It’s not that simple
It’s not that simple is a podcast by Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation dedicated to major interviews with international personalities linked to politics, economy, and society. Conducted by renowned journalist Pedro Mendonça Pinto, the conversations with our special guests aim to demystify and simplify some of the most fascinating and relevant topics of our time. They will be objective, frontal, informal and informed dialogues to clarify why some issues «are not that simple».
The Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation was founded in 2009 by Alexandre Soares dos Santos and his family to study the country’s major hindrances and bring them to the attention of the Portuguese people. The Foundation’s mission is to promote and expand the objective knowledge of Portugal today, thereby helping to develop society, strengthen the rights of citizens and improve public institutions and to cooperate in endeavors to identify, study and resolve society's problems. The Foundation is independent of political organizations and has no ideological affiliation with any political party. Its work is guided by the principles of human dignity and social solidarity and the values of democracy, freedom, equal opportunities, merit, and pluralism. www.ffms.pt
It’s not that simple
VETTING, with Alyssa Mastromonaco
What is “vetting”? How does it work? Why is it so important to the quality of public service and government? To answer these questions, Pedro Pinto interviews Alyssa Mastromonaco in this episode of “It’s Not That Simple”, a podcast by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation.
With many years of experience working in the United States’ government, Mastromonaco served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for operations in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2014, the youngest woman to hold that position. Prior to that, she was Director of Scheduling and Advance, a position she also held during President Obama’s first campaign. Mastromonaco began working with then Senator Obama in January 2005 where she served as an advisor and political director of his PAC, Hopefund. She had previously worked for Senator John Kerry in both the Senate and his 2004 campaign and also served as Congressman Rick Boucher’s (VA-09) press secretary. After leaving the White House, she was President of Global Communications Strategy & Talent at A&E Networks and the chief operating officer of Vice Media. She has also been a contributing editor at Marie Claire magazine. Since 2017, Mastromonaco has been a podcaster with Crooked Media.
In this episode, Mastromonaco describes what the vetting process consists of, specifically in the United States. She discusses the purpose of the vetting process, as well as it standards. Mastromonaco also looks at how political polarization and the modern media environment have weakened the public strength of the vetting process. She also addresses the challenges of conducting an efficient vetting investigation. Mastromonaco examines the lack of vetting in countries like Portugal and how a thorough vetting process can lead to finding the best people for any given public position. Finally, she explains how lying about one’s past may be more disqualifying for the person being vetted than telling the truth about the person is being asked about, in a conversation well worth listening to.
More on this topic
- Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House, Alyssa Mastromonaco (with Lauren Oyler), 2017
- So Here's the Thing: Notes on Growing Up, Getting Older and Not Giving a Shit, Alyssa Mastromonaco (with Lauren Oyler), 2019
- Hysteria, Alyssa Mastromonaco’s podcast
- Alyssa Mastromonaco on her book “Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?”
- Alyssa Mastromonaco on her experience in government
- Another conversation with Alyssa Mastromonaco about her work in government
- Podcast It’s Not That Simple, “Corruption”, with Donatella della Porta
Other references in Portuguese:
- Podcast Da Capa à Contracapa “A Corrupção”
- Essay of the Foundation “Corrupção”, by Luís de Sousa, 2011
- “No máximo, eleger mais mulheres só reduz a corrupção no curto-prazo”, an interview with political scientist Miguel Maria Pereira
- Debate "Os grupos de interesse no sistema político português”