Our special guest this week is New York Times bestselling author and former Obama speechwriter David Litt, who joins us to chat about his new book, “It’s Only Drowning.” I first met David as a colleague in the White House and was excited to read this, his third book, knowing it would certainly reflect his humor, wit, and empathetic insights into the human condition. The book started out as a memoir of his mid-thirties pivot to surfing, but became a platform to connect with his brother-in-law, someone entirely different from the author.
“Without meaning to I ended up living almost living this story between, or across these fault lines that are both tearing friendships apart, tearing families apart, but also tearing the country apart…there’s plenty of funny stories of falling off a surfboard or almost getting eaten by a shark, but what the book ultimately ended up being about: in this moment…can we find ways to have relationships and friendships that cross those fault lines,” David told us.
The book takes place through the Covid pandemic, which created its own divisions between those who wore masks and those who didn’t, those who got vaccinated and not, so we asked David about whether those kinds of differences seem quaint in light of President Trump’s 4th of July declaration that he hates half of America — those who did not vote for him. Differences today are not only about a personal decision like a vaccination, which still has an impact on the broader community, but also about issues like whether we will keep our democracy, or about ICE raids that are tearing families apart through a purposeful and gleeful cruelty on the part of the Trump Administration. The very fabric of American identity is being questioned, so we explore the challenges inherent in that.
“Some people are beyond the pale, but I think most people aren’t…you can learn from people even if you don’t always understand them and even if you sometimes deeply disagree with them,” he added. “When we stop learning from each other and retreat into our own bubbles, it might feel safer in the short term, but I think it diminishes our lives.”
(psst…the podcast is available in video format as always)
Of course, our chat also moved into the dynamics of going into the ocean with sharks in the water — which you can imagine eventually leads to a conversation about Elon Musk’s bid to build a third party. It might have the potential to upend the way Congress functions, but no one should trust Elon’s intentions at this point.
We’re grateful to David for his time, and his book’s important message reminding us to listen to others, and to meet people where they are. If we’re going to win the hearts and minds of the American people, we have to show up.
This week, the Supreme Court also cleared the way for the Trump Administration to move forward with a new round of federal workforce purges. We compare that to other recent rulings from the Supreme Court that punt ultimate decisions on underlying issues, but in the meantime enable the White House to run roughshod over the other branches of government. The federal judge in this case gave the Administration until Monday to provide plans for individual agencies to evaluate whether or not they go against what Congress intended, but the Administration is carrying out layoffs or Reduction in Force notifications (RIFs) before that assessment unfolds in the court — wreaking tremendous havoc on the federal workforce, damaging the ability of public servants to serve the American people, and creating unnecessary stress. The Supreme Court is certainly stacked in Trump’s favor, but a majority believe in our form of government and should start taking into account the nature of the challenges before them. Just this week, new evidence provided by a whistleblower to the Senate Judiciary committee allegedly shows that a senior Justice Department official proposed telling the courts “F*** you” when they restricted deportations to El Salvador. The Trump Administration is looking to promote him to a lifetime appointment to an appellate judgeship. These are not normal times and we need the co-equal branches of government to step up.
Thank you for listening and subscribing!
-Luis.
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