Lovett or Leave It
Crooked Media
Former Obama speechwriter, comedian and Pod Save America co-host Jon Lovett takes the stage for a new season of the hit show that dared guests from Danny DeVito to Amy Klobuchar to ask “What is this?” and “Where am I?”
Each week, Jon breaks down the biggest and dumbest stories in politics to help you keep up with and laugh at the news. And this season, stay tuned for big guests and surprising conversations you won’t find anywhere else.
New episodes every Saturday morning on your podcast feed and on YouTube. And if you’re in LA, come to a taping. You’ll be amazed by what we cut from the live show.
Subscribe to Friends of the Pod! Your subscription makes Crooked’s work possible and gives you access to ad-free episodes of Lovett or Leave It, Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, and Offline with Jon Favreau, plus exclusive content and a lively Discord community. Learn more and subscribe at crooked.com/friends or on Apple Podcasts.
Each week, Jon breaks down the biggest and dumbest stories in politics to help you keep up with and laugh at the news. And this season, stay tuned for big guests and surprising conversations you won’t find anywhere else.
New episodes every Saturday morning on your podcast feed and on YouTube. And if you’re in LA, come to a taping. You’ll be amazed by what we cut from the live show.
Subscribe to Friends of the Pod! Your subscription makes Crooked’s work possible and gives you access to ad-free episodes of Lovett or Leave It, Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, and Offline with Jon Favreau, plus exclusive content and a lively Discord community. Learn more and subscribe at crooked.com/friends or on Apple Podcasts.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 10, 2022 • 1h 24min
Season's Cheatings
There’s no place like Lovett Or Leave It for the holidays, as we gather with our loved ones: an AI chatbot who answers to our every whim. Sam Sanders and Zach Stafford bring the end-of-year vibes way up when they tackle our prestige drama soundscape. A goblin (Danielle Perez) stops by to rail against goblin mode. The one-and-only Jennifer Tilly bets you can't answer the question, “Was I In This?” Curtis Cook and Danielle Perez say “Good Boning America” to cheating scandals, and we get heated as we gather around the Rant Wheel. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Dec 3, 2022 • 1h 22min
Three Antisemites is a Crowd
It’s a December to remember as Lovett or Leave It returns to Los Angeles’s beautiful Dynasty Typewriter and we celebrate Christmas with a new slate of “traditional” holiday rom-coms. Margaret Cho and Moshe Kasher gather 'round for a very special Hanukah-inspired edition of Gay News: Gay Jews. A "normal" Republican voter (Andrea Savage) stops by to explain how to have it both ways on Trump. Spoiler alert: it’s delusion! Danielle Schneider and Crooked's own Ryan Wallerson pit the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and the World Cup against each other in Reality vs. Reality TV, and we keep our little toesies warm with the cracking heat of all these Hot Takes. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Nov 26, 2022 • 1h 42min
Lovett or Leave It Presents: Thanksgiving Leftovers!
Lovett is currently asleep under a big pile of coats on the guest bed, but we here at Lovett or Leave It have prepared you a sumptuous feast of favorite segments, hand-selected by all the non-Lovett members of the LOLI universe. Join producers Brian Semel and Kendra James, associate producer Malcolm Whitfield, head writer Halle Kiefer, managing video producer Narineh Melkonian, and producer/editor Zuri Irvin as they share moments from this year’s Pride Show, our tour in Pennsylvania, and more. Don’t worry, we’ll carry Lovett to the car and make sure he’s home in time for next week’s show. Have a great Thanksgiving, everybody! For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Nov 19, 2022 • 1h 21min
It’s a Crypto Polycule Friendsgiving, Charlie Brown!
The whole Lovett Or Leave It family welcomes you and your hot dish to this year’s first-ever crypto polycule Friendsgiving! Byron Bowers and Diallo Riddle help Lovett put the “bit” in Bitcoin, while Stacey Abrams (Ashley Nicole Black) flies in on her way to a much-needed vacation. We conclusively decide who is the most annoying Thanksgiving guest, and end the show with a wholesome turn of the Gratitude Wheel. Because we’ll all have plenty to rant about. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Nov 12, 2022 • 1h 38min
Not With a Wave but a Whimper
Lovett or Leave It survives the red wave that never was after this week’s midterms, and celebrates the only way we know how: gorgeous gay mayhem. Matt Rogers channels this era’s two greatest villains, Donald Trump and Lydia Tár. Abbott Elementary’s Lisa Ann Walter reminds the world: yes, she was in that, too. Unspooled’s Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson see if our audience has the 411 on AFI’s Top 100 movies. Anne Helen Petersen helps you put in the work, and our dais of stars welcomes these chilly autumn nights with a piping round of Hot Takes. Thank you, thank you, thank you for voting, you beautiful listeners, you! For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Nov 5, 2022 • 1h 27min
Democracy or Else
Midterms are making the kids squirm at this, our last Lovett Or Leave It before we see you next Tuesday at the polls. Larry Wilmore looks at Biden’s closing message, while Rainn Wilson screams for your dollars on behalf of the Democrats. A newly-motivated post-Dobbs voter (Kiran Deol) promises Lovett she’ll vote, provided she is actually real and not his hope-fueled fever dream, while Josh Gondelman offers heartfelt pep talks to the despondent, the lonely, and the zebrafish. And we end the show with a spin of the Rant Wheel, to clear some space for whatever we feel when we find out what happens next week. In the meantime, get out there and vote, babies! We’re all in this together! For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Oct 29, 2022 • 1h 25min
Hershel Walker’s aBOOOOOrtions
Lovett or Leave It turns L.A.’s Dynasty Typewriter into a Halloween spooktacular during the only week of the year when we don’t mind hearing boos. Lovett inadvertently summons Ivana Trump (Lizzy Cooperman) and you will not believe what’s been going on under that golf course. Tig Notaro stops by to decide which classic movie monster has a limp wrist to go with those sharp fangs and neck bolts. It’s all treats, no tricks when Ed Helms crowns the king of Halloween candy. Kevin Avery and Lizzy Cooperman put the eff off in offensive costumes, and the Rant Wheel transforms into the Fear Wheel for this one magical night only, or until we decide we like the format and want to do it again. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Oct 22, 2022 • 1h 16min
High on Grassley
It’s the devil you know AND the devil you don’t when Lovett or Leave It welcomes Lucy and Danny DeVito to L.A.‘s wonderful Dynasty Typewriter theater. Planned Parenthood’s Jodi Hicks stops by to break down how California can be a guide to other states in the fight for reproductive rights. Chris Fleming and Ellington Wells try to tell the difference between Senator Chuck Grassley and a glitching AI, while the Rant Wheel takes mice, TikTok, and leaf blowers to task.Ellington Wells: @EllingtonWells on Instagram and YouTube. Chris Fleming will be performing at The Egg in Albany, NY on 12/15, and The Wilbur in Boston, MA on 12/17. For more information, visit https://chrisflemingfleming.com/ For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
4 snips
Oct 15, 2022 • 1h 22min
Brotherly Love in a Sandwich Town (Live from Philly!)
The (cheese)stakes are high when Lovett or Leave It fills Philadelphia’s Fillmore Theater with a night of gorgeous gay mayhem. Your future PA Governor Josh Shapiro sits down to discuss the “ugh” in Doug Mastriano. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta talks about building a queer coalition of anyone who wants to keep their rights in Pennsylvania. Taylor Swift’s publicist (Gill McGuire) stops by with some shocking intel about the pop star, and Jared Goldstein shares the Gay News with yinz. We close out the show with some Hot Takes, just in time for that chilly Midwestern 74-degree autumn to come sweeping in. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Oct 12, 2022 • 1h 18min
Old Bay v. Pumpkin Spice (Live from Baltimore!)
Lovett Or Leave It takes the stage at Goucher College and enjoys a little bit o’ Baltimore (okay, more specifically, Towson, Maryland). The Washington Post’s Alexandra Petri looks back at the incredible women who girl bossed, gaslit, and gobbled sailors whole throughout history. Reporter Dave Weigel leads us up the mountain that is the midterms. Halle and Brian are forced to chose between the flavor of the city and the flavor of the season, and the Rant Wheel spins at the touch of Edgar Allan Poe’s spectral hand.
