On this edition of The Fred Minnick Show, New York Times political reporter and author Jennifer Steinhaur joins Fred for conversation and whiskey sipping. Steinhaur has covered the U.S. Congress since 2010, having joined the Times in 1989. During the interview, she and Fred talk about life during Covid, her book The Firsts: The Inside Story of the Women Reshaping Congress, women’s roles in history, meatloaf, the beef industry and plenty more.

Whiskeys tasted:

• Old Forester 117 Series (14:59)
• Johnnie Walker Green Label (28:11)
• High West Bourye (43:22)

EPISODE SUMMARY

Fred and Steve touch on plenty, such as:

• Jennifer offers a look at her 2020 book and how it pays tribute to the women coming up through U.S. Congress.
• Fred admits he prefers working with women, in part because of communication. Steinhaur offers interesting insights.
• Talk briefly turns to sexual misconduct and harassment in the military (a topic Jennifer covers often) and Fred’s experience working with women during his service in the Army.
• The whiskey comes out, and they talk about how women tend to be excellent tasters and why.
• Jennifer loves the tough-to-find Old Forester 117 Series, describing it as “her new favorite thing ever.” Fred suggests Old Forester 1920 as a whiskey that’s easy to find and has a similar flavor profile.
• On the Johnnie Walker Green Label, Jennifer says it tastes like a “high school bonfire.”
• Along the way, Fred offers up a brief history of Scotch whiskey.
• About halfway through, Jennifer goes into her love of meatloaf and the meatloaf cookbook she co-authored. Bottom line, it’s easy to make and it’s affordable.
• They then talk about the future of eating beef amid environmental concerns about how it is raised.
• Conversation then turns to the current difficulty of, well, having productive conversations. Fred posits that it would be great if whiskey could be the universal conversation conduit.
• Fred talks about drinking certain whiskey neat versus with ice or in cocktails.
• They briefly delve into the world of book nerds and the difficulty of writing a book proposal. Jennifer asserts that the proposal often seems more difficult than writing the book itself.
• Fred talks about “the return of rye,” rye history and MGP’s role.
• The topic of glassware comes up. Fred prefers a glass that “shows the whiskey.” He of course then sings the praises of the Glencairn glass.
• Ultimately, Jennifer chooses Old Forester as her favorite of the flight.

QUOTABLES

Jennifer Steinhaur, on women’s likelihood to be good collaborators and problem-solvers: “I think women naturally, in the workplace and in their family lives, have to find themselves in that kind of mediator mode. Sometimes it is the role we have to embrace in very male spaces. … Sometimes, perhaps that plays out in the legislature and the workplace in a way that can be favorable to outcomes.”

RESOURCES

https://www.jennifersteinhauer.com/

https://twitter.com/jestei

https://www.instagram.com/steinhauer.jennifer/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Source: The Fred Minnick Show