WRITING
Politico
11 Democratic Thinkers on What the Party Needs Right Now. November 7, 2024
Slate
The heart of Nikki Haley’s political problem. January 9, 2024
Spare me the Joe Biden-Jon Meacham Romance. March 2, 2023
The Atlantic
Down with institutionalists. June 4, 2021
Obama couldn’t fix the system. Biden must. August 5, 2020
Trump is the obstacle to defeating the coronavirus. April 14, 2020.
Trump is going to cheat. February 18, 2020.
Why George H.W. Bush struggled to connect with America. December 3, 2018.
He’s going to get reelected, isn’t he? September 27, 2018.
The Daily Beast
The sexist double standard behind the Medicare-For-All fight. November 13, 2019.
Know-Nothing Ben Carson is a threat to our democracy. May 21, 2019.
Powerful men can’t stop complaining that they’re being bullied. February 1, 2019.
In attacking Christine Blasey Ford, men defend the humiliations of girlhood. September 28, 2018.
Hillary’s problem wasn’t emails. It was challenging stereotypes. September 1, 2018.
Shame on us for ever thinking Donald Trump would not threaten abortion rights. July 6, 2018.
Washington Post
Are Jared and Ivanka erasing history? The cost of side-stepping the Presidential Records Act. October 23, 2017.
New York Magazine
Empathy is dead in American politics. March 30, 2017.
Vogue
12 Women Leaders Who Changed the World in 2020. December 12, 2020.
Medium
President Obama’s top speeches, as chosen by his speechwriters. December 21, 2016.
The Globe and Mail
Trump, the bully, has soiled the pulpit. December 8, 2017.
Media
Audio
BBC Radio 4. Communicating with Ros Atkins. June 28, 2024.
NPR Morning Edition. At a Holocaust remembrance event, Biden to mark the history of antisemitism. May 7, 2024.
NPR Morning Edition. Biden's test in the State of the Union tonight is to show he's still got what it takes. March 7, 2024.
WNYC. When it comes to the issues facing New York, 'it's personal' to Gov. Hochul. October 6, 2023.
The 1A. Ask a Political Speechwriter. February 8, 2023.
Not Even Mad. Senator Sinema’s Democratic Party Defection, Merchant of Death for Brittney Griner swap, and Twitter Moderation: Futility vs. Utility. December 14, 2022.
NPR Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. How to write a graduation speech. June 1, 2022.
Slate’s The Gist. Joe Biden Takes Over. January 20, 2021.
NPR Weekend Edition. What Democratic Voters Want. June 29, 2019.
Politico's Women Rule. What Trump's speechwriters can learn from history. January 29, 2018.
The Herle Burly. A conversation with Canadian pollster and strategist David Herle. November 1, 2017.
New Hampshire Public Radio. Political Speechwriting. May 10, 2017.
BBC News, The Conversation. Speechwriter to the President. November 28, 2016.
Washington Post Presidential Podcast. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. August 8, 2016.
Documentary
Netflix. Churchill At War. 2024
History Channel. FDR. 2023
CNN. The End: Inside The Last Days of the Obama White House. 2017
Video
CBC Power & Politics. Democrats dissect where Harris presidential campaign went wrong. November 6, 2024.
Global News Canada. The West Block political roundtable. January 21, 2024.
BBC World News. Trump wins the Iowa caucus. January 16, 2024.
UVA Miller Center. Conference on the Presidency. October 20, 2023
CBS News. On Biden’s first State of the Union. March 2, 2022.
C-SPAN. Q&A on Presidential Inaugural Addresses. January 17, 2021.
C-SPAN. University of Virginia’s Miller Center: Presidential Ideas Festival. May 23, 2019.
The Agenda With Steve Paikin. A conversation with the host of Canada's leading current affairs program. November 1, 2017.
C-SPAN. Interview at the Professional Speechwriter Association’s 2017 World Conference. October 17, 2017.
Print
The Telegraph. Presenting over Zoom? Don’t try to sound like Barack, says Obama’s former speechwriter. June 2, 2020.
DW. For Trump's State of the Union, the medium is the message. January 29, 2018.
De Volkskrant. In het hoofd van de speechwriter van Obama.* June 24, 2017.
Politico. Obama Aides, Full Of Emotion, Get Ready To Turn Out The Lights. January 19, 2017.
*I don't read Dutch. Perhaps you do.
ABOUT
Sarada Peri is a writer and founder of Peri Communications.
She was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Speechwriter for President Barack Obama. Prior to joining the White House, she was a Principal at West Wing Writers, where she worked with corporate, political and nonprofit clients on speechwriting, speech delivery, op-eds, books, and message strategy. She was also a member of the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Democratic National Convention speechwriting teams.
A recovering policy wonk, Sarada worked on Capitol Hill as lead education and health care policy advisor to former Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA). She started her career as a high school English teacher in New Orleans through Teach for America.
Sarada graduated from Tufts University and holds a Master in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School.
Feel free to ask her how to pronounce her name.