An Evening with Cody Keenan

In conversation with Jon Favreau
Join Cody Keenan, President Obama’s chief speechwriter, and Jon Favreau, co-host of Pod Save America and founder of Crooked Media, to discuss Keenan’s new book Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America. Through the behind-the-scenes moments, from Obama’s suggestion that Keenan pour a drink, listen to some Miles Davis, and “find the silences” to the president’s late-night writing sessions in the First Family’s Residence, Keenan takes us inside the craft of speechwriting at the highest level for the most demanding of bosses, the relentlessly poetic and perfectionist Barack Obama.
Cody Keenan rose from a campaign intern in Chicago to become chief speechwriter at the White House and Barack Obama’s post-presidential collaborator. A sought-after expert on politics, messaging, and current affairs, he is a partner at the preeminent speechwriting firm Fenway Strategies and teaches a popular course on political speechwriting at his alma mater, Northwestern University. He lives in New York City with his wife Kristen and their daughter Gracie.
Jon Favreau served as Barack Obama’s head speechwriter from 2005-2013. Since leaving the White House, Favreau has written and spoken about politics and speechwriting to audiences throughout the world. In 2017, he co-founded Crooked Media, where he’s a co-host of Pod Save America and host of both Offline and The Wilderness. Jon grew up outside of Boston, graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife Emily, their son Charlie, and their dog Leo.