Nancy Pelosi opens up about how she wields 'The Art of Power'

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4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2024

⏱️ 18 minutes

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Summary

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says her new book, The Art of Power, is not a memoir. Instead, she says, it's an inside look at specific moments in American history – like the 2008 financial crisis and January 6 – and how she navigated them. In today's episode, the Speaker Emerita sits down with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly to discuss why she didn't want to run for office in the first place, how she looks back on some of the biggest decisions she's made while in power, and what role she played in President Biden's decision to step down from the 2024 race.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Former speaker of the house,
0:06.8	Nancy Pelosi is on the podcast today. She's got a new book out titled The Art of Power. And if
0:12.6	that title makes it sound like it's a book by Robert Caro, well, that's sort of the vibe
0:18.1	Pelosi seems to be going for. She's very adamant that this book is not a memoir, but an examination of certain specific events,
0:27.1	such as the Iraq War or the financial crisis, where she wielded and used the chips she'd worked her entire political career to gain.
0:35.8	And it's interesting, too, how Pelosi frames her own career in
0:39.0	politics, because on the one hand, she tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that running for office
0:43.5	was something she never wanted and that she isn't particularly ambitious. And yet, when
0:48.3	Mary Louise pushes her on this, she says, quote, I just really got tired of losing. That and her role in President Joe Biden
0:56.2	stepping down as the presidential candidate coming up after the break. In the U.S., national security
1:02.6	news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind
1:08.5	closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods.
1:11.9	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant
1:16.9	events matter here at home.
1:19.5	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:24.7	I'm Mary Louise Kelly in Washington, sitting across from Speaker Emerita of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
1:32.7	Madam Speaker, lovely to see you.
1:34.8	Thanks for stopping by.
1:35.8	My pleasure.
1:36.6	Thank you.
1:37.2	Nice to be here.
1:38.7	You once said that you tell women, and I quote, nobody ever gives away power.
	...

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