Lovett or Leave It

It’s the dog days of summer and Lovett or Leave It is unleashed on L.A.’s Dynasty Typewriter theater. Salem resident Elizabeth Johnson Jr. (Kara Klenk) takes a stand against witch hunts. Lovett sends the Choco Taco off to the great freezer section in the sky with an audience game that asks, “Do the youth know?” The Filibuster (Yoni Lotan) begs us to plan ahead and kick him the hell out of Congress now. Lovett and Nori Reed say goodbye to Nichelle Nichols, and hello to new TV firsts, while these Hot Takes send the thermometer climbing.

Join Josie Totah, Alycia Pascual Peña, and Yasmine Hamady – three young actresses, disruptors, and best friends as they navigate the issues that affect our lives; from hookup culture and social media to structural racism and LGBTQ+ rights. They won’t shy away from diving deep into controversial topics, even turning to their elders – actors, activists, comedians, experts, politicians, 26 year olds – to try to understand the world their generation was handed. Catch a new episode of Crooked's newest launch Dare We Say every Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts.

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Nancy Pelosi might be trotting the globe, but Lovett or Leave It is home sweet home at Dynasty Typewriter. There’s no such thing flying as flying too close to the sun when Luenell buys a ticket to the celebrity private jet scandal. President Biden’s personal physician (Vinny Thomas) diagnoses us with a bad case of hustle culture. Crooked’s own Dr. Imani Walker offers her words of wisdom to our audience, and our guests pass the Rant Wheel with flying colors.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this...

Lovett or Leave It is back at Dynasty Typewriter this week, as we toast beloved statesman Joe Manchin with a glass of TikTok’s pink sauce. With just 100 days left until the midterms, Sam Sanders stops by to help Lovett figure out what that actually means. GOP congresswoman Jamie Rochester (Lindsay Adams) takes a break from celebrating her gay son’s wedding to explain why she voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, Marcy Jarreau tests her knowledge of 2022’s most concussed Senate candidate, and we close out the night with a scorching dip in the Hot Take hot tub.<...

It’s bottoms up when Lovett or Leave It rolls into town for a show at the beautiful Chicago Theater. The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus reminds us we were born this way: tired and gay. Ali Barthwell does the Cell Block Tango with Trump’s murderers’ row of henchmen. Abby McEnany serves up the Gay News deep dish. A former Jane (Kim Quindlen) gives us hope in a post-Roe world. Ashley Ray and Lovett raise a shot glass to the Second City, and our Hot Takes are the only thing steamier than this humid Windy City summer.

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It’s bottoms up when Lovett or Leave It rolls into town for a show at the beautiful Chicago Theater. The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus reminds us we were born this way: tired and gay. Ali Barthwell does the Cell Block Tango with Trump’s murderers’ row of henchmen. Abby McEnany serves up the Gay News deep dish. A former Jane (Kim Quindlen) gives us hope in a post-Roe world. Ashley Ray and Lovett raise a shot glass to the Second City, and our Hot Takes are the only thing steamier than this humid Windy City summer.

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Lovett or Leave It stops by the North State to visit the Mary Kate to Minneapolis’s Ashley, Saint Paul! Mayor Melvin Carter stops by to explain all the moves, literal and figurative, his fair city is making. Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan explains what it means to be a good neighbor (providing abortion services to other  states, for starters.) Ashley Ray is fearless in the face of lutefisk, and we spin the Rant Wheel to let out our frustration at inferior bagels, sartorial critics, and, of course, the ocean.

For a closed-captioned version of this epis...

Join Lovett or Leave It as we celebrate women's and LGBTQ rights (and, more importantly, their wrongs) this holiday weekend. Head writer Halle Kiefer stops in with some thoughts on Roe vs Wade. Cassidy Hutchinson (Alice Wetterlund) ponders a career move. Matteo Lane spends a brief interlude with some truly hideous men. Vanessa Bayer looks back on the dubious ethics of ‘90s comedies, and the Rant Wheel spins like a Roman candle.

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You can find everything you need to fight back at votesaveamerica.com/roe, but here’s a few things you can do:

Lovett or Leave It welcomes you to Dynasty Typewriter, and to take a breath and recharge. An Arizona election worker (Jana Schmieding) tells her tale of woe, while a Long Island lifeguard (Rose Kelso) wades into the so-called national "lifeguard shortage.” Joe Mande shares his opinion of celebrities going big for biopics, while Lovett reveals how he thinks “Baz Luhrmann” is pronounced. Dan Mertzlufft composes an amazing original song for all of us, and we close out the night with a round of Hot Takes for absolutely no one, except maybe fans of Cartesian dualism.

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You...

This week, Lovett or Leave It celebrates Pride the best way it knows how: with the help of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s ghost (Abby McEnany). River Butcher, Tre’vell Anderson, and Zach Noe Towers solve gender, answering definitively if cats really are all girls. Solomon Georgio and Sydnee Washington have all the gossip, while Jared Goldstein spreads the good gay news. Bob the Drag Queen tries to locate the lone straight at the show, and we say goodnight to all our beloved LGBTQ listeners with a round of Queer Hot Takes. Happy Pride, everybody!!!

For a clo...

Lovett or Leave It takes summer by storm with the help of the good people at Los Angeles’s fabulous Dynasty Typewriter. Texas Rep. Bryan Slaton (Brendan Scannell) death drops into the non-debate about children watching drag. Mother Jones’ Hannah Levintova goes public with the truth about private equity. Adam Conover takes a seat to explain the impact of public transportation. Brian Simpson sends his apologies to Sarah Palin in Ok, Stop, and we cool ourselves down after a round of Hot Takes.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a trans...

This week, Lovett or Leave It journeys to Boston where a Selling Sunset star (Eugene Mirman) susses out your starter home, and the fate of American democracy goes toe-to-toe with the Real Housewives of New Jersey courtesy of authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt and comedian Pat Regan. Who remains standing… might not surprise you. Representative Ayanna Pressley gives us hope for student loan forgiveness and abortion rights, and we welcome legendary drag queen Lady Bunny to partake in a round of takes so hot, you could use that harbor as a jacuzzi for a week.

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Lovett or Leave It returns to Dynasty Typewriter as we choose to be mad after a sad week. Comedian Nish Kumar busts up Partygate, while author and actor Ryan O’Connell calls ‘em like he sees ‘em. Tom Cruise (Kel Cripe) stops by in disguise, while the time traveler (Langston Kerman) from The Time Traveler’s Wife joins with a harrowing warning about the future: it’s going to be the same as now, unless we do something about it. And we cap the evening with a galvanizing roll of the Rant Wheel.

Got to https://votesave.u...

Lovett or Leave It mentions the bisque during our wind-swept tour stop in Portland, Maine! Cosmologist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein has Lovett reaching for the stars, while a grizzled lighthouse keeper (John Hodgman, Judge John Hodgman live at Lincoln Center on June 29) laments how quickly conservatives have slipped into madness. That’s his thing! Hollis candidate Eric Kuntz takes on the right-wing invasion of school boards, and the Rant Wheel steers us through the choppy waters of The Sims, the CDC and Bling Empire

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With our constitutionally protected right to abortion under attack, abortion funds are wo...

Lovett or Leave It is up past our bedtime at the ‘ol Hollywood Improv. A super chill GOP congresswoman (Atsuko Okatsuka) thinks we should all calm down about this leaked opinion. Jason Concepcion swings on by like Spider-Man to decide which hero is the most super of all. Lovett and Erin Ryan go house hunting based on real estate prices and... other factors. What will they pick!? The answer may surprise you. But wanna know what’s really surprising? The too hot takes Jon, Atsuko, Jason, and Erin find themselves forced to defend.

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With our c...

This week we’re revisiting some of our favorite characters to grace to Lovett or Leave It Stage, including: Kyrsten Sinema (Kylie Brakeman), Tesla critic Sean Crepe (Andrew Farmer), Titsy Malone (Maria Bamford), J. Jonah Jameson (Paul F. Tompkins), Texas tourism spokesman Ash Wrangler Autry (Michael Hartney), Washington zombie (Demi Adejuyigbe), Bernie Sanders and the My Pillow guy (James Adomian), a college student (Halle Kiefer) and an immortal fox spirit (Jenny Yang), and Kamala Harris (Allison Reese). We’ll be back live next week! (And yes, he still would.)

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With our constitutionally protected right to a...

Lovett or Leave It joins the Netflix Is A Joke festival this week, but the show couldn’t be more serious, as Ashley Ray helps us figure out what is going on with the allies in a new edition of Gay News. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Matt Walsh, of Second in Command) stops by to discuss coup-life balance, and Paul F. Tompkins provides back-up for Dick Wolf’s latest, Law & Order: Election Police. Lovett tries desperately to defend his dogelord and savior, Elon Musk, while the Rant Wheel spins, casting its all-seeing eye on the craven and undeserving. We’r...

Spring has sprung and Lovett or Leave It is blooming all over Los Angeles’ Dynasty Typewriter once again. Danielle Pinnock and Mary Jarreau dig deep into the paranormal with Crooked writer Halle Kiefer. Masculinity expert Brad Turbo (Matt Rogers) cultivates a new generation of manly men…for a price. Lovett and his guests weed out which endangered animals won’t be making the cut this Earth Day, and we harvest a new crop of hot, fresh takes.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcr...

Choo choo! Lovett or Leave It: Live Or Else pulls into the station at Dallas’s own The Factory in Deep Ellum. Railroad Commission candidate Luke Warford and producer Kendra James unpack the only thing more harrowing than energy companies coopting Texas Republicans: The Real Housewives of Dallas. Akilah Hughes gives all of us “Daddy Lessons” on Beyonce’s best-of, and we share takes hotter than the Texas sun in July. Even the confused Lyle Lovett fans in the crowd had a great time.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcr...

Lovett or Leave It pulls on its cowboy boots and takes its Lactaid pills for a queso-filled quorum in Austin, Texas. Beto O’Rourke takes on Greg Abbott and plays Queen for a Day. Ali Clem of la Barbecue and Akilah Hughes help us put the BBQ in LGBTQ. Tate Donavan helps Lovett call out the not-so-magical inspiration behind the Magic Kingdom. And we let the Rant Wheel spin, pardner.

Text Lovett to 20377 to help Texas elect Beto O'Rourke.

Help asylum-seekers, migrants and refugees at the border: https://borderkindness.org/

Fo...

This week’s episode is a potluck, and Lovett or Leave It is bringing the bananas. Joel Kim Booster, Jenny Yang and Emily Heller talk rom-coms in a segment slow-cooked to perfection from a recent Dynasty Typewriter show. Lovett fills up on audience questions, while Crooked’s own in-house cranks rant about in-flight films, late-night anxiety, and the eternal dessert rivalry between chips and nuts. Stick a fork in us. We're done.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the na...

Live from the Lincoln Theatre, Lovett or Leave It storms Washington, D.C. and seizes its jumbo slices. Crooked’s own Damon Young is stuck on cancel culture, while Kamala Harris (Allison Reese) has absolutely no notes on the experience of being V.P. Aparna Nancherla helps our telethon to raise $22 billion dollars for COVID relief, now that Congress has dropped the ball, and we finish off the night with a turn of the Rant Wheel, original flavor.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please ema...

Live from Dynasty Typewriter, Ginni Thomas (Pandora Boxx) storms the barricade to bring us good, solid marriage advice. Josh Barro and Lovett go toe-to-sleepy toe on Daylight Saving Time. Comedian Daniel Santaniel (Tim Baltz) pitches himself as the American Zelenskyy. And Lennon Parham of HBO Max’s Minx weighs in on the sexiness of the 1970s, alongside our very own producer Kendra James and writer Halle Kiefer. Plus the Hyper Wheel whirls us into the weekend.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@cro...

Everything old is new again as Lovett Or Leave It celebrates the return of a classic: performing indoors. L.A. City Councilperson Nithya Raman joins our first show at Dynasty Typewriter, where Emily’s Garden Show makes its triumphant, disruptive return. Joel Kim Booster tackles the seemingly infinite variety of Batmen, while a college student (Halle Kiefer) and an immortal fox spirit (Jenny Yang) go toe-to-nine-tails over the never-ending cancel culture debate. Finally, the HyperWheel brings us back around to adult birthdays, astrology, and the end of an era in baked goods. And Emily Heller rants about whatever she da...

We finally, finally, finally return to touring, and set our clam chowder and sour dough dreams on the beautiful city of San Francisco, all set to the dulcet tones of the incredible B. Noel. Author George M. Johnson crosses out America’s book banning trend. Jared Goldstein and Holmes say Ok, Stop to Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Ben Shapiro. Guy Branum finds out, “Are you smarter than a gay coastal elite?” Ezra Klein takes stock of our times, and we finish it all with a brand-new comedy technology: the Hyper Wheel.

Support trans kids:<...

Gather around the campfire for one s’more backyard show before Lovett and Leave It ventures into the wider world yet again. A pick-up aficionado (Ike Barinholtz) puts the pedal to the metal in our conversation about pedestrian safety. Ike, Sam Richardson, and Madison Shepard cower in the face of the forthcoming vibe shift, before putting their knowledge of Trump’s many legal problems to the test. And as another era passes, so too turns the Rant Wheel, teaching us the folly of doing the splits in your 30s, sharing memes too late, and eating way too much cheese in t...

When it comes to shows left in Lovett’s backyard, this week’s is Number Two! Lovett’s parents stop by to rank his monologue jokes, while Kylie Brakeman and Moses Storm pop a squat on the couch to spread some hot goss. A battle-weary flight attendant feels wiped from all these disruptive anti-maskers, while Lovett plays party pooper to a very enthusiastic trucker, fresh from Canada’s Freedom Convoy protest. We end the night with a spin of the Rant Wheel, which flushes out the truth about Millennials, NFT apes, and whether those symptoms are COVID or regular old unbe...

Cupid aims his wise and mighty arrow at the backyard this week, where we regale True Story’s Ed Helms with true tales of courtship gone wrong. Keep It’s own Louis Virtel goes toe-to-toe (dare we say cheek-to-cheek) with fellow Oscar trivia dynamo Michael Lasker for a round of romantic Oscars trivia. Atsuko Okatsuko has all the tips and tricks you need to rekindle the spark... with Democrats. And who doesn’t love a rant wheel, where we cover it all from budget airline mergers to a scandal at the heart of Olympic figure skating that not enough people...

Mayors are revealing their faces and people are pissed! This week, the pod at Pundit’s palace welcomes Guy Montag from Fahrenheit 451 (Marcella Arguello), who explains the real danger of banning books; Jason Concepcion expands his mind to contemplate the Joe Rogan-verse; and Tesla critic Sean Crepe (Andrew Farmer) gets taken for a ride in one of Elon’s finest, while we close out another chilly outdoor show huddled around a scorching Rant Wheel for heat.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crook...

The pod pops the cork on another house party at Lovett’s place, where West Elm Caleb (as played by River Butcher) stops by to ruin the vibe; Lindsay Adams and Brendan Scannell parse through the pettiest moments in presidential history; producer Kendra James answers the tough questions about her new book, Admissions; and a new batch of Hot Takes takes us into some truly jaw-dropping territory, all while Pundit is on unofficial trash duty.  

And we’re back... on tour that is! Join Lovett and friends on the road for Lovett or Leave It: Li...

And we're back... on tour that is! Get tickets & learn more: crooked.com/events

Join Lovett and friends on the road, as Lovett or Leave It hits Washington D.C., Austin, Chicago, Boston, and more. Take a deep dive into what’s going on in the news, laugh along with his hilarious guests, and do it all IRL. Don’t worry, your couch will be there when you get back.

Listener presales: January 25 at 10 am local time through January 27 with code CROOKED

General onsale: January 28 at 10 am local time

crooked.com/even...

We gather 'round the ol' campfire for another Lovett or Leave It, brought to you from the wilderness of Lovett's backyard. Hysteria's own Megan Gailey gives us a front row seat to the Divas Live! concert that is professional athletes and COVID. Jared Goldstein pulls back the curtain and nervously peers into the dysfunctional life of a Hollywood bigwig. We finish with a Rant Wheel, and just in time too. The spinning colors attract the wolves.

Lovett or Leave It returns to the great outdoors, specifically the part of the outdoors immediately adjacent to Lovett’s house - because when we said "live or else" we meant it. We talk COVID in schools with the L.A. Times’ Colleen Shalby and 90 Day Fiancé with Marcy Jarreau (90 Day Bae) at the exact same time, and put Adam Scott (Severance) to the test to find out if he really does love the ‘90s after all. Plus we round out our backyard soirée with a shockingly raccoon-heavy Rant Wheel.

You can catch Adam Sco...

Pop an ibuprofen, pour yourself a tall glass of water, and nurse your NYE hangover with a big, salty mess of frustrations! That’s right, our January 1 Rant-a-thon is here. Roy Wood Jr. centers the importance of your Uber driver, while Alex Edelman raises an eyebrow at corporate charity. Shalewa Sharpe reminisces about cookies gone by, while Marcy Jarreau sounds off about car horns. Crooked’s own Elijah Cone says farewell to all his beloved commies in California as he moves across the country. Lovett or Leave It writers Jocelyn Coffman and Pallavi Gunalan defend James Corden and more reas...

Now more than ever: what a year. Lovett or Leave It hopes the door won't hit 2021 in the ass on the way out, while Ashley Ray and Alice Wetterlund scroll through Mark Meadows' January 6 texts, Det. Peter Bruegel (Max Silvestri) punishes the Grinch for his crimes, and holiday foods square off in a heated bracket that dares to ask the question: is ham a dessert meat? Plus a final round of Hot Takes!

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and...

Comedian Kevin James Thornton stops by to talk TikTok and to autotune our childhoods. Nancy Cuomo (Jackie Kashian) updates us on the Cuomo family Christmas newsletter. Andy Slavitt breaks down what we need to know about omicron. Tawny Newsome and Danielle Perez deserve an Oscar for their knowledge of method acting. And do not ask for whom the Rant Wheel spins. It spins…for thee.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Comedian Kiran Deol forgives us for making her talk about the state of modern apologies, J. Jonah Jameson (Paul F. Tompkins) stops by to explain how photos of Spider-Man are just barely keeping the newspaper industry alive, and Hot Takes has us defending Harvard grads, the Citizen app, and, worst of all, abstaining from video games.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, please visit crooked.com/lovettorleaveit. 

For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name o...

It's Thanksgiving weekend and there’s room for you at the kids’ table as comedian Naomi Ekperigin digs into the week in news, and reminds us to save a seat for Corn Pop. Astronaut Scott Kelly tells us about more than astronaut ice cream, and Jon and Tommy take things personally in the Newlywed Game. Then Alexis Wilson, Moshe Kasher, Tre’vell Anderson, Maria Bamford, and Ricky Velez gather 'round to enjoy a slice out of the Rant Wheel.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, please visit crooked.com/lovettorleaveit. 

Fo...

In this half live, half or else episode, Guy Branum ruminates on Beto’s roll out and Boebert’s freak out, Solomon Georgio unfolds other people’s dirty laundry, and Senator Patty Murray joins forces against Lovett or Leave It’s greatest nemesis: reverting to standard time.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, please visit crooked.com/lovettorleaveit. 

For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

This week, Lovett triumphantly returns to New York like Caesar to Rome. Is Ronan here for gay news? You bet. Does he return for the Newlywed game against Oscar nominated twins, the Lucas Bros.? Sure thing. Bridget Everett is here with facts on the rats that've overrun this fair city, and Wyatt Cenac is too with the receipts showing roads can be racist. Busy Philipps AKA Resistance Wine Mom is feeling a little disheartened by the lack of progress, and they're all joined by Kal Penn for the rant wheel, Taylor's Version™.

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