We're sunsetting PodQuest on 2025-07-28. Thank you for your support!
Export Podcast Subscriptions
cover of episode How to Read a President, with Carlos Lozada, Vinson Cunningham, and Curtis Sittenfeld

How to Read a President, with Carlos Lozada, Vinson Cunningham, and Curtis Sittenfeld

2024/5/3
logo of podcast On the Media

On the Media
AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
People
B
Brooke Gladstone
C
Carlos Lozada
C
Curtis Sittenfeld
V
Vinson Cunningham
Topics
Brooke Gladstone: 本期节目探讨了如何通过阅读政治人物的回忆录来了解他们的真实想法和动机，以及小说家如何通过虚构作品来探索政治人物的私生活。 Carlos Lozada: 政治人物的回忆录，即使经过精心润色，也会无意中暴露他们的不安全感、恐惧和野心。通过仔细阅读，包括细微之处和省略的内容，我们可以发现他们试图掩盖的真相。例如，奥巴马回忆录中关于他坚持携带公文包的细节，以及彭斯回忆录中对特朗普1月6日讲话的省略，都揭示了他们对自身形象的精心塑造和政治策略。此外，Lozada还分析了特朗普的几本书，指出这些书预示了他后来的总统任期。他还推荐了几本他认为写得好的总统回忆录，例如格兰特的回忆录和卡特的《黎明前的一小时》。Lozada强调，阅读政治人物的回忆录，即使是那些看起来枯燥乏味的，也能帮助我们更好地理解他们和他们领导的国家。 Vinson Cunningham: Cunningham的小说《伟大的期望》以2008年奥巴马竞选为背景，讲述了一个年轻人在竞选团队中的经历。他认为小说比回忆录更能捕捉到政治人物的真实面貌，因为它可以利用事实和虚构来创造更有意义的故事。他探讨了信仰、政治和修辞的力量及其局限性，并指出小说中的人物，包括主人公David Hammond和竞选筹款人Beverly，代表了对政治不同视角的体现。Cunningham还谈到了他自己的经历如何影响了小说的创作，以及他对奥巴马的看法如何随着时间的推移而变化。 Curtis Sittenfeld: Sittenfeld探讨了她创作的小说《美国妻子》（以劳拉·布什为原型）和《罗德姆》（以希拉里·克林顿为原型）的创作动机和过程。她解释了为什么她对劳拉·布什的内心想法感兴趣，以及她如何通过研究和想象来创造出令人信服的角色。Sittenfeld还谈到了小说中性爱场景的争议，以及为什么小说比电影或电视更能引起读者对政治人物私生活的不安。她认为，小说更能引发读者的参与和思考，并挑战读者对政治人物的既定印象。 Brooke Gladstone: 本节目讨论了如何通过阅读政治人物的回忆录和小说来了解他们的真实想法和动机，以及这些作品如何帮助我们更好地理解政治和政治人物。

Deep Dive

Chapters
Political memoirs often reveal a politician's insecurities, fears, and ambitions, sometimes subtly. Carlos Lozada, author of "The Washington Book," discusses how he analyzes these memoirs for deeper insights into political figures, citing examples like Obama's desire to emulate JFK and Pence's omission of key details in Trump's January 6th address.
  • Politicians reveal themselves through subtle details and omissions in their memoirs.
  • Obama consciously shaped his image, drawing inspiration from JFK.
  • Pence's memoir omits key parts of Trump's January 6th address, suggesting continued support.
  • Lozada's book explores how to glean insights from political writing.

Shownotes Transcript

When politicians publish their autobiographies, often they reveal more than intended. On this week’s On the Media, find out how one reporter sifts through political memoirs for truths about politicians and the people they lead. Plus, in vivid detail, a novelist imagines the private lives of former presidents.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Carlos Lozada, New York Times Opinion columnist and a co-host of the weekly “Matter of Opinion” podcast. Lozada explains how he mines political memoirs for deeper understanding of our political figures by examining what they include and what they omit.[16:59] Brooke speaks with Vinson Cunningham, author of the new novel Great Expectations. Cunningham, who is now a theater critic at The New Yorker, worked on the 2008 Obama campaign and later in the White House. Great Expectations is inspired by that time in his life, and the difficult-to-read candidate for the presidency.[35:19] Brooke interviews novelist Curtis Sittenfeld about her exploration of the minds of political figures through fiction, first in American Wife (inspired by Laura Bush) and next in Rodham, which considers what Hilary Clinton’s life would have looked like if she had never married Bill. They discuss the questions that led Sittenfeld to write those novels and why fiction based on real people makes readers so uncomfortable — especially the sex scenes.

Further reading:

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm)). Follow our show on Instagram), Twitter) and Facebook) @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].