November 21, 2025 • 59 mins
A Monday mailbox note sets the fuse, but the story grows fast: two best friends unpack modern impatience, real-world logistics, and why a noon delivery isn’t a crisis. That everyday friction becomes a gateway to bigger questions—how we normalize danger, how schools script safety, and how mentors step into the gaps. The mood swings from rant to reflection and lands in a textured tour of the White House East Wing, a place that has quietly housed public access, a family theater, and a hidden wartime bunker.
We trace the East Wing from Jefferson’s colonnades to Theodore Roosevelt’s democratic redesign and FDR’s expansion, spotlighting how it evolved into a genuine center of First Lady power. This is where restoration projects were run, literacy and mental health initiatives took shape, and media strategy matured alongside a growing public spotlight. Ceremony and symbolism matter, the hosts argue, not as window dressing but as a lever for cultural change—especially when the West Wing holds the policy pen.
Between a chaotic blood donation tale and a 1984 diary flashback, the conversation keeps its footing in lived experience. We talk about language and harm, call Monica Lewinsky what she was—a victim of power imbalance—and demand accountability on trafficking without partisan blinders. The final stretch examines the East Wing’s demolition for a new ballroom, preservation scans, and what is lost when process and transparency trail the bulldozers. It’s personal, funny, informed, and unafraid to draw lines where they count.
If this mix of history, honesty, and Gen X resilience speaks to you, tap follow, share with a friend who loves a good deep-dive, and leave a quick review so more curious folks can find us. What part of the East Wing story surprised you most?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_04 (00:04):
Two best friends, we're talking fast.
We're missing two arcades, we'rehaving a blast.
Seeing these dreams, me onscreens, it was all bad.
Oh you know, it's like whatever.
SPEAKER_01 (00:31):
Welcome to Like Whatever, a podcast for, by, and
about Gen X.
I'm Nicole, and this is my BFFFHeather.
SPEAKER_02 (00:39):
Hello.
SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
So I'm not even gonna bother to ask you about
your week until January.
Good idea.
Because it's just gonna beworking cold and dark and windy.
SPEAKER_00 (00:51):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (00:52):
And it all sucks.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (00:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
If you have anything good come up, you can just let
me know.
Well, I probably you're prettymuch gonna work and sleep all
the next two months.
SPEAKER_00 (00:59):
Can I just vent about this one lady personally?
I love it.
I know.
Please do.
None of you care because youdon't.
But listen, there's this lady.
The last two Mondays, okay,Mondays, period, are behind
anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (01:14):
Yeah, because there's Sunday.
SPEAKER_00 (01:17):
So Mondays are are behind anyway.
Now you add in the Christmasseason and you add on top that
we no longer come in at 7:30, wecome in at 8.
So I'm already a half an hourbehind where I used to be.
And then on top of it, soanyway, now Mondays, I'm usually
like about an hour, hour and ahalf behind the rest of the
week.
(01:38):
Because it's Monday.
Um, I don't know if you're newto the planet, but Monday is
post office, it's gonna belater.
Yeah.
So two Mondays in a row, thislady has left this note.
The first Monday, it was a note.
Um, hi, I was supposed to getthis package today.
(01:59):
Is it in a different box?
Can you check?
SPEAKER_01 (02:02):
Yes, go knock on all your neighbors' doors and find
out who has it.
SPEAKER_00 (02:05):
First of all, you know I haven't been here yet.
SPEAKER_01 (02:08):
If you've left me a note saying that's exactly what
I was thinking, and notyesterday.
Number one.
Just a little passiveaggressive.
SPEAKER_00 (02:16):
Second of all, it's 12 30.
It's not 5 p.m.
It's not 10 p.m.
It's 12 30.
I usually get to her box around11, somewhere in that
neighborhood.
So, yes, I am behind.
So the last Monday I wrote backon the back of her note because
she did have three packages thatday.
(02:37):
Is it one of these packages?
And I never got a response.
So I assumed obviously it wasone of those that I had not been
there yet.
This Monday, same note, exactsame note, because when I turned
it over, my response was stillthere.
And I was like, this bitch.
(02:59):
Okay, so last Monday we didthis, and then you went to your
mailbox at noon and opened it,and there was not it was hello,
hello, hello, empty in there.
And you thought to yourself, Oh,she fucked up again this week.
(03:19):
I'm gonna write her, I'm gonnaleave the exact same note.
SPEAKER_01 (03:22):
Like it's so weird she didn't throw the note away.
Like, why would you hold on tothat?
SPEAKER_00 (03:26):
And are you gonna put it in there every Monday?
No, you are not, because I tookit this week.
Nice.
You are not next week.
If you leave me the note, you'regonna have to think about it
while you write it.
SPEAKER_01 (03:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:36):
And next week, if you write me a note on Monday
again, I'm gonna it's gonna getpassive aggressive.
I'm gonna passive aggressivelytell you Mondays, I'm behind.
And if when you open the box andthere's not a stitch of anything
in there, you don't have anymap, there's nothing.
There's it's it's empty.
SPEAKER_02 (03:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:54):
I mean, use the brain God gave you and think,
hey, she hasn't been here yet.
And was your pri was yourpackage scanned?
No.
SPEAKER_01 (04:05):
Yeah, and at like noon.
Do you know how many days uhlike I get a notice that I'm
gonna get a package, and then iteither comes at eight o'clock at
night or the next day.
SPEAKER_00 (04:13):
She is halfway through my first neighborhood.
So on Mondays, I leave thatneighborhood at one o'clock.
So it was probably 12, 12:30,somewhere in that neighborhood.
Because I don't get there until11.
So and it takes me two hours todo that neighborhood.
So I mean, when you went outthere and looked and there
wasn't any mail in there, andwhen you came back later to
(04:34):
check, just because you probablygot the notification that the
packages you were expecting havenow been scanned.
Like, what do you think happens?
Some package fairy comes, andthen to do it the next week.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (04:48):
Like your spidey senses are gonna be like, oh
god, she left me a note.
I better hurry up and get there.
SPEAKER_00 (04:53):
I mean, if we're doing this every Monday, then
it's about to get passiveaggressive.
SPEAKER_01 (04:57):
Yeah, it's gonna have to.
SPEAKER_00 (04:58):
Yeah, because I'm not yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:00):
Your job's stressful enough without dealing with
that.
Oh, I'm not dealing.
And it's noon.
SPEAKER_00 (05:04):
It's not even like it's 4 p.m.
Mm-mm.
Calm the fuck down.
SPEAKER_01 (05:12):
She's gonna be real upset in a couple weeks when all
the Christmas stuff startsrolling.
SPEAKER_00 (05:16):
Oh my god.
And she gets packages like everysingle day.
She got one today.
And like, and sometimes sheleaves them in there.
And every time she does, I wantto leave a note.
And it's like, why didn't youget this package?
We've been riding my ass.
SPEAKER_01 (05:28):
I delivered this package yesterday.
SPEAKER_00 (05:29):
Why didn't you come get it?
Ride my ass about the goddamnthing.
Get it.
SPEAKER_01 (05:37):
Oh my.
So I was driving down here todayand listening to NPR.
And um I'm reaching for my sheis.
I don't know why she doesn'tjust stand up and get it.
Because I don't want to create.
Go ahead.
Oh, okay.
Anyway, um, so there's a newdocumentary, I think it's out
(05:58):
today on HBO about gun violenceand how to protect yourself
against gun violence.
So the idea behind thisdocumentary is if we aren't
going to implement any guncontrol, sure, we need to figure
out how to live in a countrywhere gun violence is a real
thing and normal.
(06:19):
Guess what they named it.
SPEAKER_02 (06:23):
Like I can't.
SPEAKER_01 (06:24):
I mean, you are the queen of titles, but this one
blows it out the way.
I can't venture a guess.
Thoughts and prayers.
Oh, I love that.
I know.
I love that.
It is so great.
It's just the perfect title.
It really is.
It really is.
Yeah, because that's about allwe're doing right now for uh
(06:46):
anything.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (06:47):
Literally anything.
SPEAKER_01 (06:48):
And then they were talking about how kids there's
literally no kids left whohaven't grown up with the fear
of school shootings.
That's crazy, right?
Shooter drills, all that stuff.
SPEAKER_00 (06:59):
And you know, the thing of it is, is as Gen Xers,
we know the fear of having anuclear bomb dropped on your
head, and we had to get underour desks, like, because that
was gonna help.
But so now you're doing that toa whole new generation of things
that actually can happen.
SPEAKER_01 (07:14):
Well, and that's the thing.
When we were little and theywere talking about nuclear
bombs, we're like, we don't evenhave a concept of what that is.
We don't know what you'retalking about.
And so it's just get under yourdesk.
You know, but now these kids,they see guns, their friends are
bringing them to school.
I mean, it's everywhere, so thatit's very tangible for them.
And it is scary.
(07:34):
I was in a high school a couplewell, I'm in high schools every
all the time, but I was in one acouple years ago, and they had a
power outage.
And the poor I was in the roomwith some kids, and I was the
only adult in the room.
The teachers had left the room.
No, thank you.
And these kids instantly startedtalking about there being a
shooter in the building.
That was their very firstthought.
(07:55):
And they're all trying to hide,and I was just like, oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
As part of your training, because you go into
schools, do you have to know theshooter drills?
Because when I was a mentor, wehad uh an orientation at the
beginning of the year, and theywent through the shooter drills.
We had to we had to take part ina shooter drill.
SPEAKER_01 (08:12):
I'm surprised they don't make me do that.
If I'm there, I've never takenpart in a shooter drill.
I've been in the schools whenthey have fire drills, and I
have to go stand out in theparking lot like we did when we
were kids.
Yeah.
Um, and now they don't even theymake them go like 10 feet from
the schools.
Yeah, it's like nothing.
We had to walk out like threefields across.
SPEAKER_00 (08:32):
I I I when we had a in our orientation, they gave us
a um a sheet that had all thedifferent um what they say over
the loudspeaker, so you knowwhat's happening, and like
underneath it tells you whatwhat you are responsible for.
Wow.
Like you're as a mentor, yourjob is to hook up with another
(08:55):
class so that you can say, Thisis my, you know, so and so.
And um, can I just say for asecond, if you have never if
you're looking for a volunteerthing to do, call your local
elementary school and ask themor middle school and ask them
about their mentoring program.
It's a fun here, I don't knowabout anywhere else, but I know
(09:17):
here it is an amazing program.
And you, if you want an egoboost, like okay, I'm not gonna
lie, it was a purely selfishendeavor.
Hi, Alina.
Um, but you feel like a rockstar.
Like when you walk into thatbuilding, they all know who you
are, they all know you're ayou're I volunteered at my niece
(09:40):
and nephew school, and my nephewjust could not understand why I
could not be his mentor.
And the um I knew the theguidance counselor from when I
was a kid and stuff, and she shesaid, Well, you you don't need a
mentor.
And we're not gonna give youyour aunt because you see her
all the time.
SPEAKER_01 (09:59):
But um, yeah, there's even a non-profit, at
least one nonprofit here inDelaware that I know of that
helps you to connect with thosethings.
Like that's what they do.
It's they are they're kind ofthe connection from the
community to the schools to helpmentors.
SPEAKER_00 (10:13):
I'm also gonna say this too, because in this day
and age that we are living in,in the current situation that
we're in, um, Big Brothers, BigSisters, I know I have touted
them, does not discriminate.
In fact, um really would likeLGBTQ bigs.
(10:40):
Um, it's very important for thembecause they would like to match
up LGBTQ children to a mentorwho has been through it and um
yes, I know probably peoplethink all it's a children's
thing, and you know howeverybody is an asshole these
days, like I can't do it becauseXYZ.
(11:03):
Um, at least here I can't speakfor the rest of Big Brothers,
Big Sisters, but I do know herethey had an active campaign to
try and bring in LGBTQ couplesand um and individuals,
especially, especially if you'reyoung.
(11:24):
There's a real lack of youngerpeople, period, doing it.
Um, and these kids, people ofcolor and LGBTQ are are very
important in the Big Brothers,Big Sisters organization.
Yeah.
That's what I'll say about it.
SPEAKER_01 (11:41):
I'm so proud of you for that.
While we're talking about doinggood deeds, I have a bad story.
Uh-oh.
So I am needle squeamish.
Yes.
I know it's silly.
She has tattoos.
I have tattoos, which is a totalbullshit thing to say when
people, really is there's a verybig difference between scraping
the surface and rammingsomething into my vein.
SPEAKER_00 (12:04):
A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_01 (12:05):
Yeah.
Um, you know, I've had kids, Ihave had all s I I have had a
lot of needles in my life.
She's not a drug addict.
I'm not a drug addict.
Normal needles, like be out inthe front every single time.
I turn my head and I wince, andI'm so anyway, I hate donating
(12:28):
blood.
But for whatever reason, I thinkbecause when I was in high
school, the blood bank came andparked our little van in the
parking lot and I donated bloodthere.
That didn't go well either, butit made me feel good.
And I always think, you know,one day I might need it.
Yes.
So I would hope somebody wouldhave donated somewhere so that I
can get it.
I know they are always short,they are constantly texting,
(12:50):
calling, emailing me that theyneed.
And I also have very commonblood, so they always need it.
Um, so anyway, I went to getblood last Friday.
Oh boy.
Oh yeah.
It was like a comedy of errors.
Like so I get there.
Um, and the reason I this isthis is why.
(13:11):
Um, I get the text all the time,and I'm like, meh, meh.
And then I got one that saidthey were gonna have a um coffee
food truck out in the parkinglot, and after you donated, you
got free coffee, fancy coffee.
And that's why.
Yeah, and uh I got punished forit.
So, and it's part of the story.
So, anyway, um, yeah.
So, firstly, um I go in and theyset me up, and the TV is usually
(13:38):
HG TV when I'm in there, whichI'm not a fan of, but it's not
so bad.
This time it was a game shownetwork, and I love a game show.
I can't fucking stand Wheel ofFortune.
Me either.
That's what they had on.
I know.
That's what they had on.
So ding number one.
Um, so then um the girl, she wasvery very, very, very nice.
(14:04):
But I'm the type of person, ifyou don't say a word to me, I
love it.
Right.
I'm not offended, I don't wantto make small talk, I just do it
and get me out of here.
But she was very sweet, very,very, very sweet.
She didn't do anything wrong.
But she put the needle in andthe thing kept beeping.
And they're making me squeezethe ball constantly, and I have
(14:26):
arthritis in my hands.
So doing that motion like theevery seven seconds they want
you to do is one thing, but whenthey're yeah, like a lot of
pain.
So the machine keeps beeping.
She's like, I'm gonna go get mysupervisor.
So she goes and gets her, andshe comes back.
She's like, No, you've got it inthere perfectly.
It wasn't pumping out.
Oh, so they are steady wigglingthis needle around in my arm.
(14:51):
And so anyway, then the littlegirl explains to me the valves
and the veins, and sure.
They might have backed theneedle right up to one and all
that.
So the other lady puts it in alittle bit further.
We think it's going, it's not.
Um were you dehydrated?
They asked me that, but I drinkwater all the time.
Like I always have that waterwith me.
(15:12):
So I don't think so.
Uh they kept turning my arm,they dropped my arm, had me
squeezing that ball.
My hand went totally numb.
Like I literally couldn't, I waslike, I can't squeeze this ball
anymore because I can't feel myhand.
So they gave me a smaller ball.
I mean they keep doing it.
Um so then the supervisor tellsher, Well, just get her bag to
(15:35):
the minimum, whatever that is.
Um and it keeps beeping.
She has to keep coming over,keep adjusting.
I was there for two hours.
Oh boy.
It usually takes like half anhour.
The truck is leaving.
SPEAKER_00 (15:50):
Oh no.
SPEAKER_01 (15:51):
So the front desk lady comes in and is like, Do
you want anything?
You thought, yeah, I wantsomething off the truck.
That's the whole reason I'mhere.
So I have to dig my ticket outof my back pocket that I'm
sitting on, give it to her, giveher my order.
She goes out and gets it, leavesit at the front, so it's cold by
the time I get done and comeout.
However, the snack lady did warmit up for me in the microwave,
(16:12):
so that was very nice.
Um, so then the little girlcomes over and she just starts
taking taking it out.
And I was like, Oh, good.
Did we get to the minimum?
She's like, No, but your blood'sstarting to clot, so we can't do
it anymore.
I was like, is that blood stillgood?
She's like, Yeah.
Pretty sure.
Let me take it with me then.
I was like, seriously, like, itwas the worst.
(16:35):
I mean, I it wasn't the worst.
I have passed out.
I have puked on myself.
I have had all the things, and Ikeep going back.
I need to find something.
I never can give blood.
SPEAKER_00 (16:48):
I never can.
Is your thing too low?
The iron too low?
SPEAKER_01 (16:51):
No, mine used to always be too low.
SPEAKER_00 (16:54):
I never go long enough without getting a tattoo.
They're like, when was the lasttime you got a tattoo?
Oh.
This one still has scabs on it.
SPEAKER_01 (17:08):
It but anyway, I mean, I still encourage you to
show it.
Other people go and have noproblem.
So now I'm thinking maybe Ishould do platelets.
It's the same experience, myunderstanding, but you're in a
much loungier chair.
Uh-huh.
And you it takes a couple hours,yeah.
And you just lay there and youcan watch a movie or listen to
the page.
They put it back, they put yourblood back.
(17:29):
Right.
But then my friend told me thatone time she afterward, she had
this long streak down her armbecause the needle had come so
when they took the blood in andput it back in, it was just
pumping it under her skin.
Oh my god, jeez.
I don't even know what to do.
You get paid for plasma.
Yeah, that's true.
(17:51):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (17:52):
It's not very much though.
But you can do it like two orthree times a week.
SPEAKER_01 (17:57):
I only do the blood thing like three, four times a
year.
SPEAKER_00 (18:00):
My dad always goes.
They they're constantly my dadhas good blood.
Whatever blood he has is thegood stuff because they call
constantly.
And he goes every time.
SPEAKER_01 (18:11):
Yeah, it was awful.
SPEAKER_00 (18:13):
They like the hippie blood.
They make gummies out of it, Ithink.
For vampires.
SPEAKER_01 (18:23):
All right.
I just wanted to whine about mytraumatic experience.
A little humble brag with a winein there.
Just because if I can do it, youcan do it.
You can do it.
You can do it.
All right.
So before we get started thisweek, like, share, rate, review.
Yes.
You can find us wherever youlisten to podcasts.
(18:45):
Please.
Follow us on all the socials.
SPEAKER_00 (18:48):
All of them.
SPEAKER_01 (18:48):
At Like Whatever Pod.
We are on YouTube at LikeWhatever.
And you can send us an email tolikewhateverpod at gmail.com.
Please.
All right.
So this week I decided we'vebeen doing a lot of like music,
movie type things.
So I want to do a littlehistory.
Um, so nerd.
(19:10):
I know.
Uh let's fuck around and findout about the East Wing.
So I got my sources this weekfrom Whitehousehistory.com.
Oh, no, dot org.
Sorry.
Um, mccbeacon.com,ghostsofdc.org.
Ooh, and NPR.
(19:31):
I'm actually surprised WhiteHouse oh, because that's not the
White House.gov.
Official.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I I thought the same thing whenI saw it.
I was like, hmm, this is anyway.
I I promised myself I wouldn'tdo it.
SPEAKER_00 (19:42):
Nope.
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
All right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:43):
I'm not allowed to do it.
This truly is.
This week's been a good week.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:50):
Yeah.
Um, but this truly is just ahistory of the East Wing because
it, I don't know, it's kind ofneat.
Um all right, so in 1805,construction began on two
one-story colonnades extendingeast and west from the White
House and the footprint of whatwould become the modern East and
West Wings.
(20:10):
President Thomas Jeffersonworked with architect Benjamin
Harry Latrobe to design thecolonnades and base them off
similar uh dependencies on hisplantation, Monticello.
Have you been to Monticello?
I have not.
unknown (20:25):
I have.
SPEAKER_01 (20:26):
Is it creepy?
I don't remember.
I always thought plantationswould be creepy to visit.
SPEAKER_00 (20:33):
You went, didn't you go to the one in um in Dover,
something like that?
SPEAKER_01 (20:40):
That is true.
I guess as a kid I didn't know.
Now I don't know that I wouldwant to go.
Yeah.
Like I think it's weird whenpeople have weddings at
plantations, like a lot ofreally gross stuff happened
there.
That's true so uh the colonnadeswere designed to blend into the
gradual slope on which the WhiteHouse was built to hide them
(21:00):
from view when standing in frontof the White House.
SPEAKER_00 (21:03):
Can I just say that I if have if you've never been
to the White House, once you go,it's a weird experience because
when you go to the one side ofit, it's very far.
You know, the front side, Idon't know if it's the front or
the back, but the the one sideis the lawn is really far.
(21:26):
And you look at it and you'relike, where in the hell have I
I've seen pictures of it closer.
And then if you go around to theback of it, I assume it's the
back.
I actually have no idea, but youcan see it better, but you're
still really fucking far awayfrom it.
Yeah.
And it is a weird it's weird tolook at it, I th I feel like
(21:50):
it's it's cool, and I don'tthink they let you go through it
anymore.
I think it's very hard to get atour.
They used to let everybody gothrough, but I think um after
September 11th, and no, they'vedefinitely done them since then.
SPEAKER_01 (22:04):
Oh, have they?
SPEAKER_00 (22:05):
Maybe COVID.
Maybe COVID.
I don't I don't know.
It's a weird building.
It is, it is, it's when you seeit from the the very far side,
you're kind of like, eh, I mean,it's not.
SPEAKER_01 (22:23):
It's okay.
This looks like any otherhistoric building.
SPEAKER_00 (22:26):
Yeah, I mean, I maybe, maybe because we're
jaded, because I don't knowabout you, but we went to DC
like every year for a fieldtrip.
Every single year.
And then when my kids were inschool, I went to DC every year
with them.
It's two hours from here.
You either go there orPhiladelphia or Baltimore.
Like those are the three.
But Baltimore's pretty much outat this point.
(22:46):
Yeah.
I mean, you went to the harborand that was it, to the to the
aquarium, and then and thenyou're out.
Right.
But I don't know if it's justbecause you just go all the time
to DC.
I know that sounds like anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (22:59):
Yeah.
I mean, I'm sure people thatlive near the Grand Canyon think
the same thing.
I don't even live near thefucking thing, and I'm never
going back.
Uh the colonnades were designedto blend.
Oh, I already read that.
Uh the ambitious original planswere for the colonnades to
connect the White House to theTreasury building and the
(23:21):
executive offices, but excessivecost and political pressure
forced Jefferson to scale backhis plans.
Uh, in 1808, uh, whenconstruction of Jefferson's
colonnades was completed, uh,they did not connect to any
other buildings and insteadserved primarily as storage and
workspaces for White Housedomestic staff, including
(23:43):
enslaved workers.
The East Colonnade also housed asmokehouse for meats, a privy or
bathroom, servants' quarters, ahen house, and stables.
So really they just built a barnand yeah.
Well, the outdoor housing wasprobably less appealing than the
barn.
(24:04):
Um no doubt.
Uh in 1866, after the originalEast Colonnade built under
President Jefferson becamedilapidated, President Andrew
Johnson ordered it torn down.
So this East Wing that we had isnot the original.
Well, it's the colonnade.
(24:25):
Yeah.
In 1902, President TheodoreRoosevelt ordered the
construction of the East andWest Wings.
While the West Wing housedoffices for the President's
staff, the East Wing primarilyserved as a receiving area for
visitors and guests attendingfunctions at the White House.
It featured a circular drivewaywith a carriage gate where
(24:45):
guests would drive theirhorse-drawn carriages up to the
entrance and a coat room knownas the hat box.
Guests passed through the EastColonnade and entered the main
White House through the groundfloor.
SPEAKER_00 (24:58):
The last time I was in DC, I went with my um
stepdaughter.
And um it was right after COVID.
Right after everything, theyhadn't opened up the um the
buildings yet.
Like federal workers were stillnot working in the buildings.
But anyway, they had an areawhere they had um people lining
(25:19):
up to go in, and it said federalemployees only, and I was like,
I bet I can get in there.
I got my badge.
I didn't try.
SPEAKER_01 (25:30):
Last time I was in DC was probably four, four or
five years ago.
I remember we went for mybirthday.
I love the Smithsonian, so whenI'm there, I spend most of my
time in there.
Uh and then we went to the zoobecause the National Zoo is also
free.
Yes.
It's a good free day once youget yourself there.
SPEAKER_00 (25:50):
Yeah, oh yeah.
It's a very nice the trainsystem is beyond just beyond.
It is an amazing train.
It really is.
It always has been.
Yeah.
And it's clean.
Like we go to you can get thetrain outside the city, so you
don't have to go in the city.
You don't have to park in thecity or anything.
Just take it.
It's like the the one, thefurthest out one, right on 50,
(26:13):
because that's the road thattakes you straight in.
Um, it's like a 20-30-minutetrain ride.
It's it's nice, it's it's verysafe.
SPEAKER_01 (26:21):
It is.
You never hear about instanceson that.
No.
SPEAKER_00 (26:29):
You do not.
SPEAKER_01 (26:30):
Nope.
All right.
Roosevelt's renovation was partof a massive$550,000 improvement
project designed with distinctlydemocratic ideals.
Uh, the Brandon News ofMississippi reported on January
8th, 1903, that the basement ofthe East Wing was created as
(26:50):
what some might call a publiccomfort building with clock
rooms, cloakrooms capable ofhandling the wraps of 3,000
people during receptions.
The renovation solved along-standing problem with the
White House, with White HouseEntertaining.
Before the restoration, publicreceptions meant standing in
(27:11):
rows three or four blocks longfor as many hours or more, often
exposed to rain or snow.
Uh, Roosevelt Solution providedproper shelter and facilities
while treating all guests withdignity regardless of social
status.
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
Weird in the people's house.
SPEAKER_01 (27:31):
Uh, to sum it all up, those who appreciate the
honor of the invitation which isextended, which is extended to
people at large to pay theirrespects to the head of the
nation will no longer be treatedlike a mob assembled on the
street, but will be shown thecourtesy that is accorded guests
of any American home, whetherthey are miners from Alaska,
(27:54):
bankers from Wall Street, orlumbermen from the piney woods
of Maine.
The approach and carriage gateon the east cost$65,000 of the
total project budget, reflectingthe importance placed on
creating a proper entrance thathonored Jefferson's
architectural vision whileserving practical needs.
(28:14):
Even after Roosevelt renovated,presidents continued struggling
with space limitations.
In 1914, President WoodrowWilson demonstrated this ongoing
challenge when he set up a tentin the White House Garden.
The Madison of Richmond,Kentucky reported on May 26,
(28:35):
1914, that Wilson pitched aheadquarters tent in the
old-fashioned flower gardenlying just south of the
one-story annex, which forms theeast approach to the White
House.
Wilson's makeshift office servedhis summer work hours needs
because Washington's heat madeindoor work difficult.
(28:56):
The newspaper noted that Wilsonwas somewhat tired and has
determined to do that which hewill overcome, the tired feeling
as much as possible.
So he worked outside forpractical reasons.
SPEAKER_00 (29:16):
It's been done.
Nobody is saying it's horriblebecause one person is renovating
the historic building.
Nobody is saying that.
(29:54):
Speaking of not gold and notgaudy, did you know that I I
have to We have to keep an eyeon this.
The last five pennies were justminted last week in
Philadelphia.
And they all bear the Omegasymbol on them.
And they're saying if you getany of these pennies, they're
like worth like millions ofdollars.
So I'm going to try and keepbecause Philadelphia's right
(30:15):
there.
I don't know what how they ifthey're probably going to ship
like one over here and one.
I don't know, but keep your eyeout.
SPEAKER_01 (30:22):
It's been cracking me up how they're interviewing
people on the street and they'relike, what are stores going to
do?
And what about change?
And blah blah.
Do you know how many years it'sgoing to take to get those
pennies out of circulation thatwe already have?
There are like billions andbillions of those things.
This is one thing I actuallyagree with this administration
on.
It cost four cents to make onepenny.
That's stupid.
(30:43):
The penny should have beenstopped a long time ago.
And we like I said, we haveplanned out I'll bet 20, 25
years from now, people are stillusing pennies.
I mean, they're not going to goanywhere.
We go digital.
SPEAKER_00 (30:54):
You just don't you take it to the five.
unknown (30:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (30:58):
You don't like to make things$19.99.
SPEAKER_01 (31:00):
No, and you know what's funny is some stores are
rounding in the um uh consumers'favor, but McDonald's will round
up and they will charge you moreup to the nickel.
I'm like, that's that's prettyscrewed up.
Just take the nine cents off ofyour menu.
SPEAKER_00 (31:18):
I just things don't cost$19.99 anymore.
No.
SPEAKER_01 (31:24):
And you're not fooling anybody.
We don't know that that's$20.
Like I always thought that wasthe weirdest thing.
Like, just make it$20.
Like, do people really look andlike, oh, it's only$19.99?
It's not$20.
SPEAKER_00 (31:37):
No, I feel like some people do.
SPEAKER_01 (31:39):
Yeah, you're right.
You're right.
What I'm sorry.
Yeah.
All right.
All right.
In 1942, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt expanded the EastWing's footprint and added a
second story.
He originally intended it tohouse a White House museum, but
the space became filled withoffices and support staff.
(32:01):
During the expansion, anunderground bomb shelter was
constructed as the United Stateshad recently entered World War
II.
President Roosevelt alsoconverted a room previously used
as a coat room into a movietheater.
The East Wing underwent its mostsignificant structural change in
1942 under President Roosevelt.
(32:23):
The Washington Post reported onMay 1, 1942, that an East Wing
is being added to the WhiteHouse, officially described as
office space to help relieve thepresent congestion in the White
House.
The public explanation wastruthful but incomplete.
The real purpose behind FDR'sexpansion was to conceal
(32:44):
construction of an undergroundpresidential bunker.
Secretary of the TreasuryMorgenthau had insisted on a
bomb shelter, though Rooseveltinitially resisted the idea
because he felt that there waslittle chance of a German air
raid.
The expansion created thetwo-story East Wing structure
(33:06):
that existed to this day, builtdirectly.
Some of this was written beforeOctober, I think, 15th, 12th.
The former cloakroom fromRoosevelt's era was converted
(33:28):
into a White House familytheater during the renovation.
In 1965, First Lady Lady BirdJohnson dedicated the Jacqueline
Kennedy Garden in honor of theformer First Lady.
The garden adjacent to the EastWing and Colonnade was designed
by Rachel Bunny Mellon, who alsodesigned the Rose Garden outside
(33:48):
the Oval Office during the JohnF.
Kennedy presidency and intendedthe two gardens to complement
each other.
She's been shaking her head.
I was waiting for her to.
SPEAKER_00 (33:59):
And now it's pavers.
SPEAKER_01 (34:03):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:03):
Um so you don't get your shoes dirty.
SPEAKER_01 (34:09):
On Valentine's Day in 1962, Americans tuned their
TV sets to CBS and watched FirstLady Jacqueline Kennedy walk
down the East Wing's colonnadewhile Reverend Music played.
This was the opening segment ofa tour that she was about to
give of the People's House tothe people on live television.
(34:29):
For many, it was the first timethey'd ever seen the inside of
the White House.
The East Wing was still thehouse's guest entrance since the
1902 terrace and was where FirstLadies would host official
guests.
In 1977, First Lady RosalindCarter, Jimmy's back, Jimmy's
(34:52):
back, back again, moved heroffice to the East Wing,
becoming the first presidentialspouse to have her own office
there.
A year later, Congress passedthe White House Personnel
Authorization Act, creating theofficial office of the First
Lady.
Since then, all First Ladies andtheir staff have worked in the
East Wing, or had worked in theEast Wing.
(35:16):
When First Lady Rosalind Cartermade the East Wing her official
office space in the 1970s, itset a new precedent that all
future First Ladies would havetheir own place to conduct
business.
Before that time, the wives ofpresidents were relegated to
working from the family quarterson the main house's second
floor.
Along with the First Lady'soffice came new offices for her
(35:39):
staff, press spaces, and roomsdedicated to the state projects
a First Lady would work onduring her tenure.
Mrs.
Kennedy was the first to use theEast Wing for this purpose by
housing the headquarters for herrestoration of the White House
there.
The East Wing also featuredrecreational facilities for the
first family, such as the movietheater.
unknown (36:01):
Movie theater.
SPEAKER_01 (36:04):
Everything I read was big hype on the movie
theater.
SPEAKER_00 (36:08):
Everything I have seen, they really pushed that
movie theater.
SPEAKER_01 (36:13):
It has been a space of female power and a female
niche in the White House, saidElizabeth Reese, a historian and
research fellow at theUniversity of Virginia's Miller
Center.
With the West Wing being atraditionally male-dominated
space, the East Wing was aunique physical space for women
to work and provided them withtheir own environment in which
to flourish.
(36:33):
Hmm.
Yeah, yeah.
Kind of picking up on why theEast Wing's not really that
important.
I swear I wasn't going to do it.
I knew I wasn't going to be ableto.
Since 1977, the East Wing hasserved as the traditional base
of operations for the First Ladyand her staff.
The space houses the socialsecretary, the graphics and
(36:57):
calligraphy office.
Excuse you.
I know.
That produces White Houseinvitations and serves as the
main visitor entrance forforeign dignitaries.
The wing also includes the WhiteHouse Theater.
SPEAKER_00 (37:14):
I don't know if you guys know this.
I know.
There used to be a theaterthere.
SPEAKER_01 (37:18):
In the East Wing.
I think I'm more devastated thatthe theater's gone now than I am
that the East Wing Rose Gardensare gone.
Very important theater.
And it provided the route mosttourists take when entering for
public tours.
During the Kennedyadministration in the 1960s, the
First Lady's staff expandedrapidly.
(37:39):
As mass media is on the rise andthere's enormous press interest
in this young glamorous FirstLady and her small children.
That interest necessitates thatthere is a press arm for the
first lady to cover heractivities and to spread all
this information to the press,said Elizabeth Reese.
Jacqueline Kennedy's flagshipproject as a first lady was
(38:02):
restoring the White House.
That move inspired a trend forFirst Ladies to foster at least
one key project.
First ladies thus needed biggerstaff, but they lacked
sufficient office space.
Betty Ford and earlier FirstLadies were pretty much working
out of their bedrooms.
Uh, said Marianne Borelli,author of The Politics of the
(38:24):
President's Wife and Professorof Government at Connecticut
College.
You can pause.
(38:54):
Okay, so this week we aretraveling back to April 4th,
1984.
It was a Wednesday.
So today I went to Mrs.
Fox's again for the 80th time.
Oh just kidding, apprentices.
Oh yeah.
JK.
JK.
But I actually wrote it out.
(39:15):
We didn't see JK yet.
I remember Mrs.
Fox's.
I was in Girl Scouts.
And I think she, I think she andmy mom were troop moms.
And I remember her daughter wasmy friend.
And I do, after looking at this,I did I didn't think I'd read
this, but I do remember readingthat line.
(39:36):
Um I do now remember going toher house in the morning.
So it must have been one ofthose things where mom needed
somebody to watch me until Iwent to school.
Right.
Kind of things.
Um all right.
When I got to school, Mrs.
Bailey, apprentices, homeroomteacher.
Home room teacher.
I'm glad I left a lot of detailin here.
Like I can you can just pictureit.
(39:58):
Um we had a substitute again.
unknown (40:01):
Oh fuck this.
SPEAKER_01 (40:02):
What the fuck is happening?
For real.
Is it flu season or something?
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (40:07):
This is ridiculous.
Goddamn public school system,I'll tell you.
SPEAKER_01 (40:12):
Today we had a new student in Homeroom with a
substitute teacher.
SPEAKER_00 (40:18):
That's a great way to start.
And why in April are youstarting in a new school?
SPEAKER_01 (40:22):
Her name was Mindy.
Mindy.
Mm-hmm.
In Miss Irwin's, we had ascience quiz.
Mr.
Eschenman, which was my mathteacher, we called him Mr.
E, um, was being weird today.
Oh, in parentheses, mathteacher.
SPEAKER_00 (40:38):
Yeah.
I mean, math teachers are kindof weird.
SPEAKER_01 (40:40):
Very weird.
Yeah.
That's actually what I went toschool for when I first got in.
She's weird.
Yeah.
Um, when I got home, I practicedmy flute.
Good job.
And went to Girl Scouts.
Right.
At Girl Scouts, we had a partyand did a craft.
Oh.
Mommy told Daddy a joke and toldme she'd tell me when I was 21.
She promised.
SPEAKER_00 (41:02):
So she was telling dirty jokes.
SPEAKER_01 (41:04):
You know what?
I remember this joke.
I remember that conversationeven without seeing that diary.
And here's the joke.
SPEAKER_02 (41:10):
Uh-oh.
SPEAKER_01 (41:11):
How can you tell when a chicken has had oral sex?
And then you have to have shredof paper up in your hand up in
your hand, and you go and youblow the paper out like it's
feathers.
I remember it.
I didn't know what it meant atthat time.
All right.
But it's funny that's in there.
SPEAKER_00 (41:32):
It's funny that your mom told that joke.
Yeah.
All right.
All right then.
SPEAKER_01 (41:38):
If yeah, so that's this week's uh uh little page of
uh I love Nicole's diary.
I know it.
SPEAKER_00 (41:52):
Teachers are weird.
It's the thing.
They are, it's so funny.
It's Girl Scouts, craps, dirtyjokes from my mom.
Well, it was a day.
It was you know, I'm outragedthough at this this lack of a
permanent teacher situation thiswhole week.
SPEAKER_01 (42:08):
And the funny thing is, like I work in schools now,
and it's weird to me.
Like the first time I got to goin a teacher's lounge, like as
an actual professional adult, Iwas like, ooh.
And um I see that teachers takeoff, or I talk to them, I know
they're going on vacation, or Iknow like whatever, and I see
them taking off.
(42:29):
But I felt like as a I wouldthink nowadays, like, I don't
think teachers took off thismuch when I was a kid.
I feel like they were alwaysthere, but apparently not in
1984.
Lots of absenteeism back then.
It's just ridiculous.
I know, I know.
Maybe she got chicken pox.
(42:51):
It could very well be.
Probably shingles because allkids had chickenpox.
SPEAKER_00 (42:56):
She's listening to this right now and be like, I
had the fucking shingles.
SPEAKER_01 (43:00):
Little assholes.
Yeah.
All right.
She probably needed a mentalhealth week.
Yeah, no doubt.
She didn't know it at the time.
No.
She just knew she was done.
All right.
Next, back to the story.
In 1978, a law gave more fundingfor the First Lady and her staff
(43:24):
to carry out their duties.
Under First Lady Carter, Reesesaid the staff became formally
known as the Office of the FirstLady, a professional unit within
the executive order of thepresident.
From there, Carter focused onmental health initiatives.
Uh, among her successors, LauraBush launched a literacy
campaign.
Michelle Obama promoted Let'sMove, targeting childhood
(43:47):
obesity.
Emmelia Trump backed Be Best,which advocates for children's
well-being.
Yep.
We're both being so good.
I know.
Um, even though women in theWhite House made big strides in
the East Wing, some hadreservations.
The West Wing is the seat ofpower in the White House, and
it's all about proximity, saidKate Anderson Bauer, author of
First Women (44:11):
The Grace and Power of America's Modern First
Ladies.
There's a built-in Siberianature to the East Wing, uh,
added Bauer, who covered theObama administration for
Bloomberg News.
Hillary Clinton was the first tohave an office in the West Wing,
steps from the president's OvalOffice.
(44:31):
She saw the West Wing as thepolicy-making locus and the East
Wing as more ceremonial andsymbolic.
And I think over time she becameaware of the power that comes
through ceremony and symbolism,said Borelli.
SPEAKER_00 (44:47):
Um let's just say I also wanted to say this.
It's kind of late into this.
I should have probably said it,but anyway.
With all of the uh currentevents that is in the news, um I
feel like we should just talkabout um Monica Lewinsky, okay,
(45:17):
who was a victim.
SPEAKER_01 (45:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:20):
She was a victim.
She was.
She's not the butt of a joke.
She was.
She was, but she should not be.
And I'm guilty of it.
It is and unfortunately, that'scome back because of recent
stuff.
Um and it's unfortunate becausethe woman was a victim.
(45:41):
She was.
He was a powerful man in aposition of power, and she was
an intern.
SPEAKER_01 (45:48):
Yeah.
And which means she was around20, 21.
SPEAKER_00 (45:52):
Yeah.
Also.
The Epstein files.
I don't give a fuck if my ownfucking father is in the Epstein
files.
Release them.
They should all go to fuckingjail.
SPEAKER_02 (46:06):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (46:07):
Even if Jesus Christ himself is in the files.
They should all have to pay forwhat they did.
Yes.
Because it's not okay.
I don't care if you're aDemocrat.
SPEAKER_01 (46:20):
I don't care if you're not a political issue.
SPEAKER_00 (46:23):
It's not.
It's a human issue.
SPEAKER_01 (46:26):
It's a human issue.
It is a child abuse issue.
Yes.
And please stop calling themyoung women.
They are children.
SPEAKER_00 (46:34):
Children.
Children.
I don't care, Megan Kelly, whatyou have to say.
If they're under 18, they're achild.
I mean, let's fucking be real.
If you're under 25, you're achild.
SPEAKER_01 (46:46):
For real.
Like it it skeeves me to see a30-some year old with a 19.
Like Leonardo DiCaprio, what areyou doing?
What do you have in common?
SPEAKER_00 (46:58):
Like, what do you talk about?
Right.
You can't pop like I never underlike I know we've talked about
this before.
I never understood the cougarthing.
What the fuck do you have totalk to?
That sounds awful.
A 19-year-old boy.
SPEAKER_01 (47:11):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (47:11):
Nothing.
I have zero things to say.
Yeah.
Six, seven, I guess, is what youwould say.
I don't know.
I don't get it.
I don't understand the appeal.
I don't find them attractive.
I don't think.
I mean I don't want to begraphic here, but I could snap
your ass in half.
Like what?
SPEAKER_02 (47:31):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (47:31):
I don't want to have to teach people new.
I don't want to teach anything.
SPEAKER_01 (47:37):
No.
SPEAKER_00 (47:38):
I don't.
I just anyway.
Leave poor Monica alone.
She was a victim.
The fact that everybody isbringing all this bullshit back
up and it's just a big fuckingjoke again.
It's not a joke.
The woman was a victim.
And she has continued to bevictimized year after year after
year.
And then just when she thinksshe's getting out of it, boom,
(48:00):
this happens, and she's broughtright back into it.
SPEAKER_01 (48:03):
Yeah.
I wonder what her life couldhave been.
Because I'm sure it wasn'tanything she thought it was
going to be.
SPEAKER_00 (48:08):
It's just leave the poor woman alone.
And release the Epstein files.
And release the motherfuckingEpstein files.
I don't care who's in them.
I don't care.
This is not a witch hunt for oneparticular orange person.
No.
It's not.
I don't care who's in them.
Everyone in them should have tobe held responsible for their
(48:33):
part.
SPEAKER_01 (48:34):
Yes, because we keep hearing Epstein files, and I
feel like that's just a coverand nobody really thinks about
it.
This was a whole entire islandthat was stocked with underaged
girls for the sole purpose ofrich men to fly down there and
fuck them.
SPEAKER_00 (48:53):
And they were being trafficked.
They weren't, it's not even itis about them being young, but
there's also probably 18, 19,20-year-olds that were
trafficked.
SPEAKER_01 (49:03):
Right.
I'm not just saying theunderaged ones as well.
There were also ones becausesome of the men preferred them a
little bit more developed, Isuppose.
So they did have some 18, 19,20-year-olds down there.
But none of them were there bychoice.
SPEAKER_00 (49:19):
This is this is a this should be a bipartisan
issue where everyone should wantto know.
And with this whole, oh well,you know, Bill Clinton's on
there.
Yeah, no shit.
No, we all know that.
We all fucking know that.
And he should be heldresponsible for his actions.
Every person who stepped foot onthat island.
SPEAKER_01 (49:38):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (49:39):
Because you knew what was happening there.
SPEAKER_01 (49:41):
That's exactly right.
Even if you can claim you didn'tfor whatever reason.
SPEAKER_00 (49:47):
Everybody knew what was going on there.
And don't give me this bullshitof oh, he was a billionaire and
all billionaires know eachother.
Come on.
Come on.
unknown (49:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (49:57):
Epstein had one purpose in life.
It was to own an island with sexslaves on it.
For old men to come.
SPEAKER_00 (50:06):
Of course they're not releasing the oh the
Democrats had all this time torelease it.
Of course they didn't do it.
You know why?
Because they know who's on itand they know they're on it too.
But if you go and run yourfucking campaign on the fact
that you're going to releasethem and get everybody all
(50:27):
Twitter pated about it, and thenyou don't and then you take
Maxwell and you put her in a aminimum security prison where
the shit that's coming out aboutthat right now, where she's
getting all kinds of specialtreatment, and you know f I
swear to God, if she getspardoned and the people who do
(50:50):
not believe things, if you donot see, then there is no
seeing.
Then there is no.
They're never gonna come around.
They're never okay.
End of rant.
Leave Monica alone.
SPEAKER_01 (51:05):
So much for keeping the politics on this episode.
It's my own fault.
Wait, well, I I mean no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00 (51:12):
I'm just I tried to keep I went, I know I yelled at
a Democrat and I yelled at aRepublican.
SPEAKER_01 (51:18):
So I was keeping I was keeping my anger bipartisan.
Yeah, I suppose actually weweren't discussing a political
issue.
Leave her alone.
God okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right, we're almost done.
Uh in 2025, uh July 31st, 2025,the White House announced plans
(51:43):
for construction to begin on anew ballroom, citing the need to
host major functions for worldleaders, dignitaries, and
guests.
The White House stated the siteof the new ballroom will be
where the small, heavily changedand reconstructed East Wing
currently sits.
White House public tours wereclosed by September, and
demolition of the East Wingbegan on October 20th.
(52:07):
Two days later, the White HouseHistorical Association announced
that it had supported efforts todigitally preserve the East Wing
and Jacqueline Kennedy Gardenswith comprehensive scanning and
photography projects.
SPEAKER_00 (52:22):
So ends.
Um I mean, I suppose the currentadministration agrees that they
need a whole room for balls.
So there's that.
(52:43):
Apparently extremely necessarythat we have more ballroom.
SPEAKER_01 (52:50):
I mean, they could have put a bunch of gold in it
without tearing it down.
And has anybody seen a floorplan for this thing?
SPEAKER_00 (53:00):
Because I just because they didn't they didn't
submit one, and that is my wholefucking issue with the thing.
That is my issue with it.
First of all, it's too big.
It's ridiculous.
It's gonna be gaudy as a bigthing.
SPEAKER_01 (53:09):
Because I just picture one huge, ginormous
room.
SPEAKER_00 (53:11):
It is.
You can look it up.
They do show you.
But they never submitted it tothe through the proper channels.
SPEAKER_01 (53:17):
So they don't have permits or there's no there's no
attention to the historicalYeah, because it says here the
White House HistoricalAssociation agreed to whatever,
but who knows who's heading upthat organization at this point.
So I also heard on the way downhere today that butter was good
for you, and I got excited tillI found out it was Kennedy that
said it.
(53:38):
Oh well.
And I'll just be back to guiltyeating.
SPEAKER_00 (53:40):
I mean, he thinks it's perfectly okay to cut the
head off of a dead whale andstrap it to the roof of his car
while his children get whalejuice all over him.
I don't know what timeline weare living in right now.
Just don't understand.
And I know I'm not gonna getpolitical because I can't, and
(54:01):
nobody's here for that, but youknow.
SPEAKER_01 (54:05):
But we are gonna share our points of view.
Yeah.
Especially on things that wefeel strongly about.
SPEAKER_00 (54:10):
And this is something I feel not the white
the ballroom.
Right.
No, I know.
I I mean my issue with it is notthat you're putting a hideously
unattractive ballroom becausewhatever.
Right.
But the fact that you first havesaid you're not gonna touch the
east wing, you're just gonnatake down the awning, and then
we watch on television as theentire thing is ripped to
shreds.
(54:30):
That's a little dis and I getit.
You're allowed to do whatever Imean.
Obama, you know, he put thewhole basketball ring up on a
tennis court and redrew lines,and then when he left, he took
the tape back up.
But whatever, you know, it isvery intrusive.
Yeah, extremely, you know,you're allowed to do that shit.
(54:54):
It makes sense.
It's modern, you know, at somepoint you had to modernize it
and yeah, of course it's notgonna look the same as it did in
1800.
It's it's that's fine.
But the fact that you torethings down exactly, like you
could have put it, like I said,the whole front of the fucking
place is just grass.
Like for for forever in front ofit.
(55:15):
You could have put a whole bigass gaudy ass gold ballroom in
the beginning.
Ugh.
Well, that was lovely.
Take care of the history of thethank you.
SPEAKER_01 (55:27):
I did, like, I had the idea, and I was like, oh,
that sounds boring.
But when I was researching, Iwas like, there's actually a lot
of cool stuff that went on inthere.
And the fact that it was um thespace for the first ladies and
all the initiatives and the workthat that those women got done
happened in there, like that wasreally good to read.
(55:48):
Um it's where all the guestsused to come.
And you see the old black andwhite pictures of people just
partying, hooping it up inthere, and it looked like it was
a very lovely space.
Um but I did have fun learningabout it, and I hope you all did
tutor.
SPEAKER_00 (56:04):
Dude.
There was a pool in there, too.
I don't remember.
It was one of the Rose Belt'sFDR, I believe, had a pool in
there because it was polio.
So I guess the bunker's stillintact, right?
I would assume so.
Yeah.
Because I imagine that's wherethey their war room or whatever.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
(56:24):
You know, they have that I Idon't know, maybe they moved it
underneath the it's hard to saywhere.
I mean, I don't imagine theletters will hold that.
Town under all things.
I think so too, and I don'tthink we get to actually know
where the we're not supposed to.
Yeah.
I mean, who knows?
Somebody will probably tell us.
Oh, I'm sure in a drunken textchain to the pole.
(56:45):
With the nuclear codes.
SPEAKER_01 (56:47):
Yeah, you see, they took him out of the spotlight
after that whole fiasco.
We don't really hear much fromhim anymore.
I can't do it.
All right, let's wrap up thisepisode before you lose your
job.
SPEAKER_00 (57:02):
I lose my job.
Um, thank you, Nicole.
That was lovely.
Thanks.
Um, sorry for all getting riledup.
SPEAKER_01 (57:09):
Yeah, but y'all know how we feel.
SPEAKER_00 (57:12):
It's been a week.
That's the issue.
The week, it's uh every week isa week, and this one was a week.
SPEAKER_01 (57:16):
It does build up and it gets exhausting, and you you
try to just keep your head downand keep going, but sometimes it
piles up.
SPEAKER_00 (57:26):
Especially when you have people in your life that
are the diametric opposite.
See, we can bury it at this partbecause nobody listens this
fair.
I love it.
Yeah.
We get called a demon a lot.
SPEAKER_01 (57:41):
Like that's an insult.
SPEAKER_00 (57:43):
Like for real demon.
Um, anyway.
Boop boop.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for giving us the theEast Wing.
Yes.
Um, like, share, rate, a review.
Please.
Uh, you can find us where youlisten to all of your podcasts.
(58:03):
Please.
Um, the like, share, rating, andreview, it really helps small
podcasts out grow to grow.
Like you can get really on alist.
Have you like share rate review?
SPEAKER_01 (58:12):
Yeah, and I actually got, I don't think I told you
you might have seen it though onFacebook.
We got a notification last weekthat um we're reaching more
people, so they're sharing ourstuff out further.
I don't know what that means,but cool.
Yeah, so you guys like sharerate review, it does help.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (58:31):
Um, you find us where we did that part.
Um, follow us on all the socialsat like whatever pod.
Please.
Like the the face, the book offace.
You can send us an email aboutyour favorite part of the east
wing of the White House,including the theatre.
(58:58):
To like whatever pod at gmaildot com or don't like whatever.
Ever bye.
Two best friends, we're talking fast.
We're missing two arcades, we'rehaving a blast.
Seeing these dreams, me onscreens, it was all bad.
Oh you know, it's like whatever.
SPEAKER_01 (00:31):
Welcome to Like Whatever, a podcast for, by, and
about Gen X.
I'm Nicole, and this is my BFFFHeather.
SPEAKER_02 (00:39):
Hello.
SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
So I'm not even gonna bother to ask you about
your week until January.
Good idea.
Because it's just gonna beworking cold and dark and windy.
SPEAKER_00 (00:51):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (00:52):
And it all sucks.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (00:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
If you have anything good come up, you can just let
me know.
Well, I probably you're prettymuch gonna work and sleep all
the next two months.
SPEAKER_00 (00:59):
Can I just vent about this one lady personally?
I love it.
I know.
Please do.
None of you care because youdon't.
But listen, there's this lady.
The last two Mondays, okay,Mondays, period, are behind
anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (01:14):
Yeah, because there's Sunday.
SPEAKER_00 (01:17):
So Mondays are are behind anyway.
Now you add in the Christmasseason and you add on top that
we no longer come in at 7:30, wecome in at 8.
So I'm already a half an hourbehind where I used to be.
And then on top of it, soanyway, now Mondays, I'm usually
like about an hour, hour and ahalf behind the rest of the
week.
(01:38):
Because it's Monday.
Um, I don't know if you're newto the planet, but Monday is
post office, it's gonna belater.
Yeah.
So two Mondays in a row, thislady has left this note.
The first Monday, it was a note.
Um, hi, I was supposed to getthis package today.
(01:59):
Is it in a different box?
Can you check?
SPEAKER_01 (02:02):
Yes, go knock on all your neighbors' doors and find
out who has it.
SPEAKER_00 (02:05):
First of all, you know I haven't been here yet.
SPEAKER_01 (02:08):
If you've left me a note saying that's exactly what
I was thinking, and notyesterday.
Number one.
Just a little passiveaggressive.
SPEAKER_00 (02:16):
Second of all, it's 12 30.
It's not 5 p.m.
It's not 10 p.m.
It's 12 30.
I usually get to her box around11, somewhere in that
neighborhood.
So, yes, I am behind.
So the last Monday I wrote backon the back of her note because
she did have three packages thatday.
(02:37):
Is it one of these packages?
And I never got a response.
So I assumed obviously it wasone of those that I had not been
there yet.
This Monday, same note, exactsame note, because when I turned
it over, my response was stillthere.
And I was like, this bitch.
(02:59):
Okay, so last Monday we didthis, and then you went to your
mailbox at noon and opened it,and there was not it was hello,
hello, hello, empty in there.
And you thought to yourself, Oh,she fucked up again this week.
(03:19):
I'm gonna write her, I'm gonnaleave the exact same note.
SPEAKER_01 (03:22):
Like it's so weird she didn't throw the note away.
Like, why would you hold on tothat?
SPEAKER_00 (03:26):
And are you gonna put it in there every Monday?
No, you are not, because I tookit this week.
Nice.
You are not next week.
If you leave me the note, you'regonna have to think about it
while you write it.
SPEAKER_01 (03:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:36):
And next week, if you write me a note on Monday
again, I'm gonna it's gonna getpassive aggressive.
I'm gonna passive aggressivelytell you Mondays, I'm behind.
And if when you open the box andthere's not a stitch of anything
in there, you don't have anymap, there's nothing.
There's it's it's empty.
SPEAKER_02 (03:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:54):
I mean, use the brain God gave you and think,
hey, she hasn't been here yet.
And was your pri was yourpackage scanned?
No.
SPEAKER_01 (04:05):
Yeah, and at like noon.
Do you know how many days uhlike I get a notice that I'm
gonna get a package, and then iteither comes at eight o'clock at
night or the next day.
SPEAKER_00 (04:13):
She is halfway through my first neighborhood.
So on Mondays, I leave thatneighborhood at one o'clock.
So it was probably 12, 12:30,somewhere in that neighborhood.
Because I don't get there until11.
So and it takes me two hours todo that neighborhood.
So I mean, when you went outthere and looked and there
wasn't any mail in there, andwhen you came back later to
(04:34):
check, just because you probablygot the notification that the
packages you were expecting havenow been scanned.
Like, what do you think happens?
Some package fairy comes, andthen to do it the next week.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (04:48):
Like your spidey senses are gonna be like, oh
god, she left me a note.
I better hurry up and get there.
SPEAKER_00 (04:53):
I mean, if we're doing this every Monday, then
it's about to get passiveaggressive.
SPEAKER_01 (04:57):
Yeah, it's gonna have to.
SPEAKER_00 (04:58):
Yeah, because I'm not yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:00):
Your job's stressful enough without dealing with
that.
Oh, I'm not dealing.
And it's noon.
SPEAKER_00 (05:04):
It's not even like it's 4 p.m.
Mm-mm.
Calm the fuck down.
SPEAKER_01 (05:12):
She's gonna be real upset in a couple weeks when all
the Christmas stuff startsrolling.
SPEAKER_00 (05:16):
Oh my god.
And she gets packages like everysingle day.
She got one today.
And like, and sometimes sheleaves them in there.
And every time she does, I wantto leave a note.
And it's like, why didn't youget this package?
We've been riding my ass.
SPEAKER_01 (05:28):
I delivered this package yesterday.
SPEAKER_00 (05:29):
Why didn't you come get it?
Ride my ass about the goddamnthing.
Get it.
SPEAKER_01 (05:37):
Oh my.
So I was driving down here todayand listening to NPR.
And um I'm reaching for my sheis.
I don't know why she doesn'tjust stand up and get it.
Because I don't want to create.
Go ahead.
Oh, okay.
Anyway, um, so there's a newdocumentary, I think it's out
(05:58):
today on HBO about gun violenceand how to protect yourself
against gun violence.
So the idea behind thisdocumentary is if we aren't
going to implement any guncontrol, sure, we need to figure
out how to live in a countrywhere gun violence is a real
thing and normal.
(06:19):
Guess what they named it.
SPEAKER_02 (06:23):
Like I can't.
SPEAKER_01 (06:24):
I mean, you are the queen of titles, but this one
blows it out the way.
I can't venture a guess.
Thoughts and prayers.
Oh, I love that.
I know.
I love that.
It is so great.
It's just the perfect title.
It really is.
It really is.
Yeah, because that's about allwe're doing right now for uh
(06:46):
anything.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (06:47):
Literally anything.
SPEAKER_01 (06:48):
And then they were talking about how kids there's
literally no kids left whohaven't grown up with the fear
of school shootings.
That's crazy, right?
Shooter drills, all that stuff.
SPEAKER_00 (06:59):
And you know, the thing of it is, is as Gen Xers,
we know the fear of having anuclear bomb dropped on your
head, and we had to get underour desks, like, because that
was gonna help.
But so now you're doing that toa whole new generation of things
that actually can happen.
SPEAKER_01 (07:14):
Well, and that's the thing.
When we were little and theywere talking about nuclear
bombs, we're like, we don't evenhave a concept of what that is.
We don't know what you'retalking about.
And so it's just get under yourdesk.
You know, but now these kids,they see guns, their friends are
bringing them to school.
I mean, it's everywhere, so thatit's very tangible for them.
And it is scary.
(07:34):
I was in a high school a couplewell, I'm in high schools every
all the time, but I was in one acouple years ago, and they had a
power outage.
And the poor I was in the roomwith some kids, and I was the
only adult in the room.
The teachers had left the room.
No, thank you.
And these kids instantly startedtalking about there being a
shooter in the building.
That was their very firstthought.
(07:55):
And they're all trying to hide,and I was just like, oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
As part of your training, because you go into
schools, do you have to know theshooter drills?
Because when I was a mentor, wehad uh an orientation at the
beginning of the year, and theywent through the shooter drills.
We had to we had to take part ina shooter drill.
SPEAKER_01 (08:12):
I'm surprised they don't make me do that.
If I'm there, I've never takenpart in a shooter drill.
I've been in the schools whenthey have fire drills, and I
have to go stand out in theparking lot like we did when we
were kids.
Yeah.
Um, and now they don't even theymake them go like 10 feet from
the schools.
Yeah, it's like nothing.
We had to walk out like threefields across.
SPEAKER_00 (08:32):
I I I when we had a in our orientation, they gave us
a um a sheet that had all thedifferent um what they say over
the loudspeaker, so you knowwhat's happening, and like
underneath it tells you whatwhat you are responsible for.
Wow.
Like you're as a mentor, yourjob is to hook up with another
(08:55):
class so that you can say, Thisis my, you know, so and so.
And um, can I just say for asecond, if you have never if
you're looking for a volunteerthing to do, call your local
elementary school and ask themor middle school and ask them
about their mentoring program.
It's a fun here, I don't knowabout anywhere else, but I know
(09:17):
here it is an amazing program.
And you, if you want an egoboost, like okay, I'm not gonna
lie, it was a purely selfishendeavor.
Hi, Alina.
Um, but you feel like a rockstar.
Like when you walk into thatbuilding, they all know who you
are, they all know you're ayou're I volunteered at my niece
(09:40):
and nephew school, and my nephewjust could not understand why I
could not be his mentor.
And the um I knew the theguidance counselor from when I
was a kid and stuff, and she shesaid, Well, you you don't need a
mentor.
And we're not gonna give youyour aunt because you see her
all the time.
SPEAKER_01 (09:59):
But um, yeah, there's even a non-profit, at
least one nonprofit here inDelaware that I know of that
helps you to connect with thosethings.
Like that's what they do.
It's they are they're kind ofthe connection from the
community to the schools to helpmentors.
SPEAKER_00 (10:13):
I'm also gonna say this too, because in this day
and age that we are living in,in the current situation that
we're in, um, Big Brothers, BigSisters, I know I have touted
them, does not discriminate.
In fact, um really would likeLGBTQ bigs.
(10:40):
Um, it's very important for thembecause they would like to match
up LGBTQ children to a mentorwho has been through it and um
yes, I know probably peoplethink all it's a children's
thing, and you know howeverybody is an asshole these
days, like I can't do it becauseXYZ.
(11:03):
Um, at least here I can't speakfor the rest of Big Brothers,
Big Sisters, but I do know herethey had an active campaign to
try and bring in LGBTQ couplesand um and individuals,
especially, especially if you'reyoung.
(11:24):
There's a real lack of youngerpeople, period, doing it.
Um, and these kids, people ofcolor and LGBTQ are are very
important in the Big Brothers,Big Sisters organization.
Yeah.
That's what I'll say about it.
SPEAKER_01 (11:41):
I'm so proud of you for that.
While we're talking about doinggood deeds, I have a bad story.
Uh-oh.
So I am needle squeamish.
Yes.
I know it's silly.
She has tattoos.
I have tattoos, which is a totalbullshit thing to say when
people, really is there's a verybig difference between scraping
the surface and rammingsomething into my vein.
SPEAKER_00 (12:04):
A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_01 (12:05):
Yeah.
Um, you know, I've had kids, Ihave had all s I I have had a
lot of needles in my life.
She's not a drug addict.
I'm not a drug addict.
Normal needles, like be out inthe front every single time.
I turn my head and I wince, andI'm so anyway, I hate donating
(12:28):
blood.
But for whatever reason, I thinkbecause when I was in high
school, the blood bank came andparked our little van in the
parking lot and I donated bloodthere.
That didn't go well either, butit made me feel good.
And I always think, you know,one day I might need it.
Yes.
So I would hope somebody wouldhave donated somewhere so that I
can get it.
I know they are always short,they are constantly texting,
(12:50):
calling, emailing me that theyneed.
And I also have very commonblood, so they always need it.
Um, so anyway, I went to getblood last Friday.
Oh boy.
Oh yeah.
It was like a comedy of errors.
Like so I get there.
Um, and the reason I this isthis is why.
(13:11):
Um, I get the text all the time,and I'm like, meh, meh.
And then I got one that saidthey were gonna have a um coffee
food truck out in the parkinglot, and after you donated, you
got free coffee, fancy coffee.
And that's why.
Yeah, and uh I got punished forit.
So, and it's part of the story.
So, anyway, um, yeah.
So, firstly, um I go in and theyset me up, and the TV is usually
(13:38):
HG TV when I'm in there, whichI'm not a fan of, but it's not
so bad.
This time it was a game shownetwork, and I love a game show.
I can't fucking stand Wheel ofFortune.
Me either.
That's what they had on.
I know.
That's what they had on.
So ding number one.
Um, so then um the girl, she wasvery very, very, very nice.
(14:04):
But I'm the type of person, ifyou don't say a word to me, I
love it.
Right.
I'm not offended, I don't wantto make small talk, I just do it
and get me out of here.
But she was very sweet, very,very, very sweet.
She didn't do anything wrong.
But she put the needle in andthe thing kept beeping.
And they're making me squeezethe ball constantly, and I have
(14:26):
arthritis in my hands.
So doing that motion like theevery seven seconds they want
you to do is one thing, but whenthey're yeah, like a lot of
pain.
So the machine keeps beeping.
She's like, I'm gonna go get mysupervisor.
So she goes and gets her, andshe comes back.
She's like, No, you've got it inthere perfectly.
It wasn't pumping out.
Oh, so they are steady wigglingthis needle around in my arm.
(14:51):
And so anyway, then the littlegirl explains to me the valves
and the veins, and sure.
They might have backed theneedle right up to one and all
that.
So the other lady puts it in alittle bit further.
We think it's going, it's not.
Um were you dehydrated?
They asked me that, but I drinkwater all the time.
Like I always have that waterwith me.
(15:12):
So I don't think so.
Uh they kept turning my arm,they dropped my arm, had me
squeezing that ball.
My hand went totally numb.
Like I literally couldn't, I waslike, I can't squeeze this ball
anymore because I can't feel myhand.
So they gave me a smaller ball.
I mean they keep doing it.
Um so then the supervisor tellsher, Well, just get her bag to
(15:35):
the minimum, whatever that is.
Um and it keeps beeping.
She has to keep coming over,keep adjusting.
I was there for two hours.
Oh boy.
It usually takes like half anhour.
The truck is leaving.
SPEAKER_00 (15:50):
Oh no.
SPEAKER_01 (15:51):
So the front desk lady comes in and is like, Do
you want anything?
You thought, yeah, I wantsomething off the truck.
That's the whole reason I'mhere.
So I have to dig my ticket outof my back pocket that I'm
sitting on, give it to her, giveher my order.
She goes out and gets it, leavesit at the front, so it's cold by
the time I get done and comeout.
However, the snack lady did warmit up for me in the microwave,
(16:12):
so that was very nice.
Um, so then the little girlcomes over and she just starts
taking taking it out.
And I was like, Oh, good.
Did we get to the minimum?
She's like, No, but your blood'sstarting to clot, so we can't do
it anymore.
I was like, is that blood stillgood?
She's like, Yeah.
Pretty sure.
Let me take it with me then.
I was like, seriously, like, itwas the worst.
(16:35):
I mean, I it wasn't the worst.
I have passed out.
I have puked on myself.
I have had all the things, and Ikeep going back.
I need to find something.
I never can give blood.
SPEAKER_00 (16:48):
I never can.
Is your thing too low?
The iron too low?
SPEAKER_01 (16:51):
No, mine used to always be too low.
SPEAKER_00 (16:54):
I never go long enough without getting a tattoo.
They're like, when was the lasttime you got a tattoo?
Oh.
This one still has scabs on it.
SPEAKER_01 (17:08):
It but anyway, I mean, I still encourage you to
show it.
Other people go and have noproblem.
So now I'm thinking maybe Ishould do platelets.
It's the same experience, myunderstanding, but you're in a
much loungier chair.
Uh-huh.
And you it takes a couple hours,yeah.
And you just lay there and youcan watch a movie or listen to
the page.
They put it back, they put yourblood back.
(17:29):
Right.
But then my friend told me thatone time she afterward, she had
this long streak down her armbecause the needle had come so
when they took the blood in andput it back in, it was just
pumping it under her skin.
Oh my god, jeez.
I don't even know what to do.
You get paid for plasma.
Yeah, that's true.
(17:51):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (17:52):
It's not very much though.
But you can do it like two orthree times a week.
SPEAKER_01 (17:57):
I only do the blood thing like three, four times a
year.
SPEAKER_00 (18:00):
My dad always goes.
They they're constantly my dadhas good blood.
Whatever blood he has is thegood stuff because they call
constantly.
And he goes every time.
SPEAKER_01 (18:11):
Yeah, it was awful.
SPEAKER_00 (18:13):
They like the hippie blood.
They make gummies out of it, Ithink.
For vampires.
SPEAKER_01 (18:23):
All right.
I just wanted to whine about mytraumatic experience.
A little humble brag with a winein there.
Just because if I can do it, youcan do it.
You can do it.
You can do it.
All right.
So before we get started thisweek, like, share, rate, review.
Yes.
You can find us wherever youlisten to podcasts.
(18:45):
Please.
Follow us on all the socials.
SPEAKER_00 (18:48):
All of them.
SPEAKER_01 (18:48):
At Like Whatever Pod.
We are on YouTube at LikeWhatever.
And you can send us an email tolikewhateverpod at gmail.com.
Please.
All right.
So this week I decided we'vebeen doing a lot of like music,
movie type things.
So I want to do a littlehistory.
Um, so nerd.
(19:10):
I know.
Uh let's fuck around and findout about the East Wing.
So I got my sources this weekfrom Whitehousehistory.com.
Oh, no, dot org.
Sorry.
Um, mccbeacon.com,ghostsofdc.org.
Ooh, and NPR.
(19:31):
I'm actually surprised WhiteHouse oh, because that's not the
White House.gov.
Official.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I I thought the same thing whenI saw it.
I was like, hmm, this is anyway.
I I promised myself I wouldn'tdo it.
SPEAKER_00 (19:42):
Nope.
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
All right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:43):
I'm not allowed to do it.
This truly is.
This week's been a good week.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:50):
Yeah.
Um, but this truly is just ahistory of the East Wing because
it, I don't know, it's kind ofneat.
Um all right, so in 1805,construction began on two
one-story colonnades extendingeast and west from the White
House and the footprint of whatwould become the modern East and
West Wings.
(20:10):
President Thomas Jeffersonworked with architect Benjamin
Harry Latrobe to design thecolonnades and base them off
similar uh dependencies on hisplantation, Monticello.
Have you been to Monticello?
I have not.
unknown (20:25):
I have.
SPEAKER_01 (20:26):
Is it creepy?
I don't remember.
I always thought plantationswould be creepy to visit.
SPEAKER_00 (20:33):
You went, didn't you go to the one in um in Dover,
something like that?
SPEAKER_01 (20:40):
That is true.
I guess as a kid I didn't know.
Now I don't know that I wouldwant to go.
Yeah.
Like I think it's weird whenpeople have weddings at
plantations, like a lot ofreally gross stuff happened
there.
That's true so uh the colonnadeswere designed to blend into the
gradual slope on which the WhiteHouse was built to hide them
(21:00):
from view when standing in frontof the White House.
SPEAKER_00 (21:03):
Can I just say that I if have if you've never been
to the White House, once you go,it's a weird experience because
when you go to the one side ofit, it's very far.
You know, the front side, Idon't know if it's the front or
the back, but the the one sideis the lawn is really far.
(21:26):
And you look at it and you'relike, where in the hell have I
I've seen pictures of it closer.
And then if you go around to theback of it, I assume it's the
back.
I actually have no idea, but youcan see it better, but you're
still really fucking far awayfrom it.
Yeah.
And it is a weird it's weird tolook at it, I th I feel like
(21:50):
it's it's cool, and I don'tthink they let you go through it
anymore.
I think it's very hard to get atour.
They used to let everybody gothrough, but I think um after
September 11th, and no, they'vedefinitely done them since then.
SPEAKER_01 (22:04):
Oh, have they?
SPEAKER_00 (22:05):
Maybe COVID.
Maybe COVID.
I don't I don't know.
It's a weird building.
It is, it is, it's when you seeit from the the very far side,
you're kind of like, eh, I mean,it's not.
SPEAKER_01 (22:23):
It's okay.
This looks like any otherhistoric building.
SPEAKER_00 (22:26):
Yeah, I mean, I maybe, maybe because we're
jaded, because I don't knowabout you, but we went to DC
like every year for a fieldtrip.
Every single year.
And then when my kids were inschool, I went to DC every year
with them.
It's two hours from here.
You either go there orPhiladelphia or Baltimore.
Like those are the three.
But Baltimore's pretty much outat this point.
(22:46):
Yeah.
I mean, you went to the harborand that was it, to the to the
aquarium, and then and thenyou're out.
Right.
But I don't know if it's justbecause you just go all the time
to DC.
I know that sounds like anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (22:59):
Yeah.
I mean, I'm sure people thatlive near the Grand Canyon think
the same thing.
I don't even live near thefucking thing, and I'm never
going back.
Uh the colonnades were designedto blend.
Oh, I already read that.
Uh the ambitious original planswere for the colonnades to
connect the White House to theTreasury building and the
(23:21):
executive offices, but excessivecost and political pressure
forced Jefferson to scale backhis plans.
Uh, in 1808, uh, whenconstruction of Jefferson's
colonnades was completed, uh,they did not connect to any
other buildings and insteadserved primarily as storage and
workspaces for White Housedomestic staff, including
(23:43):
enslaved workers.
The East Colonnade also housed asmokehouse for meats, a privy or
bathroom, servants' quarters, ahen house, and stables.
So really they just built a barnand yeah.
Well, the outdoor housing wasprobably less appealing than the
barn.
(24:04):
Um no doubt.
Uh in 1866, after the originalEast Colonnade built under
President Jefferson becamedilapidated, President Andrew
Johnson ordered it torn down.
So this East Wing that we had isnot the original.
Well, it's the colonnade.
(24:25):
Yeah.
In 1902, President TheodoreRoosevelt ordered the
construction of the East andWest Wings.
While the West Wing housedoffices for the President's
staff, the East Wing primarilyserved as a receiving area for
visitors and guests attendingfunctions at the White House.
It featured a circular drivewaywith a carriage gate where
(24:45):
guests would drive theirhorse-drawn carriages up to the
entrance and a coat room knownas the hat box.
Guests passed through the EastColonnade and entered the main
White House through the groundfloor.
SPEAKER_00 (24:58):
The last time I was in DC, I went with my um
stepdaughter.
And um it was right after COVID.
Right after everything, theyhadn't opened up the um the
buildings yet.
Like federal workers were stillnot working in the buildings.
But anyway, they had an areawhere they had um people lining
(25:19):
up to go in, and it said federalemployees only, and I was like,
I bet I can get in there.
I got my badge.
I didn't try.
SPEAKER_01 (25:30):
Last time I was in DC was probably four, four or
five years ago.
I remember we went for mybirthday.
I love the Smithsonian, so whenI'm there, I spend most of my
time in there.
Uh and then we went to the zoobecause the National Zoo is also
free.
Yes.
It's a good free day once youget yourself there.
SPEAKER_00 (25:50):
Yeah, oh yeah.
It's a very nice the trainsystem is beyond just beyond.
It is an amazing train.
It really is.
It always has been.
Yeah.
And it's clean.
Like we go to you can get thetrain outside the city, so you
don't have to go in the city.
You don't have to park in thecity or anything.
Just take it.
It's like the the one, thefurthest out one, right on 50,
(26:13):
because that's the road thattakes you straight in.
Um, it's like a 20-30-minutetrain ride.
It's it's nice, it's it's verysafe.
SPEAKER_01 (26:21):
It is.
You never hear about instanceson that.
No.
SPEAKER_00 (26:29):
You do not.
SPEAKER_01 (26:30):
Nope.
All right.
Roosevelt's renovation was partof a massive$550,000 improvement
project designed with distinctlydemocratic ideals.
Uh, the Brandon News ofMississippi reported on January
8th, 1903, that the basement ofthe East Wing was created as
(26:50):
what some might call a publiccomfort building with clock
rooms, cloakrooms capable ofhandling the wraps of 3,000
people during receptions.
The renovation solved along-standing problem with the
White House, with White HouseEntertaining.
Before the restoration, publicreceptions meant standing in
(27:11):
rows three or four blocks longfor as many hours or more, often
exposed to rain or snow.
Uh, Roosevelt Solution providedproper shelter and facilities
while treating all guests withdignity regardless of social
status.
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
Weird in the people's house.
SPEAKER_01 (27:31):
Uh, to sum it all up, those who appreciate the
honor of the invitation which isextended, which is extended to
people at large to pay theirrespects to the head of the
nation will no longer be treatedlike a mob assembled on the
street, but will be shown thecourtesy that is accorded guests
of any American home, whetherthey are miners from Alaska,
(27:54):
bankers from Wall Street, orlumbermen from the piney woods
of Maine.
The approach and carriage gateon the east cost$65,000 of the
total project budget, reflectingthe importance placed on
creating a proper entrance thathonored Jefferson's
architectural vision whileserving practical needs.
(28:14):
Even after Roosevelt renovated,presidents continued struggling
with space limitations.
In 1914, President WoodrowWilson demonstrated this ongoing
challenge when he set up a tentin the White House Garden.
The Madison of Richmond,Kentucky reported on May 26,
(28:35):
1914, that Wilson pitched aheadquarters tent in the
old-fashioned flower gardenlying just south of the
one-story annex, which forms theeast approach to the White
House.
Wilson's makeshift office servedhis summer work hours needs
because Washington's heat madeindoor work difficult.
(28:56):
The newspaper noted that Wilsonwas somewhat tired and has
determined to do that which hewill overcome, the tired feeling
as much as possible.
So he worked outside forpractical reasons.
SPEAKER_00 (29:16):
It's been done.
Nobody is saying it's horriblebecause one person is renovating
the historic building.
Nobody is saying that.
(29:54):
Speaking of not gold and notgaudy, did you know that I I
have to We have to keep an eyeon this.
The last five pennies were justminted last week in
Philadelphia.
And they all bear the Omegasymbol on them.
And they're saying if you getany of these pennies, they're
like worth like millions ofdollars.
So I'm going to try and keepbecause Philadelphia's right
(30:15):
there.
I don't know what how they ifthey're probably going to ship
like one over here and one.
I don't know, but keep your eyeout.
SPEAKER_01 (30:22):
It's been cracking me up how they're interviewing
people on the street and they'relike, what are stores going to
do?
And what about change?
And blah blah.
Do you know how many years it'sgoing to take to get those
pennies out of circulation thatwe already have?
There are like billions andbillions of those things.
This is one thing I actuallyagree with this administration
on.
It cost four cents to make onepenny.
That's stupid.
(30:43):
The penny should have beenstopped a long time ago.
And we like I said, we haveplanned out I'll bet 20, 25
years from now, people are stillusing pennies.
I mean, they're not going to goanywhere.
We go digital.
SPEAKER_00 (30:54):
You just don't you take it to the five.
unknown (30:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (30:58):
You don't like to make things$19.99.
SPEAKER_01 (31:00):
No, and you know what's funny is some stores are
rounding in the um uh consumers'favor, but McDonald's will round
up and they will charge you moreup to the nickel.
I'm like, that's that's prettyscrewed up.
Just take the nine cents off ofyour menu.
SPEAKER_00 (31:18):
I just things don't cost$19.99 anymore.
No.
SPEAKER_01 (31:24):
And you're not fooling anybody.
We don't know that that's$20.
Like I always thought that wasthe weirdest thing.
Like, just make it$20.
Like, do people really look andlike, oh, it's only$19.99?
It's not$20.
SPEAKER_00 (31:37):
No, I feel like some people do.
SPEAKER_01 (31:39):
Yeah, you're right.
You're right.
What I'm sorry.
Yeah.
All right.
All right.
In 1942, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt expanded the EastWing's footprint and added a
second story.
He originally intended it tohouse a White House museum, but
the space became filled withoffices and support staff.
(32:01):
During the expansion, anunderground bomb shelter was
constructed as the United Stateshad recently entered World War
II.
President Roosevelt alsoconverted a room previously used
as a coat room into a movietheater.
The East Wing underwent its mostsignificant structural change in
1942 under President Roosevelt.
(32:23):
The Washington Post reported onMay 1, 1942, that an East Wing
is being added to the WhiteHouse, officially described as
office space to help relieve thepresent congestion in the White
House.
The public explanation wastruthful but incomplete.
The real purpose behind FDR'sexpansion was to conceal
(32:44):
construction of an undergroundpresidential bunker.
Secretary of the TreasuryMorgenthau had insisted on a
bomb shelter, though Rooseveltinitially resisted the idea
because he felt that there waslittle chance of a German air
raid.
The expansion created thetwo-story East Wing structure
(33:06):
that existed to this day, builtdirectly.
Some of this was written beforeOctober, I think, 15th, 12th.
The former cloakroom fromRoosevelt's era was converted
(33:28):
into a White House familytheater during the renovation.
In 1965, First Lady Lady BirdJohnson dedicated the Jacqueline
Kennedy Garden in honor of theformer First Lady.
The garden adjacent to the EastWing and Colonnade was designed
by Rachel Bunny Mellon, who alsodesigned the Rose Garden outside
(33:48):
the Oval Office during the JohnF.
Kennedy presidency and intendedthe two gardens to complement
each other.
She's been shaking her head.
I was waiting for her to.
SPEAKER_00 (33:59):
And now it's pavers.
SPEAKER_01 (34:03):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:03):
Um so you don't get your shoes dirty.
SPEAKER_01 (34:09):
On Valentine's Day in 1962, Americans tuned their
TV sets to CBS and watched FirstLady Jacqueline Kennedy walk
down the East Wing's colonnadewhile Reverend Music played.
This was the opening segment ofa tour that she was about to
give of the People's House tothe people on live television.
(34:29):
For many, it was the first timethey'd ever seen the inside of
the White House.
The East Wing was still thehouse's guest entrance since the
1902 terrace and was where FirstLadies would host official
guests.
In 1977, First Lady RosalindCarter, Jimmy's back, Jimmy's
(34:52):
back, back again, moved heroffice to the East Wing,
becoming the first presidentialspouse to have her own office
there.
A year later, Congress passedthe White House Personnel
Authorization Act, creating theofficial office of the First
Lady.
Since then, all First Ladies andtheir staff have worked in the
East Wing, or had worked in theEast Wing.
(35:16):
When First Lady Rosalind Cartermade the East Wing her official
office space in the 1970s, itset a new precedent that all
future First Ladies would havetheir own place to conduct
business.
Before that time, the wives ofpresidents were relegated to
working from the family quarterson the main house's second
floor.
Along with the First Lady'soffice came new offices for her
(35:39):
staff, press spaces, and roomsdedicated to the state projects
a First Lady would work onduring her tenure.
Mrs.
Kennedy was the first to use theEast Wing for this purpose by
housing the headquarters for herrestoration of the White House
there.
The East Wing also featuredrecreational facilities for the
first family, such as the movietheater.
unknown (36:01):
Movie theater.
SPEAKER_01 (36:04):
Everything I read was big hype on the movie
theater.
SPEAKER_00 (36:08):
Everything I have seen, they really pushed that
movie theater.
SPEAKER_01 (36:13):
It has been a space of female power and a female
niche in the White House, saidElizabeth Reese, a historian and
research fellow at theUniversity of Virginia's Miller
Center.
With the West Wing being atraditionally male-dominated
space, the East Wing was aunique physical space for women
to work and provided them withtheir own environment in which
to flourish.
(36:33):
Hmm.
Yeah, yeah.
Kind of picking up on why theEast Wing's not really that
important.
I swear I wasn't going to do it.
I knew I wasn't going to be ableto.
Since 1977, the East Wing hasserved as the traditional base
of operations for the First Ladyand her staff.
The space houses the socialsecretary, the graphics and
(36:57):
calligraphy office.
Excuse you.
I know.
That produces White Houseinvitations and serves as the
main visitor entrance forforeign dignitaries.
The wing also includes the WhiteHouse Theater.
SPEAKER_00 (37:14):
I don't know if you guys know this.
I know.
There used to be a theaterthere.
SPEAKER_01 (37:18):
In the East Wing.
I think I'm more devastated thatthe theater's gone now than I am
that the East Wing Rose Gardensare gone.
Very important theater.
And it provided the route mosttourists take when entering for
public tours.
During the Kennedyadministration in the 1960s, the
First Lady's staff expandedrapidly.
(37:39):
As mass media is on the rise andthere's enormous press interest
in this young glamorous FirstLady and her small children.
That interest necessitates thatthere is a press arm for the
first lady to cover heractivities and to spread all
this information to the press,said Elizabeth Reese.
Jacqueline Kennedy's flagshipproject as a first lady was
(38:02):
restoring the White House.
That move inspired a trend forFirst Ladies to foster at least
one key project.
First ladies thus needed biggerstaff, but they lacked
sufficient office space.
Betty Ford and earlier FirstLadies were pretty much working
out of their bedrooms.
Uh, said Marianne Borelli,author of The Politics of the
(38:24):
President's Wife and Professorof Government at Connecticut
College.
You can pause.
(38:54):
Okay, so this week we aretraveling back to April 4th,
1984.
It was a Wednesday.
So today I went to Mrs.
Fox's again for the 80th time.
Oh just kidding, apprentices.
Oh yeah.
JK.
JK.
But I actually wrote it out.
(39:15):
We didn't see JK yet.
I remember Mrs.
Fox's.
I was in Girl Scouts.
And I think she, I think she andmy mom were troop moms.
And I remember her daughter wasmy friend.
And I do, after looking at this,I did I didn't think I'd read
this, but I do remember readingthat line.
(39:36):
Um I do now remember going toher house in the morning.
So it must have been one ofthose things where mom needed
somebody to watch me until Iwent to school.
Right.
Kind of things.
Um all right.
When I got to school, Mrs.
Bailey, apprentices, homeroomteacher.
Home room teacher.
I'm glad I left a lot of detailin here.
Like I can you can just pictureit.
(39:58):
Um we had a substitute again.
unknown (40:01):
Oh fuck this.
SPEAKER_01 (40:02):
What the fuck is happening?
For real.
Is it flu season or something?
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (40:07):
This is ridiculous.
Goddamn public school system,I'll tell you.
SPEAKER_01 (40:12):
Today we had a new student in Homeroom with a
substitute teacher.
SPEAKER_00 (40:18):
That's a great way to start.
And why in April are youstarting in a new school?
SPEAKER_01 (40:22):
Her name was Mindy.
Mindy.
Mm-hmm.
In Miss Irwin's, we had ascience quiz.
Mr.
Eschenman, which was my mathteacher, we called him Mr.
E, um, was being weird today.
Oh, in parentheses, mathteacher.
SPEAKER_00 (40:38):
Yeah.
I mean, math teachers are kindof weird.
SPEAKER_01 (40:40):
Very weird.
Yeah.
That's actually what I went toschool for when I first got in.
She's weird.
Yeah.
Um, when I got home, I practicedmy flute.
Good job.
And went to Girl Scouts.
Right.
At Girl Scouts, we had a partyand did a craft.
Oh.
Mommy told Daddy a joke and toldme she'd tell me when I was 21.
She promised.
SPEAKER_00 (41:02):
So she was telling dirty jokes.
SPEAKER_01 (41:04):
You know what?
I remember this joke.
I remember that conversationeven without seeing that diary.
And here's the joke.
SPEAKER_02 (41:10):
Uh-oh.
SPEAKER_01 (41:11):
How can you tell when a chicken has had oral sex?
And then you have to have shredof paper up in your hand up in
your hand, and you go and youblow the paper out like it's
feathers.
I remember it.
I didn't know what it meant atthat time.
All right.
But it's funny that's in there.
SPEAKER_00 (41:32):
It's funny that your mom told that joke.
Yeah.
All right.
All right then.
SPEAKER_01 (41:38):
If yeah, so that's this week's uh uh little page of
uh I love Nicole's diary.
I know it.
SPEAKER_00 (41:52):
Teachers are weird.
It's the thing.
They are, it's so funny.
It's Girl Scouts, craps, dirtyjokes from my mom.
Well, it was a day.
It was you know, I'm outragedthough at this this lack of a
permanent teacher situation thiswhole week.
SPEAKER_01 (42:08):
And the funny thing is, like I work in schools now,
and it's weird to me.
Like the first time I got to goin a teacher's lounge, like as
an actual professional adult, Iwas like, ooh.
And um I see that teachers takeoff, or I talk to them, I know
they're going on vacation, or Iknow like whatever, and I see
them taking off.
(42:29):
But I felt like as a I wouldthink nowadays, like, I don't
think teachers took off thismuch when I was a kid.
I feel like they were alwaysthere, but apparently not in
1984.
Lots of absenteeism back then.
It's just ridiculous.
I know, I know.
Maybe she got chicken pox.
(42:51):
It could very well be.
Probably shingles because allkids had chickenpox.
SPEAKER_00 (42:56):
She's listening to this right now and be like, I
had the fucking shingles.
SPEAKER_01 (43:00):
Little assholes.
Yeah.
All right.
She probably needed a mentalhealth week.
Yeah, no doubt.
She didn't know it at the time.
No.
She just knew she was done.
All right.
Next, back to the story.
In 1978, a law gave more fundingfor the First Lady and her staff
(43:24):
to carry out their duties.
Under First Lady Carter, Reesesaid the staff became formally
known as the Office of the FirstLady, a professional unit within
the executive order of thepresident.
From there, Carter focused onmental health initiatives.
Uh, among her successors, LauraBush launched a literacy
campaign.
Michelle Obama promoted Let'sMove, targeting childhood
(43:47):
obesity.
Emmelia Trump backed Be Best,which advocates for children's
well-being.
Yep.
We're both being so good.
I know.
Um, even though women in theWhite House made big strides in
the East Wing, some hadreservations.
The West Wing is the seat ofpower in the White House, and
it's all about proximity, saidKate Anderson Bauer, author of
First Women (44:11):
The Grace and Power of America's Modern First
Ladies.
There's a built-in Siberianature to the East Wing, uh,
added Bauer, who covered theObama administration for
Bloomberg News.
Hillary Clinton was the first tohave an office in the West Wing,
steps from the president's OvalOffice.
(44:31):
She saw the West Wing as thepolicy-making locus and the East
Wing as more ceremonial andsymbolic.
And I think over time she becameaware of the power that comes
through ceremony and symbolism,said Borelli.
SPEAKER_00 (44:47):
Um let's just say I also wanted to say this.
It's kind of late into this.
I should have probably said it,but anyway.
With all of the uh currentevents that is in the news, um I
feel like we should just talkabout um Monica Lewinsky, okay,
(45:17):
who was a victim.
SPEAKER_01 (45:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:20):
She was a victim.
She was.
She's not the butt of a joke.
She was.
She was, but she should not be.
And I'm guilty of it.
It is and unfortunately, that'scome back because of recent
stuff.
Um and it's unfortunate becausethe woman was a victim.
(45:41):
She was.
He was a powerful man in aposition of power, and she was
an intern.
SPEAKER_01 (45:48):
Yeah.
And which means she was around20, 21.
SPEAKER_00 (45:52):
Yeah.
Also.
The Epstein files.
I don't give a fuck if my ownfucking father is in the Epstein
files.
Release them.
They should all go to fuckingjail.
SPEAKER_02 (46:06):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (46:07):
Even if Jesus Christ himself is in the files.
They should all have to pay forwhat they did.
Yes.
Because it's not okay.
I don't care if you're aDemocrat.
SPEAKER_01 (46:20):
I don't care if you're not a political issue.
SPEAKER_00 (46:23):
It's not.
It's a human issue.
SPEAKER_01 (46:26):
It's a human issue.
It is a child abuse issue.
Yes.
And please stop calling themyoung women.
They are children.
SPEAKER_00 (46:34):
Children.
Children.
I don't care, Megan Kelly, whatyou have to say.
If they're under 18, they're achild.
I mean, let's fucking be real.
If you're under 25, you're achild.
SPEAKER_01 (46:46):
For real.
Like it it skeeves me to see a30-some year old with a 19.
Like Leonardo DiCaprio, what areyou doing?
What do you have in common?
SPEAKER_00 (46:58):
Like, what do you talk about?
Right.
You can't pop like I never underlike I know we've talked about
this before.
I never understood the cougarthing.
What the fuck do you have totalk to?
That sounds awful.
A 19-year-old boy.
SPEAKER_01 (47:11):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (47:11):
Nothing.
I have zero things to say.
Yeah.
Six, seven, I guess, is what youwould say.
I don't know.
I don't get it.
I don't understand the appeal.
I don't find them attractive.
I don't think.
I mean I don't want to begraphic here, but I could snap
your ass in half.
Like what?
SPEAKER_02 (47:31):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (47:31):
I don't want to have to teach people new.
I don't want to teach anything.
SPEAKER_01 (47:37):
No.
SPEAKER_00 (47:38):
I don't.
I just anyway.
Leave poor Monica alone.
She was a victim.
The fact that everybody isbringing all this bullshit back
up and it's just a big fuckingjoke again.
It's not a joke.
The woman was a victim.
And she has continued to bevictimized year after year after
year.
And then just when she thinksshe's getting out of it, boom,
(48:00):
this happens, and she's broughtright back into it.
SPEAKER_01 (48:03):
Yeah.
I wonder what her life couldhave been.
Because I'm sure it wasn'tanything she thought it was
going to be.
SPEAKER_00 (48:08):
It's just leave the poor woman alone.
And release the Epstein files.
And release the motherfuckingEpstein files.
I don't care who's in them.
I don't care.
This is not a witch hunt for oneparticular orange person.
No.
It's not.
I don't care who's in them.
Everyone in them should have tobe held responsible for their
(48:33):
part.
SPEAKER_01 (48:34):
Yes, because we keep hearing Epstein files, and I
feel like that's just a coverand nobody really thinks about
it.
This was a whole entire islandthat was stocked with underaged
girls for the sole purpose ofrich men to fly down there and
fuck them.
SPEAKER_00 (48:53):
And they were being trafficked.
They weren't, it's not even itis about them being young, but
there's also probably 18, 19,20-year-olds that were
trafficked.
SPEAKER_01 (49:03):
Right.
I'm not just saying theunderaged ones as well.
There were also ones becausesome of the men preferred them a
little bit more developed, Isuppose.
So they did have some 18, 19,20-year-olds down there.
But none of them were there bychoice.
SPEAKER_00 (49:19):
This is this is a this should be a bipartisan
issue where everyone should wantto know.
And with this whole, oh well,you know, Bill Clinton's on
there.
Yeah, no shit.
No, we all know that.
We all fucking know that.
And he should be heldresponsible for his actions.
Every person who stepped foot onthat island.
SPEAKER_01 (49:38):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (49:39):
Because you knew what was happening there.
SPEAKER_01 (49:41):
That's exactly right.
Even if you can claim you didn'tfor whatever reason.
SPEAKER_00 (49:47):
Everybody knew what was going on there.
And don't give me this bullshitof oh, he was a billionaire and
all billionaires know eachother.
Come on.
Come on.
unknown (49:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (49:57):
Epstein had one purpose in life.
It was to own an island with sexslaves on it.
For old men to come.
SPEAKER_00 (50:06):
Of course they're not releasing the oh the
Democrats had all this time torelease it.
Of course they didn't do it.
You know why?
Because they know who's on itand they know they're on it too.
But if you go and run yourfucking campaign on the fact
that you're going to releasethem and get everybody all
(50:27):
Twitter pated about it, and thenyou don't and then you take
Maxwell and you put her in a aminimum security prison where
the shit that's coming out aboutthat right now, where she's
getting all kinds of specialtreatment, and you know f I
swear to God, if she getspardoned and the people who do
(50:50):
not believe things, if you donot see, then there is no
seeing.
Then there is no.
They're never gonna come around.
They're never okay.
End of rant.
Leave Monica alone.
SPEAKER_01 (51:05):
So much for keeping the politics on this episode.
It's my own fault.
Wait, well, I I mean no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00 (51:12):
I'm just I tried to keep I went, I know I yelled at
a Democrat and I yelled at aRepublican.
SPEAKER_01 (51:18):
So I was keeping I was keeping my anger bipartisan.
Yeah, I suppose actually weweren't discussing a political
issue.
Leave her alone.
God okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right, we're almost done.
Uh in 2025, uh July 31st, 2025,the White House announced plans
(51:43):
for construction to begin on anew ballroom, citing the need to
host major functions for worldleaders, dignitaries, and
guests.
The White House stated the siteof the new ballroom will be
where the small, heavily changedand reconstructed East Wing
currently sits.
White House public tours wereclosed by September, and
demolition of the East Wingbegan on October 20th.
(52:07):
Two days later, the White HouseHistorical Association announced
that it had supported efforts todigitally preserve the East Wing
and Jacqueline Kennedy Gardenswith comprehensive scanning and
photography projects.
SPEAKER_00 (52:22):
So ends.
Um I mean, I suppose the currentadministration agrees that they
need a whole room for balls.
So there's that.
(52:43):
Apparently extremely necessarythat we have more ballroom.
SPEAKER_01 (52:50):
I mean, they could have put a bunch of gold in it
without tearing it down.
And has anybody seen a floorplan for this thing?
SPEAKER_00 (53:00):
Because I just because they didn't they didn't
submit one, and that is my wholefucking issue with the thing.
That is my issue with it.
First of all, it's too big.
It's ridiculous.
It's gonna be gaudy as a bigthing.
SPEAKER_01 (53:09):
Because I just picture one huge, ginormous
room.
SPEAKER_00 (53:11):
It is.
You can look it up.
They do show you.
But they never submitted it tothe through the proper channels.
SPEAKER_01 (53:17):
So they don't have permits or there's no there's no
attention to the historicalYeah, because it says here the
White House HistoricalAssociation agreed to whatever,
but who knows who's heading upthat organization at this point.
So I also heard on the way downhere today that butter was good
for you, and I got excited tillI found out it was Kennedy that
said it.
(53:38):
Oh well.
And I'll just be back to guiltyeating.
SPEAKER_00 (53:40):
I mean, he thinks it's perfectly okay to cut the
head off of a dead whale andstrap it to the roof of his car
while his children get whalejuice all over him.
I don't know what timeline weare living in right now.
Just don't understand.
And I know I'm not gonna getpolitical because I can't, and
(54:01):
nobody's here for that, but youknow.
SPEAKER_01 (54:05):
But we are gonna share our points of view.
Yeah.
Especially on things that wefeel strongly about.
SPEAKER_00 (54:10):
And this is something I feel not the white
the ballroom.
Right.
No, I know.
I I mean my issue with it is notthat you're putting a hideously
unattractive ballroom becausewhatever.
Right.
But the fact that you first havesaid you're not gonna touch the
east wing, you're just gonnatake down the awning, and then
we watch on television as theentire thing is ripped to
shreds.
(54:30):
That's a little dis and I getit.
You're allowed to do whatever Imean.
Obama, you know, he put thewhole basketball ring up on a
tennis court and redrew lines,and then when he left, he took
the tape back up.
But whatever, you know, it isvery intrusive.
Yeah, extremely, you know,you're allowed to do that shit.
(54:54):
It makes sense.
It's modern, you know, at somepoint you had to modernize it
and yeah, of course it's notgonna look the same as it did in
1800.
It's it's that's fine.
But the fact that you torethings down exactly, like you
could have put it, like I said,the whole front of the fucking
place is just grass.
Like for for forever in front ofit.
(55:15):
You could have put a whole bigass gaudy ass gold ballroom in
the beginning.
Ugh.
Well, that was lovely.
Take care of the history of thethank you.
SPEAKER_01 (55:27):
I did, like, I had the idea, and I was like, oh,
that sounds boring.
But when I was researching, Iwas like, there's actually a lot
of cool stuff that went on inthere.
And the fact that it was um thespace for the first ladies and
all the initiatives and the workthat that those women got done
happened in there, like that wasreally good to read.
(55:48):
Um it's where all the guestsused to come.
And you see the old black andwhite pictures of people just
partying, hooping it up inthere, and it looked like it was
a very lovely space.
Um but I did have fun learningabout it, and I hope you all did
tutor.
SPEAKER_00 (56:04):
Dude.
There was a pool in there, too.
I don't remember.
It was one of the Rose Belt'sFDR, I believe, had a pool in
there because it was polio.
So I guess the bunker's stillintact, right?
I would assume so.
Yeah.
Because I imagine that's wherethey their war room or whatever.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
(56:24):
You know, they have that I Idon't know, maybe they moved it
underneath the it's hard to saywhere.
I mean, I don't imagine theletters will hold that.
Town under all things.
I think so too, and I don'tthink we get to actually know
where the we're not supposed to.
Yeah.
I mean, who knows?
Somebody will probably tell us.
Oh, I'm sure in a drunken textchain to the pole.
(56:45):
With the nuclear codes.
SPEAKER_01 (56:47):
Yeah, you see, they took him out of the spotlight
after that whole fiasco.
We don't really hear much fromhim anymore.
I can't do it.
All right, let's wrap up thisepisode before you lose your
job.
SPEAKER_00 (57:02):
I lose my job.
Um, thank you, Nicole.
That was lovely.
Thanks.
Um, sorry for all getting riledup.
SPEAKER_01 (57:09):
Yeah, but y'all know how we feel.
SPEAKER_00 (57:12):
It's been a week.
That's the issue.
The week, it's uh every week isa week, and this one was a week.
SPEAKER_01 (57:16):
It does build up and it gets exhausting, and you you
try to just keep your head downand keep going, but sometimes it
piles up.
SPEAKER_00 (57:26):
Especially when you have people in your life that
are the diametric opposite.
See, we can bury it at this partbecause nobody listens this
fair.
I love it.
Yeah.
We get called a demon a lot.
SPEAKER_01 (57:41):
Like that's an insult.
SPEAKER_00 (57:43):
Like for real demon.
Um, anyway.
Boop boop.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for giving us the theEast Wing.
Yes.
Um, like, share, rate, a review.
Please.
Uh, you can find us where youlisten to all of your podcasts.
(58:03):
Please.
Um, the like, share, rating, andreview, it really helps small
podcasts out grow to grow.
Like you can get really on alist.
Have you like share rate review?
SPEAKER_01 (58:12):
Yeah, and I actually got, I don't think I told you
you might have seen it though onFacebook.
We got a notification last weekthat um we're reaching more
people, so they're sharing ourstuff out further.
I don't know what that means,but cool.
Yeah, so you guys like sharerate review, it does help.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (58:31):
Um, you find us where we did that part.
Um, follow us on all the socialsat like whatever pod.
Please.
Like the the face, the book offace.
You can send us an email aboutyour favorite part of the east
wing of the White House,including the theatre.
(58:58):
To like whatever pod at gmaildot com or don't like whatever.
Ever bye.
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