the hosts or attendees questions related to Australia’s wildlife (who knew our longest manmade structure was a dingo – not rabbit – proof fence?!). He got a surprising amount of cheek from the audience, but all of it sassy, rather than mean-spirited. Hundreds shouted out in unison to correct his pronunciation of emu, while one woman stood up excitedly to explain to Lovett that she came from a town called Dingo. He said – deadpan – that he was very excited for her.
They were in town recording a live session of the podcast, and it sounded exactly like an episode dropped into your feed. They delivered in spades. The only downsides were a few surprisingly misogynistic comments about women in politics. They were very 'frat boy' in tone, and weren’t necessary to make the point about the women discussed. That aside, it was a rollicking evening and an insight into the state of the States. Let’s just hope they can get back into their own country when their tour is complete.
PS – special shout out to the audience member wearing a Chas and Dr Dave T-shirt – the true heroes of US political commentary.
