Good One: A Podcast About Jokes Barack Obama’s 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner Speech (with Jon Lovett)
Feb 20, 2024
Former speechwriter for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Jon Lovett, discusses crafting jokes for White House Correspondents' Dinner speeches. The conversation explores humor in politics, controversial jokes, and the balance between humor and seriousness in political comedy.
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From Open Mics To The White House
- Jon Lovett got into political speechwriting after doing stand-up and volunteering on campaigns.
- A joke he wrote for Hillary led to a junior speechwriter job and later work for Obama.
Start Early And Overproduce Jokes
- Begin writing Correspondents' Dinner material more than a month in advance and collect names, themes, and evergreen jokes.
- Build dozens of jokes and iteratively cut to the ~20 best that fit the speech's arc.
Treat The Dinner As A Prime-Time Speech
- Correspondents' Dinner speeches require a clear structure and a central message, not just disconnected jokes.
- Lovett treats the dinner like a prime-time speech with themes, videos, and a planned arc to shape public takeaway.