Obama Speechwriter David Litt's "Hopey Changey White House Years"

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NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2017

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

David Litt was writing speeches for President Barack Obama when he was 24. His new book about the experience is called "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years." David talks to Sam about falling in love with then-candidate Obama, working his way to the White House after an internship spent playing minesweeper, getting his dream job, meeting the President, joining his team of speechwriters, how Obama used language, orchestrating moments like Obama's 'Anger Translator' bit with Keegan-Michael Key, and how David came to realize the President was not as infallible has he had once believed. Email the show at [email protected] and follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before we start the show, quick plug.
0:02.2	More than 40 million Americans speak Spanish,
0:04.8	and millions more are learning.
0:06.8	I'm still learning.
0:07.9	For all of you, we'd like to recommend NPR's Radio Ambulante.
0:12.0	It's the podcast to hear incredible stories
0:14.5	from all over Latin America and across the US.
0:17.5	Hosted by a novelist, Daniel L. Arconn.
0:19.5	Radio Ambulante covers a region like nobody else,
0:22.4	reporting and storytelling in Spanish.
0:25.2	Radio Ambulante is on NPR1 or wherever you listen to your podcast.
0:30.0	Hey y'all, Sam Sanders here.
0:36.2	It's been a minute.
0:37.2	Every Tuesday on the show, we bring you a deep dive.
0:40.0	Today, we have one of the youngest speech writers
0:42.6	in the Obama administration.
0:44.2	Probably in any White House, his name is David Lit.
0:47.6	David was writing speeches for President Barack Obama
0:50.8	at the age of 24.
0:53.5	I know what have we done with our lives.
0:55.8	Anyway, he has a new book all about the experience.
0:58.2	It's called, Thanks Obama, My Hopey Changed White House Years.
	...

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