Who Doesn’t Like Books?

Cruising through the nation's capital, this intimate rideshare conversation unexpectedly captures the human toll of Washington's political shifts. When a passionate education policy professional hops into the car after a rooftop reception, what unfolds is a raw, unfiltered glimpse into the ripple effects of executive orders and agency restructuring that most Americans haven't yet felt.

"It's been the longest month of my life," she confesses, revealing how each policy change directly impacts her work with educational materials across fifteen states. 

This exchange thoughtfully examines the tension between trimming government excess and preserving essential oversight: "I want there to be inspector generals, like I want there to be people making sure my food is safe."

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About: Foundation Digital Media | Kuna Video

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:10

Welcome to another episode of Rideshare Road Talk Conversations in Motion, a podcast where we create unfiltered talk space that examines the meaningful lives of my passengers, while engaging in personal and topical discussions. I'm your host and driver, John Fondas, and we're cruising the streets of Washington DC. Buckle up, let's drive. How are you?

Speaker 2 0:35

I'm all right.

Speaker 1 0:37

Good, good, good, I'm hanging in there, I'm done with work.

Speaker 2 0:39

Bullshit, how are you Excellent?

Speaker 1 0:42

I am your unlikely rideshare driver.

Speaker 2 0:44

I like it.

Speaker 1 0:45

Let's do it. Nice digs, do you have dinner here Hanging out?

Speaker 2 0:50

There was like a reception on the rooftop.

Education policy work discussion

Speaker 1 0:53

Lovely. I've been on that rooftop in another life.

Speaker 2 0:56

Nice view. Yeah, I do education policy Cool, so I have like 15 states, and so my job is to like work on high quality instructional materials okay, are people writing, you checks or you're just doing some type of policy stuff. Yeah, okay, education okay education policy is maybe not where it's at. If you wanna, sometimes I'll see job or like, like salaries or stuff from like the other I'm like, oh it's different if you're in tech or energy or Sure. Like no.

Speaker 1 1:31

So you get to DC often, then I would imagine.

Speaker 2 1:33

Yeah, I just started doing federal stuff in September, so that's cool. Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:42

What a great time to be in DC. That's cool.

Speaker 2 1:44

Yeah, what a great time to be in dc.

Speaker 1 1:45

I would think especially like in dc you're getting like some really interesting, like people you're picking up can't tell you how many people had just been let go or furloughed with all the craziness going on like at that at that reception.

Speaker 2 1:59

Lots of the people there.

Speaker 1 2:00

Their spouses work in federal stuff and yeah, they've all gotten like the emails. I drove one lady who worked at SBA and her boss was one of the inspector generals the main inspector general that got laid off. He's the one that penned that famous kind of resignation letter.

Speaker 2 2:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Government layoffs and career impacts

Speaker 1 2:22

And they're all just like despondent. A couple of career lawyers I've driven around that got laid off and the real crisis of conscience is, you know, let's just do air quotes, do-gooders, right.

Speaker 2 2:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Career do-gooders yeah.

Speaker 1 2:38

On the right side of the V. Yeah, as I like to say. Now this lady has to contemplate going to the private sector to make money in turn selling her soul. Yeah, and it's like you think about that. It's like all of a sudden now you've got to represent the bad guy.

Speaker 2 2:55

Yeah, in theory. Well, you think, like I want there to be inspector generals, like I want there to be people making sure my food is safe and my you know, like, yeah, you would think, yeah, I mean, a certain amount of regulation is important. Yeah, yeah. I think that's the fabric of a functioning society is checks and balances. Like I'm not saying there's probably some fat to be trimmed. Sure, it's the federal government, but like it doesn't seem we're being really discerning in what we're doing.

Speaker 1 3:25

Well, here's the thing. And you know it's hard not to talk about politics in DC, right? But with all this stuff happening in the news cycle about fraud and waste and all that, well, it all starts upstream on Capitol Hill, from all this pork bill spending that they all stuff into the bills to get what they want for the constituents so if you want to really stop the waste, go to the source no, it's.

Speaker 2 3:51

It's like kind of scary and so like I feel like like where I live it's like people haven't like felt it yet right, but I have felt it like it's been the longest month of my life.

Speaker 1 4:04

Yeah, I'm sure it's been.

Speaker 2 4:05

Every executive order, like all the like DEA, like it's all of that's been like. It's like just like really like schools and curriculum and states and content and just like I'm like I don't think I've ever worked harder. But like most of my like good people I know are like whatever you know, yeah, but like most of my people I know are like whatever you know, yeah, like there's too many people that work in the air, like no, like this is, this is, but you're like you don't want it, it's hard, you don't want to get so bad that people like lives are, but it's like, yeah, it's good no-transcript part of this whole.

Speaker 2 4:43

They're like wait, but it wasn't supposed to do anything to me right I didn't care when it was immigrants or whatever. But you know not me being targeted.

Speaker 1 4:53

I had coffee. I had a coffee date with uh, it was like a work thing with someone. She's been out of work since november. Highly highly educated, job skills. She, she can't find work and now, with everything this now well, dc again.

Speaker 2 5:09

Your market must be crazy like just flooded it's crazy it is crazy that's like really stressful to think about anyways.

Speaker 1 5:20

Yeah, besides that, mrs lincoln, how's the play? Exactly anything else. Uh, fun and exciting going on for you this weekend, hopefully um, well, now I'm.

Speaker 2 5:33

Now I'm done. This place service bar was on like the james beard award which one uh service bar. I've never been, that's where I'm going. Okay, uh, but they won a james beard award for best bar in the nation okay so I'm excited to get to try it out.

Speaker 1 5:50

I learn something new every day.

Speaker 2 5:51

Yeah.

Speaker 1 5:53

What part of town is that in?

Speaker 2 5:54

Wherever you're taking me. I don't know.

Speaker 1 5:57

Perhaps I should pay attention to what I'm taking, Whoever we're going you can tell me what part of town are we going to?

Speaker 2 6:02

That's so funny. Yeah, so that's it, that's yeah, you're going to um.

Speaker 1 6:07

Oh okay, you're going to ninth and u okay um? U street's kind of fun. It gets a little nutty at night which is fine, um, there's a famous music venue there called 9 30 club, which is very cool, um, and there's a cool pizza place. So if you want to eat late night, it's called andy's and it's right across the street from 9 30 club. So ninth and v okay, really good pizza. I'm part italian, I wouldn't steer you wrong.

Speaker 2 6:34

It's pretty good okay, oh, where else are, like, some of your favorite places to eat?

Speaker 1 6:39

I'm gonna be coming to dc a lot more well, I don't know about eating, but but right in this neighborhood. Yeah there's a place called Capo Deli. Ooh, I love an Italian deli, okay, but here's the thing. It's just like you know. You go in there and get a fricking cold cut right, big deal, that's nice. There's a walk-in freezer and if you open up the door to the walk-in freezer it opens up into this secret little bourbon bar with like crushed velvet couches wait what? Crystal chandeliers and like that oh, that's so cool.

Speaker 1 7:14

I mean, the cold cuts look great in these photos I'm seeing, but also good so that place is cool, okay, um, yeah, so you could do the service bar. Have a few there yeah get a slice of pizza yeah, that sounds great, andy's.

Speaker 2 7:32

I'm going to andy's and then do a nightcap at uh kappa.

Speaker 1 7:36

What could be, could be fun what kind? Of food. Do you like to eat?

Speaker 2 7:40

oh, all of it, you like can't.

Speaker 1 7:42

Yeah, like he isn't known for anything like it's got great food spots, but it's not like Really cool international options yeah. I mean it's Ethiopian, if you know Afghan. Like Adams, morgan is an interesting area to go, but I went to Albi, which was like Middle East, Lebanese.

Speaker 2 7:58

That was great. And then I went to the Red Hen, which was really good.

Speaker 1 8:02

Italian, italian, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 8:03

Yeah, that place was great.

Speaker 1 8:05

How long are you in town for?

Library of Congress secret happy hour

Speaker 2 8:06

So I go home tomorrow. But I'm going to be coming like every other month. Okay, I got you, or at least this year, probably.

Speaker 1 8:13

Union Market is a really fun area. St Anselm is good.

Speaker 2 8:16

Yeah, yes, st Anselm is good, very cozy.

Speaker 1 8:19

And La Dip you have to Melodip yes, that room is so cool.

Speaker 2 8:24

It is like like I know, it's kind of like oh, everyone goes there, but it's like, yeah, but it's like, have you been like? It's like, if you've been, of course, yeah, it's cozy. The ambiance is fantastic.

Speaker 1 8:35

Unless you get stuck in one of the little side tent rooms. No, I don't.

Speaker 2 8:40

No, but St Anselm I really liked too when, like you have people come visit you, like where, like things to do, what places to go like where do you take people?

Speaker 1 8:50

The Library of Congress has a late night happy hour in the main room.

Speaker 2 8:54

Um, okay, fine, it's free. I'm doing this the next time I come, it's free.

Speaker 1 8:57

You gotta go online and get a ticket, but it is free and it's like one of the most spectacular rooms obviously. Obviously you know it's the library that's so cool yeah, um yeah, that's great, that's a good one, and they have like little cocktail bars set up and light music.

Speaker 2 9:12

You kind of wander around a little bit so yeah yeah, plus I just love the library of congress yeah, who doesn't like books. Yeah, exactly, well, well, okay.

Speaker 1 9:26

We are close.

Speaker 2 9:28

Yes, okay, that's 900. And I think we're going to 928.

Speaker 1 9:32

Yeah, so it's going to be on the right. Yeah, I just want to get you in a safe spot to drop you off here.

Speaker 2 9:37

Yes, I appreciate that, just like that away.

Speaker 1 9:41

Yeah.

Speaker 2 9:42

Great. Thank you so much. Excellent this was really cool.

Speaker 1 9:46

Excellent, it was nice chatting with you. Yeah, you too, have a good night. And then all that stuff we talked about Not Dirty Club is just right behind us on the other side of you. Uh-huh, that way. And then the Capo place is that way. Ah, perfect, all right, enjoy your stay.