Lovett or Leave It
Lovett or Leave It
Former Obama speechwriter, self-described 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, with 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.
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Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 18, 2023 • 1h 5min
Shooting Ourselves in the Balloon
This week, Lovett temporarily left it, asking the brilliant Guy Branum to steer the ship in his stead. Lance Reddick teaches us from Ron DeSantis’s new Florida AP African-American Studies course, and tries to differentiate between the villains of the MCU and the villains of the GOP. River Butcher and Guy crack open a nice cold round of Gay News. One of the Mars Wrigley employees who fell in a molten vat of chocolate (Ana Gasteyer) stops by to talk about labor activism, the upcoming writers strike, and the crushing weight of molten chocolate. We end the show by collectively pitching the aliens (which absolutely are here now, right?) on reasons not to blow up the planet. 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.
Feb 11, 2023 • 1h 25min
Queerbait of The Union
Biden mixes it up and Mitt says what we’re all thinking. What a week. Ron Perlman teaches us how to tell people off. Gus Kenworthy evades Lovett’s hard-hitting questions by suggesting he take up curling. Anyone can do it! Cupid points his bow at Producer Malcolm, as Katrina Davis helps him find love on a conservative dating app. And Harry Styles’ stylist (Christina Catherine Martinez) explains the method to Harry’s queer(bait?) madness. Plus, mwah mwah mwah — it’s the Love 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.
Feb 4, 2023 • 1h 26min
Saved By The Bel-Air
Live from the SiriusXM studio, Lovett Or Leave It pits DeSantis vs Trump in a battle for the... well, not the soul of the country. The Academy’s own private detective (Brandon Scott Jones) pulls back the red curtain on this year’s Oscars scandal. Lovett and Larry Wilmore discuss police brutality and the debate over reform. Plus Josie Totah and Olly Sholotan face a 90s TV quiz, and the Rant Wheel? It spins. 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.
Jan 28, 2023 • 1h 14min
America's Next Top Secret
Whether you’re on the lanai or inside Los Angeles’s beautiful Dynasty Typewriter theater, this week’s Lovett Or Leave It thanks you for being a friend. Gabe Mollica platonically speed dates our other guests, in search of a real connection. Zach Schiffman and Carl Tart answer the question, “what’s a few misplaced classified documents between pals?” Lovett has a monopoly on our live audience’s understanding of what the hell a monopoly is. The Earth’s molten core (Alyssa Limperis) turns up the heat, and we gather our friends and lovers together to bask in the warming glow 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.
Jan 21, 2023 • 1h 24min
Ms. Kitara Goes To Washington
Join us as Lovett Or Leave It gets sopping wet this Dry January at L.A.'s beautiful Dynasty Typewriter. A black market egg dealer (Brian Posehn) stops by to give Lovett a taste of scrambler’s delight. Jamie Loftus schools us in which hot dogs have actually earned the title. Brian Posehn and Amy Miller weigh in on whether or not the straights have gone too far with MILF Manor. Spoiler alert: they have. Ashley Ray looks for love amongst our live audience, and the Rant Wheel fires off hot, angry sparks over haunted hayrides, Babylon, and the derth of fat people on dating shows. 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.
Jan 14, 2023 • 1h 28min
The Artful Todger
The secret’s out… Lovett Or Leave It is back with another episode! Lovett finds out what dirty dealings Kevin McCarthy got up to when he unearths House Rules’ shadow document. We see if Star Trek: Picard’s Michelle Hurd knows her princes. The L.A. Times’ Julia Wick unpacks our fair city's city council mayhem. Holmes joins us to present the first-ever Ussy Awards, musical improvisers Zach Reino and Jess McKenna sing us into the weekend, and the Rant Wheel spins on and on. 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.
Jan 7, 2023 • 1h 5min
Stairway to Kevin
Lovett or Leave It rings in 2023 with a full house of festive guests, including the most famous Nepo Baby of all: Baby New Year (Zach Noe Towers). The audience updates their "America, Bizarre To Live In" file with all the new, strange state laws that went into effect January 1. Alex Edelman and Andrea Jin have MILFs on the mind as we struggle to separate TV fact from TV fiction. Lovett says farewell to a broadcast legend, and we end our show with some absolutely spot-on predictions. 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 17, 2022 • 1h 1min
Holiday Grift Guide
Lovett Or Leave cozies up in front of the roaring fire we’ve hurled 2022’s desiccated hull into during this, our last show of 2022. Mike Lindell (James Adomian) stops by with pillows for all the good little boys and girls of the RNC. Jena Friedman and Atsuko Okatsuka pull up a chair to your family’s holiday drama. Elon Musk (James Adomian) tries his hand at stand-up and spoiler alert: the audience is wrong. Lovett provides a personalized gift guy for the right-wing whack jobs in your life, and we end by putting our grateful well-wishes in the Thank Bank. Happy Holidays, everybody, and see you in 2023! 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 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.
