(SOUNDBITE OF THE BIGTOP ORCHESTRA'S "TEETER BOARD: FOLIES BERGERE (MARCH AND TWO-STEP)")
SUSAN DAVIS, HOST:
Hey, there. It's the NPR POLITICS PODCAST. I'm Susan Davis. I cover politics. And 2024 has been quite the year. For me personally, when an election year is over, I'm ready to let it all go. But today we're going to talk about the things from the past year that we still can't let go. You know, the things we just can't stop thinking about, politics or otherwise. And to kick off this year's Can't Let It Go extravaganza - that's what I'm calling it - I'm first joined by my friends and my colleagues, Miles Parks and Tamara Keith. Hello to you both.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Hello.
MILES PARKS, BYLINE: Hi, Sue.
KEITH: I want CLIGapalooza (ph).
DAVIS: Ooh, I like that.
KEITH: CLIGamageddon.
DAVIS: CLIGamageddon is a good one.
PARKS: (Laughter) CLIGamageddon's dark. That's not good.
DAVIS: Depends on how good your Can't Let It Go is, Miles. So...
KEITH: Right.
PARKS: No pressure. No pressure.
DAVIS: ...Why don't you kick it off for us? Why couldn't you let go this year?
PARKS: Well, so I feel like the obvious Can't Let It Go for me is the birth of my first child, but that was, like, true.
DAVIS: All right. All right.
PARKS: I was like, can I just do, like, the beauty of watching birth happen? But no, I can't do that.
DAVIS: The beauty of life itself.
PARKS: Yeah. I don't think we can do that. So - but related to that, you both have children of your own.
DAVIS: Yes.
PARKS: In that first few months, which I feel like a lot of people had told me about how - there's a lot of words that could be used to describe the first couple months of parenthood. But I definitely found myself searching for things that would give me comfort at 2 in the morning. I remember, Sue, before my baby was born, you gave me some great advice. You were like, if you need to order a pizza at any time of the day, if you need a beer at any time of the day, you just do it.
DAVIS: Yeah.
KEITH: Amazing.
PARKS: Like, you do what you've got to do to survive.
DAVIS: It's like airport rules, but for parenting.
PARKS: Yeah. I found the most random of things which has given me comfort this year, in the last seven months, which is watching people play poker on the internet.
KEITH: Interesting.
PARKS: You can just watch endless - I'm not kidding. It is an infinite stream of watching human beings play poker on the internet. And I swear to God, guys, I think I have watched more than a hundred hours of internet poker this year, just because it has been the most, like - for whatever reason, I find it, like, just the perfect amount of, like, oh, I'm vaguely thinking about this, but it's, like, mindless enough that I multiple times just straight up fell asleep to it...
KEITH: Yeah. Yeah.
PARKS: ...Like, while, like, sitting on the couch, waiting between feeds and stuff like that.
DAVIS: So, wait - this is not, like, World Series of Poker with...
PARKS: So sometimes. So there's two versions, and I actually kind of went down both rabbit holes. I actually found myself definitely drawn to the versions that had color commentary. So you can also find, like, live streams, where you could just watch people play for many, many hours. That wasn't exactly my jam. At 2 in the morning, that was easier to fall asleep to.
DAVIS: I would think.
PARKS: But most of the time, there was a show on Fox Sports called "The Big Game," and it was these great color commentators, and there's, I think, close to a hundred episodes. They're just - straight up just on YouTube now. And I watched from episode one all the way to the completion of that show - the entirety of it - over my parental leave. And honestly, now, I think for the rest of my life, when I am, like, looking for that sense of, like, peace, calm, I think this might be the place I go.
DAVIS: Do you think that you are a better poker player after watching all of this poker yourself?
PARKS: This is the question. I'm so glad you asked this, Sue, 'cause it's a question I think about all the time. I have not - I've played poker one time since I gained this obsession, with my high school friends, and I did win $90.
KEITH: Oh.
DAVIS: Great.
PARKS: So I don't know what that means. The sample size is very small. My high school friends - not the brightest bulbs in this shed.
DAVIS: Wait. Do they listen to this podcast?
PARKS: If they do...
DAVIS: I hope not.
PARKS: ...Jacob, Sam - I'm sorry. Maybe you made some bad decisions that night. So I would say I doubt it, would be my guess. I've never been very good at poker, so I doubt that, like, me watching videos at 2 in the morning of other people do it has, like, had some radical impact to the point where I'm going to be, like, a savant now. But maybe we'll find out, you know. Sue, if you - in the New Year we could hit the casinos or something.
DAVIS: You know, I actually - I enjoy playing cards, and I - I've learned how to play poker when I was a kid. My dad taught all of us. So, Miles, if you want to start a little NPR poker league in 2025...
PARKS: Ooh.
KEITH: Yeah.
DAVIS: ...I'm open to the conversation, is what I'm talking about.
PARKS: (Laughter).
DAVIS: Just amongst friends. No money.
PARKS: Did you guys have, like, a comfort thing or a comfort content?
KEITH: Shopping.
DAVIS: Yeah. Purchasing things that you think will solve your parenting problem at 3:00 a.m. is definitely a pastime. I also would - did more mindless television. I would watch a lot of reality TV. Things with low stakes, low plot. Like you said, you could fall asleep during it. And I also would just listen to a lot of music with my earbuds in, especially when you had a crying baby in the middle of the night.
KEITH: Yeah.
DAVIS: Like, the crying can just get really exhausting, but if you just, like, turn up music really loud, you can deal with a lot.
KEITH: I thought I was going to finish "The Wire," but I didn't.
PARKS: I've actually just started a rewatch of "The Wire." That's so weird. I, like - so you never finished it? You gave up again?
KEITH: I gave up again.
PARKS: Oh, my God.
KEITH: And now the kid is 6, so I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
DAVIS: It might not just be for you, Tam. Tam, what about you? What can't you let go of?
KEITH: This is news adjacent, but there are some news events where everyone remembers where they were when the news happened - where you were. The event of this year is when President Biden announced via tweet that he was dropping out of the race for president. My story is that I was with my kids in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - there to cover the president, but we weren't expecting any news. And I was walking them to go get ice cream. And then, bam - the tweet came out. We were right in front of the ice cream shop. I was like, boys, we're running. We're running back to the hotel. We are running. We are going to get - Mommy's going to go on the radio. And the look of, like, utter disappointment.
DAVIS: What does that mean about the...
KEITH: Ice cream.
DAVIS: ...Ice cream?
PARKS: (Laughter).
KEITH: Like, there's no time for ice cream. But my story is like, it's OK. The best story, the one that we will all remember where Wolf Blitzer was when this news came out.
DAVIS: Oh, yeah (laughter).
PARKS: I don't know this.
DAVIS: You don't know?
KEITH: Oh, you don't know this?
PARKS: No.
KEITH: So Wolf Blitzer, the CNN anchor - very serious man. You know, it was Sunday.
DAVIS: Sunday funday, aka.
KEITH: Sunday funday, yeah. 12:47 p.m he sends a tweet - enjoying a Wolf spritzer at El Presidente restaurant here in D.C.
(LAUGHTER)
KEITH: And the Wolf spritzer is an alcoholic beverage that involves Aperol, mezcal, lemon juice, sparkling wine.
DAVIS: Ooh, mezcal.
PARKS: Oh, yeah.
DAVIS: Yeah. This is...
PARKS: Jeez. And then did he go on air after that?
KEITH: Yes.
PARKS: Oh, man.
(LAUGHTER)
DAVIS: Unstoppable, that Blitzer.
KEITH: Yeah. I mean, like, he was probably still drinking the spritzer when his phone blew up. And then he, too, was probably running.
DAVIS: Although in Wolf Blitzer's defense, I will say - and I think we've all experienced this at some point in our journalistic career - few things can sober you up really fast than a breaking news alert that means you need to get to work right away.
KEITH: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
DAVIS: That Sunday brunch can take a quick turn really fast. All right, well, thank you both for being here and a happy New Year, my friends. Stay sober.
KEITH: Happy New Year.
PARKS: Happy New Year. Thanks, Sue.
DAVIS: We're going to take a quick break and we'll be back with more Can't Let It Go.
And we're back. And NPR's Elena Moore and Domenico Montanaro are here. Hello to you both.
DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Hey.
ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: Very happy to be here.
MONTANARO: Yeah. That's great.
DAVIS: Elena, let's start with you.
MOORE: Oh, wow.
DAVIS: What can't you let go of?
MOORE: I cannot let go of - it's very much to say an end of an era...
DAVIS: Oh.
MOORE: ...I would say. The Eras tour just ended. Taylor Swift's insanely successful, highest grossing tour ever, just ended. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it for literally a year-and-a-half since it started, March 2023. Just ended in December. As a, you know, human being who grew up listening to Taylor Swift, it was kind of amazing. Like, there were so many crazy things that happened. You know, moments. Each show had these, like, little Easter eggs. At one point, you know, we - you know, Taylor Swift's boyfriend, Travis Kelce, came on stage and was a backup dancer for her. At another show you can literally hear the crowd sing so loud that it out - you know, it drowns out Taylor Swift's voice.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Singing) I'm drunk in the back of the car, and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar. Oh, said I'm fine, but...
DAVIS: Did you see any of the shows?
MOORE: So that's a Can't Let It Go from last year. I will say, I always thought I was a tech savvy, very intense woman. I still think those things. But there is a different level that you need to be to get those tickets. Shout-out to our incredible Hill correspondent Claudia Grisales, who is that person.
DAVIS: Yeah. She went a couple of times.
MOORE: Multiple times. But that requires - you have to be subscribed to, like, 10 different fan websites. You need to have alerts. You need to have multiple phones. You need, like, a burner phone, basically. I was not cut out for that. Huge fan. One of the biggest regrets of my long life so far is not being able to go. Hopefully one day I will. But the reason I can't let this go on top of my own personal remorse is that this tour it, like, actually changed people's lives. Like, economically changed people's lives. It benefited cities around the country in ways that are, like, pretty striking. You know, there was some reporting from CNN that showed that - it pulled all these different, like, local reports. In Pittsburgh, during the tour the city generated $46 million in direct spending. So this is, like, outside of her own sales.
MONTANARO: It's like a primary.
MOORE: Yeah. It's like - they compared it to, like, these fans spent what you spend going to a Super Bowl...
DAVIS: Oh, yeah.
MOORE: ...But, like, at every single show. In L.A., it increased local employment by 3,000 - more than 3,000 workers.
MONTANARO: And that's L.A.?
MOORE: Yeah. And local - the site says local earnings by $160 million. Kansas City, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, when Taylor Swift is...
MONTANARO: And Taylor's boyfriend.
MOORE: ...Of course, dating Travis Kelce, one of the stars. That tour, when she finally went to Kansas City, it brought in $200 million as well, and the city has seen huge impacts from her now...
DAVIS: Just attending those games, yeah.
MOORE: ...Living there, attending those games. So, like, not only is she, like, you know, making so many people's dreams come true doing all these old songs, new things - she also had all these albums come out. She's, like, making people have - like, she's benefiting jobs, which I feel like, you know - someone in one of these articles called it - it was actually a local NPR station - called it Swiftonomics. So, like, move over Bidenomics.
DAVIS: (Laughter).
MOORE: It's like, this is crazy. So...
DAVIS: And the thing I'll give Taylor Swift - she's a really good boss. There was reports that she gave up to $200 million in bonuses to the support staff, to the dancers, to the truck drivers - to everyone who helped put that show on. And that's, like, a really unnecessary but wonderful thing to do. Especially 'cause I can only imagine how much money she personally made over this insane, global dominating tour.
MOORE: She made so much money during this tour. And I think my, you know, end of an era is the Eras tour. I'm really hoping she doesn't rest for long, which she usually doesn't, so...
MONTANARO: You know how long this show has been going on - this tour has been going on? I was just thinking about how my daughter is a huge Sabrina Carpenter fan, and Sabrina Carpenter was one of the openers...
DAVIS: Wasn't born yet.
(LAUGHTER)
MONTANARO: But she was one of the openers early on in the tour in South America, and she wasn't really at peak Sabrina Carpenter yet. She was just kind of coming up a little bit. And my daughter was a big fan of hers then, and I was like, who is this person? And then, like, now here we are. And it's, you know, one of those crazy things, because it's really sort of the touch that Taylor Swift has, whether it's on these local economies or other artists.
DAVIS: I also, on a personal level, just have to give a shout-out to my friend Senna (ph), who is one of those Taylor Swift superfans. I think back of the envelope, she was one of the people who saw her eight times...
MOORE: Yeah, that's crazy
DAVIS: ...In three different countries. And we joke that, like - she's like, I don't have kids to pay for college. Instead of that, she went to Taylor Swift concerts (laughter).
MOORE: She probably did.
DAVIS: Domenico, what about you? What can't you let go of?
MONTANARO: You know, I have to say, I was not sure that I was going to be in the podcast with you two, so I'm not sure that this is the best Can't Let It Go to be talking about with a Phillies fan and a Yankees fan.
DAVIS: Oh, it must be sports related.
MOORE: Oh, God. If you say what I think you're going to say...
MONTANARO: It is the 2024 Mets that I cannot let go of.
DAVIS: Oh, OK.
MOORE: No, that's fine.
DAVIS: That's all right.
MONTANARO: And I - what did you think I was going to say?
DAVIS: I don't know, Domenico. With you, it can go in so many directions.
MONTANARO: It could. It could.
MOORE: I actually think this is going to annoy him, if two people from winning sports teams are, like...
DAVIS: (Laughter).
MOORE: ...Oh, yeah.
DAVIS: No, it's OK. You can talk to us.
MOORE: OK, keep going.
DAVIS: Go ahead.
MONTANARO: Wow.
(LAUGHTER)
MONTANARO: And this is why people don't like the Phillies or the Yankees.
(LAUGHTER)
MONTANARO: I mean, it's just the reality, guys. Like, the fact is the wheel has turned in New York, and we know that now. And it's not just, like, getting Juan Soto to sign with the Mets, which is the end of the year thing, which - because, you know, the Mets owner has more money than any owner in baseball, and is loosely the character who's based on, you know, Bobby from "Billions."
DAVIS: Oh, I didn't know that.
MOORE: I didn't know that, either.
MONTANARO: Yeah, it's kind of crazy. But it's really because of the vibes of the 2024 season. I mean, I had Yankees fans, including Elena, coming up to me and saying, you know, I'm kind of rooting for the Mets.
DAVIS: Ow.
MONTANARO: And it's like, that is a big deal because, you know, my dad is a Yankees fan, my brother is a Yankees fan, who I call, you know, frontrunners because I grew up two miles from Shea Stadium, and you could see the glow of the lights from my bedroom. And, you know, they just picked the Yankees 'cause they won. And I did because - I picked the Mets because, you know, it's the Mets, and...
DAVIS: Have you always been a Mets fan?
MONTANARO: Always, yeah.
DAVIS: OK.
MONTANARO: I mean, when I was 7 years...
DAVIS: Like, when you were a little kid, you were a Mets fan?
MONTANARO: Yeah, when I was 7 years old, the Mets won the World Series in '86 - the last time they did. I remember during the playoffs in that year, the Mets were playing the Astros, and they were - it was one of those multiple-inning, extra-inning games. I'm not sure if it was, like, the 14th or 16th inning, but it was about 11, 11:30 at night and I'm up, you know, sitting cross-legged, watching in front of the TV, and my dad comes out from the bedroom and he's just like, what are you doing? You have to go to sleep. And I was like, but they're in, like, the 16th inning. He was like, OK. You know, he's a gym teacher and a coach - he got it.
MOORE: Yeah.
MONTANARO: You know what I mean?
DAVIS: You'll just be tired in homeroom tomorrow.
MOORE: Those are magical games, too. You can't go to bed.
MONTANARO: But I will say, yeah, I mean, '86 was the best team I've ever seen, obviously. Best year I've ever seen in my lifetime. But nothing will be like 2024, and that's because of just what happened this year was kind of magical. I mean, starting off the year, the Mets were 11 games under 500. It looked like a season that was just going to be dirt, and we were just like, you know, it's another Mets year. And then This happens.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED BASEBALL ANNOUNCER: Fans, please direct your attention to the pitcher's mound for a ceremonial first pitch. Introducing the ultimate baseball fan - all the way from McDonaldland, please welcome the one, the only Grimace.
MONTANARO: There is no other organization in baseball where this season could have happened, where we had Grimace throw out the first pitch and the Mets go on this crazy winning streak. Then we have Jose Iglesias, who was the Mets' backup second baseman, who was signed to a minor league contract, who apparently moonlights as a Latin pop star, Candelita...
MOORE: Yeah.
MONTANARO: ...And he had a No. 1 Latin pop hit, "OMG," and that became the soundtrack of the Mets, and he performed it...
MOORE: Yeah.
MONTANARO: ...At Citi Field with the entire team. I'm sorry, Elena...
MOORE: No, you're right.
MONTANARO: ...But there is no way the Yankees would ever allow that to take place. If Aaron Judge was, like, a pop star somewhere where they're like, yeah, everybody grow beards and have a big, you know, celebration on the field, they would have - Hal Steinbrenner would have a heart attack in not allowing that.
MOORE: I mean...
MONTANARO: And then this crazy run through the playoffs where we saw, you know, just magic happen, it felt like. You know, home runs, play - getting to the very end of the playoffs in the championship series, wind up losing to the Dodgers and winning one more game than the Yankees did in the World Series against the Dodgers.
MOORE: Yeah, that's true. I mean, listen, you know, my mom is also from Queens, and families are always divided on the Mets and the Yankees, and you always got to just respect that. Also, the Mets have the best fan base. Like, I shouldn't say - I'm not going to say.
MONTANARO: Ooh.
MOORE: The Mets have...
DAVIS: She's like, strike that. Producers, strike that...
MOORE: Redacted. Redacted.
DAVIS: ...Don't put that out there.
MONTANARO: Please keep it. That's truth serum there.
MOORE: No (laughter), the Mets have a really iconic fan base, and yeah, I think - I'm fingers crossed for you Domenico in 2025.
MONTANARO: Sue, I always joke that, like, the difference between Mets and Phillies fans - 'cause we're very close, we use the same, you know, swear words and we even yell at our own players. We don't throw batter - we don't....
DAVIS: Us two cities, not that different, you know?
MONTANARO: We don't throw batteries at our own players.
DAVIS: Yeah. I'm sorry. Behave.
MONTANARO: And, you know, I would say that if a Phillies fan fell at Citi Field, and, you know, Mets fans might curse at them, but then help them up. I think if I fell at Phillies Park, I might not survive.
DAVIS: Well, let's not cast aspersions here.
MONTANARO: (Laughter).
MOORE: Can we...
DAVIS: The thing I would say is that - and also, I always joke that I grew up in a Philly sports fan family and I married into a New England sports family - Red Sox.
MOORE: I was going to say...
MONTANARO: Oh, Red Sox, yeah.
DAVIS: So, like, I just come from the two most hateable portions of sports fandoms, but I would say this - I am a big fan of fandom.
MOORE: Yes.
MONTANARO: I don't actually aggressively dislike any music artist or any sports team. I really respect people like Domenico, who, like, lifelong Mets fans...
MOORE: Totally.
DAVIS: Like, the childhood association with it. I think, like, that is a wonderful thing. We need to take one more break, and I need to let both of you go. And, of course, Happy New Year.
MOORE: My New Year's resolution is that I get to see Taylor Swift and that Domenico gets a World Series.
MONTANARO: Yeah, let's not go that far.
MOORE: (Laughter).
MONTANARO: I mean, Mets fans are always hopeful pessimists. Thank you very much. So Happy New Year. That's all I'll say.
DAVIS: All right. We'll be back with one more Can't Let It Go.
And we're back. And we have some special guests here for our final Can't Let It Go segment. These are the voices you don't often get to hear in front of the mic but are absolutely crucial to actually getting you the episode every day, and they are our stellar production team of Jeongyoon Han, Casey Morell and Kelli Wessinger. Hello, my friends.
CASEY MORELL, BYLINE: Hello.
JEONGYOON HAN, BYLINE: Hey.
KELLI WESSINGER, BYLINE: Hi, Sue.
DAVIS: A little bit of behind-the-scenes magic is that I don't normally get to decide the order we do Can't Let It Go in. That is a power generally housed by Kelli, I believe. But since you guys are the ones in front of the microphone today, I'm going to make the decisions, and I'm going to say, Kelli, what can't you let go of?
WESSINGER: Oh, no (laughter). I can't let go of Celine Dion's insane performance from the Olympics this year.
DAVIS: Oh, yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CELINE DION: (Singing) Mon amour, crois-tu qu'on s'aime?
WESSINGER: So my husband is a teacher, so, obviously, he has summers off. And I came home from work, and he immediately was like, I recorded something. You have to watch it. You're going to cry (laughter). So he played Celine Dion's performance from the Olympics. And for those of you that don't know, she has stiff-person syndrome, which is a neurological disease where you lose control of your muscles. So she was having a very hard time singing, and hadn't sung publicly in a long time. And then she made her debut from the Eiffel Tower in the Olympics opening ceremony, and I just burst into tears. I started sobbing, like, immediately. It was amazing.
DAVIS: She's an amazing performer, and I think that everywhere she - especially, like, you know, she had her whole Vegas residency that was, like, sold out every night. I mean, she is just one of the most spectacular vocal talents, not just, like, today, but maybe ever. Like, I don't know how you could even compare her to anyone else, too.
WESSINGER: She's iconic.
DAVIS: Her sound is so singular. Like, you never hear a song and you're like, who sings this again?
(LAUGHTER)
WESSINGER: Right (laughter).
DAVIS: There's no one else like Celine.
WESSINGER: She's incredible. And also, to be clear, like, I will quit anything at the slightest inconvenience. So it was so inspiring to see her overcome this disease. I mean, she still has it, but, like, to sound like she did while singing with this disease, I was just totally in shock. It was fantastic.
DAVIS: That is the motivation we should all be bringing into 2025. What would Celine do?
WESSINGER: Agreed.
DAVIS: Casey, what about you? What can't you let go of?
MORELL: You know, this was hard for me to decide, Sue, because a lot of things have happened this year. But the thing that I can't let go of is just how small this world is. And I'm - this is a super-broad way of putting it, but I will explain. Earlier this year, I went on a great vacation to the Baltics. We went to Finland, Estonia and Latvia, and I highly recommend, if you've never been to that part of the world...
WESSINGER: Flex.
MORELL: ...(Laughter) If you have the chance to do so, go for it. But the thing that, like, blew my mind while I was there - people who know me, friends of mine know that I'm a huge sports fan, which is not necessarily something that comes across in making the POLITICS PODCAST every day or in the work that I do, but if there is a sporting event to go to, if there is sports to watch on TV, I'm there. So, one of the things that my girlfriend and I did while we were in Tartu, Estonia, is went to a top-league Estonian soccer match. And, you know, this is one of those things where, like, you just roll up. It's like a high school football game, there's no assigned seats, tickets are super cheap, drinks are super cheap. And I'm talking to one of my best friends. As I'm at this game, I'm texting him, and I'm like, I'm at the game, it's really fun. And, like, a minute later, he sends me a photograph, and it's a picture of the TV broadcast of the game, which he somehow found, and he said, is this you?
(LAUGHTER)
MORELL: And it's...
DAVIS: Look who it is.
MORELL: The camera had gone to a point on the sidelines, and you could clearly see, like, me and my girlfriend sitting there. And he's like, I would recognize you with that Kansas City Royals baseball cap anywhere.
(LAUGHTER)
MORELL: And I just thought to myself, like, the idea that, A, you can be, like, on the other side of the world and see someone that you know on television, like, doing a random thing...
DAVIS: ...In real time.
MORELL: ...In real time is just - it's one of those things that makes my mind go (imitates explosion). I can't stop thinking about it.
DAVIS: Casey, I have to say that you would probably be easy to spot at a sporting event because you do have a lot of very loud shirts.
MORELL: I do have - I do.
(LAUGHTER)
DAVIS: A lot of loud sporting jerseys that you like to wear to the office. So I think I could spot you on a camera, too.
MORELL: I think that, like, you know, the idea of, like, dress for the job that you want - mine is clearly just, like, court jester at this point. So yeah.
DAVIS: It's that Casey drip.
WESSINGER: (Laughter).
DAVIS: Jeongyoon, I'm going to give you the honor of 2024, and that is to give us the last Can't Let It Go of this otherwise unforgettable year.
HAN: One of the things that has been stuck in my head ever since it first started was the lookalike contests that have just taken over cities across the world. So for context, this is - this first started off with a lookalike contest for Timothee Chalamet in New York. There was a group that started to say, show up here at the Washington Square Park in Manhattan, and the number of people that flocked to that park on that day was insane.
MORELL: Every waif in Brooklyn was there.
(LAUGHTER)
HAN: And Timothee was there himself. He showed up.
DAVIS: Oh, I didn't know that.
HAN: So that was the first one. Ever since then, there have been a bunch of different celebrity lookalike contests in different cities, like Dev Patel in San Francisco, Jeremy Allen White in Chicago. And I've been watching this just unfold on social media. The energy at these crowds are just so fun to watch because there are people cheering for their friends because they look like this person. They think that they look like this person, and they want to root for them, so they all show up. And so actually, I'm in D.C., and there was a lookalike contest for D.C., and that was Jack Schlossberg...
DAVIS: So D.C.
HAN: ...Which...
WESSINGER: Classic.
HAN: ...He is a member of the Kennedy clan, the famed political family.
MORELL: He's Caroline Kennedy's son, right?
HAN: Caroline Kennedy's son. I went just to see what it would be like, and it was, like, my city and I wanted to go see if there was anyone who looked remotely like him. I will say there were about 10 people, and I was a little disappointed. I just didn't think the people who showed up had the energy...
DAVIS: They weren't bringing their all?
MORELL: (Laughter).
HAN: I think they tried. It was a lot of fun to see. I'm not going to yuck their yum, but I will say I wasn't floored by the people who were there.
DAVIS: The caliber.
WESSINGER: OK, maybe I'm a hater, but, like, I feel like nobody looks like the people in the lookalike contests.
(LAUGHTER)
DAVIS: Maybe it's more about having the same energy...
WESSINGER: Yeah, it's the aura.
DAVIS: ...You have to project that energy.
WESSINGER: All right, fair enough.
HAN: And that's the thing that I really like and enjoy about these lookalike contests, is that it really doesn't matter if you look like the person or not. It's more the fact that people are going to just show up to do this really random event in their home city or wherever they are, because they want to have a good time. They want to laugh, see who shows up, and mingle. And this is the kind of energy that we need to have in 2024 and now 2025.
DAVIS: I'm going to ask you all maybe arguably the most loaded question I've asked all year long, but have any of you ever been compared to a lookalike to anyone of fame or notoriety?
MORELL: Sue, I knew you were going to ask this. I knew you were going to ask this.
DAVIS: And if so, who?
WESSINGER: Oh, my God, this is terrifying.
MORELL: Yes, I used to get somewhat facetiously - when I started wearing glasses and had longer hair, I would get Rachel Maddow also.
(LAUGHTER)
DAVIS: I can kind of see it.
MORELL: Yeah.
HAN: I think it's the glasses.
MORELL: Yeah.
HAN: Yeah.
DAVIS: Casey, that's so good.
WESSINGER: I get Natasha Lyonne sometimes. I do (ph) have big hair.
DAVIS: Oh, 'cause you have the hair.
MORELL: Oh, yeah.
DAVIS: I like that one, though.
WESSINGER: Yeah.
DAVIS: If there's a Natasha Lyonne lookalike contest, you have to participate.
WESSINGER: I will, I promise. This is my vow to you, Sue.
DAVIS: She's also someone - like, she has distinct energy. Like, you would have to - to win that contest, you would have to project a certain vibe.
WESSINGER: Yeah. I feel like I'm up to the challenge.
MORELL: I believe in you.
HAN: I don't really have anyone, but my mom will say that I look like a mini her.
WESSINGER: Ah, adorable.
HAN: It's just really sweet whenever she says it. So that's my celebrity look like, which is my mom.
MORELL: Your mom's a celebrity.
WESSINGER: Now we know who Jeongyoon's mom's favorite is, which is kind of sweet.
(LAUGHTER)
HAN: Yeah, sorry, Haven (ph), if you're listening to this.
DAVIS: All right, thank you all for all the work you did this year. And we should note a special farewell to Jeongyoon. She is leaving us at NPR, but she's staying within the public radio family. Jeongyoon, tell us what you're going to go do.
HAN: Yeah, so I am going to be going over to WXXI News, which is based in Rochester, New York. But I'll be working out of Albany, which is the state capital, to do political reporting there. So very much in the line of the NPR POLITICS PODCAST. And I've really enjoyed working with you all, and maybe I'll show up on the pod for...
DAVIS: Hey.
MORELL: Yeah.
HAN: ...Some New York coverage.
MORELL: Absolutely.
DAVIS: I've heard there's some stories to cover up there, so, hopefully, we'll have you back and we'll have you back soon. I love y'all.
WESSINGER: Aww.
DAVIS: Thanks for doing this. It was super fun to get you on the other side of the glass.
WESSINGER: We love you.
MORELL: We love you, Sue.
HAN: We love you all, Mom.
DAVIS: Let's - I like ending on this note. Thank you all for everything you do to make the podcast, and we should also give a shout-out to our executive producer, Muthoni Muturi, our boss who also makes it all happen. I'm Susan Davis. I cover politics, and Happy New Year. And thank you for listening to the NPR POLITICS PODCAST.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE BIGTOP ORCHESTRA'S "TEETER BOARD: FOLIES BERGERE (MARCH AND TWO-STEP)")
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