David Sedaris is Mostly Bark, Some Bite

Episode of Pod Save America · June 14, 2026 · 1 h 8 min

Jon Lovett talks with humorist David Sedaris about his essay collection The Land and Its People, his Trump-supporting father, progressive language, a dog bite, marriage and aging.

Summary

Jon Lovett interviewed David Sedaris about his new essay collection, The Land and Its People. Sedaris described how his late father drifted from money-minded Republicanism to voting for Jesse Helms and immersion in conservative radio and Fox News, argued that his father's politics were ultimately about keeping money, and said his father told him late in life that he regretted voting for Trump. Sedaris also described his friendship with a local English politician who joined Reform UK.

The two discussed progressive language and its political costs. Sedaris recounted CBS's Board of Race and Culture objecting to his use of the word "immigrant," and described how audiences reacted to his being bitten by a dog belonging to people smoking fentanyl in Portland, arguing that people feared seeming Republican if they sympathized with him. Lovett argued that a political movement that is not honest about how people feel is doomed to fail, citing homelessness politics in Los Angeles. Sedaris explained his dislike of the word "queer" as unspecific and a rebranding imposed without consultation, and said he refuses to write "sex worker" for The New Yorker; Lovett discussed LGBT acronyms, Latinx and why he calls himself gay.

Later segments covered skirts and conservative anxieties about gender norms, Sedaris's sympathy for straight men confined by narrow norms, his marriage to Hugh and his rule never to discuss the relationship with one's partner, and his refusal to discuss bodily functions with Hugh. Sedaris said decrepitude frightened him more than death, argued that people should be able to end their lives without losing life insurance, and joked about a "Canyon Day." The episode closed with rapid-fire questions on the word "perfect," emojis, reading Moby-Dick, and Sedaris's oldest grudge, dating to 1968.

Chapters

1:05
Arguing with a Trump-supporting father
Sedaris describes his father's political evolution, their disagreements over Trump and gay marriage, and a friend who joined Reform UK.
9:38
International McDonald's
Sedaris explains his habit of cataloguing McDonald's menu items abroad without eating them.
11:52
Punching down and the CBS 'immigrant' flap
Sedaris recounts a comedy class lesson and CBS objecting to his use of the word immigrant.
18:38
The dog bite essay
Sedaris and Lovett discuss how people reacted to his being bitten by a dog owned by drug users and what it says about liberal politics.
24:39
Pride and parades
Sedaris explains why he is not a parade person and shares his 'gayest' recent moment involving a Burberry kit.
28:09
The word queer and progressive language
Sedaris explains his objections to 'queer' and 'sex worker,' and Lovett discusses LGBT acronyms, Latinx and his own identity.
40:06
Skirts and gender norms
The two discuss wearing skirts, conservative anxieties about masculinity and Sedaris's sympathy for straight men.
49:55
Marriage advice and privacy
Sedaris describes his marriage to Hugh, his rule against discussing the relationship, and never discussing bodily functions.
55:21
Aging, decrepitude and death
Sedaris discusses fearing decline more than death, writing daily, and his views on ending one's life.
1:00:52
Rapid fire and grudges
Sedaris answers quick questions on words, emojis and Moby-Dick, and recounts his oldest grudge and a brave gay classmate.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

David Sedaris
Sedaris says he would never stop talking to a politician friend who joined Reform UK and values understanding his views.
“You know, like I would never stop talking to him over that. He answers any question I ask him”
Listen from 2:01 · Reform UK
David Sedaris
Sedaris says his father told him near the end of his life that he regretted voting for Trump.
“toward the end of his life, he regretted. He told me he regretted voting for Trump, which was interesting to me”
Listen from 3:03 · Donald Trump
David Sedaris
Sedaris argues his father's politics were ultimately driven by a desire to keep more of his money.
“ultimately, it was all about money, about keeping more of his money”
Listen from 7:50 · Fatherhood
David Sedaris
Sedaris says his father's habit of underpaying him for work prepared him for Trump.
“I mean, everything about my father prepared me for Trump. You know, someone works for you and then you don't pay them”
Listen from 9:13 · Fatherhood
David Sedaris
Sedaris recounts that CBS's Board of Race and Culture accused him of punching down for calling a waitress an immigrant, a charge he found mystifying.
“the Board of Race and Culture at CBS said I was using my privilege to punch down and call someone an immigrant”
Listen from 12:21 · CBS News
David Sedaris
Sedaris argues that people avoided sympathizing with him over a dog bite because the owners were drug users, fearing being seen as Republican.
“since when did allowing dogs to bite people become a Democrat point of principle? I just don't understand that”
Listen from 20:29 · Political correctness and progressive language
Jon Lovett
Lovett argues that clearing homeless encampments would be broadly popular even among Democrats despite loud online opposition.
“When I bet if you polled people, even Democrats, it would be a 70-30, 80-20 issue”
Listen from 21:39 · Homelessness in Los Angeles
Jon Lovett
Lovett argues that a political movement that is dishonest about how people actually feel will fail and push voters toward bad answers.
“is not honest about how people actually feel. It's doomed to fail, right?”
Listen from 24:59 · Political correctness and progressive language
Linked moment · 28:09Skip to 28:09 using a listen link in the info box.
David Sedaris
Sedaris objects to the word queer because it is unspecific and because it is the third time he has been rebranded without being asked.
“I find my problem with the word queer, I have two problems. One, it doesn't tell me anything”
Listen from 29:01 · Queer (term)
David Sedaris
Sedaris says he will not write about prostitutes for The New Yorker because the magazine requires the term sex worker.
“So I will never write about a prostitute and the New Yorker because I don't want to use the word sex worker”
Listen from 33:53 · Political correctness and progressive language
Jon Lovett
Lovett says that, although married to a trans person, he chooses to call himself gay rather than queer.
“I choose to call myself gay, even though, truthfully, the word queer probably more appropriately defines what I am”
Listen from 38:26 · Queer (term)
Jon Lovett
Lovett argues that ever-lengthening LGBTQ acronyms are aesthetically unpleasing and unpersuasive.
“It is stupid to go around saying so many letters in a row and to keep adding new letters to it”
Listen from 39:48 · Political correctness and progressive language
David Sedaris
Sedaris says he feels sorry for straight men because their social confines are so narrow.
“I feel sorry for straight guys. I feel sorry that they're in their prison”
Listen from 46:44 · Masculinity
David Sedaris
Sedaris says marrying Hugh was a purely legal and financial matter that held no emotional meaning for him.
“It didn't mean anything to me to be married. I didn't choke up. It was just a legal thing to me”
Listen from 50:44 · Marriage and long-term partnership
David Sedaris
Sedaris advises never discussing the relationship with one's partner, crediting this for his 36 years with Hugh.
“Never talk about your relationship to that other person. Never. Never talk about it”
Listen from 51:06 · Marriage and long-term partnership
David Sedaris
Sedaris says he finds decrepitude harder to contemplate than death.
“it's easier to, to conceive of our death than it is of our decrepitude, you know”
Listen from 55:33 · Aging
David Sedaris
Sedaris says writing daily for 50 years is so central to his identity that he does not know who he would be without it.
“i've i've done it every single day of my life for the last 50 years so i don't know who i would be without it”
Listen from 58:22 · Aging
David Sedaris
Sedaris argues it is unfair that life insurance does not pay out after suicide and that people should not be forced to endure misery in decline.
“I just don't think it's fair to expect people to put up with that amount of misery”
Listen from 59:12 · Assisted suicide

People

In the conversation

Jon LovettCo-host of Pod Save America; diarization split of the same speaker during the economics segment
David SedarisAmerican humorist, essayist and diarist

Discussed

Lou SedarisDavid Sedaris's late father, a Republican and Trump voter
Jesse HelmsFormer Republican U.S. senator from North Carolina
Rush LimbaughConservative radio host
Nigel FarageBritish politician who criticized banning people for their speech
Hugh HamrickPainter and David Sedaris's longtime partner and husband
Scott BessentU.S. Treasury Secretary who criticized Sanders' AI panel
Spencer PrattReality TV personality running for mayor of Los Angeles
Calvin TomkinsLongtime art critic for The New Yorker
Burt ReynoldsAmerican actor invoked by a Hollywood agent in a 1992 comparison to a declining Stallone

Topics

From the publisher

Legendary humorist David Sedaris stops by the studio to talk to Lovett about his new book of essays, "The Land and Its People," his father's support for Trump, and what he learned about liberals when he was bitten by a dog. They also unpack Sedaris's frustration with being labeled "queer," his nonnegotiable rule about what not to discuss in a relationship, and his unique approach to growing older. 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, episode title, and episode date.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Books·Society & Culture·Politics