Lovett or Leave It: "Forever Young Republicans" (October 18, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this lively episode of Lovett or Leave It, Jon Lovett returns live at Dynasty Typewriter, joined by guests Teri Hatcher and Maria Bamford. The show skewers the week's political absurdities, poking fun at right-wing hypocrisy, the latest Republican scandals, and internet outrage cycles—all with the show’s signature mix of righteous anger and campy irreverence. Lovett also moderates candid and hilarious conversations about aging, TV nostalgia, desperate acts for love or attention, and, inevitably, eggs and dog poop.

Main Theme & Purpose

Theme:
Dissecting the latest scandals and “forever young” mentality among Republicans, from the vile content of Young Republican group chats to broader cultural and political hypocrisy; plus, using humor and connection as resistance against creeping reactionary politics. The show also celebrates pop culture, aging, and the unglamorous but relatable realities of life—with guests Teri Hatcher and Maria Bamford lending personal and comedic insight.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What a Week: Right-Wing Hypocrisy, Outrage, and the ‘Forever Young Republican’ Mentality

Timestamps: 03:00–17:00

• No Kings Protests & Republican Smears (03:00–08:00):

  • Lovett mocks House Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump for branding “no Kings” protests as “Hate America rallies,” lampooning their attempt to paint all dissent as Antifa or Marxist.
  • "Solidarity can stop fascism, but only sunscreen can prevent fine lines and wrinkles. You're not much use to the resistance if you're dealing with a squamous cell carcinoma." – Jon Lovett (05:30)

• Young Republicans Telegram Scandal (08:00–13:00):

  • Lovett recounts a leaked Telegram chat of Young Republican leaders filled with racist, antisemitic, and misogynistic jokes, mocking their desperate attempts to defend it as “edgy humor.”
  • JD Vance's response: “Kids do stupid things, especially young boys. They tell edgy, offensive jokes—like, that’s what kids do.” – JD Vance paraphrased/quoted by Lovett (12:00)
  • Lovett’s rebuke: “Sure, every kid goes through a phase where they praise Hitler. It’s not a problem unless they all do it at once.” (12:10)
  • Satirical call for a “Young Republican Adoptathon” pokes fun at excusing adult bigotry as childish mischief.

• GOP Hypocrisy on Speech and “Mistakes” (13:00–16:00):

  • Lovett points out the danger in excusing hateful “jokes” as harmless, especially from adults who hold power.
  • “If we want a culture that values free speech, it also has to model the values that moderate that speech.” (13:20)
  • Lovett’s zinger: “We can’t all walk in [to an ice cream shop] and ask for 15 samples. And we certainly can't do it while calling the ice cream scooper retarded.” (13:40)

• Trump Administration & Shutdown Fallout (16:00–18:00):

  • Satirical take on Secretary Kristi Noem’s TSA video blaming Democrats for the shutdown, with a Lovett/Hatcher bit: “And then she kills a dog.” (12:49)

2. Pop Culture, Aging, and Perspective: Teri Hatcher Interview

Timestamps: 22:29–39:01

• Desperate Housewives Rewatch & Aging (22:29–25:18):

  • Teri Hatcher shares how revisiting old episodes feels surreal, like seeing a different person. She works on "Desperately Devoted," a podcast rewatching Desperate Housewives with her on-screen and real daughters: “We’re Gen X, Y and Z. So we have a different perspective on everything.” – Teri Hatcher (24:49)
  • Lessons in self-compassion: “I feel like a cat with nine lives. All of those things happened to someone else." – Teri Hatcher (23:25)
    “Maybe trying hard and too hard was the only way through the inexperience.” – Jon Lovett (26:09)

• Acting Regrets & Wisdom (25:18–27:27):

  • Hatcher: “Be better? No… I could have been more angry, less angry, more grounded. I don't know, just that.” (25:21)
  • On aging out of perfectionism: “I do think age has given me a perspective of not caring so much about what people think and not feeling like there even is a version of perfect to be.” – Teri Hatcher (26:57)

• Game: "Was I In This?" and Showbiz Anecdotes (27:47–38:28):

  • Hatcher recalls accidentally punching Charlize Theron during "Two Days in the Valley,” reversing memories in interviews (28:21–30:23).
  • Rat-nibbling stories from “Lois & Clark” (30:35–31:52).
  • Possibility of a reboot shot down: “Aging is good.” – Teri Hatcher (32:07)
  • Heartfelt but honest take on Dean Cain’s political turn: “We don’t keep in touch. We obviously feel differently about many things. But if he needed something from me that I could do, I would do. … I do. It's hard to minimize how off-putting that is.” (34:25–35:45)

• On Friendship and Divide:

  • "It's sometimes hard to separate the people you know, and the kindness they show interpersonally, when that doesn't seem to translate into their politics." – Jon Lovett (35:45)
  • “When we were shooting Lois and Clark, there was no Jesus...he was like, drunk and, you know, sleeping with a lot of beautiful women… there was no conservativism in him. So something changed.” – Teri Hatcher (36:03)

3. Maria Bamford Joins: Comedy and the Desperation of Living

Timestamps: 41:29–47:09

• Showbiz Outsider Stories & Clowning (42:49–45:56):
  • Bamford, with self-effacing wit, discusses temporary roles in TV and the exhausting tedium of production: “I liked finding out what was in people’s desk drawers...a partly filled out application for clown college.” – Maria Bamford (44:16)
  • On LA clown culture: “[Clowning is] stand-up with nudity, crying, and a considerable lack of consent. ... It’s French.” – Maria Bamford (45:18)
  • Lovett’s deadpan: “But I don’t know that you’re talking about clowns...versus one bad clown.” (45:49)

4. Egg of Desperate Truth: Vulnerability, Family & Embarrassment

Timestamps: 47:09–57:08

• Desperate Acts for Attention:

  • Lovett: “My actual, honest answer… I think I was in a kind of unbroken steady state, a stasis of pure and unadulterated desperation for about 10 to 15 years.” (48:38)
  • Bamford on signaling singlehood on stage: “That was like a nonstop lighthouse. Scanning the harbor for takers.” (47:46)

• Family Stories, Taboo, and Sharing:

  • Bamford on parents’ openness about bodies and aging: “My mom would wander around with no pants on.” (50:33)
  • Teri Hatcher: “I think I’m a little older…So she’s right.” (51:00)

• Embarrassing Pharmacy Moments & Dating:

  • Lovett recalls a pharmacy romance stymied by a loud prescription for dandruff: “Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.” (52:01)

• Would-You-Rather, Food Expiration, and Egg Philosophy:

  • Universal agreement: “Side of the cliff”—caves are too claustrophobic. (52:11–53:57)
  • “Forever eggs”—Teri Hatcher’s laissez-faire attitude towards egg expiration. “Mine are probably from July, so they’re forever eggs. Like, they’re forever eggs. I totally have forever eggs.” (56:10)

5. The Rant Wheel: Pet Peeves and Social Observations

Timestamps: 63:02–end

• Maria Bamford’s Rant: Desire to document “all the good things” she does for existential validation, uncertain activism priorities, and the plight of disabled (“mermaid”) rescue pugs.

  • “I need to have some kind of chest or head give-cam where anything that I'm doing that's positive is recorded live.” (63:12)
  • “Pug Nation. Pug Rescue Los Angeles. That's right. They've got 179 pugs just waiting to go home with you, and most of them are mermaids.” (64:33)

• Teri Hatcher’s Rant:

  • On irresponsible dog walkers: “But worse than leaving your dog poop on the trail is picking up your dog poop in a plastic bag, tying it in a knot, and then dropping it on the trail.” (65:33)
  • “It does make me wonder what happens to them after they wipe their own butt.” (66:57)

• Stereotypes of LA Wellness Obsession:

  • Bamford: “I have a lot of white girlfriends…they use this phrase…You know what? For me…They're about to drop some knowledge on you. Is it about intermittent fasting? I bet it is.” (68:07)
  • Lovett: “To be honest, intermittent fasting—the most complicated name for ‘I skip breakfast.’” (68:59)

• Protein & Dietary Fads:

  • Lovett: “We've gone nuts. We've gone crazy about protein...it never will be [the answer]." (71:53)
  • On food pyramids: “The box office was through the fucking roof. Cause popcorn was a diet food. But it was wrong. And we gained, I’m not exaggerating, £1 trillion as a society.” (72:51)
  • “Mark my words, it is going to be fiber. We’re all gonna realize we’ve been getting too much protein but not enough fiber. ... I don't know what's gonna happen when we fuck up fiber and overdo it.” (73:28)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Political Hypocrisy:

  • “You just have to say that Nazis and bigots have no place in the Republican Party. Seems like something you’d want to say if it were something you believed.” – Jon Lovett (11:52)

• On Personal Growth:

  • "Maybe trying hard and too hard was the only way through the inexperience. And had you not been... you don't get to be the person who tries the right amount when you do know what you're doing.” – Jon Lovett (26:09)
  • “I do think age has given me a perspective of not caring so much...and not feeling like there even is a version of perfect to be.” – Teri Hatcher (26:57)

• On LA Social Dynamics:

  • “I have a lot of white girlfriends...You know what? For me…” – Maria Bamford (68:07)

• On Food Fads:

  • “Low fat was fake. That was bad. We've transitioned to protein...Meanwhile, the next thing that's going to be, and mark my words, it is going to be fiber.” – Jon Lovett (72:51–73:28)

Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|----------------| | What a Week (GOP Scandals, Protest, Hypocrisy)| 03:00–19:00 | | Teri Hatcher Interview | 22:29–39:01 | | Maria Bamford Joins | 41:29–47:09 | | Egg of Desperate Truth | 47:09–57:08 | | Rant Wheel | 63:02–end |

Tone & Atmosphere

The episode blends biting political satire with warm, generous humor about aging, imperfection, and personal foibles. Lovett’s style is part camp, part earnestness, wielding gallows humor as a shield against the bleakest headlines. The guests bring self-deprecation and honesty that fit perfectly with the show’s ethos.

For Listeners New and Old

If you haven’t listened, this episode encapsulates Lovett or Leave It’s strengths: merciless political commentary, compassionate comics grappling with the human condition, and the sense that yes, the world is absurd—so let’s not be absurd alone.