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Rachel Greenberg’s Conversation with Former White House Social Secretaries for Bush and Obama on Treating People Well

January 12, 2018 By WHC Insider

Jeremy Bernard, Rachel Greenberg, and Lea Berman, photo courtesy Haddad Media

 

Volta Insider host Rachel Greenberg met with Jeremy Bernard and Lea Berman, both former White House Social Secretaries, about their new book Treating People Well: The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life, which takes a look at the ins-and-outs of professional and personal etiquette.

Jeremy Bernard served as President Obama’s Social Secretary from 2011–2015, and Lea Berman served as Social Secretary for the George W. Bush White House from 2004–2007. She is also the creator of the blog, America’s Table, which is “about the pleasures of cooking and entertaining, with a dash of White House tradition thrown in.”

Greenberg got the scoop on working at the White House with presidents and First Ladies, got advice on etiquette, and learned what it means to “radiate calm”.

You can listen to the latest episode of Volta Insider here.

Order The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Jeremy Bernard, Lea Berman, Rachel Greenberg, Treating People Well, Volta Insider

Volta Insider: Art and Activism at the RNC and DNC

September 6, 2016 By WHC Insider

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Rachel Greenberg at the DNC, Photo Courtesy of Volta Insider

As the political forces of the Democratic Party descended on Philadelphia for the 2016 Democratic National Convention, activists, protesters, artists, and performers, converged on the streets of downtown Philly to entertain, provoke, and raise awareness for their issues. Rachel Greenberg, host of the Volta Insider podcast, went to the DNC to find out why those from outside the world of politics come to the national conventions.

Greenberg caught up with artist Andrew Purchin to discuss the DNC, his hopes for the election, and the intersection of art and politics.

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Rachel Greenberg with Andrew Purchin, Photo Courtesy of Volta Insider

Andrew Purchin brought his interactive project “The Curious End to the War Against Ourselves” to both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions this year. The piece, a 144-foot linen scroll, is designed for passerbys who stop by to contribute. Purchin describes the project as “a guided art-making meditation”. His goal with the work is to connect with people across the political spectrum and get them to collaborate in the same space with people who share dissimilar views, be it social or political. This apolitical work is an attempt at reconciling what Purchin calls “the infighting both within our heads and with each other”.

To watch Greenberg’s interview with Andrew Purchin click here. You can find more Volta Insider episodes here.

To find out more about Andrew Purchin’s art and his project visit his website here.

Filed Under: Volta Insider Tagged With: DNC, Rachel Greenberg, RNC, Volta Insider

Volta Insider: Barack Obama’s Democratic Convention Swan Song

August 1, 2016 By Rachel Greenberg

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Barack Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention, Photo Courtesy Volta Insider

Barack Obama is an incredibly impressive orator. He speaks with grace and power, his words suffused with purpose. He has mastered a voice that exerts both authority and emotion without pontificating. There is an honesty in his cadence that slightly resembles that of Bill Clinton, a speech delivered in a style that isn’t really a speech, but more of a conversation. That night, President Obama and the American people had a conversation about something our President knows quite a bit about, the audacity of hope. And trust me, there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire arena.

I was enamored by his remarks, but it wasn’t until the crowd resurrected the famous slogan “YES WE CAN” that I was deeply affected. It was within those seconds I was, as Fitzgerald writes, “…within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

I was transported eight years back, to television clips of people shouting “YES WE CAN” in massive crowds. Struck with the absoluteness of the change he has brought about and the love the American people share with him because of it.

“Time and again, you’ve picked me up. And I hope, sometimes, I picked you up, too. And tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me. Because you’re who I was talking about 12 years ago when I talked about hope. It’s been you who fueled my dogged faith in our future, even when the odds were great; even when the road is long. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope.”

I knew then why Barack Obama had won back in 2008. Fear is subjective, but hope is indefinite. I looked down towards the stage, at the side of his face and the corner of the podium. Compelled by the sadness in his stance that lifted a little bit in each word he spoke and the arena got smaller and smaller. As if there were not millions of people behind those big black cameras scattered among skyboxes. That speech was a love letter to this country. If Shakespeare wrote speeches for the King of England, it would probably sound something like what we heard that night. 46 stunning minutes when all I could think was: that’s my president.

Filed Under: Volta Insider Tagged With: Barack Obama, DNC, Rachel Greenberg, Volta Insider

Volta Insider: Rachel Greenberg Reflects on DNC Day One

July 27, 2016 By Rachel Greenberg

Bill Clinton speaking at the DNC, Photo courtesy of Haddad Media

Bill Clinton speaking at the DNC, Photo courtesy of Haddad Media

Monday, July 25th was an exceptionally trying day for Democrats. After the media storm that followed the news that emails from top staffers in the DNC had been leaked, and the resignation of Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, things were off to a tumultuous start.

In the one-step-forward-two-steps-back relationship the Clinton campaign has with Bernie Sanders supporters, it is not surprising that some Americans don’t believe that the Democratic party is not deeply polarized. It is underestimated just how much Bernie Sanders has influenced not only the Democratic party platform, but also on the success of Hillary’s campaign. Throughout the primary season he pushed her to craft a more progressive agenda and in doing so changed the narrative of this election.

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Delegates on the floor of the convention hall, Photo courtesy Haddad Media

But in the larger picture, in the words of Donald Trump, the Republicans have a movement and in the words of Bernie Sanders, the Democrats have a revolution. The distinction between the words is telling, and speaks to the longevity of their respective party platforms. Movements come and go, but a revolution is something people seldom forget.  Regardless of who wins come November, either or both of these attempts to change establishment politics will challenge the current course of Washington.

You can check out more of my convention coverage here.

Filed Under: Volta Insider Tagged With: DNC, Rachel Greenberg, Volta Insider

Volta Insider: Paul Manafort and Reince Priebus Storm the DNC

July 25, 2016 By Rachel Greenberg

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The Republicans have set up camp in enemy territory at a boxing arena in South Philadelphia where they will host a series of press conferences during the week of the DNC. Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager, Reince Priebus, Chairman of the RNC, and Sean Spicer, Chief Communications Director of the RNC spoke on the record and organized a brief Q&A for the audience. Responding to questions about the DNC WikiLeaks, claiming that the Trump campaign and the RNC will not have the same problem, and do not have any involvement. The theme of their setup was “Enough” complete with dice, cornhole, and other games all “rigged” for Hillary to win as well as a poster with a “setlist” of her scandals dating back to the 1980s.

You can check out more of my convention coverage here.

Filed Under: Volta Insider Tagged With: DNC, Paul Manafort, Rachel Greenberg, Reince Priebus, Volta Insider

Volta Insider: Rachel Greenberg Reflects on RNC 2016

July 24, 2016 By Rachel Greenberg

RNC Reflection (rachel)

When I landed in Cleveland last week, I had 14 pages left of Game Change.

I didn’t know what to expect, had never been to a convention before, and while the collective conjecture of a “total shitshow,” was amusing, it was not helpful. That prediction proved accurate for the first 48 hours, then escalated in the final two days, even before Ted Cruz took the stage Wednesday night.

It was mid-afternoon when a crowd assembled around the entrance of the Q, Cleveland, Ohio’s center of gravity during the RNC. I abandoned my laptop and armed myself with a camera, running outside to see what all the commotion was about. At first it was just the media, aiming their massive black cameras over each others heads and inching closer and closer to a supposed protesters. Then there was the cops, a – of them, yelling for the press to move back and some sort of liquid was sprayed, forcing those in front of me and behind me to press backwards without dropping their equipment. I ducked out of the way after the man in front of me stepped on my foot.

The crowd had grown at this point, but maintained a humble volume. There was no roaring chant, no clear message. I looked around, wondering what the point of this demonstration was. I stood on my toes, trying to read the signs placed in front of the entrance.

They read:
“REVOLUTION – NOTHING LESS.”
“AMERICA WAS NEVER GREAT.”

I heard whispers of an attempted flag burning. But where was the smoke?

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Protestors at the RNC, Photo courtesy of Haddad Media

Behind me a train of police swept by, escorting three men with three-tiered signs. Sporting phrases like “The Pope is the Antichrist!” On their tail was a much shorter man holding up a piece of canvas which had “End the War on Drugs” sprayed in red and black ink.

I stepped back to the sidewalk to try to get a clear shot of what was going on. The masses were evenly matched with police, who maintained all the composure of a statue. Patient but firm, they sought order in squads of 5 or 6. A loud crack tore a hole in the murmurs and whistles as one of the signs snapped and fell two feet from where I stood. I discarded the recovery of the asset for the sound of some SJWs who looked like they hadn’t showered in at least 5 days.

“Go home you nazi scum! Go home you nazi scum!” They cried.

At this point, I was just confused. The flag burners were communist and the evangelicals, however dramatic, were far from anti-semitic nationalists. I learned later that the lady who had attempted to burn the flag had accidentally set herself on fire. It had to be the most ineffective protest I had ever witnessed.

I also found that this convention celebrated an ineffective use of language. The speeches lacked clarity, having resembled poorly written high school essays in both accuracy and flow. It was as if the whole convention had adopted Trump’s staccato speech pattern and on-the-spectrum scream. The only speeches that didn’t fit into this category were those of his children, Tiffany, Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka. His children strike me as closeted democrats, or maybe they’re just normal republicans. I might have too much faith in language and fail to understand the appeal of these “outsider” tactics aimed at the disillusioned. But is “dumpster fire” the kind of locution the American voter wants to hear from a potential president?

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Police outside of the Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the RNC, in Cleveland, Ohio, Photo courtesy of Haddad Media

In Niccolo Machiavelli’s book The Prince, he questions if it is better to be feared or loved.
“A prince should inspire fear in such a fashion that if he do not win love he may escape hate.” He writes.

I don’t think Donald Trump has read this book, and if Paul Manafort has, he certainly isn’t applying that principle to Trump’s campaign.

On Monday morning, I sat in on a Bloomberg breakfast hosted by Al Hunt, where 15 reporters sat around a table and asked Mr. Manafort about the week ahead. He talked circles around each question brilliantly. His plan followed a disregard for the numbers; their plan to gain the loyalty of the Republican base and bring in people who have never voted before does not seem realistic for the general election. Trump will sway almost no Bernie supporters, maybe a few independents, but millennials and college educated women still despise him.

They can paint Donald Trump as a savior in a dark, dark world, like the light at the end of the establishment-built tunnel, but a win for the Trump campaign just isn’t very likely.

When I landed back home in Washington two days ago, I was happy to find the White House was somehow still standing. And I resumed to add a copy of Double Down was sitting in my Amazon cart.

I guess this ineffective, confusing, “dumpster fire” of a world will just keep spinning, no matter what happens.

You can catch more of my reporting from the conventions for my podcast, Volta Insider here.

Filed Under: Volta Insider Tagged With: Donald Trump, Rachel Greenberg, RNC, Volta Insider

Facebook + Glamour @ RNC Freedom Plaza

July 19, 2016 By WHC Insider

Rachel Greenberg, Volta Insider + Dayna Geldwert, Instagram Politics and Government Outreach

Rachel Greenberg, Volta Insider +
Dayna Geldwert, Instagram
Politics and Government Outreach

Facebook and Glamour gathered a happy, if a bit warm, group of politicos led by Politico Playbook’s Anna Palmer. Glamour’s editor Cindi Levie’s flight got canceled because of weather but the party continued and the launch of their campaign for women. #51MillionVoices

The pitch: “This November, 51 million women under the age of 45 will be eligible to vote. These young women have a lot to say. That’s why Glamour and Facebook teamed up this year — to investigate and elevate the political issues these voters care about most.”

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Erin Egan, Jay Roach, Tara Grace and Len Amato at Facebook Glamour RNC lunch

Erin Egan, Jay Roach, Tara Grace and Len Amato at Facebook Glamour RNC lunch

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Dayne Geldwert, Erin Egan, Facebook, Glamour magazine, Jay Roach, Len Amato, Rachel Greenberg, Tara Grace

VOLTA INSIDER: RNC Day One With Jon Ward

July 18, 2016 By WHC Insider

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Volta Insider podcast host Rachel Greenberg is at the Republican National Convention this week covering the goings on during the hotly anticipated event, where Donald Trump will assume the mantle as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate. As the delegates, journalists, and politicos swarm Cleveland, Ohio on the RNC’s first day, Greenberg has the scoop on what’s happening on the ground.

Greenberg spoke with Jon Ward, Senior Political Correspondent for Yahoo News., who has been reporting on the election and has been covering the convention floor today during the contentious vote between delegates, the Stop-Trump Movement and Donald Trump supporters, to force a vote to throw out the rules package that was approved last week. You can read his report here.

Jon Ward discussed covering Donald Trump from a journalistic perspective and the importance of magazine and print journalism in a world so full of content.

You can find the latest episode of Volta Insider here.

You can follow Jon Ward on Twitter @jonward11.

Filed Under: Volta Insider Tagged With: Jon Ward, Rachel Greenberg, RNC, Volta Insider

VOLTA INSIDER: Rachel Greenberg Goes Inside First-Ever United State of Women Summit

July 12, 2016 By WHC Insider

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Rachel Greenberg, host of the Volta Insider podcast, attended the first-ever United State of Women Summit, which took place June 14th, 2016. The event took place in Washington, DC’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center just days after Hillary Clinton became the nation’s first woman to become a major party’s presumptive nominee. The summit featured some of the most high-profile speakers from Washington to Hollywood including President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Actress Kerry Washington, and Oprah Winfrey. Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Chair, White House Council on Women and Girls and Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff to the First Lady and Executive Director, White House Council on Women and Girls organized and hosted the day-long event.

Greenberg interviewed a number of A-list women including:

Patricia Arquette, actress and women’s advocate, winner of the Academy Award, Best Supporting Actress for Boyhood

Sophia Bush, actress, star of Chicago PD

Erin Cutraro, Co-founder and CEO of “She Should Run”

Romy Newman, CEO of FairyGodBoss

Kristen Avery, “It’s On Us” Campaign

Jessica Davidson, “It’s On Us” Campaign

Christina Hammock Koch, NASA Astronaut

You can listen to the latest Volta Insider episode here and here.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Rachel Greenberg, United State of Women, Volta Insider

Volta Insider Host Rachel Greenberg Interviews Politicos and Hollywood Stars at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend

June 3, 2016 By WHC Insider

GV5A2722 As the stars walked the red carpet at the  24th annual Garden Brunch in celebration of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend, Volta Insider host Rachel Greenberg was there to interview Hollywood’s biggest stars as well as DC’s media and political elite. Greenberg spoke with one of the weekend’s biggest stars, Helen Mirren, about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend and her legendary career as an actress.

According to Mirren, the event is “a gathering together of amazing people from all over America, fascinating people from all walks of life.” She also praised the weekend’s festivities for allowing Americans to poke fun at themselves saying, “Americans are wonderful. They take themselves very seriously and so they should, but they’re also very, very good at making fun of themselves.”

Dame Mirren has famously played Queen Elizabeth on both the stage and screen. Greenberg asked her about the challenges of playing such a well-known living person. “You’ve got to pay attention to the truth of the real person,” said Mirren. “You’re not inventing a new character.” When it comes to the Queen herself, Mirren said, “She’s strong in many ways, in other ways not. She’s not strong in the way someone like Hillary Clinton is strong,” while adding that “within her own context and within her own tradition, certainly she has great strength.”

Greenberg then asked about one of Mirren’s most legendary performances, her starring role as Maria Altmann in The Woman in Gold, based on the story of the Gustav Klimt painting and the Supreme Court battle over its ownership. Mirren says she was drawn to the film because “The visual arts are the things that I most respond to, they’re my real pleasure in life.” Mirren also noted that she grew up at the end of World War II and that “it’s important that we keep reminding ourselves of what happened then, and what could therefore happen again.”

This year’s Garden Brunch theme was “Starting up, starting out”, and Greenberg got a chance to ask the stars for their best advice to inspire those to follow their dreams.

Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, gave some frank advice for recent grads entering the workplace. “Never mix alcohol and the workplace. Work twice as hard as you think you need to work, and always make a phone call when you think a text or an email will do, it won’t.”

Ms. Greenberg questioned Senator Amy Klobuchar on her best advice to young people. To Senator Klobuchar, it’s “Always to keep your expectations high.”

Travis Kalanick, co-founder and CEO of Uber, says that when you’re going to try something new, “you have to go to a place that’s not possible. You have to bend reality but don’t break it because reality can be a really tough adversary.”

Comedian Grace Para says don’t wait for someone to make your dreams come true. According to Para, “You’ve got to be completely entrepreneurial and do it yourself.”

Joy Behar, co-host of The View says the best advice she ever got was to simply be bold. “Do what you think is right and speak out.”

Gugu Mbatha-Raw urges everyone who is starting out to be curious about everything, not just your give field. Mbatha-Raw says that “Being open minded and open hearted is a consistent character trait with some inspiring people I’ve worked with.”

Greenberg also talked politics with a number of actors who play powerful Washington leaders such as “Scandal”-star Tony Goldwyn, who plays President Fitzgerald Grant in the ABC show. “The only way that anything gets done is if every person engages on a grassroots level, acts locally, and gets in the habit of service and engagement in our process,” he says.

Michael Kelly, who stars as Chief of Staff to the President on “House of Cards”, noted just how important young people have become to the electoral process and urged young people to “Get active and then vote.”

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Bryan Cranston the star of All the Way where he plays President Lyndon Johnson, spoke passionately about the importance of voting. According to Bryan, “If you don’t vote, you don’t have a voice.”

Watch the full report from Volta Insider at this year’s Garden Brunch here.

Filed Under: 2016 WHCD, Volta Insider Tagged With: Bryan Cranston, Helen Mirren, Rachel Greenberg, Volta Insider, White House Corrrespondents' Dinner

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About White House Correspondents Insider

Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it, from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos.

Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and CEO of Haddad Media.

White House Correspondents Insider is not affiliated with or approved by the White House Correspondents’ Association, which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.

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