#POOLIGANS

It's HALLOWEEN and we're back with another MEET THE #POOLIGANS episode featuring two gentlemen who are nothing if not impressive: PATRICK (@MrReactionary) is an Air Force veteran with two tours in Afghanistan currently employed by an unnamed government agency while RICHARD (@ZichtRichard) was a public servant working in Child Protective Services and foster care. Together we explore the charms of Julie Mason's @POTUSPressPool, learn about Schipperkes and Australian heelers, find out whether there are in fact UFOs and explore the time travelling properties of British rock formations. All that PLUS The Cheese Story That Would Make Bubbles Jealous! HAPPY RESPONSIBLY DISTANCED HALLOWEEN!

POOLIPALOOZA2 continues with two #POOLIGANS OGs: Our expat living from north of the wall LEAH DREVES (@ljdreves) and John Bolton's evermorphing stache, ADAM REIZNER (@AdamReizner) are with us to chat about the last 2.5 years. Hear what a Canadian resident's experience of the Trump years entailed. Adam shares the single greatest #POOLIGANS Press Pool commitment story ever told. What do they look forward to and what do they dread as the days to the election dwindle down and what are their best-laid plans for election day? A great hour spent with two extraordinary people.

We're BACK with POOLIPALOOZA2 -- the leadup to the 2020 Presidential Election! Daily podcasts with new #POOLIGANS and all your favorites await -- we'll meet new people around the country and catch up with some of your favorites. And speaking of favorites: Neither Jo (@jojofromjerz) nor Denise (@denisetut) need any introduction at this point (but not to worry, they get one anyway). They were kind enough to join me on our first podcast back to reminisce about the past 2.5 years, about Jo's rise to veritable social media star, the difficulty of going back to work during COVID and all the things that have changed since we first met. Oh, and the importance of vape pens, an actually useful function for unexpected phalluses and why tucking your shirt in while laying down is probably not the soundest strategy.

It's the POST-SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE ROUNDUP with our dear friend and keeper of the #POOLIGANS Bingo cards BUBBLES THE VAMPIRE, audience favorite KRISTIN (@kchatwin22) and our newcomer GLENN (@glenn_mcmillen). Fresh off the high of a final Presidential Debate we discuss what we saw, heard and what really stuck with us all. We congratulate Rep. Omar on her outstanding gaming rig, debate whether Biden really debated and ponder the usefulness of the what the fuck meter in a time impervious to metering.

We're back with a brand new episode with one of the most fascinating #POOLIGANS in memory: The one, the one and only KAZYS VARNELIS (@kazys) -- college professor, author, newspaper publisher -- and yes, you're also about to learn how to pronounce his name. He tells us about growing up in a family dominated by an artist, the history of architecture, why urban development of cities frequently fails, glorious wine cellars, plague mask collections...and the one and only Roxy The Cat also holds court. Learn more about Kazys on his website: https://varnelis.net/

We're thrilled to welcome universally beloved #POOLIGANS favorite ELISE LABOTT (@eliselabott), veteran foreign affairs journalist, to the latest episode! Learn more about the teacher who inspired her career, what really happens at gorgeous palaces and what has and maybe hasn't changed over 20 years of covering administrations. We also discuss French waiters, the charms of podcasting, why journos may have to rethink their approaches to coverage, killer enchiladas and [gasp!] Julie Mason's heart of gold.

AIR DRUM ROLL PLEASE! Behold our latest guest, the millennial genius/bane known for his encyclopedic knowledge of pop (and jazz) culture, JACKSON SINNENBERG (@sinnenbergmusic), associate producer of ye favorite SiriusXM show, the one and only @POTUSPressPool. Our frolics through film, jazz and pop music needed their own liner notes, which can be found just below. You'll also get some behind-the-scenes insights into the work responsibilities of an associate producer, the dos and don't of running media accounts and the origin story of Jackson's air drumming proclivities. Please enjoy! EPISODE NOTES: Anime Mentioned: Hayao Miyazaki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki My Neighbor Totoro (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Neighbor_Totoro) Kiki's Delivery Service (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiki%27s_Delivery_Service) Spirited Away (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited_Away) Princess Mononoke (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Mononoke) The Wind Rises (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_Rises) Other Anime: Claymore (https://myanimelist.net/anime/1818/Claymore) Naruto (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naruto) One Piece (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece) Jazz Gateway Drugs: Bill Evans – The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Village_Vanguard_Recordings,_1961) Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Who Gets Who Concert (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jazz_Messengers) John Coltrane -- A Love Supreme (https://www.npr.org/2000/10/23/148148986/a-love-supreme) Ben Wendel – The Seasons (https://www.benwendel.com/theseasons) Keith Jarret – Live in Tokyo w/ Trio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_%2796) Smithsonian Jazz Anthology (https://folkways.si.edu/jazz-the-smithsonian-anthology/ragtime/music/album/smithsonian) Other songs discussed: Iron Maiden – Hallowed Be Thy Name (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vP2hFFV57E) Keith Jarret – The Köln Concert (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_K%C3%B6ln_Concert)

We're back with a seasonal episode featuring AHAMAD CHILDRESS (@AhmadChildress), fellow podcaster, fellow nerd and politics savant extraordinaire! We discuss his Los Angeles roots, the microcosm that is California, his work covering the entertainment field and his outstanding TV podcasts. We're then joined by #POOLIGANS favorites @jojofromjerz and @DeniseTut to talk impeachment, Trump fatigue, appropriately sized Halloween candies and also tackle The Great Candy Corn Debate (as if there was such a thing -- it's not a candy and is objectively bad sorry Jo and Denise!)

For our first dip into the #POOLIGANS pool in Season 3, we meet Brad Williams (@FuriousBrad), longtime @POTUSPressPool fan and man who will beat you at the "Whose First Job Was Worse?" game every single time. We discuss his interest in politics, the life of an aspiring sports announcer, North Carolina politics and why joining a church choir with your wife is always a great idea. Brad regales us with tales of his previous careers in bouncing and hand modeling (these were not concurrent). Then we're joined by audience favorites @BubblesVampire and @SObernauer and find out how to sell insurance policies in adult entertainment establishments and we uncover the rarest and most precious of species: Cheese aware cats!

We're baaAAaack! Season 3 of the #POOLIGANS podcast opens in grand style with @POTUSPressPool fan favorite LIZ GOODWIN (@lizcgoodwin) of the Boston Globe! Longtime listeners will of course remember her from her time at Yahoo News and as a SiriusXM co-host with one [checks notes] Olivier Knox. Tune in to learn more about finding a journalism job during the 2008 collapse, Liz's days as a posh hotel reviewer, how her own family heritage led to a great, personal piece on Elizabeth Warren and why Dancing With The Stars can feel a bit invasive. Oh, and that 2020 field of Dem candidates of course -- Liz has great insights you'll want to hear!

To celebrate the podcast's one year anniversary we present POOLIGANSPALOOZA, a multi-night event with all your favorite #POOLIGANS! What has changed for this motley crew during our first year and what has stayed the same? We wanted to know, sent out the pooli-signal and over a dozen of our most valiant responded! Tonight, please welcome our first set of six: @BubblesVampire @DruffM, @AdamReizner followed by @brendanamerica, @jojofromjerz and @kchatwin22. The good, the bad, the funny and the punny...take a listen!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it's true! On this here season 2 finale of the @pooliganspod we are joined by none other than the one, the only, the incomparable JULIE MASON (@juliemason) and learn about all the things: her youth as a punk rocker, her deep love for the great state of Texas, finding her tribe as a White House correspondent, meeting miracle man and partner in crime Patrick Ferrise and running the @POTUSPressPool, simply the best politics and journalism show out there. You VERY OBVIOUSLY don't want to miss this one!

We're thrilled to welcome @POTUSPressPool favorite ANNIE LINSKEY (@annielinskey), Washington Post national political reporter focused on the 2020 presidential campaign! Hear about Annie's time as a quasi book reviewer, covering crime in Baltimore and the travails of covering and writing about the 2016 election. We discuss why female 2020 Democratic candidates are still getting less press, learn where not to be on one's first Oval Office visit and explore the transcendent joy of sailing.

After a year of hopeful pleading, we finally convinced her: longtime #POOLIGAN NANCY J (@nardwien) is joined by prolific tweeter and wonderous French-Canadian millennial DENIS LEVECK (@deenisaur) for a truly outstanding MEET THE POOLIGANS episode. Find out about their fascination with the POTUS Press Pool, in which state campers are accosted by the largest mosquitoes, why NAFTA and USMCA matter to truck drivers and what to do when you lose a grandchild at Disney World!

Exactly why three of your favorite #POOLIGANS, Bubbles The Vampire, Denise Tutt and Unroolie Julie allowed their firstborns to appear on this MILLENNIALS themed podcast we'll never really know -- but we're extremely excited to introduce you to CHELSEA (@Chelsea_Tuttle), IAIN (@Tengwarin) and ALEX (@talbertalex)! They waste no time getting straight into politics, exploring millennial stereotypes, analyzing the overhyping of the Mona Lisa and which social networks are actually really still cool.

On today's episode we're proud to welcome TAEGAN GODDARD, founder of one of the most influential and earliest political websites: www.politicalwire.com, the best news aggregator on the internet. Taegan looks back at 20 years of running what was a political blog before blogs even existed and turning it into the preeminent website it is today. We talk about news curation, why we benefit from listening to our children's opinions about politics rather than imparting our own and get a sneak preview of Teagan's forthcoming book "Spitball: The New Rules of Our Broken Politics". It's a fascinating conversation with one of the sharpest analysts of not only daily politics, but the currents and riptides underneath it all.

We're lucky enough to be joined by the marvelous ABBY LIVINGSTON (@TexasTribAbby), DC Buro Chief of the Texas Tribune, three-time MVP for the women’s press softball team and knower of all things Texas. She tells us about her transition from screenwriting to journalism, explicates the purple enigma that is her home state of Texas, shares her recollections of the 2017 shooting at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park and why not being deterred matters so much. Also: Why should you care about Texas Tribune's business model and what makes the #TribFest such a unique event? Makes sure to join us on this jam-packed episode!

It's the magical episode Bubbles The Vampire (@bubblesvampire) and I have been waiting to bring you: THE MINDER (@theminder) -- a #POOLIGAN unlike any other -- has finally agreed to be a guest. Hear about his formative years spent travelling the world, his work as a psychologist for children with Asperger's Syndrome and his experience as a grief counselor dispatched when yet another school shooting occurs. He shares his obsession with learning and performing magic, tells us about his vast collections of both magical and political artifacts -- and for the grand finale, behold as a magic trick is performed on the podcast!

We're extremely excited to be joined on today's #POOLIGANS podcast by the terrific and prolific ISAAC DOVERE (@IsaacDovere), staff writer at @TheAtlantic, frequent guest and guest host on SIRIUSXM and author of the forthcoming book "You Are Right to Be Concerned: Democrats in Crisis in the Trump Years" about the 2020 Dem candidates! Hear about Isaac's path into journalism, the 2020 field, why he misses podcasting (but might not be done with it yet) and his tips on how to shut off all the noise find your moment of Zen. Do not miss this one!

We're thrilled to welcome GRACE MYERS (@GraceMyersLaw1) to the #POOLIGANS podcast to discuss her work as a criminal defense attorney and her experience practicing law in Maricopa County, AZ. Hear Grace hold forth on why Hill Street Blues can be formative viewing, the legal system abandoning the mentally ill, the state of Maricopa County post-Arpaio and yes, that story about when her brother/our dear friend Bill Myers (@BillCapHill) decided to create his own unique school day activity.