The West Wing Thing
Show logo. It depicts the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, draped with the "Practical Idealism" banner from the 1999 West Wing episode "Five Votes Down"
Presentation
Hosted byDave Anthony
Josh Olson
GenrePolitical podcast
LanguageEnglish
Lengthtypically 60–120 minutes per episode
Production
ProductionBrian Siano
Theme music composed byCollyn McCoy (Diesel Boots)
Opening theme"Calling All Wanglords"
Audio formatMP3
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes167
Publication
Original releaseMarch 25, 2019 (2019-03-25) 
September 22, 2022 (2022-09-22)
ProviderAll Things Comedy
Related
Related showsThe Dollop
The Movies That Made Me
Chapo Trap House
Michael And Us
The Audit
Websitewestwingthing.libsyn.com

The West Wing Thing is a progressive media analysis and commentary podcast created and hosted by the screenwriters Dave Anthony and Josh Olson. First uploaded in 2019–22, the series discusses the TV drama The West Wing (1999–2006) on an episode-by-episode basis, from a left-wing political perspective.[1][2]

Early episodes were recorded in All Things Comedy in Burbank, California prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; later episodes were recorded from the hosts' homes.[3] Heavy metal musician Collyn McCoy ("Diesel Boots") provides the theme tunes, which vary each season, as well as theme tunes for regular sections such as "West Wing Brain," "Misogyny Rundown" and "Psaki Bomb."[4] Guests on the show included David Sirota, John Rogers, Wyatt Cenac, Matt Taibbi, Blaire Erskine, Thomas Frank, Jared Yates Sexton, Abby Martin, Eddie Pepitone, Bilge Ebiri, Lee Camp, Katie Halper, several members of Chapo Trap House, Briahna Joy Gray, Gareth Reynolds, Marianne Williamson, Nathan J. Robinson, Adam McKay, Adolph L. Reed Jr., Wil Anderson and Susan Saxe.[5]

Episodes

Season 1

#
overall
# in
series
Date releasedEpisode discussedGuests and other info
11March 25, 2019"Pilot"
22April 1, 2019"Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc"
33April 8, 2019"A Proportional Response"
44April 15, 2019"Five Votes Down"
55April 22, 2019"The Crackpots and These Women"
66April 29, 2019"Mr. Willis of Ohio"Title misspelled as "Mr Wills of Ohio"
77May 6, 2019"The State Dinner"
88May 13, 2019"Enemies"
99May 20, 2019"The Short List"
1010May 27, 2019"In Excelsis Deo"
1111June 3, 2019"Lord John Marbury"with Faisal-Azam Qureshi
1212June 10, 2019Mid-Season Wrap, with Susan Saxe[6]
1313July 22, 2019"He Shall, from Time to Time..."
1414July 29, 2019"Take out the Trash Day"
1515August 2, 2019"Teaser - A Very Special West Wing Thing"
1616August 5, 2019"Our Very Special To Kill A Mockingbird episode", with Chris Wade (Chapo Trap House)
1717August 12, 2019"Take This Sabbath Day"
1818August 19, 2019"Celestial Navigation"
1919August 26, 2019"20 Hours in L.A."
2020September 2, 2019"The White House Pro-Am"
2121September 9, 2019"Six Meetings Before Lunch"
2222September 16, 2019"Let Bartlet Be Bartlet"
2323September 23, 2019"Mandatory Minimums"
2424September 30, 2019"Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics"
2525October 7, 2019"What Kind of Day Has It Been"with Luke Savage, author of the famous "How Liberals Fell In Love With The West Wing" article

Season 2

#
overall
# in
series
Date releasedEpisode discussedGuests and other info
261January 6, 2020"In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" (both parts)with John Rogers
272January 13, 2020"The Midterms"
283January 20, 2020"In This White House"
294January 27, 2020"And It's Surely to Their Credit"
305February 3, 2020"The Lame Duck Congress"
316February 10, 2020"The Portland Trip"
327February 17, 2020"Shibboleth"with Katherine Krueger (Splinter) and Will Menaker (Chapo Trap House)
338February 24, 2020"Galileo"
349March 2, 2020"Isaac and Ishmael""9/11 Special" with Matt Christman (Chapo Trap House); this episode of The West Wing was originally aired before the beginning of Season 3
3510March 9, 2020"Noël"
3611March 16, 2020"The Leadership Breakfast"
3712March 23, 2020"The Drop-In"with Alex Press (Jacobin)
3813March 30, 2020"Bartlet's Third State of the Union"
3914April 6, 2020"The War at Home"
4015April 6, 2020"Ellie"
4116April 13, 2020"Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail"with Luke Savage
4217April 13, 2020"The Stackhouse Filibuster"with Matt Stoller (Goliath: The Hundred Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy)
4318April 20, 2020"17 People"
4419April 20, 2020"Bad Moon Rising"Podcast episode is titled "Bad Title Rising"
4520April 27, 2020"The Fall's Gonna Kill You"with Tom Sexton (Trillbilly Worker's Party)
4621April 27, 2020"18th and Potomac"
4722May 4, 2020"Two Cathedrals"Podcast episode titled "Are you there God, it’s me, Jed?"; with David Sirota

Season 3

#
overall
# in
series
Date releasedEpisode discussedGuests and other info
481May 11, 2020"Manchester" (both parts)
492May 18, 2020"Ways and Means"with Amber A'Lee Frost (Chapo Trap House)
503May 25, 2020"On the Day Before"
514June 1, 2020"War Crimes"with Tarence Ray (Trillbilly Worker's Party)
525June 8, 2020"Gone Quiet"
536June 15, 2020"The Indians in the Lobby"with Wasté'win Young (of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests)
547June 22, 2020"The Women of Qumar"with Savanna LaMaison (sex worker and activist)
558June 29, 2020"Bartlet for America"
569July 6, 2020"H. Con-172"
5710July 13, 2020"100,000 Airplanes"with Oliver Willis (political blogger)
5811July 20, 2020"The Two Bartlets"with Luke Savage
5912July 27, 2020"Night Five"
6013August 3, 2020"Hartsfield's Landing"with Josh Androsky (Democratic Socialists of America)
6114August 10, 2020"Dead Irish Writers"with Mary Kate O'Flanagan (screenwriter and story consultant)
6215August 17, 2020"The U.S. Poet Laureate"with Rachel Joy Larris (Women's Media Center)
6316August 24, 2020"Stirred"Also contains a listener mailbag
6417August 31, 2020"Enemies Foreign and Domestic"with Ashley Stevens (Jog For Good)
6518September 7, 2020"The Black Vera Wang"Podcast episode is titled "Black Vera Wanglord", a reference to the podcast's theme song
6619September 14, 2020"We Killed Yamamoto"with Katie Halper
6720September 21, 2020"Posse Comitatus"with Wil Anderson (TOFOP)

Season 4

#
overall
# in
series
Date releasedEpisode discussedGuests and other info
681September 28, 2020"20 Hours in America" (both parts)with Tarence Ray and Tom Sexton (Trillbilly Worker's Party)
692October 5, 2020"College Kids"with Virgil Texas (Chapo Trap House)
703October 12, 2020"The Red Mass"with Trevor Beaulieu (Champagne Sharks)
714October 19, 2020"Debate Camp"Leslie Lee III and Jack Allison (Struggle Session)
725October 21, 2020A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Votewith Amber A'Lee Frost and Felix Biederman (Chapo Trap House). A vodcast uploaded to Vimeo.[7]
736October 26, 2020"Game On"with Briahna Joy Gray (Bad Faith)
747November 2, 2020"Election Night"with Briahna Joy Gray; episode released the day before the 2020 United States presidential election
758November 9, 2020"Process Stories"with Nando Vila (Weekends)
769November 16, 2020"Swiss Diplomacy"
7710November 22, 2020"Arctic Radar"with Amber A'Lee Frost (Chapo Trap House)
7811November 30, 2020"Holy Night"with Nathan J. Robinson (Current Affairs)
7912December 7, 2020"Guns Not Butter"with Rob Rousseau (49th Parahell)
8013December 14, 2020"The Long Goodbye"Bored by the West Wing episode, the duo instead decide to discuss the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Past Tense", renaming the podcast The Star Trek Thing
8114December 21, 2020"Inauguration: Part I"with Daniel Bessner (Jacobin, advisor to the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign)
8215December 28, 2020"Inauguration: Over There"
8316January 4, 2021"The California 47th"with Aaron Thorpe (@posadist_trapgd; Trillbilly Worker's Party)
8417January 11, 2021"Red Haven's on Fire"with Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show; Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas)
8518January 18, 2021"Privateers"with Tanya Turner (Trillbilly Worker's Party)
8619January 25, 2021"Angel Maintenance"with Ashley Stevens
8720February 1, 2021"Evidence of Things Not Seen"
8821February 8, 2021"Life on Mars"with David Sirota
8922February 15, 2021"Commencement"with Branko Marcetic (Jacobin)
9023February 22, 2021"Twenty Five"with Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi (Useful Idiots)

Season 5

#
overall
# in
series
Date releasedEpisode discussedGuests and other info
911March 1, 2021"7A WF 83429"with Aaron Maté (The Grayzone, The Nation)
922March 8, 2021"The Dogs of War"
933March 15, 2021"Jefferson Lives"with Rebecca Bitton (Surviving Limbo)
944March 22, 2021"Han"with Daniel Bessner (Jacobin)
955March 29, 2021"Constituency of One"with Amy Westervelt (Drilled) and Josh Androsky (Democratic Socialists of America)
966April 5, 2021"Disaster Relief"with Robin Marie Averbeck (Liberalism is Not Enough)
977April 9, 2021Crossover with Michael and Us (Luke Savage and Will Sloan) discussing Aaron Sorkin's appearance on RUMBLE with Michael Moore
988April 12, 2021"Separation of Powers"with Tom Sexton (Trillbilly Worker's Party)
999April 19, 2021"Shutdown"with Briahna Joy Gray and Adam McKay (The Big Short, Vice)
10010April 26, 2021"Abu el Banat"with Katherine Krueger (Splinter, Elle) and Will Menaker (Chapo Trap House)
10111May 3, 2021"The Stormy Present"with Felix Biederman (Chapo Trap House)
10212May 10, 2021"The Benign Prerogative"with Aaron Thorpe (Trillbilly Worker's Party)
10313May 17, 2021"Slow News Day"with Marianne Williamson (2020 U.S. presidential candidate)
10414May 24, 2021"The Warfare of Genghis Khan"with Noah Kulwin (Jewish Currents)
10515May 31, 2021"An Khe"
10616June 7, 2021"Full Disclosure"with Pete D'Alessandro (Iowa Bernie Sanders organizer)
10717June 14, 2021"Eppur Si Muove"with Savannah LaMaison
10818June 21, 2021Podcast episode titled "Vamping"; No The West Wing content, as Olson and Anthony just discuss current events
10919June 28, 2021"The Supremes"with Thomas Frank and Katie Halper
11020July 5, 2021"Access"Episode entitled "Good Things Happen in Philly", with Susan Saxe
11121July 12, 2021"Talking Points"
11222July 19, 2021"No Exit"
11323July 26, 2021"Gaza" and "Memorial Day"with Derek Davison (American Prestige)
11424August 9, 2021"Talking Points" (revisited)Podcast episode titled "Season 5 wrap up", with Pete D'Alessandro (Iowa Capital Dispatch) and Richard D. Wolff

Season 6

#
overall
# in
series
Date releasedEpisode(s) discussedGuests and other info
1151August 16, 2021"NSF Thurmont" and "The Birnam Wood"with Shanti Singh (Democratic Socialists of America) and Abby Martin
1162August 23, 2021"Third-Day Story"with Shanti Singh
1173August 30, 2021"Liftoff"with Lee Camp
1184September 6, 2021"The Hubbert Peak"with Briahna Joy Gray
1195September 13, 2021"The Dover Test"
1206September 20, 2021"A Change Is Gonna Come"with Daniel Bessner (Jacobin)
1217September 27, 2021"In the Room"with Meagan Day (Jacobin)
1228October 4, 2021"Impact Winter"with Josh Androsky (Democratic Socialists of America) and Adolph Reed
1239October 11, 2021"Faith Based Initiative"
12410October 18, 2021"Opposition Research"with Tom Sexton (Trillbilly Worker's Party)
12511October 25, 2021"365 Days"with Jared Yates Sexton
12612November 1, 2021"King Corn"with Pete D'Alessandro (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
12713November 8, 2021"The Wake Up Call"with Amber A'Lee Frost (Chapo Trap House)
12814November 15, 2021Podcast episode titled "Hiatus!"; No The West Wing content, as Olson presents a showcase of Diesel Boots songs, including various theme songs for the podcast
12915November 22, 2021Podcast episode titled "Mayor Pete Doc special"; No The West Wing content, with Luke Savage and Alex Press (Jacobin)
13016December 1, 2021Podcast episode titled "Special mini Crooked Media episode"; No The West Wing content, with Briahna Joy Gray
13117December 6, 2021"Freedonia"
13218December 13, 2021"Drought Conditions"with Jen Briney (Congressional Dish)
13319December 20, 2021"A Good Day"with Matt Stoller (Goliath: The Hundred Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy)
13420December 27, 2021"La Palabra"with Eddie Pepitone
13521January 3, 2022"Ninety Miles Away"with Gareth Reynolds
13622January 10, 2022"In God We Trust"with James Fritz (comedian) and Justin Feldman (epidemiologist)
13723January 17, 2022"Things Fall Apart"Podcast episode titled "Things ACTUALLY Fall Apart"; with Kate Willett (Dirtbag Anthropology)
13824January 24, 2022"2162 Votes"with Walker Bragman (Paste, Jacobin)
13925January 31, 2022Podcast episode titled "Meet our free floating agent of chaos!", with Brian Siano, the podcast's researcher
14026February 7, 2022Podcast episode titled "The Hillary Clinton Master Class Part 1", with Amber A'Lee Frost (Chapo Trap House) and Catherine Liu (Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional Managerial Class)
14127February 14, 2022Podcast episode titled "The Hillary Clinton Master Class Part 2", with Julia Claire and Kate Willett (Reply Guys)
14228February 21, 2022Podcast episode titled "The Hillary Clinton Master Class Part 3", with Tom Sexton and Aaron Thorpe (Trillbilly Workers Party)
14329February 28, 2022Podcast episode titled "The Hillary Clinton Master Class Part 4", with Ashley Stevens and Meagan Day (Jacobin)
14430March 7, 2022Podcast episode titled "The Hillary Clinton Master Class Part 5", with Briahna Joy Gray, Katie Halper and Lee Camp

Season 7

#
overall
# in
series
Date releasedEpisode(s) discussedGuests and other info
1451March 14, 2022"The Ticket"with Kath Barbadoro (comedian)
1462March 21, 2022"The Mommy Problem"Podcast episode titled "Mommy Problem"; with Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner (American Prestige)
1473March 28, 2022"Message of the Week"with Alex Fumero (writer and producer)
1484April 4, 2022"Mr. Frost"Podcast episode titled "The Leak"
1495April 11, 2022"Here Today"with Pete D'Alessandro (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
1506April 18, 2022"The Al Smith Dinner"with Lisa Curry (Long Story Long)
1517April 25, 2022Review of The Trial of the Chicago 7, with Danny Bessner (Jacobin) and Bilge Ebiri
1528May 2, 2022"The Debate"with Matt Christman (Chapo Trap House)
1539May 9, 2022"Undecideds"with Vida Starr and Trevor Beaulieu (Champagne Sharks)
15410May 16, 2022"The Wedding"with Will Menaker (Chapo Trap House)
15511May 23, 2022"Running Mates"with Lisa Curry (Long Story Long)
15612May 30, 2022"Internal Displacement"with Ashley Stevens (Jog For Good)
15713June 20, 2022"Duck and Cover"with Gareth Reynolds (The Dollop)
15814June 27, 2022"The Cold"with Tom Sexton (Trillbilly Worker's Party)
15915June 29, 2022"Two Weeks Out"with Jared Yates Sexton
16016July 18, 2022"Welcome to Wherever You Are"with Luke Savage and Blaire Erskine
16117July 25, 2022"Election Day" (both parts)with Katie Halper
16218August 1, 2022"Requiem"with Vida Starr and Trevor Beaulieu (Champagne Sharks)
16319August 8, 2022"Transition"with Wil Anderson
16420August 15, 2022Review of "We Just Decided To", pilot episode of The Newsroom; with Wil Anderson
16521August 17, 2022"The Last Hurrah"with Pete D'Alessandro (Iowa activist) and David Sirota
16622August 23, 2022"Institutional Memory"with Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson (Citations Needed)
16723August 29, 2022"Tomorrow"a 3:12 episode consisting of the intro song, a brief observation that there was no political content in the episode, and the outro song
16824August 31, 2022"Tomorrow"with Briahna Joy Gray
16925September 22, 2022"Special Appendix Episode - What's the deal with Louise Mensch?"; with Arthur Tiersky (screenwriter)

Reception

Writing for Book and Film Globe, Kevin L. Jones praised The West Wing Thing, saying that the hosts "gleefully tear apart each episode of the West Wing for its smugness and centrist politics and I’m all for it. And they don’t just troll the show either; they lay down a solid case for every criticism they lob. They know how show business works, they know their American history […] and they’re certain they know who’s to blame for all of the West Wing’s issues: West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin.[8]"

In Fast Company, Joe Berkowitz wrote that "Anthony and Olson don’t approach their subject with reverence. Instead, their aim is to present The West Wing as a singularly corrosive force in American politics that has perpetuated incalculable and irreparable harm on society," saying that they "offer a compelling counter-narrative to the series’ nostalgia-soaked civic celebration."[9]

Veteran Irish journalist and former Washington correspondent Carole Coleman described The West Wing Thing as "irreverent and very funny."[10] Irish newspaper the Athlone Advertiser said, "If you find Aaron Sorkin's smug, centrist, sexist, childish waffle infuriating you can listen along to the podcast and watch a few episodes — which is what I have been doing and finding it quite cathartic."[11]

See also

References

  1. "Forget The Politics, Enjoy The Drama: The West Wing Celebrates 20 Years". December 7, 2019.
  2. "The West Wing Thing". Comedian Dave Anthony.
  3. Comedy, All Things (June 16, 2020). "The West Wing Thing". All Things Comedy.
  4. @MccoyCollyn (October 28, 2020). "I don't devote a lot of time to blowing smoke up my own ass, but I think the next @TheWestWingThi1 theme song migh…" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  5. "The West Wing Podcasts". player.fm. 28 October 2020.
  6. Saxe, Susan (August 10, 2019). "Neoliberalism: My episode of "West Wing Thing"". Medium.
  7. "The West Wing Thing Reunion Thing". Vimeo. May 21, 2021.
  8. "The West Wing Thing Podcast review". Book and Film Globe. May 16, 2019.
  9. Berkowitz, Joe (October 15, 2020). "Before you watch HBO Max's 'The West Wing' reunion special, listen to skeptics of the beloved series". Fast Company.
  10. "At home with... RTÉ's Carole Coleman". September 9, 2020 via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "What's streaming on All 4?". Athlone Advertiser.
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