1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: Guess what, Mango, what's up. Well, so it's that time 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: of year again when everybody's sending out their holiday cards. 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:08,399 Speaker 1: But if you think your hand is cramping from all 4 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: the cards you've had to address, just take a guess 5 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: how many handwritten envelopes are addressed each year for the 6 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: holiday card mailing from the White House. I have no 7 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: idea how many. Now this number is a few years old, 8 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: and I'm not sure how many of the Trump White 9 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: House is sending. But the number I saw was ten thousand, 10 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: all handwritten. Now, I know you're super into calligraphy, Mango, 11 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: always scribbling over there, but even you have to admit 12 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: that is a ton of handwriting. I mean, it makes 13 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: my hand heard just thinking about it. How do they 14 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: put it off? Well, I was wondering the same thing. 15 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: But it turns out the White House employees three full 16 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: time calligraphers who create everything from invitations to menus to 17 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: place cards at state dinners, official documents. The list goes on, 18 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: and they're often written by hand, and not surprisingly, sometimes 19 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:00,959 Speaker 1: with the help of a computer. But it's still a 20 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: ton of work. But even with three full timers like 21 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: that's a crazy amount of writing. It really is, but 22 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: it's one of those jobs that you often don't stop 23 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: to think about, but clearly it's a job that has 24 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: to get done, and that's what God is thinking. You know, 25 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,839 Speaker 1: we obviously here constantly about the president and everyone working 26 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: on the political side, but how many non political employees 27 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: are working behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly 28 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: and what do they all do? So that's what we're 29 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: talking about today. Let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, 30 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as 31 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: always I'm joined by my good friend man guest Ticketer 32 00:01:57,560 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: and on the other side of the soundproof glass wearing 33 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: a very fancy top hat, that's our friended producer Tristan McNeil. 34 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: It's really really fancy, don't you think fancy. Well, today 35 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: we're asking the question who works in the White House, 36 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: And of course we're not talking about the obvious of 37 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: the President and the other political employees of the government. 38 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: We're talking about the non political employees who really make 39 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: the White House run. Yeah. So this episode was super 40 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: fun to prepare for it because I really had no 41 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: idea how many people are working behind the scenes, and 42 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: of course some are more visible than others. But I mean, 43 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: when you've got three full time calligraphers, that's got to 44 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: be a pretty big staff. Yeah, so we're we're looking 45 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: at somewhere in the neighborhood of three hundred and fifty 46 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: people who keep their residents in operation. Now, around a 47 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: hundred of those are full time and others are part time. 48 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: So we're talking everything from ushers to painters, florists, to 49 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: plumbers and plenty of other very interesting positions. And pretty 50 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: much all of these people are paid for by the 51 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: thirteen million dollars that's allocated by Congress each year to 52 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: keep the residents running smoothly. I mean, third teen million 53 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,239 Speaker 1: dollars is insane. That's a lot of a lot of money, 54 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,679 Speaker 1: that's no kidding. But we should definitely talk about who 55 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: oversees that budget. But why don't we say that for 56 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: a little bit later and first talk about the people 57 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: in charge and making sure the president's day goes smoothly. 58 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: Did you just did you just set up a teaser 59 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: for later in the show, and I like, stay tuned. 60 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: We're going to tell you who oversees the White House 61 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: residential budget. I mean, you wish you could know now, 62 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: but we're going to keep you hanging nicely done there, 63 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: thank you. I've been studying up on how the best 64 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: reality shows do it. But but before the show, you 65 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: were telling me about the people responsible for the president's 66 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: whereabouts each day, and I really thought it was so 67 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: fascinating And would you mind if we started there? Yeah, 68 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: that makes sense, and you're right, I did find this 69 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: fascinating too. Why don't we start with the Director of 70 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: Oval Office Operations. Now, this is the person who makes 71 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: sure the president always has everything he needs while he's 72 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: working in the White House, and he's always keeping a 73 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: very close eye on the president's schedule. Yeah. I think 74 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: you were mentioning an article about Obama's director. What was 75 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: his name again, was Brian Mastler. Yeah, there was an 76 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: interesting article about him from the Washington Post last year 77 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: and it described him as the quote anticipator in chief, 78 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: and I thought that was a pretty interesting title. And 79 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: the article said, quote, when Obama's in Washington, every move 80 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: the president makes, every person he meets, and every meeting 81 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: he attends has been carefully orchestrated by Mastler. He knows 82 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: where Obama likes his waterglass placed on the table at 83 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 1: meetings and whom he'd want to sit beside. He knows 84 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: how he prefers the height of his lectern. He researches 85 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: ahead of State's favorite drinks so that the president can 86 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: offer it. He read He's Obama's remarks and sets them 87 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: open to the first page wherever the president will be speaking. 88 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: He tells Obama what a sock is bunched at his ankle, 89 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: or his shirt is wrinkled before an interview. I mean, 90 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: it goes on and on here. It's pretty crazy. I mean, 91 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 1: I do feel like we could use that position in 92 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: the studio. You know, sometimes I sit down in this 93 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,719 Speaker 1: chair to record and it's just a little too high 94 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: for my preference, or sometimes a little too low, and 95 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: I actually have to adjust it myself. Oh my gosh, mango. 96 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: And also I went and got this couple of water 97 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: for myself, so I know the struggles we deal with. 98 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: It's a tough life here at how stuff works. But 99 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: actually hearing this story, it reminds me of the time 100 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: I was traveling to Detroit for some meetings. You know, 101 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: this was back in our mental floss days, and as 102 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: a little joke, the assistant in the Detroit office had 103 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: one of those fancy ice buckets, you know in the 104 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,160 Speaker 1: hotel rooms. It was placed right at the entrance of 105 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: my hotel room with three diet Mountain dues just chilling 106 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: and just waiting on me. So I wouldn't argue with 107 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: that kind of thing happening everywhere I went. Yeah, but 108 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: I mean in the White House, that's a lot of 109 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,040 Speaker 1: job for one person, and everything from like sock bunching 110 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: to lecturing heights is kind of crazy. It does seem 111 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: like sock bunching watching should be like that dedicated job. 112 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 1: But you know, you hear about mustel are getting to 113 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: his desk about an hour before the president would every morning, 114 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:51,719 Speaker 1: and then he'd unlocked the door from the Rose Garden 115 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: area and that's where the president would enter every day, 116 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: and then he would stay until after Obama was done 117 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: in the Oval office for the day, he'd lock up, 118 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:01,720 Speaker 1: and then he was the one who would actually turn 119 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: off the lights. How weird is that's so weird? It's 120 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: like he's a shopkeeper or something. Yeah, but you know, 121 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: you're right, the hours were crazy, and can you imagine 122 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: how stressful it is to make sure that every single 123 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: minute of a president's day is scheduled? Most efficiently. So 124 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: I heard you mentioned this job, and I think I've 125 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: been confusing it with the role that's called, like I 126 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: think the body man. But but that's not the same thing, right, No, 127 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, the director of the Oval Office 128 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 1: operations and the body man would certainly be in close contact. 129 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: But the body man, or perhaps more appropriately called the 130 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 1: personal aid to the President, that's the person really at 131 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: the president's side all day, keeping him on schedule, providing 132 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: anything that the president needs. And the job often goes 133 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: to a friend or a family member because they really 134 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,159 Speaker 1: have to be so close to the president. And is 135 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:49,840 Speaker 1: this the president You hear about having to actually keep 136 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: the president on schedule and also having to interrupt the 137 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: president to tell him to go to the next meeting 138 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: or whatever. Yeah, it's definitely a position that requires an 139 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,080 Speaker 1: ability to handle these types of situations. Really delic it, 140 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:02,480 Speaker 1: Like you actually hear how tough a job it was 141 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: for Chris Ensko. He was the one that worked for 142 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,279 Speaker 1: President Clinton. Oh yeah, I mean Clinton was known for 143 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 1: running along with every meeting and always being late and 144 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: just like loving an audience in front of him, right, 145 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: I mean, I can't imagine how stressful that job was 146 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: for an aid, but it was Ensco who would have 147 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,239 Speaker 1: to try and keep him as close to on schedule 148 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: as possible, and then if things were off, he'd have 149 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: to figure out how to quickly handle to you know, 150 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: transition to the next meeting and figuring all of that out. 151 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: But you know, he's also responsible for things like making 152 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: sure the president has greeted everyone he needs to in 153 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: a crowd, and sometimes if you watch video of a 154 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: president at a gathering, you'll often see a body man 155 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: pointing out people he needs to make sure and greet. 156 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: It seems like almost every job in the White House 157 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: has insane hours, but this one especially definitely. It's also 158 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: another one where they have to be at work ready 159 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 1: to go before the president arrives, and they aren't done 160 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: until after the President is done for the day, or 161 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: at least done with meetings and appearances. And you know, 162 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: other than the Secret Service and sometimes the first Lady, 163 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: the body man is often the only other person to 164 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:05,520 Speaker 1: join the president on long trips. I remember reading about 165 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: Obama's body man, Reggie Love, and all the things he 166 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: kept on him at all times, from hand sanitizer to 167 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: energy bars to nicarette, and that's got to be a 168 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: fascinating job in a fascinating bag he's carrying around, but 169 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: also just a totally exhausting gig. Right, Oh yeah, I can't. 170 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: I can't even imagine. Actually, here, here's a quick fact 171 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 1: I wanted to mention. Jocelyn noted this and some of 172 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: her research that Meriwether Lewis, you know of Lewis and 173 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,079 Speaker 1: Clark fame, of course, actually served in this role for 174 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: Thomas Jefferson before heading out on his big adventure. And 175 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: so it's actually not uncommon for aids in this role 176 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 1: to go on to some pretty big things. That's crazy. 177 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: I didn't know that. So we probably talked about the 178 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: two people who pay most close attention to, like the 179 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 1: president's whereabouts each day. Well, we can't forget the president's 180 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 1: valets of course. Valets. Well, you know, I said, the 181 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: president's body man is by his side, tending to his 182 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: every need. But that doesn't necessarily apply to every single need, 183 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: you know, especially his personal needs. It's like packing for trips, 184 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: or getting a cup of coffee or an extra shirt 185 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: if he spills something. I mean, these kinds of jobs 186 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,359 Speaker 1: fall on the presidents to valets. Interestingly, they're actually military 187 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 1: personnel who work in shifts and who are standing by 188 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 1: at all times in case the president needs anything. And 189 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 1: when the president is traveling by motorcade, you'll often find 190 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: a valet and one of the other vehicles, you know, 191 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,959 Speaker 1: just ready with any sort of supplies the president might need. 192 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: That's so funny, you know, you know what that is? 193 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: Like I whenever I hear the term valet, I think 194 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: it deals with cars and valet as like a butler, 195 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 1: because that's how the British pronounce it. But but I 196 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: would say the president is pretty well covered if he 197 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: needs anything between all these positions. Yeah, no kidding. But 198 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: actually it turns out not all presidents love being waited 199 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 1: on constantly by valets. Apparently, George W. Bush wasn't a 200 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: big fan of having them. According to the book The 201 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: Residents Inside the Private World of the White House, Bush 202 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: wasn't aware he would even have valets when he first 203 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: arrived at the White House. And then he says to 204 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: his dad, these two men just introduced themselves and they said, 205 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: they're my valets. I don't need a valet. I don't 206 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 1: want a valet. So his dad just looked at him 207 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:12,679 Speaker 1: and replies, you'll get used to it. It sounds like 208 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,719 Speaker 1: a dad thing to say, like get used to it. Yeah, exactly, 209 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,079 Speaker 1: But I mean I can see that it's like overwhelming 210 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 1: at some point to be waited on constantly, But I 211 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: mean I'd be willing to give it a tribe. And 212 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: you know what one thing we should talk about is 213 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: that level of security clearance that the people in these 214 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: positions have to get. I mean, it's got a specific name, right, Yeah, 215 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: it's a term I wasn't previously familiar with, but it's 216 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: called top secret presidential proximity and it sounds really important 217 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:42,080 Speaker 1: at least, and and that's because it is. And the 218 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 1: presidential proximity part means that these are people who are 219 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: allowed to be very near the president and the first 220 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: family without the Secret Service around. Yeah. I mean I 221 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 1: have to imagine it's a small number of people who 222 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: get this level of clearance, oh for sure. And I 223 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: don't know the exact number, but it's definitely not everybody 224 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: in the White House. All right, Well, let's shift gears 225 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,079 Speaker 1: a little here. I know, we should do a rundown 226 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: of the different types of jobs in the White House. 227 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 1: But before we do, there was something you mentioned as 228 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: we were doing our research, and I thought it was 229 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 1: pretty interesting. And that's the couple of big positions that 230 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: Jacqueline Kennedy added to the White House staff. Yeah. Sure, 231 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,439 Speaker 1: So why don't we start with the position of executive 232 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: chef with Jackie Kennedy created back in nineteen one, And 233 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: of course there had obviously been cooks at the White 234 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: House from the beginning, but she definitely took that position 235 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: to this whole other level when she hired this French 236 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 1: chef named Rene Verdon. And including Verdon, they've actually only 237 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: been seven people to hold that position. So the current chef, 238 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: who's Cristata Comerford, has been in the position for over 239 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: a decade now, and she's not only the first woman 240 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: to have served in the position, but it's the first 241 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:45,959 Speaker 1: person of color to be hired as the White House 242 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: executive chef. But I mean, she obviously is the only 243 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: one cooking at the White House, right, No, not even closed. 244 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:53,840 Speaker 1: So the White House Executive Chef manages a team of 245 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: I think it's like seven chefs, and and they of 246 00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: course cook every day for the First Family, but they're 247 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: all are responsible for the huge dinners and the special 248 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: events that take place of the White House so we're 249 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,559 Speaker 1: talking more than seventy thousand guests a year. Oh wow, 250 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: that's a ton of people. But you know, something else 251 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:12,080 Speaker 1: I found really interesting is that the president's family pays 252 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,440 Speaker 1: for their own food, and as a side note, they 253 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: actually pay for their own toiletries and other personal products 254 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:19,080 Speaker 1: as well. Really, I had no idea. I just thought 255 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: this was one of the presidential perks. I mean, why 256 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 1: why would you run for president if you have to 257 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 1: pay for your own toothpaste? I know, and listen too, 258 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,680 Speaker 1: but it gets charged back to the president each month. 259 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: But of course, having a chef and a team turn 260 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: like those products and foods into delicious meals is pretty nice. Yeah, 261 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:37,560 Speaker 1: it's pretty wild. Well, I do assume that each chef 262 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: kind of brings their own style to the kitchen, even 263 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 1: though I'm sure they get certain requests from each family 264 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: that lives there. Definitely, And in fact, there's a pretty 265 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 1: funny story about chef for dun and Lyndon Johnson. And 266 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,000 Speaker 1: this is after Lyndon Johnson moved into the White House 267 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 1: and sadly after Kennedy was assassinated. But Johnson moves in 268 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: and he's not a big fan of French cuisine, you know, 269 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: he's more of a burghers and steak type of guy, 270 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:05,480 Speaker 1: and very Don was not pleased with some of Johnson's requests. 271 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,680 Speaker 1: In fact, there's a quote from Verdon that he told Johnson. 272 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:11,319 Speaker 1: He said, you can eat at home what you want, 273 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:13,959 Speaker 1: but you do not serve barbecued spar ribs in a 274 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:19,200 Speaker 1: banquet with the ladies in white gloves. That's pretty great, 275 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:21,400 Speaker 1: And I have to say it doesn't sound like they 276 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,120 Speaker 1: were best, but yeah, not at all. And you know, 277 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: Johnson didn't love to be told what to do, and 278 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 1: Verdon eventually just resigned. Wow. Well, Actually, on a slightly 279 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 1: different food related topic, I was wondering how they ensure 280 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: the food is always safe for the president eat, Like 281 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:38,439 Speaker 1: does he have tasters or something to make sure that 282 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 1: it's all safe. Yeah, you know, I was curious about 283 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:43,080 Speaker 1: that too. The President doesn't have a taster, you know, 284 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 1: the way you think of old royalty. But before the 285 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: food ever reaches the White House kitchen, it goes through 286 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: the supply chain that's been heavily vetted by the Secret 287 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:53,880 Speaker 1: Service and also the FBI, and these suppliers are kept 288 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: secret even from the guest chefs who come in for 289 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: special events. Like state dinners. Okay, well that that makes sense. 290 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:00,599 Speaker 1: Well what about when the president it's not at the 291 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 1: White House, like if if they're traveling somewhere, Well, they 292 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: do have security that screens his food. And it's interesting 293 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 1: because those responsible for feeding the President his family very 294 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 1: depending on where he is. So most of the time 295 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 1: when he's traveling, it falls on the Navy, but on 296 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: Air Force One, it's the Air Force that figures out 297 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: the food situation, and at Camp David it's the Navy again. 298 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: But back to the White House, screening even applies to 299 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: things like snacks. Like they're so secretive about this that 300 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: many times when the President decides he wants a certain 301 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: kind of snack, the White House will often arrange to 302 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: have it delivered to one of the homes of a 303 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,880 Speaker 1: residents staff member, just so no one knows his head 304 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:39,280 Speaker 1: to the president. Isn't that crazy? And you know, we 305 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: were talking about security clearance earlier, and there was a 306 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 1: great quote from the former executive chef Walter Shud in 307 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: this interview with the site Munchies, and he said, in 308 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: terms of the few of us that are in the 309 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 1: kitchen who have that clearance, if you think about it, 310 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:55,720 Speaker 1: We're not just around outside and next to the president, 311 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 1: We're physically inside of him in a way. You may 312 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: be one of the singularly most trusted people in the 313 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: whole country. Wow. I had honestly never thought about that. 314 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: But I assume this is another one of those really 315 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 1: long hour jobs as well. Definitely, so the executive chef 316 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: often puts in eighty five hours a week. Wow. Alright, 317 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: so the executive chef was one of the big jobs 318 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: outed by Jackie Kennedy. So what was the other one? Yeah, 319 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 1: happily go into that, But why don't we take a 320 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: quick break first, you and your cliffhangers today, mango. Okay, 321 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: before the break, we were talking about Jackie Kennedy creating 322 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: the position of executive chef, and then you just left 323 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 1: us hanging on what the other position was. Yeah, and 324 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: I'm actually gonna keep you hanging for just a little 325 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: while longer. While I said, okay, I think for a 326 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: minute about how many important people visit the White House 327 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: each year, and foreign dignitary specifically. So it's actually kind 328 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 1: of wild to read about how much thought goes into 329 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: the messages the White House wants to send whenever a 330 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: foreign leader arrives. So what do you mean. Well, when 331 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: the White House is planning a state dinner, for example, 332 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: there's always a balance of wanting to find a way 333 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: to project American values and that's everything from the food, 334 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 1: to the entertainment to the decor, while also finding a 335 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: way to honor and welcome the guests. So I'm wondering, like, 336 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 1: how do you think they can do that in a 337 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: very visible way other than by you know, offering the 338 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: food served. I don't know, through by what they're wearing. Yeah, 339 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,520 Speaker 1: I mean, that's not a bad guess. And that's usually 340 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: when the president travels abroad and uh dresses in the 341 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 1: style of the country. But here, one way to do 342 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: that is through special flowers. So there's a great description 343 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: of this from Columns, which is a publication, and here's 344 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 1: how they describe one big dinner. During a state dinner 345 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:51,240 Speaker 1: for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Dowling chose a floral motif 346 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 1: rendered in molecular designs in honor of Merkel's academic achievements 347 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: and her doctorate in chemical physics. It featured her favorite 348 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: color yellow and acknowed ledge her passion for cooking and baking, 349 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:05,639 Speaker 1: with plum colored flower and fruit designs. The Chancellor is 350 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: apparently known for making a famous plumb cake. Wow, that 351 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: is so much thought going into that. So Jackie Kennedy 352 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:16,679 Speaker 1: had something to do with us or what? Yeah, and 353 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 1: that name I mentioned in their Dowling that was Laura Dowling, 354 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,400 Speaker 1: who served as the Chief Floral Designer under President Obama, 355 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: and this was definitely a position that was created by Kennedy. 356 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,280 Speaker 1: The chief floral Designer oversees the operations of the White 357 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 1: House flower Shop and it's a ridiculously demanding job. So 358 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: just think about how many events the White House hosts 359 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: every single year. There are three full time assistants, but 360 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 1: they frequently bring in volunteers to help with the big projects, 361 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 1: and several of the events like state dinners and such, 362 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: does actually take months to plan, and dowlings that are 363 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 1: schedule often involved hundred hour weeks. Wow. Well, you know, 364 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: there's definitely one thing I feel like I have a 365 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,440 Speaker 1: better understanding of after doing our research for this episode, 366 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: and yeah, that's the fact that pretty much anyone who 367 00:17:57,880 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: works in a full time capacity at the White House, 368 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,120 Speaker 1: they're working really long hours and it's kind of amazing 369 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:05,919 Speaker 1: that they last as long as many of them do. 370 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,680 Speaker 1: I know, you almost see these positions as more patriotic 371 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: after you hear about them. But there have only been 372 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: five chief floral designers since Kennedy created the position, and 373 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 1: a couple of them were in that position for decades. Well, 374 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 1: I would imagine this is another one where they get 375 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: to know the president's taste pretty well and maybe even 376 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:25,160 Speaker 1: factor that into the style of what they're doing. Definitely 377 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:27,960 Speaker 1: so during the Obama administration, for example, you'd often see 378 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:31,199 Speaker 1: the private quarters with orange and blue flowers and I 379 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: didn't realize it's earlier. I but it kind of makes 380 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,639 Speaker 1: sense now. And that's because Obama loved the Chicago Bears. 381 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that does make sense again, something I could 382 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: get used to. All the flowers reflected my own taste. 383 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 1: But all right, well, I think it's time for us 384 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: to get back to the larger teams that really make 385 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:48,640 Speaker 1: the residents at the White House run. And it's also 386 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:50,639 Speaker 1: time for you to finally reveal the answer to that 387 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: big teaser you set up earlier in the show. You 388 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 1: know that the answer to who controls that thirteen million 389 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: dollar budget for operating the residents there? Yeah, I think 390 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:09,120 Speaker 1: it's time. So are you ready? Music? Please? It? Uh, 391 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,199 Speaker 1: that's the job of the chief Usher. So the title 392 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,879 Speaker 1: really doesn't accurately reflect the size of the job. And 393 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:17,040 Speaker 1: you could think of the chief usher as being like 394 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 1: the general manager of a big hotel. But the main 395 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: difference is there's just one family to please. Oh that's interesting, 396 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: all right. So the chief usher oversees what like the 397 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: whole residents staff. Yeah, that's everything from the team of ushers, 398 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,679 Speaker 1: to the housekeeping staff, to the butlers but which we 399 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:34,920 Speaker 1: should talk about as well, and the chefs, the florists 400 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 1: and anyone else involved in running the Residents. So all 401 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,719 Speaker 1: thirteen million dollars worth the cost falls under the chief Usher. 402 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 1: And since I've been talking a lot about Jackie Kennedy 403 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:46,880 Speaker 1: and her influence on the White House, I'm actually gonna 404 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,480 Speaker 1: quote her. She described their chief usher, JB. West, as 405 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 1: the most powerful man in Washington next to the President. 406 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: I know, it's crazy, right, And so I know you 407 00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 1: mentioned the book by Kay Anderson Brower. It's called The 408 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: Residents Inside the Private World with the White House. And 409 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 1: in the book she actually talks about West and all 410 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: the tasks he does is really stunning. So he did 411 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: everything from helping search the residents for Carolyn Kennedy's missing hamsters, 412 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 1: to like try and fix the water pressure for President 413 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,159 Speaker 1: Johnson because he was always complaining that the water pressure 414 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: wasn't strong enough. That's pretty crazy, right, So so what 415 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 1: about all the other ushers under the chief what what 416 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:28,679 Speaker 1: do they do? Well, in addition to seeing after the 417 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 1: needs of the First Family, they also prepared the White 418 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: House for you know, the over seven thousand tourists that 419 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 1: come in every single week, and that's no small task. 420 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:39,920 Speaker 1: But back to the First family side, and usher is 421 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:42,639 Speaker 1: always on duty when the president's awake, so until he 422 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:45,240 Speaker 1: goes to sleep at night, there's one right there, which 423 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: often means being on duty late into the night. And 424 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: each night one of the ushers will actually deliver the 425 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: President's briefing book. This is the briefing put together by 426 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:54,960 Speaker 1: the president's West wing staff that brings him up to 427 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,920 Speaker 1: speed for the next day. All right, Well, you should 428 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: also talk about the preparation that goes to the presidential 429 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: transition and what the ushers do with that. Yeah, it's 430 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 1: actually wild how early the chief usher and their staff 431 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: begin preparing for the next First family. It starts well 432 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,920 Speaker 1: before the election. They often begin pulling together information about 433 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:16,560 Speaker 1: the top candidates during the primary season just so that 434 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: you can be as prepared as they can, like before 435 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: someone's elected and eventually moves in. That's pretty fascinating, you know. 436 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:24,160 Speaker 1: One of the things I was thinking about is how 437 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,119 Speaker 1: many people are around the president his family and and 438 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,120 Speaker 1: other officials too, you know, like when they're having these 439 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:33,360 Speaker 1: very private or confidential conversations, and I guess they sometimes 440 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:35,760 Speaker 1: just have to kind of disappear into the background when 441 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: all that's going on. Yeah, and this is the case 442 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: with two other sets of employees, the housekeeping staff, which 443 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,879 Speaker 1: is about twenty and the six full time butlers. So 444 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: Anderson and Brower has this really interesting section on the 445 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:48,919 Speaker 1: housekeeping crew having to work around the First family, and 446 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,400 Speaker 1: here's how she describes it after a conversation with Christine Limerick, 447 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: who managed the housekeeping staff for about thirty years. Limerick 448 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,719 Speaker 1: describes a delicate dance the maids must do as they 449 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,440 Speaker 1: try not to disturb the First family. If they walk 450 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: in the room, they look at you and say you 451 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 1: can finish. You don't have to leave. If they tell 452 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: you to stay, you do what you need to do. 453 00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:10,159 Speaker 1: But you have an ability to let what's going on 454 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,439 Speaker 1: around you just go over your head. Even if the 455 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,520 Speaker 1: First family wanted time alone, the residents workers would often 456 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,439 Speaker 1: leave one room and go to work in an adjoining chamber. 457 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 1: Limericks said the maids followed the same code as the butlers. 458 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:24,199 Speaker 1: They see, but they don't see. They hear, but they 459 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: don't hear. They don't speak to members of the First 460 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,120 Speaker 1: family or the guests unless spoken to, and they never 461 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: approached them with personal requests. That's really interesting. And then 462 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 1: you mentioned the butler. So they mainly serve the meals 463 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: and or is that what they do? Yeah? So what 464 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 1: what is the fancy state dinners or just everyday meals 465 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: for the First family? These are served by the butlers. 466 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: They also got snacks for the family and prepare food 467 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 1: in the off hours if the chef staff isn't on duty. 468 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 1: Though apparently Michelle Obama didn't want her daughters to get 469 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:52,680 Speaker 1: too used to being waited on, so she was pretty 470 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 1: careful about how much she would allow them to serve. 471 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: Sasha Emiliyah, Yeah, I can definitely see how that might 472 00:22:57,359 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: be a concern with kids. All right, Well, there's there's 473 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: one of the group. I think we should talk about. 474 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 1: But before we do that, let's take a quick break. Alright, Mango, 475 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:16,000 Speaker 1: it's quiz time, and I know we've been talking about 476 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 1: people that work at the White House, so you put 477 00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:20,960 Speaker 1: together a really fun quiz for us today. And we 478 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: are joined by a couple of our friends here who've 479 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 1: actually been on the show, I think three or four 480 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,200 Speaker 1: times now if I'm not mistaken. We've got Ben Bowling 481 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: and Noel Brown, the co host of Stuff they Don't 482 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,960 Speaker 1: Want You to Know, but also the host of a 483 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: brand new show here and how stuff works called Ridiculous History. 484 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,680 Speaker 1: Welcome guys, Thanks, thanks for having us. We're actually boned 485 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 1: up on this quiz thing because we just introduced a 486 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: segment on Ridiculous History where our nemesis, Jonathan stricklingister the 487 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:52,879 Speaker 1: quister to torture and brate us with ridiculous quizzes. So 488 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 1: if you're into this kind of quiz action, you should 489 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,360 Speaker 1: check out the show, check us out. Well, we want 490 00:23:58,359 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: to hear a little bit more about it. Tell us 491 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: how what what's Ridiculous History all about? We love the show, 492 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:04,679 Speaker 1: but we want our listeners to know about it. Oh gosh, 493 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: thank you so much. Well, so history is riddled with 494 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:13,360 Speaker 1: things that are beautiful, brutal, and at times ridiculous. So 495 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:15,920 Speaker 1: in our show that comes out twice a week, Nolan, 496 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:20,000 Speaker 1: I look at little known episodes throughout the stories of 497 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,639 Speaker 1: human civilization, like, um, get a little fun nuggets like 498 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:25,920 Speaker 1: did you know that there were a class of Russian 499 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: hipsters that bootleg music by etching them into discarded X 500 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:34,480 Speaker 1: ray films? Or that uh, there is a reason British 501 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:40,160 Speaker 1: lawyers insisted upon wearing those anachronistic wigs. I love that episode, 502 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,679 Speaker 1: by the way, Thank you, thank you so much. We 503 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:44,960 Speaker 1: learned stuff every time we do one of these, and 504 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: part of the fun is that we're we're not experts, 505 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,360 Speaker 1: you know, We're we're we're pretty we're pals and we 506 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 1: get a kick out of like reading up on this 507 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: stuff and discussing it. But we always learned something every 508 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:56,720 Speaker 1: time we do one, and we kind of tend to 509 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 1: like to surprise each other, which makes it fun for us. 510 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:00,879 Speaker 1: We hope it makes it fun from people listening. But 511 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 1: do you I know you guys are into music. Do 512 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: you do you have any of that bone music? Like 513 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: any of those records? We found some, Yeah, we did 514 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,960 Speaker 1: find some. You can you can find some online. You 515 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,280 Speaker 1: can actually buy some of the original recordings. We do 516 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:19,159 Speaker 1: have to say, however, that they were made on these 517 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: uh these discarded X ray film and although they are functional, 518 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 1: the quality does show. Yeah, we had UM at the time. 519 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 1: Super producer Alex who, speaking of music, did an amazing 520 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,760 Speaker 1: job at composing the interim music. A lot of email 521 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 1: about UM. He found some examples and kind of strung 522 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,679 Speaker 1: a few together into kind of like a bone music 523 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 1: mixtape that happens in the end, So you can hear 524 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: a lot of stuff like weird like instrumental jazz, and 525 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 1: then there's like Elvis, anything that you can think of 526 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 1: that would have been popular, like and uh illegal in 527 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:59,879 Speaker 1: in opposition to what the USSR saw as their ideological values. 528 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:04,159 Speaker 1: So you're listening to very dangerous music looks because this 529 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,200 Speaker 1: stuff is creepy looking. It's like kind of cigarette burn 530 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,480 Speaker 1: that makes the hole where you put it on the turntable, 531 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:11,119 Speaker 1: and the rest of it's just kind of cut out 532 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:13,159 Speaker 1: with scissors, so it's got these real rough edges and 533 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: typically it's like a stern um. Yeah, really creepy less 534 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: super metal, like a nine inch Nails T shirts. That's well, 535 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: speaking of dangerous, though. I think it's time to put 536 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: you guys to the test now again, listeners, I hope 537 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,399 Speaker 1: you will check out Ridiculous History. It is an awesome 538 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,840 Speaker 1: new show here from How Stuff Works. But we've got 539 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,000 Speaker 1: a quiz to get to Mango. What is our quiz today? 540 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,720 Speaker 1: It's called that Other white House Quiz that Oh, that's 541 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: a good name, all right. So there are dozens of 542 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,160 Speaker 1: knockoff white houses scattered around the world, so this quiz 543 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,560 Speaker 1: obviously is to locate just a few of them. So 544 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 1: we're gonna give you a white house and a clue 545 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,000 Speaker 1: and you just have to tell us where it is. 546 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:56,000 Speaker 1: Now we're gonna have you guys face off. The fact 547 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,359 Speaker 1: that we learned earlier is that Ben loves cows. So 548 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:02,119 Speaker 1: Ben is going to move when he's ready to answer. 549 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,720 Speaker 1: And no, I don't know if you love birds, but 550 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 1: you get to know I'm terrified of Oh you're terrified. 551 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,120 Speaker 1: Put that fear to use. That's right. This is gonna 552 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:14,359 Speaker 1: be a way for you to kind of take ownership 553 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: of your ornophobia. I think you were telling me it's 554 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 1: called I'm diagnosed. Yes, well, this is gonna be good 555 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:25,480 Speaker 1: for you. Mandy. You could call Ben Okay, here we go. 556 00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:30,440 Speaker 1: Question number one. The most famous upside down white house 557 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 1: in the world features an upside down briefing room an 558 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,879 Speaker 1: upside down oval office, both of which are manned by 559 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,960 Speaker 1: animatronic robots. But if you want to go there, you'll 560 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,160 Speaker 1: have to go to the state known as America's dairy land. 561 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 1: Good alright, No, what state are we talking about? Wisconsin? 562 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:51,960 Speaker 1: Well done? All right, tell me more about this upside 563 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:54,680 Speaker 1: down white house. It's actually one of at least three 564 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:57,679 Speaker 1: upside down white houses. So the others are actually right 565 00:27:57,720 --> 00:27:59,120 Speaker 1: side up when you walk through the doors, and they're 566 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:04,000 Speaker 1: mostly have arcade since a little bonus to end. I'm 567 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: confused about this. It's like just like a bizarro white house. 568 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,960 Speaker 1: It's called the top Secret white House, and it's it's 569 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:13,399 Speaker 1: just in the tells of Wisconsin. Sounds like there's so 570 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:17,200 Speaker 1: many different white houses, perhaps that you have to find 571 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 1: an angle. I think I think you need an angle, alright. 572 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:27,680 Speaker 1: Question number two. Not far from the actual white House, 573 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 1: a Vietnamese immigrant built himself a replica white house that 574 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:33,879 Speaker 1: we put it up for sale once he was feeling 575 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,680 Speaker 1: emptiness syndrome. What state also known as the birthplace of 576 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 1: presidents is this house located in move I'm gonna get 577 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,880 Speaker 1: this one wrong with Grace and of plum. Is it Maryland? 578 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,280 Speaker 1: It's not mary He is gonna get this one wrong. 579 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:52,600 Speaker 1: I'll take a steel Nebraska, just completely complete shot in 580 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,040 Speaker 1: the dark, not far from the actual White House? So 581 00:28:55,160 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 1: are are host here is struggling a little bit? It's 582 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: actually in Virginia? Yeah, that was his other guests. You 583 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: guys did not specify US presidents though. Oh that's a 584 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 1: good that's because you totally would have nailed it otherwise. 585 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: But how many US presidents who were born in the 586 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 1: state of Virginia? Eight? Al Right, here we go, redemption, Here, 587 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:20,479 Speaker 1: here we go. Number three White House replicas built mostly 588 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: out of tiny Danish bricks. Are house that this theme 589 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: park with locations in Florida and California? I mean the 590 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:41,680 Speaker 1: birds scared him so badly that a boop came out Disney. No, 591 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,600 Speaker 1: it is not alright, a boop. You want to take 592 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: another shot at this tiny Danish bricks, tiny Danish bricks. Oh, 593 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 1: go for it again. He's not ready. I'm all I 594 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:59,080 Speaker 1: was thrown by my my bird. Focus is it? Is it? Uh? 595 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: Is it? Lego related it? And can I say the 596 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 1: Lego land in Atlanta entirely underwhelming. In a mall, it's 597 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 1: a good mall. It's still not recovered from the boob 598 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,920 Speaker 1: that was terrific. Okay, guys, it is one to one. Okay, 599 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,160 Speaker 1: I know we're laughing here, but things are pretty tight. 600 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:28,240 Speaker 1: All right. There's two questions left, one to one. Question 601 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: number four, the replica White House in this country is 602 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,720 Speaker 1: now being used as a school. You might know the 603 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,280 Speaker 1: country better for having the third busiest McDonald's in the world, 604 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:43,720 Speaker 1: or for its capital of Kiev. Alright, let's hear it 605 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 1: is Ukraine. Wow. Alright? Question number five, I think we 606 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:51,280 Speaker 1: have to for Ben. Is that right? Okay, here we go. 607 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: Last question. This is your chance. This one is actually 608 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:55,560 Speaker 1: a two point knol so you have the chance for 609 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: the wind. Okay, I'm ready. A real estate mogul and 610 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: Iranian immigrant built himself a three fourth scale model of 611 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 1: the White House with shrubbery that reads God Loves You 612 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 1: in the front lawn. What city also home to You're ready? 613 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: The CNN Center, the Cocoa. Oh, what do you think, mango? 614 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 1: I think I think I think I heard a bird sound. 615 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 1: Let's hear it, Atlanta. It is Atlanta, Georgia. Wow, No, wait, 616 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:25,920 Speaker 1: why is it a three fourth scale? You've you've built 617 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:30,440 Speaker 1: seventy five in size of the White House. Why would 618 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:35,000 Speaker 1: you just not go? Yeah? Maybe he used he used 619 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:41,680 Speaker 1: that extra uh to make a one fourth size replica 620 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:45,240 Speaker 1: of something else? Could I like that? I like that guy. 621 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 1: I think you get a bonus point for that one, 622 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:50,840 Speaker 1: which I think brings these guys three to three. I 623 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,080 Speaker 1: do want to think again. Ben and Noll, the host 624 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 1: of the awesome Ridiculous History, for joining us today. I mean, yeah, 625 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: Rochambeau for it. Let's do it to you guys, all right, 626 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: one to shoot we got uh? He crushed me crushed? 627 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 1: Well done? Rock speak scissors should stick as a tie. 628 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having us all guys. We 629 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:20,760 Speaker 1: are huge fans of Part Time Genius. Time we want 630 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 1: to do a little like a crossover rochambo event with 631 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 1: all four of us where we'd like do a podcast 632 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:29,600 Speaker 1: shared topic. Let's do it Ridiculous History and Part Time Genius. 633 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:31,200 Speaker 1: All right, get ready for that, guys. But thank you 634 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:46,120 Speaker 1: guys for coming on. Welcome back to Part Time Genius. 635 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,120 Speaker 1: So before the break, will you were saying that there 636 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 1: was one more group of non political employees at the 637 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:52,360 Speaker 1: White House that you wanted to talk about. Yeah, And 638 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,800 Speaker 1: in fact, they might actually be the biggest group, and 639 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 1: that's the Uniform Division of the Secret Service. Now, you know, 640 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 1: we're all pretty familiar with the Secret Service members who 641 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:03,600 Speaker 1: protect the President and the first family, but when it 642 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:05,680 Speaker 1: comes to making sure that the White House as a 643 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 1: whole is secure, that job falls on a division of 644 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:11,720 Speaker 1: the Secret Service known as the Uniform Division. This is 645 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:16,240 Speaker 1: a police force of about thirteen hundred officers, so many 646 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:19,320 Speaker 1: more than I thought would be there. Yeah. Yeah, Well, 647 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,480 Speaker 1: they're the ones that come face to face with the public. 648 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:23,560 Speaker 1: You know, they screen the visitors to the White House. 649 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,640 Speaker 1: Their tasks with keeping bad people from getting anywhere near 650 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:29,280 Speaker 1: not only the President, but even the special agents who 651 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,400 Speaker 1: are around the president. And do they only protect the 652 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,040 Speaker 1: White House That's a good question, but but no, they're 653 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,600 Speaker 1: also responsible for protecting the Vice president's residents as well 654 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:42,040 Speaker 1: as the Treasury Building and then all the foreign diplomatic 655 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:45,800 Speaker 1: missions and embassies that are scattered throughout d C. And 656 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,640 Speaker 1: there are several specialized units as well, from the Canine 657 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:52,000 Speaker 1: Unit to the counter sniper Team, the Motorcade Support Unit, 658 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:56,120 Speaker 1: the Emergency Response Team and several others as well. Well. 659 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:58,840 Speaker 1: I mean, this is clearly an incredibly important division. And 660 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,880 Speaker 1: not that I know us how many locations they keep secure, 661 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:04,600 Speaker 1: it does make sense they're be you know, well over 662 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:07,840 Speaker 1: a thousand of them. Speaking of keeping the White House secured, 663 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:10,680 Speaker 1: did you wonder before researching for this episode, how difficult 664 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:13,640 Speaker 1: it is to get hired by the White House? Oh? Definitely. 665 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:15,799 Speaker 1: And it doesn't appear that you're going to find White 666 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,840 Speaker 1: House jobs just posted on like monster dot com or anything, 667 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:22,839 Speaker 1: because I checked. But in most cases people get hired 668 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: because they had a friend or a family member recommend them, 669 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:28,400 Speaker 1: and some families have had several members work in the 670 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 1: White House. But yeah, for the most part, there's a 671 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,920 Speaker 1: much greater comfort when somebody already on the inside can 672 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:36,480 Speaker 1: vouch for a potential new hire, and then of course 673 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:40,080 Speaker 1: after that they're heavily vetted from there. Sure that's pretty interesting. Well, 674 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:42,120 Speaker 1: I feel like we've learned a ton about several of 675 00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:44,399 Speaker 1: the key behind the scene jobs at the White House. 676 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:47,080 Speaker 1: But I've saved a couple of them because you know 677 00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:57,600 Speaker 1: what time it is, it's fact off time. H So 678 00:34:57,680 --> 00:34:59,400 Speaker 1: I think it's interesting to look back at jobs that 679 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:01,759 Speaker 1: might have been, say in the past, but aren't really 680 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: needed anymore. And one of those jobs is theater projectionist. 681 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:07,919 Speaker 1: So FDR had a movie theater built in the White 682 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:10,680 Speaker 1: House in the forties and a projectionist was later hired 683 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:13,080 Speaker 1: to be on call around the clock, you know, in 684 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:14,920 Speaker 1: case a member of the First Family wanted to watch 685 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,319 Speaker 1: a movie at three AM. And one of the White 686 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:20,919 Speaker 1: House projectionists, Paul Fisher, worked there for over thirty years 687 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:25,640 Speaker 1: until and he served seven presidents. He actually kept a 688 00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:27,920 Speaker 1: log of the over five thousand movies he showed in 689 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:31,160 Speaker 1: that time. Oh wow, it would actually be really interesting 690 00:35:31,239 --> 00:35:34,040 Speaker 1: to see what movies were shown to which presidents. But 691 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:36,319 Speaker 1: al right, well, one of the roles you don't hear 692 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:39,279 Speaker 1: about much now but must have been very interesting, is 693 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:41,880 Speaker 1: that of a nanny for the First Family. And just 694 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,760 Speaker 1: to show how close those nannies could be to the families. 695 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,880 Speaker 1: And this one is heartbreaking. But maud Shaw, the Kennedy's 696 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,160 Speaker 1: British nanny, she was apparently the one who told Caroline 697 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:55,239 Speaker 1: and John Jr. About their father's assassination. That is heartbreaking. 698 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:57,480 Speaker 1: So I actually had a fact about a White House 699 00:35:57,560 --> 00:36:00,200 Speaker 1: nanny as well. And we've referenced the story before where 700 00:36:00,239 --> 00:36:03,360 Speaker 1: I think, but it's really interesting. So a young African 701 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:06,560 Speaker 1: American woman named Mary Prince became the Native Jimmy Carter's 702 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:10,200 Speaker 1: daughter Amy, while also serving prison term for murder, and 703 00:36:10,719 --> 00:36:13,360 Speaker 1: at the time, Carter was Governor of Georgia and Prince 704 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 1: was assigned to work at the governor's mansion. She became 705 00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:19,280 Speaker 1: really close to the family, and when he was elected President, 706 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:22,640 Speaker 1: Rosalind Carter secured parole for Prince, who she believed was 707 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:24,920 Speaker 1: wrongly convicted, to come join them in the White House 708 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:27,960 Speaker 1: and continue as Amy's nanny. President Carter actually served as 709 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,920 Speaker 1: her parole officer, and Prince later received a full pardon 710 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,439 Speaker 1: from the state, not from Carter. Huh. Well, you talked 711 00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:37,520 Speaker 1: earlier about the executive chef, but we didn't talk about 712 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:41,200 Speaker 1: the White House Executive pastry chef. So this is a 713 00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:44,239 Speaker 1: position that was made permanent back in nineteen seventy nine. 714 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:47,320 Speaker 1: But they get to work on some pretty big projects, 715 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,960 Speaker 1: like the four hundred and seventy five pound dark chocolate 716 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:53,279 Speaker 1: covered gingerbread house that was a big part of the 717 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:58,080 Speaker 1: holiday decorations overseen by Michelle Obama one year. I love 718 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,040 Speaker 1: that there's a four hundred seventy five Hungener Bright houses, 719 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:04,040 Speaker 1: and that's a big one. Yeah. So the White House 720 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 1: is such an old and big place that there's both 721 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,480 Speaker 1: a paint shop with two full time painters who are 722 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 1: just like constantly touching up and repainting the walls, and 723 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:14,399 Speaker 1: a carpenter shop where the carpenters built furniture and work 724 00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:17,719 Speaker 1: on other necessary projects. I mean, it really just is 725 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:21,239 Speaker 1: amazing how many people are constantly working behind the scenes there. 726 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:23,480 Speaker 1: But speaking of carpenters, I don't know if he meant 727 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:25,479 Speaker 1: to do this, but I appreciate the set up here, Mango, 728 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,880 Speaker 1: because one White House carpenter, his name is Charlie Brands. 729 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:31,719 Speaker 1: He actually transitioned into a very different job in two 730 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:33,880 Speaker 1: thousand nine, and this is when he brought in some 731 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,520 Speaker 1: bees from hives that he looked after at home. Now, 732 00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:38,600 Speaker 1: to be clear, he was asked to do this. He 733 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:40,160 Speaker 1: didn't just bring in a bunch of bees to the 734 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:43,520 Speaker 1: White House. But you remember Michelle Obama installed her famous 735 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:46,200 Speaker 1: vegetable garden in the South Lawn that year, and and 736 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:48,280 Speaker 1: the White House chef wanted a couple of bee hives. 737 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:51,040 Speaker 1: So Brands provided the bees and ended up becoming the 738 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:54,520 Speaker 1: White House beekeeper the first of these, and he retired 739 00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:57,200 Speaker 1: as a carpenter but continued taking care of the bees. 740 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:01,239 Speaker 1: I mean, isn't that you know a sweet story? Well, 741 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:03,440 Speaker 1: it is, But anyone bold enough to tell a good 742 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:05,279 Speaker 1: story and then follow it with a pun like that 743 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:08,720 Speaker 1: deserves a trophy. So I think you get the trophy 744 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:11,919 Speaker 1: for today's backed off. Thank you very much and thanks 745 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,640 Speaker 1: for listening today. I do want to thank Jocelyn Sears 746 00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:17,480 Speaker 1: for the great research for today's episode and also the 747 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:20,680 Speaker 1: terrific book by Kate Anderson Brower, The Residents. If you 748 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:23,560 Speaker 1: guys have any facts about the White House or anything 749 00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:25,719 Speaker 1: related to presidents that you feel like we should know, 750 00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:28,200 Speaker 1: we love to hear from you. You can always email 751 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:30,399 Speaker 1: us part Time Genius at how stuff Works dot com 752 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:33,600 Speaker 1: or call us on our seven fact hotline one eight 753 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:36,640 Speaker 1: four four pt Genius, or as always, you can hit 754 00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:39,160 Speaker 1: us up on Facebook or Twitter. But thanks for listening, 755 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:53,960 Speaker 1: Thanks again for listening. Part Time Genius is a production 756 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,400 Speaker 1: of How Stuff Works and wouldn't be possible without several 757 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:58,960 Speaker 1: brilliant people who do the important things. We couldn't even 758 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:02,319 Speaker 1: begin to understand. Christa McNeil does the editing thing Noel 759 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:04,399 Speaker 1: Brown made the theme song and does the mixy mixy 760 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:08,440 Speaker 1: sound thing. Jerry Rowland does the exact producer thing. Gaveluesier 761 00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:10,879 Speaker 1: is our lead researcher, with support from the Research Army 762 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:13,839 Speaker 1: including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eve. 763 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:16,320 Speaker 1: Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job, Eves. 764 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:18,480 Speaker 1: If you like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, 765 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:20,359 Speaker 1: and if you really really like what you've heard, maybe 766 00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:22,520 Speaker 1: you could leave a good review for us. Do we 767 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:24,120 Speaker 1: forget Jason? Jason who