Rod Blagojevich: All The Governor’s Men
Scamfluencers
Wondery
4.1 • 7K Ratings
🗓️ 16 October 2023
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Rod Blagojevich is an ambitious son of immigrants who knows how to win over a crowd. After marrying the daughter of a powerful alderman, he rises through the ranks of Illinois politics. He gets elected governor in 2002, and immediately starts wheeling and dealing, leveraging his influence for his own personal gain. But when he gets wrapped up in a scheme to sell Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, he’s faced with the campaign of his life.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey Pride members, you can listen to scamfluencers early and ad-free on Amazon Music, download the app today. |
| 0:06.0 | A heads-up to our listeners, the subject of this episode, Rod Bulgoyevich, has a bit of a dirty mouth. |
| 0:13.0 | So this episode has a few more f-bombs than usual. |
| 0:16.0 | Welcome to the messy, macho world of Chicago politics, baby! |
| 0:22.0 | Sarah, you know how American politicians are always campaigning on how they come from humble roots? |
| 0:32.0 | You know, it's like son of a goat doctor, daughter of a boat of immigrants, you know, that kind of thing? |
| 0:37.0 | Yeah, it's the American dream. They're like, I'm the American dream and so are you. |
| 0:42.0 | Yes. Well, do you ever buy it? Like, does it make you believe in the politician? |
| 0:48.0 | Because it makes me much more suspicious. Of course I don't. That's why I'm proud to be Canadian |
| 0:54.0 | where our leader is the son of a former Prime Minister. |
| 0:59.0 | Well, I ask because today I have a story about one of those politicians, a son of Eastern European immigrants |
| 1:06.0 | who loved the attention he got from campaigning and the money he made as a powerful figure in American politics. |
| 1:13.0 | But you know what I remember the most about him, Sarah? His hair, his awful, awful hair. |
| 1:20.0 | It's October 2009 and Rod Blagojevich is visibly nervous. |
| 1:24.0 | He's wearing a dark suit with a blue tie and his signature mop of thick brown hair hangs over his eyes. |
| 1:31.0 | He's in a boardroom seated next to celebrity chef Curtis Stone and retired Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson. |
| 1:37.0 | TV cameras highlight the sweat dripping down his face. He fidgets with his tie. |
| 1:42.0 | He seems completely out of his element. For six years, Rod was the governor of Illinois, but not anymore. |
| 1:49.0 | He's recently been impeached. He's also been charged with racketeering, conspiracy, and lying to public officials. |
| 1:56.0 | But his anxiety isn't because of the 19 count federal indictment. No, he's frazzled because he's appearing on the celebrity apprentice |
| 2:05.0 | and the show's host, Donald Trump, is not happy. |
| 2:09.0 | I just want to ask this one question. Your Harry Potter facts were not accurate. Who did the research? |
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