Everybody Assumes Meshulam Ungar

How do you write a speech for VP-Elect Kamala Harris? Or Amb. Susan Rice? Or Pete Buttigieg? What happens if you disagree with the person you are writing speeches for? What’s it like to write speeches on the road for an upstart presidential candidate?

With Zev Karlin-Neumann, we address these questions and more. Karlin-Neumann was the chief speechwriter to Mayor Pete Buttigieg in his 2020 presidential campaign, then-Senator Kamala Harris’s speechwriter in the Senate, and Amb. Susan Rice’s speechwriter when she was national security advisor to President Obama. He started his career in the House of Representatives and at the communications firm West Wing Writers.

I hope you enjoy!


Speeches mentioned:
President Obama’s speech to the Canadian parliament in 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAxaeB9-E70&feature=emb_title

Mayor Pete’s concession speech on March 1, 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP3n1EtCdIQ

Amb. Susan Rice’s remarks to the American Jewish Committee in 2016:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkaTplfdJUA

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1. What's your favorite podcast?
The Deciding Decade -- Pete Buttigieg

2. Most insightful person you follow on social media?
Prof. Kevin Kruse

3. Book/s that have most shaped your thinking?
"A Promised Land" -- Pres. Barack Obama
"Master of the Senate" -- Robert Caro
"These Truths" -- Jill Lepore

*(Forgot to ask during the podcast, so followed up afterward. Sorry we couldn't have a discussion about these works and how they impacted Karlin-Neumann)

Although it has only been a few weeks, one of the major surprises from this year’s presidential election is the rise of support for President Trump in the Hispanic community.  Conversely, Latino organizations such as LUCHA, a grassroots political advocacy and social services provider for Hispanics in Arizona, have newfound strength having helped President-Elect Biden win Arizona and other battleground states. How did Trump’s efforts successfully engage Hispanics to win Florida, but not Arizona or Nevada? What was the pulse of the Cuban community in Miami in the lead-up to the election? How and why did the Biden campaign prove so inept at engaging and keeping Latinos, while the Trump and Sanders campaigns were seemingly so successful?

With Stephania Taladrid, of the 'The New Yorker’s,' we dive into these consequential questions and more, touching on everything from Taladrid’s unique background to some of the lesser-known aspects of the Cuban-American community’s political identity.


Stephania Taladrid is a contributing writer at 'The New Yorker,' covering the Spanish-speaking world. For over a year, Taladrid has been covering the Latino community’s role in the 2020 presidential election. Before joining the 'New Yorker' magazine, Taladrid was a speechwriter at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Management Fellowship. She is a native speaker of three languages (English, Spanish, French), and is also fluent in another two (Italian & German), and grew up in Mexico, Spain, France, and the U.S.


I hope you enjoy this episode, and learn something new!

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Articles mentioned:

“Biden’s case to Latino Voters Comes Late. Will They Listen?” 9/16/2020
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/bidens-case-to-latino-voters-comes-late-will-they-listen

“Can Latino voter Tip Wisconsin in Joe Biden’s Favor?” 10/13/2020
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/can-latino-voters-tip-wisconsin-in-joe-bidens-favor

“How Pro-Trump Disinformation Is Swaying a New Generation of Cuban-American Voters” 10/26/2020
https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/how-pro-trump-disinformation-is-swaying-a-new-generation-of-cuban-american-voters

“As Trump Gained Latino Support in Florida, Biden’s Campaign Ignored Warnings” 11/10/2020
https://www.newyorker.com/news/campaign-chronicles/as-trump-gained-latino-support-in-florida-bidens-campaign-ignored-warnings

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*For avid listeners, you may notice that the final three questions I usually ask about are my guests' favorite podcasts, people they follow on social media, and books that have shaped their thinking, are missing. This was my fault, as I forgot to ask. My apologies. No doubt, next episode I will ask.

One of the many things that have gotten swept out of the news during the Coronavirus economic and health crisis is the possible Israeli annexation of areas in the West Bank. That might sound like some legal jargon, but it has big implications for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the US-Israel alliance, and the stability of Jordan and Egypt.

We talk about the importance of this move and its possible implications with David Makovsky and Amb. Dennis Ross. Additionally, we discuss their recent book, "Be Strong and of Good Courage" (חזק ואמץ/chezek vi'emetz in Hebrew, a biblical reference), and the role of history in Israeli leaders' thinking when they make historic decisions.

David Makovsky is the Ziegler distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute, a former senior advisor to the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the Obama administration, and in the 1990's he reported on Yitzchak Rabin and the Oslo Accords for multiple publications. Our other guest is Amb. Dennis Ross, who is currently the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute, and served as a special advisor to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He has been involved in almost all major Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for the past quarter-century.

You can find their new book, "Be Strong and Good Courage," here: https://www.amazon.com/Be-Strong-Good-Courage-Important-ebook/dp/B07MPX7LKR


*The views here are solely my own.
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Dennis Ross--
Favorite Podcast: The Bill Simmons Podcast

A book that has most shaped your thinking: “Inevitably of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and His World” – by Barry Gewen

David Makovsky--
Favorite Podcast:
-Decision Points (Makovsky’s own podcast)
-“NYT’s” “The Daily”

A book that has most shaped your thinking:
"Churchill: Walking with Destiny" - by Andrew Roberts

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Major takeaways from the interview can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-GTijQvIkuSKBy3ofho_e4HZjRenz3gj6TDwoKsHffw/edit?usp=sharing