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How to Be Abe Lincoln

By: Jonathan Shapiro Greg Grunberg and Nick Marzock
  • Summary

  • More than at any time in American history, except perhaps Abe Lincoln’s own, we need his help. Get ready to laugh, learn, and apply the life of this great leader to a modern age with hosts Jonathan Shapiro and actor Greg Grunberg as they discuss pressing topics of today with celebrity guests, and find out what Abe could teach us in this moment. This podcast will show us how to survive our dangerously fractious age, one that is too often unmoored from truth, ignorant of facts, and unwilling to do the hard work of becoming better. It is made for those who don’t just admire Lincoln but want to emulate his rational, practical approach to law, love, leadership, and life. It identifies the seven steps that made Abe Lincoln legendary and teaches you how to follow them. This show is part history and biography, part philosophy, part memoir, part James Spader rant, and like Lincoln himself, a true original.
    2023
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Episodes
  • Episode 7: Accident? Injury? Call Lincoln! (with Jeffrey Lenkov)
    Oct 30 2023

    Abe Lincoln, the lawyer, would have his face all over bus stop billboards if he were alive today. This episode is all about Lincoln as a lawyer, so powerhouse attorney and major sports agent Jeffrey Lenkov joins the guys to talk about Lincoln’s legal strategies, his work ethic, and his strategy for publicity. Lincoln had a vast array of clients, from representing individuals making defamation claims to representing major railroads, but for the cases he had an interest in, he would always treat them with equal weight and importance. They talk about the value of settling out of court and setting client expectations, Lincoln’s strategy for constant publicity - sitting for countless portraits and photographs, wearing a tall hat to look memorable and riding a horse that was too small to look silly - his unwavering resistance to being motivated by money, and the problem with today’s mechanics of law school and field of lawyers willing to take cases.

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    38 mins
  • Episode 6: Humorists and Hubris (with Chi McBride)
    Oct 23 2023

    Abe Lincoln would have loved the show “The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer,” a comedy sitcom from the 90’s that chronicled the life of a reasonable and intelligent butler, Desmond, and his bumbling doofus of a boss, Abraham Lincoln. The guys are joined by Chi McBride, the actor whose portrayal of Desmond Pfeiffer earned him scathing criticism and national uproar, and who has flawlessly overcome that criticism to be a successful and well-respected television actor. Abe Lincoln enjoyed, and even laughed at, the criticism that he received, even inviting a famous humorist who called him a baboon to the White House for a visit. They talk about the faith and fortitude that it takes to overcome intense criticism, Abe’s religion of “when I do good, I feel good” and how that could apply today, learning from other perspectives during debate, and how people today try to perfect each other instead of looking inward to perfect ourselves.

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    49 mins
  • Episode 5: Stop, Collaborate and Listen (with Don Reo)
    Oct 16 2023

    Abe Lincoln would have loved Slappy White. Slappy was a black comedian and actor who appeared on shows like Laugh In and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, performing hilarious acts that were often social commentaries of the civil rights movement and the inequality of black Americans. During this time and before his acting career, he hired a young and soon-to-be legendary television writer and producer Don Reo to accompany him on stage and write jokes, who not only joins the show for this episode, but also makes many appearances in Jonathan's book. Don made a career of successful collaborations, launching shows like Blossom and My Wife and Kids, writing for smash hits like M*A*S*H and The Golden Girls, and co-authoring a book with Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band. Reo embodies two key tenants of Lincoln's persona - the ability to laugh and the ability to collaborate with people of all manners, including the difficult ones. How was Lincoln able to achieve such success when his own cabinet was full of people trying to take him down? Mr. Don Reo is here to give us some insight.

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    40 mins

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