The West Wing Weekly

Listeners Amy and Jill contribute valuable insights on autism, emphasizing the need for inclusivity and understanding in portrayals. They discuss how The West Wing addresses autism, advocating care over a cure and sharing personal stories about late diagnoses. The conversation then shifts to the 'Bad Moon Rising' plot, delving into character dynamics and political dilemmas. Clever writing is highlighted, as the hosts examine issues of loyalty, deception, and the real-life parallels of political actions, all woven with humor and social commentary.

We've got 7 people for "17 People." Richard Schiff (@Richard_Schiff) talks to us about Toby's journey, and the origins of the Spalding ball. Emily Procter (@emilyprocter) talks to us about Ainsley "spilling coffee" with Sam. Rebecca Walker (@rebeccawalker), one of the actual ERA panelists set to debate Ainsley at Smith, responds to her arguments, along with the President of the ERA Coalition, Jessica Neuwirth. And we get a little insight into a fantastic website dedicated to this episode, seventeenpeople.com, from its creator, Jon White (@jonwhitebriefly). thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/218 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Josh and Hrishi are joined by Bradley Whitford (@WhitfordBradley) for the first-ever live taping of a West Wing Weekly episode, recorded at the Marines' Memorial Theatre in San Francisco at the SF Sketchfest Comedy Festival. We also hear from Dee Perkins and Marc Bernardin, parents of autistic children, about the impact "The Stackhouse Filibuster" had on them. Check out photos from the taping at thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/217. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sitting here in the darkness I’ve gotta post the show Somebody’s joining us this episode Somebody named Rob Lowe We found somebody to explain free trade Cuz there is so muuuch we don’t knowwww And we asked Aaron about the song… It’s the West Wing Weekly (ooh-oo-oooh) Aaron wrote us baaack! It’s the West Wing Weekly (ooh-oo-oooh) How f*$%ing cool is that? It’s the West Wing Weekly (ooh-oo-oooh) All the maps are wack It’s the West Wing Weekly We're joined by Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) to discuss this episode, which earned him an Emmy nomination. And we welcome back Ben Casselman (@bencasselman), chief economics writer for FiveThirtyEight, to give us some modern context for Toby's line, "Free trade stops wars."  Ooh-oo-oooh! thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/216 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In this episode, we look at the uncomfortable contiguity of Bartlet the President and Bartlet the Dad. Along the way, we discuss zeugma, gloriosky!, Smoot-Hawley, and other ridiculous sounding words. We also talk to Nina Siemaszko (@MsSiemaszko) about her role as Ellie Bartlet. thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/215 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Stockard Channing was nominated for an Emmy based on her performance in this episode. Though her performance in the first part of this two-part arc was also excellent, we discuss why this second episode may have had the edge. Plus, a discussion around the language used to identify different groups of Americans.  Donate to Mazon in honor of Josh's birthday today. thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/214 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The West Wing Weekly presents an ode to The West Wing. Hrishi made a beat, an extended remix of our podcast’s intro theme, for the biggest West Wing fan we know— Lin-Manuel Miranda — who wrote lyrics and recorded vocals for the track! What's next?   To watch the video for this song, go to: thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/whats-next Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The West Wing Weekly presents an ode to The West Wing. Hrishi made a beat, an extended remix of our podcast’s intro theme, for the biggest West Wing fan we know— Lin-Manuel Miranda — who wrote lyrics and recorded vocals for the track! What's next? To watch the video for this song, go to: thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/whats-next Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In this episode, we're joined by Don Baer, who was the chief speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, to tell us what it's really like to write a State of the Union Address. And when you're done listening and you're ready to go home, we only have one question for you: How's Grampy?   thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/213 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For the last episode of the year, we answer listener questions in our 2nd edition of The West Wing Weekly Big Block of Cheese Day. Thanks so much for listening to the show this year and giving us a great 2016 — apart from, well, everything else that happened. If you are looking for good causes to support this holiday season, we suggest: Mazon The Pablove Foundation Southern Poverty Law Center Bet Tzedek  Justice for Vets footnotes — Hrishi's West Wing cast list thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/003   Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices