‘It’s Just a Funny Thing to Do’

Photo: Peter Fisher for New York Magazine

Jon Lovett doesn’t similar day attention. Sitting successful a SiriusXM studio, helium concedes that birthdays are “a amusive accidental to get your friends together,” but having each those eyes connected him makes him uncomfortable. It’s a spot unusual to perceive a antheral who hosts 2 podcasts — including 1 helium conscionable taped successful this precise workplace — sermon his uneasy narration to attention. It’s adjacent odder fixed helium has conscionable returned from filming the upcoming play of Survivor.

Lovett decently entered the nationalist oculus successful 2008, when, aft trying stand-up successful New York and past moving arsenic a speechwriter for Hillary Clinton erstwhile she was a New York senator, helium was hired arsenic a speechwriter for President Barack Obama. After spending a word successful Washington, D.C., with the Obama administration, helium went to Hollywood and co-created 1600 Penn — a short-lived web sitcom astir a fictional First Family that prompted our professional to write, “What’s onscreen is truthful tepid and unimaginative that it practically compelled my caput to wander.” Still, Lovett stayed successful L.A., and helium and chap erstwhile Obama staffers Tommy Vietor, Jon Favreau, and Dan Pfeiffer started a limited-run podcast for The Ringer covering the 2016 predetermination called Keepin’ It 1600. After Trump was elected, they went retired connected their ain with Pod Save America. It was instantly palmy — post-Obama, it turned out, liberals were anxious to perceive to a clump of his erstwhile staffers speech astir however to get the state backmost connected way (and outcry a spot astir atrocious Republican behavior). In the years since, PSA has grown to beryllium conscionable 1 portion of the larger Crooked Media, headed up by Vietor, Favreau, and Lovett. They’ve launched much than 40 shows, including Lovett’s own, Lovett oregon Leave It. Most recently, they released a book, Democracy oregon Else: How to Save America successful 10 Easy Steps. Lovett describes the quality helium plays successful the Crooked-verse arsenic “a heightened mentation of myself” — the cocky, impish small brother. In classical queer tradition, his jokes often tiptoe close up to the enactment of being successful mediocre taste. (In an interrogation with Pete Buttigieg filmed during Pride, Lovett made a dick joke that Buttigieg pretended not to notice. Instead of letting this slide, Lovett said to the caput of Transportation, “Frank Kameny did not protestation successful beforehand of the White House truthful that you could disregard my jokes during Pride, Pete.”) Although he’s go a due nationalist fig implicit the years, helium has managed to support an antithetic level of power implicit his image. He seldom gives interviews, and since helium owns his ain podcast company, helium has the last edit.

With an exception. For the amended portion of the past decade, Lovett was successful a narration with the writer Ronan Farrow. They seemed to effort to support their narration backstage for a while, but a definite benignant of idiosyncratic — PSA superfans, powerfulness gays — was precise funny successful this pair, particularly aft Farrow described proposing successful his publication Catch and Kill. (“I’d nonstop him a draught and enactment successful a question, close connected this page: ‘Marriage?’ On the satellite oregon adjacent present connected earth. He work the draft, and recovered the connection here, and said, ‘Sure.’”)

Post-lockdown, the 2 broke up. It was astir this time, incidentally, that Lovett began mainlining a clump of seasons of Survivor. He hadn’t watched since assemblage and recovered the full premise soothing — ideology successful action! Plus helium was nearing 40, depressed, and taking edibles to enactment disconnected moving — if helium were stoned, helium reasoned, helium officially couldn’t marque immoderate much “clerical, logistical, emotional, oregon personal” decisions for the day. Eventually, helium tells me, fiddling with a insubstantial cup, helium “just started making small notes to myself astir what I would accidental if I made a video application. And the much I started making small notes to myself, the much I got excited astir the anticipation of making the video.” Thanks to an NDA, the nationalist didn’t find retired that Lovett was going connected Survivor until helium was already successful Fiji filming. (Neither did immoderate of his confused friends, who didn’t recognize wherefore helium wasn’t texting them back.) When the trailer came retired successful May, helium was inarguably the champion part. Between Survivor platitudes from his chap players (“This volition beryllium the astir important section of my life,” etc.), there’s Lovett saying, “I person nary outdoor skills. What americium I doing here? I went camping arsenic a Cub Scout; I threw up and went home.”

From the trailer, it seems wide which classical Survivor archetype he’ll beryllium edited into: the nerd. There’s a agelong contented of lovable, strategic, fish-out-of-waters connected the amusement that helium seems positioned to travel in: John Cochran, Aubry Bracco, and Christian Hubicki. Still, you ne'er know. He could beryllium edited successful the mode of Survivor’s astir enduring cheery archetype: the overconfident asshole à la Richard Hatch, the season-one winner, who, incidentally, Lovett remembers well. Hatch won the summertime betwixt Lovett’s elder twelvemonth of precocious schoolhouse and freshman twelvemonth of college; Lovett was truthful excited helium ran astir his puerility location screaming. “At the time, I don’t deliberation I would’ve voiced it retired loud, but the information that a bombastic, precise smart, precise cunning, nude cheery antheral was astir to triumph this thing, my closeted cheery encephalon truly latched connected to it.” Whichever mentation of “Jon Lovett” emerges from the Survivor editing country volition beryllium discussed connected Rob Has a Podcast’s aggregate play episodes dissecting each occurrence of the show, beryllium voted connected successful the Survivor Reddit’s “Player of the Week” polls, and go either a beloved icon oregon a supervillain to the show’s fans connected X and TikTok (with them, there’s seldom an in-between). He says this was really portion of the entreaty of the full happening successful the archetypal place, wherefore helium decided to spell on, during those acheronian pandemic days — the information that he’d person to surrender his quality to power his story. “I got to person a fascinating, meaningful experience,” helium says. “Going into that, I knew that erstwhile it was over, there’d beryllium immoderate clip later, astatine which constituent it would beryllium watched and picked apart. How aged bash you person to beryllium earlier you conscionable spot that if you conscionable speech and amusement radical who you are, that you’ll beryllium comfy with the result?” For him, the reply was 40.

In the meantime, he’s making immoderate much uncomfortable decisions. Another impulse that struck him during the pandemic and helium has since enactment into practice: wearing skirts onstage. He was tense astatine archetypal — “I was acrophobic to bash it for reasons I couldn’t adjacent express, due to the fact that if I had said them retired loud, I would recognize I didn’t judge them: They’re each going to laughter astatine you benignant of thing.” He did it, and it was fine, but talking to maine astir it, helium couches the communicative by adding that “it’s not immoderate defining oregon adjacent singular oregon important act.” There’s a push-and-pull happening going on, 1 that helium doesn’t look to person figured retired himself. “It’s interesting,” I archer him, earlier we halt talking, “that you picture yourself arsenic an anxious, self-conscious person, and that you besides went connected 1 of the astir fashionable TV shows successful the country.” He agrees that it didn’t marque overmuch sense. I inquire if it was impulsive. “How could it beryllium impulsive? It took months.” I inquire if it gave him anxiety. “No.” I inquire if helium was astatine bid with the choice. “It’s conscionable a comic happening to bash to spell connected Survivor. Honestly, it’s truthful funny. Even now, it’s conscionable — truthful silly.” Maybe it’s each arsenic elemental arsenic that.