Episode 156 with guests Gene Sperling, Peter Carlin and Kevin Morris

Gene Sperling, Peter Carline and Kevin Morris are our guests this week.
Show produced by Katherine Caperton.
Original Air Date: June 21, 2014 on SiriusXM “POTUS” Channel 124.
PoliOptics airs on POTUS on Saturdays at 8 am & 6 pm, Sundays at 4 am & 5 pm and Mondays at 2 am.
Follow us on Twitter @Polioptics.
Listen to the show by clicking on the bar above.
Show also available for download on Apple iTunes and other streaming services.

For much of the last 25 years, Gene Sperling has been in and around the corridors of power or advising people trying to populate those very corridors. Now, he’s taking a breather after leaving the Obama Administration earlier this year, where he served as Chair of President Obama’s National Economic Council. Gene offers his perspective on message discipline, job creation, the challenges of being a second term President and the joy of being a doting dad. Gene  knows more about the intersection of policy, politics, communications and image then most anyone you can find.

Author Peter Carlin has written about rock icons Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney and most recently Bruce Springsteen, in “Bruce” . He talks about the power of the messages in Bruce’s songs from Darkness on the Edge of Town to The River, Atlantic City, The Rising and Land of Hope and Dreams.  He explains Bruce’s coming to terms with his own politics at first focusing on the every day dreams of working people to broader issues of the day to being drawn into the 1984 Presidential campaign after the appropriation of his song “Born in the U.S.A.” by Ronald Reagan to jumping into the 2008 Presidential race full throttle. Carlin tips us off that he’s working on a Paul Simon biography, which of course brings to mind then Senator Al Gore’s 1992 campaign anthem, “You Can Call Me Al.”

Hollywood power broker Kevin Morris represents some of the biggest names in Hollywood even though (and maybe because) he is decidedly un-Hollywood. His clients, including Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame, as well as Mathew McConaughy and other luminaries swear by him. But in the midst of putting together the landmark South Park digital rights deal and other high profile deal making, Kevin has crafted what Krikus Reviews called, “A clear-eyed, finely wrought and mordantly funny take on a modern predicament by a new writer with loads of talent.” Kevin explains how he came to “White Man’s Problems” a collection of nine short stories addressing the preoccupations of white males at various stages of life. Kevin takes us through his working class boyhood in SE Pennsylvania through his awakening at Cornell through his befriending and representing Hollywood heavyweights to how he was inspired to write this collection.

Episode 152, with guests Kostya Kennedy of Sports Illustrated and Sandy Montag of IMG

Kostya Kennedy and Sandy Montag are our guests this week.
Guest host this week: Steve Silverman
Show produced by Katherine Caperton.
Original Air Date: May 25, 2014 on SiriusXM “POTUS” Channel 124.
PoliOptics airs on POTUS on Saturdays at 8 am & 6 pm, Sundays at 4 am & 5 pm and Mondays at 2 am.
Follow us on Twitter @Polioptics.
Listen to the show by clicking on the bar above.
Show also available for download on Apple iTunes and other streaming services.

As we head into Memorial Day weekend, President Obama finds himself embroiled in controversy over the VA’s handling of medical care for Veterans. He veered away from the topic in a way that presidents have done in the past, turning to sports heroes and the healing power of the games we watch and play. He greeted the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks at the White House Wednesday and visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on Thursday. On this episode of PoliOptics, We’ll explore the increasingly close connections between the sports and issues impacting our society with our guests, Sandy Montag of IMG, and Kostya Kennedy of Sports Illustrated, author of Pete Rose: An American Dilemma.

Montag, who represents Bob Costas, John Madden, Ari Fleisher and Peyton Manning, discusses the connection between politics and sports, including his cold call to Ari Fleisher before he left the White House, and the impact of Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted to play in the NFL.

Kennedy discusses the politics of the Rose legacy, President Obama’s visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and the Adam Silver/Donald Sterling face-off.

Episode 147, with guests Kathleen Behrens, David Cornwell and Sam Marchiano

Kathleen Behrens, David Cornwell and Sam Marchiano are our guests this week.
With guest host Steve Silverman
Show produced by Katherine Caperton.
Original Air Date: April 19, 2014 on SiriusXM “POTUS” Channel 124.
PoliOptics airs on POTUS on Saturdays at 8 am & 6 pm, Sundays at 4 am & 5 pm and Mondays at 2 am
Follow us on Twitter @Polioptics
Listen to the show by clicking on the bar above.
Show also available for download on Apple iTunes and other streaming services

More often than ever these days, societal issues play out at the convergence of sports and politics.  By virtue of the popularity of sports, athletes, teams and leagues often stand at the forefront of some of society’s greatest challenges. Sometimes, as in the case of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson, a bold statement by a sports franchise changes the course of history. Other times sports may be late to the party, as in the welcoming of athletes from the LGBT community. Whether from the front, middle or back of the pack, sports has an extraordinary ability to impact our society. How athletes, teams and leagues engage on these issues effects communities and people around the world, while also impacting their own brands.

Today on Polioptics, we delve into these issues with three experts in the field: prominent sports attorney Wm. David Cornwell Sr., a partner in the Atlanta office of Gordon & Rees; Kathy Behrens Executive Vice President, Social Responsibility & Player Programs for the National Basketball Association, a former advisor to Governor Mario Cuomo of New York; and Sam Marchiano, a former sports reporter and currently the Director of Outreach for AthleteAlly.

Episode 136, with guests John King, Michael Waldman, Elizabeth Sanders and guest host Steve Silverman.

John King, Michael Waldman and Elizabeth Sanders are our guests.
Show produced by Katherine Caperton.
Original Air Date: January 25, 2014 on SiriusXM “POTUS” Channel 124.
PoliOptics airs on POTUS on Saturdays at 8 am, 4 pm and midnight and on Sundays at noon and midnight.
Follow us on Twitter @Polioptics
Listen to the show by clicking on the bar above.
Show also available for download on Apple iTunes by clicking here

This week on Polioptics: we look ahead at the President’s State of the Union this Tuesday, and take a look at the Super Bowl to learn how presidents decide to go to sporting events. By the end of the hour, you’ll know about Lenny Skutnick, and his lasting impact on the State of the Union, what happens behind the scenes as the speech is being developed, and how technology has changed the way the speech is covered.

Attending sporting events are full of risk and reward for presidents. While no sitting president has attended the Super Bowl, many of been to baseball games, the World Cup, and NCAA basketball, often at times of national import, or athletic milestone.

John King, CNN’s Chief National Correspondent, Cornell Government Professor Elizabeth Sanders, and Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice and former Chief Speech Writer for President Clinton are our guests.