Part XXIV
There’s so much good you need this week! Let’s get right to it.
George — Barack Obama and Doris Kearns Goodwin: The Ultimate Exit Interview
If you love politics or presidential history — or just like it a little — then this is that exit interview you need.
Doris Kearns Goodwin and President Obama seamlessly weave back and forth between discussing his own legacy and that of his predecessors — Washington, Lincoln, the Roosevelts, JFK, LBJ and Reagan. Goodwin has literally written books on each of these former presidents, and yet Obama not only stands toe-to-toe with her on historical anecdotes — he also demonstrates a remarkable, introspective writer’s sensibility through his ability to connect their pasts to his own temperament, accomplishments, and regrets.
Goodwin is a national treasure, and, regardless if you voted for him or not, President Obama is a really smart guy. Together, they make for a fantastic, candid interview. Dive in.
Nostalgic Pick of the Week: Kyle — Hell Hath No Fury
Sticking with last week’s theme of albums that turned 10 years old, this week we have “Hell Hath No Fury” by my favorite musical duo, Clipse. If you’re unfamiliar with Clipse, they are formed by Malice & Pusha T, who are brothers, and have put out hit songs like “Grindin’” & “When’s the Last Time.”
With this album, Clipse took it to the next level with tracks like, “Mr. Me Too” featuring the great Pharrell, “Wamp Wamp,” and my personal favorite, “Chinese New Year.” It is, in my opinion, one of the best rap albums of the last decade. Pusha T and Malice knock it out of the park lyrically and we all know The Neptunes (Pharrell and Chad Hugo), who handled the production on this album, are always on point.
If you’re a hip-hop stan, you’ve probably already had the album on repeat this week, but if you missed out, now is the time to jump on board. As Malice says, “Youngin’, learn from me, let’s not be at odds,” so listen and learn.
Quags — Columnist Michael Wolff on the Digiday Podcast
There was a great deal of noise made when Michael Wolff, from The Hollywood Reporter, scored the first interview with the President Elect’s new chief strategist, Steve Bannon. Beyond the surprise that it wasn’t the Times, or the Post, or the Journal who got the interview, there was a massive protest to the way that Wolff more or less took Bannon at his word and did not press him on his much-maligned past.
Here, we have a unique situation. Not only is Digiday Podcast host Brian Morrissey an excellent interviewer who often presses his guests and calls them on things he thinks don’t add up, he actually used to work for Michael Wolff! That dynamic only adds to an already intriguing interview. This is definitely worth checking out.
Jack — Political correctness: how the right invented a phantom enemy
This week, Moira Weigel of The Guardian goes long in an attempt to explain the villainous specter of “political correctness” and its use by politicians, mostly the hard right, as a highly effective straw man. That success peaked this election cycle with Donald Trump’s victory and was highlighted in his fierce and numerous attacks on the media.
Many of those attacks involved Mr. Trump pointing to the ethereal notion of “political correctness” and how it was both dragging down the country and hamstringing established politicians from fixing anything (thus showing us why we needed him). Ms. Weigel explores the origins of the term and how it came to exist in the current landscape of political and social discourse while also providing numerous examples of how it as used as a dead-end answer to questions Mr. Trump and others cannot, or do not want to, answer truthfully.
That’s it! Thanks for reading, and please make sure to check out everything else we’ve got on That Good You Need including my obsession with tapas, Rob Hassler’s plea to the NFL to let the players celebrate, and George’s endorsement of Mitt Romney for Secretary of State. Until next week!
