It's the first installment of the Political Film Fest, and we've got: Martin Sheen in the oval office! "What is the virtue of a proportional response?" The GDC! There are so many familiar elements in The American President, and yet, the film feels dramatically different from The West Wing (and at times, comedically different). It's our first episode, and we're going to talk about what we loved, what we didn't, and everything in between. Let's dive in! We’ve gotta start early because we're having lunch at the Kremlin.

Some goodies:

• Here's the trailer for the film.
• Check out this great poster from Italy for Il Presidente.

What did you think of The American President? Let us know how you would rate it on a scale of 1–10 Virginia hams. Sorry: Virginias ham. 

To join in the discussion, listen to ad-free versions of TWWWPFF, and get additional benefits, subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/thewestwingweekly.

After four years away, we're bringing back The West Wing Weekly in a new form. As this election season heats up, we're taking a weekly respite from the stress of reality, and turning towards political cinema instead. We're watching and discussing some of our favorite films. It's the same mix of analysis and nonsense that you’ve come to expect from The West Wing Weekly, but applied to a different movie each week. We're starting our journey in the familiar territory of Aaron Sorkin dialogue, with The American President.

We're launching this podcast on our Patreon page, for paid subscribers. Go to patreon.com/thewestwingweekly to subscribe and join us. There are different tiers to choose from, starting at $5/month. Every paid tier has access to the podcast, with additional benefits and ways to connect with us and other TWWWPFF listeners at higher tiers. Okay, what's next? We're back! Let's go! 

patreon.com/thewestwingweekly

In this episode, some thoughts on John Spencer, shared by Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford, Janel Moloney, Rob Lowe, Jimmy Smits, Kristin Chenoweth, Matthew Del Negro, Emily Procter, Eli Attie, Michael Hissrich, and Josh Malina. For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/718

Support The West Wing Weekly and Radiotopia. Make your mark. Go to radiotopia.fm today.

On the West Wing, it’s Toby’s birthday (December 23), and his father visits. On the West Wing Weekly, it’s Josh’s birthday (January 17), and HIS father visits. We turn to Mr Robert Malina for some Yiddish info and some Joshish insights. Plus, we’re joined by a couple of the Yale Whiffenpoofs who appeared in "Holy Night" to tell us about how they ended up singing for President Bartlet.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/411

One of us! One of us! Will Bailey finally arrives in the West Wing and we've got a trio of guests to welcome him. Former Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) talks about the (nonexistent) precedent for cabinet resignations; director John David Coles breaks down his unusual camera choices; and Richard Schiff (@Richard_Schiff) reveals what song Toby had stuck in his head the first time he met Will.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/410

Eli Attie (@EliAttie) and Kevin Falls (@KevinFalls) are our guests to talk about the “break glass in case of emergency” writing that went into “Swiss Diplomacy”, a rare episode without a Sorkin writing credit. These guys have stories! And they’ll tell you why, when in doubt, you should always run for president.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/409

Stock up on Cheetos, because Joanna Gleason (@TheRealJGleason) is our guest and she’s got a drinking game - sorry, an eating game - for anyone who loves to pick apart Bradley Whitford’s acting technique. Needless to say, Josh is on board. It’s a probable impossibility that by the end of this episode we’ll all understand what an improbable possibility is, and why Sam is so down on it.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/408

As the characters anxiously await election results and Donna tries to swap votes with Christian Slater, Josh and Hrishi interview Clark Gregg (@ClarkGregg) about how everybody wants to call him Agent Something. And, Josh looks back fondly on the mighty superpowers that allowed him to summon rain from a clear sky.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/407

Hrishi and Josh welcome special guest Joshua Malina to talk about Joshua Malina’s first episode as Will Bailey. [fanfare] With special appearances by Bradley Whitford, Rob Lowe, and Joshua Malina.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/406

To discuss the Bartlet Administration's debate camp, we're joined once again by Ronald Klain, who has been in charge of debate prep for every Democratic presidential candidate since 2004.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/405

Pretty much one long “ai yi yi.”

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/404

This week, we’re joined by former Secretary of Education John King, Jr. (@JohnBKing) and Aimee Mann (@aimeemann) to discuss “College Kids”.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/403

Josh and Hrishi discuss second part of Season 4 premiere with episode director, Christopher Misiano. West Wing Weekly love episode!

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/402

In the main foyer of our podcast, we have this small block of cheese, there for any and all who might want a snack. We want this block of cheese to stick around forever, and never get moldy, or get thrown out! To do so, we’re hoping you’ll support our wonderful podcast network, Radiotopia, the refrigerator that keeps our show fresh in this increasingly painful metaphor. We’re sharing some stories from you, our lovely listeners, in hopes that you’ll want to chip in and help keep this podcast around forever. Make your mark, go to http://radiotopia.fm to donate today.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/018

Our discussion of Season 4 begins! We’re joined by John Gallagher, Jr., who made his Sorkin debut in the premiere, years before he would go on to star in The Newsroom. Here we go, cuties!

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/401

Martin Sheen joined Josh and Hrishi for a conversation about The West Wing, The American President, Aaron Sorkin, and more.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/400

Before we dive into Season 4, we're answering some pressing listener questions like: why hasn't Martin Sheen been on the podcast yet? Plus questions about music, musicals, and underwear. (Don't be scared.) And to go along with our new Bartlet's Army challenge coin, we present an episode of 99% Invisible that explains what challenge coins are, where they come from, and what to do with them.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/004

To discuss the Season 3 finale, we traveled to San Francisco to record a live episode at the Castro Theatre. We'd announced the show would be with a special guest: Aaron Sorkin. But what we didn't tell anyone was that we'd also be joined by a couple of surprise guests: Allison Janney (@AllisonBJanney) and Melissa Fitzgerald (@MaffyFitz). You can hear the audience go crazy when they come out; you wouldn't believe how thunderously loud it was in the actual theater. This one was so much fun to record. Thanks to our guests for joining us, thanks to Sketchfest for hosting us, and thanks to you for continuing to watch the West Wing along with us. Okay, what's next?

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/322.

Josh and Hrishi discuss a few conflicts central to this episode and its making: Amy vs Josh, President Bartlet vs moral absolutes, and script deadlines vs directing schedules. For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/321.

We’re joined by Mark Harmon to discuss all things Simon Donovan. Our interview with him spans the rest of Season 3, so if you're watching The West Wing for the first time, be warned that spoilers abound during that part of this episode. For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/320.

A correction: Eli Attie's teacher, Mrs Morello, is alive. A reminder: Paxton Whitehead, who played Bernard, is also alive. Josh and Hrishi discuss Russians being played by non-Russians, Tom Lehrer, and the Sorkinism of having nothing to do. Plus, to accompany the story of the letter that gets sent to the President, we're thrilled to present one of our favorite episodes of 99% Invisible, “Ten Letters to the President.” It’s a perfect companion for this episode of The West Wing. Big thanks to Roman Mars (@romanmars) and the folks at Slate’s Working podcast for letting us share it with you.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/319

This week, Josh and Hrishi speak with the director of The West Wing Documentary Special episode.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/318.

This week we're joined by Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44), who served as the White House Cabinet Secretary during the first term of the Obama administration and the Deputy Secretary of Labor during the second term. He gives us some real-world insight into Presidential Proclamations. Plus, we use the special West Wing Weekly Hotline to call Eli Attie (@EliAttie) to get the inside scoop on the writing of this episode.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/317.

We’re joined by two of the co-founders of the website Television Without Pity, Tara Ariano (@TaraAriano) and Sarah D. Bunting (@TomatoNation), to discuss the lemonlyman.com plotline—inspired by Aaron Sorkin’s own posts on TWoP. We’re also joined by David Wade (@davideckelswade) who was national spokesman for then-Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign and who later served as Secretary Kerry’s chief of staff. We compare President Bartlet’s hot mic moment in this episode with a famous one from John Kerry when he was a candidate.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/316.

As we finish the long arc of the Presidential campaign with this momentous West Wing episode, Jimmy Smits joins us to tell us about his experience playing Matt Santos. For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/717.

Right now, Radiotopia is holding its annual fundraiser. Help us keep The West Wing Weekly available and free forever by supporting the network. Make your mark. Go to radiotopia.fm to donate today.

In light of Donna's brief time as a Canadian in “Dead Irish Writers,” we’re honored to be joined this week by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau). (We know. We can't believe it either.) The PM discusses political idealism – both on- and off-screen – and gives us his thoughts on what The West Wing got right, his father's tenure as Prime Minister, how he feels about President Bartlet, and more. Plus, Josh and Hrishi talk about the parallels between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and The Troubles, and the value of overcoming your fear of public failure.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/315.

This week, our discussion ranges from chess and poker games, to code switching, to West Wing Weekly themed fart machines. All this, plus Josh, the master prankster, ranks the pranks in CJ and Charlie’s prank war. For more, visit thewestwingwekly.com/314.

To get some real-world insight into the Sam/Ainsley/Celia scene in Night Five, we invited three West Wing Weekly listeners – Amy Carlson, Jamie Lynn Crofts, and Debora Verdier, employment attorneys in three different states, representing both plaintiffs and defendants – to give us their perspective in a panel discussion. It's our episode, it's about to become your episode, and we sleep…ehh, ok, not that well.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/313

President Bartlet and his father; CJ and her father; Bob Engler and his father…this episode is the Dada of Dada issues. And Josh and Hrishi talk to Blanche Sindelar, the property master for all seven seasons of The West Wing — the keeper of Gail’s fishbowl.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/312.

This week, we’re joined by Dr Leo Mascarenhas, the Deputy Director of the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases and the Section Head of Oncology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, to discuss the cancer crusade that President Bartlet wanted for the State of the Union. Hey, Toby, how many words are in this description? (56.)

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/311.

Is Cliff Calley actually a good guy? Hrishi thinks it’s obvious. Josh thinks he’s not so great. Meet us in the Georgetown Law Library so we can discuss. For more, go to thewestwingweekly.com/310.

To accompany our discussion of "Bartlet for America," we're thrilled to present an interview with John Spencer, who won an Emmy for his performance. We talk to David Daniel (@CNNLADavid), who is a senior producer at CNN Newsource. He interviewed John Spencer in 2002, just before the Emmy awards, about The West Wing pilot, "Bartlet for America," addiction, and more. We're so lucky to have gotten David's original raw tape from that day, which we used to put this segment together. For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/309.

This week's episode gets a bit dark, as does our discussion of it. We're honored to have two amazing guests. We learn more about the realities of trafficking with former UN Ambassador Sarah Mendelson (@SarahMendelson). And the brilliant but elusive Allison Janney (@AllisonBJanney) finally — finally! — makes her West Wing Weekly debut. For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/308.

Thanksgiving! Native Americans! Turkey! Foodborne illness! Hrishi's dad! All this, plus we present the recording of our live interview with Emmy-winning West Wing composer Snuffy Walden (@snuffywalden). For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/307.

Our discussion of this episode takes many a twist and turn: from the NEA to JFK, from Star Trek to Eddie Murphy. Plus, Toby's confession that he is no fan of musicals leads us to the next chapter of "Hrishi Hruins a Musical." For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/306.

This week’s episode is one of love and loss, but with our guests this week, we’re celebrating the joyful side. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich wrote this episode, and she and her husband, West Wing line producer Michael Hissrich, join us to tell us how their path together mirrored and influenced Josh and Donna’s.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/716

David Pressman is the former US Ambassador to the United Nations and was the first-ever Director for War Crimes and Atrocities on the National Security Council at the White House, and we're thrilled to have him on the podcast to discuss the "War Crimes" episode with us. Plus, Josh and Hrishi get into it over Toby's "we're a team" speech. For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/305.

For this episode, we're joined once again by Janel Moloney (@NellyMoloney), who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Emmy in part for her performance in this episode. Alas, she did not help us learn to tie a proper bow tie. (At the end of the podcast episode, you want to be able to pull it open, like Tony Bennett.)

http://thewestwingweekly.com/304

We’re joined again by our friend Eli Attie, the former speechwriter to Al Gore who went on to join The West Wing in Season 3. Eli has a ‘story by’ credit on “Ways and Means”, and we dig into what that really means. Plus, we talk about the importance and danger that stage directions can provide actors and politicians.

Take a listen, you won’t be . . . DISAPPOINTED!!!!

thewestwingweekly.com/303

Josh and Hrishi are joined by Connie Britton (@conniebritton) to discuss the second half of the Season 3 premiere. I made a joke about Freudian slips in the show notes for Part I (“Josh and Hrishi try to sort their way through it all without making any Freudian slips while talking to each mother”), but it really should have gone here, in Part II. Sorry about that. My dad. I mean, my bad.

thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/302

The Season Three premiere has a dense script, and an enormous production to match. Josh and Hrishi try to sort their way through it all without making any Freudian slips while talking to each mother. 

thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/301

This is a controversial episode of The West Wing, and one that falls outside the regular storyline of the show. We hash out our conflicting opinions on it to find some common ground. We're also joined by Ajay Naidu to discuss his role as Rakim Ali. And we talk to former White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry, who is now a Professor of Theology; in the spirit of this episode, it's a Jew, an atheist, and a Methodist having a conversation about religion, politics, and pluralism.

thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/300

Aaron Sorkin joins Josh and Hrishi for our final episode of Season Two, to talk about his experience writing "Two Cathedrals." Plus, Kirsten Nelson (@NelsonKirsten) tells us about playing the role of the young Mrs Landingham.

thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/222-part2

We present the first of two episodes of our podcast discussing the Season Two finale. In this episode, we're joined by West Wing writer / producer Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence), aka Jed's father, Headmaster Bartlet. Plus, Mary Graham, author of Presidents' Secrets: The Use and Abuse of Hidden Power tells us all about how presidents have hidden the truth about their health from the American people.

And, introducing the BARTLET SECRETARY NAME GENERATOR.

thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/222-part1

It's the penultimate episode of Season 2. Oliver Platt (@OliverPlatt) joins Josh and Hrishi to discuss his role as Oliver Babish.

thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/221

Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) joins Josh and Hrishi to discuss her role as Joey Lucas. Along with her interpreter, Jack Jason (@655Jack), she pranked us pretty badly just before we recorded her interview. Listen for the brutal details of that, plus our discussion of satellites, Sam’s "fair share" of taxes, and our favorite cute will-they-or-won’t-they couple, Ed & Larry.

thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/220

Before we get to the end, we're going back to the beginning. For this bonus episode, we talk to John Levey, Emmy-winning casting director for the first two seasons of The West Wing, about putting together our renowned ensemble.

For more, visit thewestwingweekly.com/017

Before we get into Oliver Babish and the Big Hammer, and Donna Moss and the Secret Pumpkin, we start with a much needed follow-up to our discussion of autism in 2.17: The Stackhouse Filibuster. Special thanks to Amy and Jill, who were two of the many listeners who sent us messages with concerns about how autism was addressed. 

thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/219

We've got 7 people for "17 People." Richard Schiff (@Richard_Schiff) talks to us about Toby's journey, and the origins of the Spalding ball. Emily Procter (@emilyprocter) talks to us about Ainsley "spilling coffee" with Sam. Rebecca Walker (@rebeccawalker), one of the actual ERA panelists set to debate Ainsley at Smith, responds to her arguments, along with the President of the ERA Coalition, Jessica Neuwirth. And we get a little insight into a fantastic website dedicated to this episode, seventeenpeople.com, from its creator, Jon White (@jonwhitebriefly).

thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/218

Josh and Hrishi are joined by Bradley Whitford (@WhitfordBradley) for the first-ever live taping of a West Wing Weekly episode, recorded at the Marines' Memorial Theatre in San Francisco at the SF Sketchfest Comedy Festival. We also hear from Dee Perkins and Marc Bernardin, parents of autistic children, about the impact "The Stackhouse Filibuster" had on them.

Check out photos from the taping at thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/217.