Unorthodox

Chag Sameach, Obama

Episode 108: Former presidential speechwriter David Litt and foreign policy expert (and five-time Jeopardy champion) Thomas Nichols

October 19, 2017


Our Jewish guest this week is David Litt, author of Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years, a memoir about his time as a speechwriter in the Obama White House. He tells us about teaching President Obama to say ‘chag sameach’ for a Passover video, writing jokes for the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, and the time his grandpa sent him a water pipeline proposal to show the president.

Our gentile of the week is Thomas Nichols, professor of national security at the United States Naval War College, whose latest book is The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters. He explains the dangers of experts being branded as out-of-touch elites and experience itself being shunned—and how President Trump is the avatar of this cultural shift. We also discuss how his students’ view of him changed after he was on Jeopardy, and why Jews feel such an affinity for Greeks.

Come see us live on Oct. 25 at the Manhattan JCC! Get your tickets here.

We love hearing from you! Email us at [email protected]—we’ll share our favorite notes on-air.

This episode is brought to you by Harry’s. Get a free trial shave set (including razor handle, blades, and gel) when you sign up at Harrys.com/Unorthodox.

Unorthodox is a smart, fresh, fun weekly take on Jewish news and culture hosted by Mark Oppenheimer, Stephanie Butnick, and Liel Leibovitz. You can listen to individual episodes here or subscribe on iTunes.

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