''The West Wing Thing'' is a progressive media analysis and commentary podcast created and hosted by the screenwriters

Dave Anthony David Sean Anthony (born August 26, 1967) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and podcaster. He is best known as the creator and co-host of the comedy podcast ''The Dollop'', in which he tells notable stories from American history to h ...

and

Josh Olson Joshua R. Olson is an American screenwriter and podcaster, known for writing the 2005 film ''A History of Violence''. Career Olson wrote and directed the low budget horror film ''Infested'' in 2002. He wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film ' ...

. First uploaded in 2019–22, the series discusses the TV drama ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...

'' (1999–2006) on an episode-by-episode basis, from a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

political perspective. Early episodes were recorded in

All Things Comedy William Frederic Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, actor, writer, and director. He started his career as a stand-up comedian before expanding his career as an actor on stage and screen. As a comedian he is known ...

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

prior to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; later episodes were recorded from the hosts' homes. 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 Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

Rundown" and " Psaki Bomb." Guests on the show included

David Sirota David J. Sirota (born November 2, 1975) is the founder and editor-in-chief of '' The Lever'', a reader-supported investigative news outlet focused on exposing the negative influence of corporate corruption on American society. Sirota was a speechw ...

, John Rogers,

Wyatt Cenac Wyatt John Foster Cenac Jr. ( ; born April 19, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He was a correspondent and writer for ''The Daily Show'' from 2008 to 2012. He starred in the TBS series '' People of Earth'' and in Bar ...

Matt Taibbi Matthew Colin Taibbi (; born March 2, 1970) is an American author, journalist and podcaster. A former contributing editor for ''Rolling Stone'', he is the author of several books and publisher of ''Racket News'' (formerly ''TK News''). He has re ...

, Blaire Erskine,

Thomas Frank Thomas Carr Frank (born March 21, 1965) is an American political analyst, historian, and journalist. He co-founded and edited '' The Baffler'' magazine. Frank is the author of the books '' What's the Matter with Kansas?'' (2004) and '' Listen, L ...

, Jared Yates Sexton,

Abby Martin Abigail Suzanne Martin (born September 6, 1984) is an American journalist, TV presenter, and activist. She helped found the citizen journalism website ''Media Roots'' and serves on the board of directors for the Media Freedom Foundation which ...

Eddie Pepitone Edward David Pepitone (born November 5, 1958) is an American character actor, stand-up comedian and podcast host. He is known for his dark comedy style. Early life Pepitone was born to a Sicilian-American father and a Jewish American mother in ...

Bilge Ebiri Bilge Ebiri (; born 1973) is a British-born American journalist and filmmaker. His first feature film, a comedy thriller entitled ''New Guy'', was released in 2004. Early life and education Ebiri is of Turkish descent. Ebiri studied at Yale Un ...

, Lee Camp,

Katie Halper Katherine Rose Halper (born July 11, 1980/1981) is an American comedian, writer, filmmaker, podcaster, and political commentator. She is the host of the podcast ''The Katie Halper Show'' and co-host of the podcast ''Useful Idiots'' with Aaron Ma ...

, several members of ''

Chapo Trap House ''Chapo Trap House'' (also referred to as ''Chapo'') is an American socialist political comedy podcast launched in March 2016 and hosted by Will Menaker, Felix Biederman, Matt Christman, and Amber A'Lee Frost. It is produced by Chris Wade. The ...

'',

Briahna Joy Gray Briahna Joy Gray (born August 15, 1985) is an American political commentator, lawyer, and political consultant. After writing for ''The Intercept'' in 2018 she started her political career as the National Press Secretary for the Bernie Sanders 20 ...

Gareth Reynolds Gareth Patrick Reynolds (born November 27, 1979) is an American comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting '' The Dollop'', a weekly comedy history podcast in which his friend and fellow comedian Dave Anthony surp ...

Marianne Williamson Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, speaker, and political activist. She began her professional career as a spiritual leader of the Church of Today, a Unity Church in Warren, Michigan. Williamson has written s ...

, Nathan J. Robinson,

Adam McKay Adam McKay (born April 17, 1968) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. McKay began his career as a head writer for the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') from 1995 to 2001. After leaving ''SNL'', McKay co-w ...

, Adolph L. Reed Jr.,

Wil Anderson William James Anderson (born 31 January 1974) is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter, and podcaster. Early life William James Anderson was born on 31 January 1974 in Sale, Victoria, and grew up on a dairy farm near Heyfield, Victoria.< ...

and Susan Saxe.

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

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 Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

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 Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, playwright and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a writer for stage, television, and film, Sorkin is recognized f ...

." In ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

'', 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 Dominant narratives, sometimes called dominant cultural narratives, are frequently-repeated stories that are shared in society through various social and cultural institutions. The term is most frequently used in pedagogy, the study of education. Do ...

to the series’

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...

-soaked civic celebration." Veteran Irish journalist and former Washington correspondent

Carole Coleman Carole Coleman (born September 1966) is an Irish journalist. Originally from Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, she is a former Washington Correspondent for RTÉ. Carole is a journalism graduate of the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). She ...

described ''The West Wing Thing'' as "irreverent and very funny." Irish newspaper the ''Athlone Advertiser'' said, "If you find Aaron Sorkin's smug,

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

, childish

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened Batter (cooking), batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron ...

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."

References

External links

Official page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:West Wing thing Audio podcasts Socialist podcasts Film and television podcasts All Things Comedy 2019 podcast debuts 2022 podcast endings