An Amazing First For British Journalist Omid Scobee And Robin Benway Royal Spin

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Hello and good morning, you too.

How are you doing today?

Good.

Great to be with you.

For you to collaborate and bring this story forward, my God, to me, this is the kind

of stuff that I would like to see in some sort of journalism class or a writing class

creative writing because to bring two thoughts of experience together, to create this, to

me, this is where we are right now in making stories and novels.

Right.

Well, I think the best work often comes from collaboration.

I think we could all learn this society from that.

But I think it's, you know, it's as a journalist, I obviously was very much stuck in my ways

of like thinking of the who, what, where and when of a story.

And I think collaborating with Robin really kind of taught me to break away from that thought

process and bring in the fiction of it all, you know, there was this moment where Robin

was like, you know, you realize you can make this up if you want.

And so there were moments where I'd put aside the notes and the journals that I had

kept over the years and just sort of like lean into that creative side too.

Oh my God, there have been many times that I have as a writer, I'll go, remember, you

haven't told anybody that this is a true story.

It might be based on a true story, but this gives you legal liberty to do whatever you

need to do to make this story a little bit different and exciting.

Exactly.

And I think, you know, we're so familiar with the current day British royal family.

And so we wanted to create this kind of alternate royal universe where the winzers have never

existed and it's a completely different set of royals, but I still wanted to like throw

the same challenges, the same crises.

And when you read the book, although there are fictional sets of characters, their experiences,

the way in which the palace runs, the descriptions of the rooms at the palace, that is all very

much based on the real life.

So you are kind of getting this peak behind the curtain and learning how the cookies

made.

Did he ever have to be told to put away the journalism tools and get back to storytelling?

Come on, tell me some dirt on this dude.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, you know, you have come to the wrong person.

I actually only have lovely things to say about only.

I mean, what I loved about working with him is, you know, I've written many books on

my own.

This is my first book I've ever been.

And just being able to talk to someone else about the imaginary people that we shared

in our brains was so nice and we were able to go back and forth and build a poem with

the other person had, you know, thought of and if he had an idea, then I'd be like, yes,

and then let's do this and let's do that.

And so I feel like he definitely had a journalistic brain in the very beginning.

He is incredibly detail oriented.

I think he caught every single typo in the entire book on his own.

But at the same time, he knows how to tell a story as do I.

And I think that's where we really met and that's where the story, the genesis of the

story came from.

See, I don't mind typos in the reason why because it takes me all the way back to Mark

Twain who said, if you don't use your own writing accent, then you are not being true

to yourself.

So when I see something like that or I hear a story, I'm going, go back to being true,

make the mistake because we do in everyday speak.

Exactly.

I think what was so fun about this was that, you know, Robbins American, I'm British.

And so coming together to tell a story of a culture clash, you know, the center of our

book is Lauren Morgan who worked at the White House press office who is head hunted and

drafted into the Bucky and Palace press office to kind of take over things there and

rid the family of the royal family of their streak of bad headlines.

And so working with someone that sees things differently to myself, we were able to really

bring that to our characters, bringing the different viewpoints.

So any moment where we did clash or sort of disagree on something actually translated

really well on the page because that's exactly what these characters are also dealing.

So now Robin, let me ask you, because he's the one that brought it up saying that he's

British and you're American, okay, now I have difficulties sometime understanding the

British humor.

What about you and did you have to sit him down and go, we're going to work on this together

okay?

No, no, I actually love the British sense of humor, I love a good sarcastic joke.

So we never had any sort of translation issues in regard to the British humor.

We definitely, you know, one of the things our character experiences is very much this

fish out of water experience of going from the White House to Buckingham Palace, going

to this esteemed tradition where they do not look upon change with any sort of warmth

at all.

And, you know, having an American and a Brit work together, I experienced a lot of what

Lauren was going through, only would say she should bring in donuts on her first day,

but no one's going to like donuts.

And I would say, who would it like donuts?

That seems lovely, who would want to enjoy that?

So I feel like that's really where our culture's clash was on the page that we speak.

The Brits are suspicious of anything and I saw that in the palace, you know, I remember

when Harry first started dating Megan, and he introduced the tool to staff that.

And I remember a couple of the staff members saying to me, oh, she seems nice, but she's

she hugs a lot like as if it was like a crime.

And of course, like Megan went in there thinking like she's going to be warm.

I'm a hugger.

And that just didn't work in that space.

And so you can really go in with good intentions, but it isn't always going to go the way

in which you planned.

Please tell me that when you turn this into moving pictures, that that it's going

to be more than just a movie, it's got to be like Emily in Paris, because I mean, it's

got to be like five seasons, 12 episodes per season.

And then with that opportunity for us to say, I know there's a six the all in them.

Come on.

Give us another season, because that's what this story has.

It's got that vibration about it to where I don't want the story to end.

Well, I'm so glad you think that way we have we're in the process of developing the

TV adaptation of this and building out that exact universe that you speak about.

I think Emily in Paris is a great comparison, but I also think we really want to lean into

that kind of like West Wing feel of it all.

You really pull back the curtain behind kind of a historic institution and get to see

how it works, the people that I never talked about in the news coverage, but are actually

making the headlines happen.

I would love to see in real life what an American going to Buckingham Palace to work there

would be like, because my first mother-in-law would be the one that would bring in all of

her dishes from the royal family that she got in the National Enquirer.

Look what I've got.

I should be working here.

This should be proof that I should be working here.

I'm guessing she has a thimble collection.

Oh my God.

I'm sure she remembers the thimble.

Because I mean that in itself, that is that is a connection because I gotta be honest

here.

I have dreamed what would it be like if I were there?

Would I be somebody out?

Would I be wearing the uniform?

Would I be inside just mopping the floors?

I don't care.

I work there.

And that's what I would I feel in this is that it's one of those moments where we're all

invited beyond the doors.

Yes.

Yeah, so many films and TV shows about the royals have always focused on the front side

of the royal family.

The royal family members themselves are the front of the palace, the state rooms, the

grand spaces, but actually just like a grand five star hotel, despite the fancy front,

the back end of it is going to be pretty ugly.

It's going to be a working space and it's going to be something that you never as a guest

get to see.

And so that's the same in royal spin.

And you're reading about those kind of like back end trances to the palace and the kind

of crusty comms office with its peeling paint on the walls and dripping pipes in the ceiling.

That's very much based on reality.

You know, it is a kind of shoestring budget operation holding this very grand institution

together.

Now, Robin, I gotta get up close and personal on this one in the way that because it

does have places where I can laugh, it does have places where I'm heavily entertained.

Do you run this by the king, Mr. Charles himself and go, you know what, I hear this story

and then, and then do you, are you modern day gestures in other words, you are entertaining

the king.

I don't know that it goes that far per se.

We did not actually run anything past king Charles as you can probably imagine.

You know, we just wanted to put a book together that was really fun.

That would be something that would kind of maybe take people out of their current, you

know, current event experiences where they could recharge and enjoy it.

I always say that if I hadn't written this book, I would absolutely take it on a plane

with me to read on a plane.

That's where a lot of the humor comes from.

There's a lot of love in the book as well.

There's not just romance.

There's the idea of loving your friends of your relationships with your family and, you

know, even your co-workers and those relationships as well.

And so we just wanted to take a very, very big institution and sort of peel back the curtains

a little bit.

I'm glad that you brought that up about reading it on an airplane because I will go into

one of those bookstores and go, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, because there's

a vibe about an airplane read.

And this, you're absolutely right.

This one has that vibe.

Yeah, there are some movies that you would never watch on a plane.

You want that kind of like fun 90 to 100 minute entertainment that is going to make you feel

good.

You're going to get some laughs, some emotions.

And I think the book really captures that, you know, although it's not a romance novel,

we do have a love triangle at the center of it.

And I think, well, how can you go wrong with that?

You know, we've got a press officer from the US who is torn between a royal correspondent

and a member of the royal family.

And I think that in itself is sort of like something that a lot of people have probably

fantasized.

I'm being in the middle of it at some point, but I haven't actually experienced that.

Please do not move.

There's more with Umid and Robin coming up next.

This is Mike Volo of Lexicon Valley.

And Bob Garfield, are you one of those people who sometimes uses words?

Do you communicate or acquire information with, you know, language?

Hey, us too.

So join us on Lexicon Valley to true over the history, culture, and many mysteries of

English, plus some ice cracks.

Find us on one of those apps where people listen to podcasts.

Hi, this is Alex Cantrowitz.

I'm the host of Big Technology podcast, a long time reporter and an on air contributor

to CNBC.

And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how artificial intelligence is changing

the business world and our lives.

So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech

and outsiders trying to influence it, asking where this is all going.

They come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more.

So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, and meetings

with your colleagues and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology podcast,

wherever you get your podcasts, the name of the book Royal Spin.

We are back with the author's omidscopy and Robin Benway.

Now in reality, couldn't Lauren be a guy or a girl and that them would make that

open the door for guys to read this as well.

If we, if they just see themselves in Lauren, they'll sit there and go, I guess I have been

thinking about this my entire life because the royal family has been in front of us

the entire way.

Yes.

I firmly believe that books have no gender.

I think anybody can read whatever book that they would like to read.

Yeah.

So what was the best part of writing?

Because I mean, if you're collaborating and you're sharing ideas, you had to have had

a Beatles moment where you go, you know, John, that's not really what I was looking for.

We're very happy with Flattered that you would compare our experience to the Beatles first

of all.

It wasn't quite like that, however.

You know, the author, John Paterson says that collaboration is kind of like the way in

which the world could go, move around beautifully.

And I think that Robin and I coming together bringing the kind of bests of our craft has

like created a book that I don't think kind of happened when written by one person.

It needed to be grounded in the real experiences that I brought to the forefront, but also

needed a master of, you know, Robin who brings the characters to life in a way that I think

very few authors that I've read in recent years do, you know, it's not just the main characters

in this book that jump out, it's those on the peripheral.

And as you say, yes, we do have a female protagonist, but this is very much like a workplace

comedy drama, you know, it is the people in that space, the other characters, the friendships

happening there, the politics between all of them, that's what makes this really special

Yeah, because I mean, there are times where I sit there and because as a radio guy, I know

what we do when we have teams together, who's going to be the one that's going to speak

underneath their breath?

And I feel like that there's a lot that goes on inside this story where it's somebody

who's holding their composure, but underneath their breath, they're, they're thinking things.

And it's like, that's what I love about this book.

It's got that realm of reality to it that it's like, oh, you just said that underneath

your breath.

I know you did.

To me, that is my favorite kind of fiction to read, definitely fiction, definitely parallel

universe, but so rooted in reality, I read a quote recently that said, the more personal

the story, the more relatable it is.

And I think that's very true.

Yeah, but to get it relatable though, I mean, you're pulling from omid, who's actually

been inside and, and I'm sure omid, you've had to be the prim the proper, you've got

to be dressed well, you've got to address well.

And now you've got to share it with Robin here, it's like, how you become the coach,

omid.

I've also been the one that gets it wrong when I joined, when I joined, when I joined

the Royal B, it was like 2011, I was a younger journalist with a different journalist

background to the others in the press pack.

And I did things differently, I had a different outlook, I dressed differently to the others.

And so I remember that feeling of being an outsider and wanting to try and stick to

who I was throughout it, despite the pressures to conform throughout.

And as a journalist, you obviously want to tell the best story, not the story that Palace

want you to tell, or that the other journalists are doing.

And so standing out, going against the grain is always really difficult.

And we see Lauren kind of experienced that throughout the book, moments where she feels

pressure to conform to the way things are done, but also to stick true to what she believes

best and what will make her not only stand out as the comms officer at Buckingham Palace,

but will also do good for the Royal family in the future.

Are you thinking about follow-up stories to turn this into a series?

Because I mean, I could see this go the next time around, you flip flop, but you come

to the States or you go to Canada, because it would be interesting to see a story like

this inside the local government of Victoria, British Columbia.

And just so that you can see the different angles and the comparisons of all these characters.

We definitely would love, we have characters in this book that we would love to explore

further, and further story, we were at lunch recently together and, you know, I just

said, oh my, you know, it would be great if this happens.

So we're always thinking forward.

We definitely want to keep it rooted in Buckingham Palace just because the stories are never

ending there.

And, you know, fodder for future books as well.

But yeah, we, I think at the end of the day, we truly love the story and we love these

characters. And we just want to see what happens to them next.

So that is it like keeping a journal then, oh, my, because I mean, because there are

experiences in here that I just have this feeling that you went through, but you had to put

it into what I call hidden speak.

You had to write it in a creative way that didn't identify that you actually lived

it, but you did.

Yeah.

And I wouldn't say that there's necessarily secrets.

I'm always really open about kind of the way things have worked.

And that space and my own experiences.

But it was really fun to apply those to the characters in this book.

It wasn't any specific person.

I think what felt right in each scene was just to kind of bring what I felt was, would

actually happen.

And having been through, you know, listen, I've been in with the royals.

I've been on the outs with the royals.

I've been favored by the press office.

I've been loathed by the press office.

And so I have seen all sides of it.

And so that really helped in terms of like the spectrum of experiences that are in the

book.

All right.

Now, how did you handle this then, Robin?

In the way of the book clearly states, duty, loyalty, success and happiness, happiness

is number four.

You're from America, Robin.

The happiness should be up there like in the top two.

You know, it is.

That is definitely one of the culture clashes that Omit and I had was, you know,

not that we clash, but just this idea of a Brit or especially somebody who's working

for the palace.

It is duty above all else.

I think we've seen that in other forms of media, like the car, for example, but that

is where the initial tension is with our heroine is she is from America.

She is very ambitious.

She is aggressive.

She, you know, we are taught the, you know, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,

at least here in America.

And so I feel like having that list of things be inverted for Lauren,

is something that she really has to understand and start to figure out from a new perspective.

God, I would love to see your guys as emails and everything else that's attached to social

media because I know how many people are going to think of themselves as being in this

book.

And because you present it that way, you open the door for us to say, yeah, I could do

this.

I could do it.

That's me.

Well, and that's the fun of it.

You know, when I covered the royals, I was always thinking like, what if, like, what

if they didn't say no comment, what if they actually admitted it, what if they actually

put out a statement that addressed whatever claims or concerns were being called upon

by the public or the press.

And so it was fun to be able to throw that in this book and see the other side of it.

You know, one of our fun characters in the book is Joy the Diversity's R, which is a

title that the panelists came up with, but it was something that they had teased around

the time of the Harry and Meghan race scandals that they said, oh, we're going to hire a

diversity's arm.

We're going to bring the palace into the modern age.

And then it never happened.

So in the book, I'm like, okay, well, let's hire one.

Let's see what that might do, will it, will it make any, make any change?

And even today with the stuff going on with Andrew, you know, as a result of years of sweeping

things under the rug and saying no comment to press or turning a blind eye to things,

we've seen in the most recent revelations, like how bad things actually were and also

how much people knew behind the scenes.

And so of course, that creates distrust from the public who think, okay, well, you never

were open about this in the first place.

You never did anything about it, even behind closed doors.

And so again, I think with Lauren, she really brings a lot of stuff from the dark out into

the light.

That's really uncomfortable for this old, stayed institution that would like to never complain,

never explain.

Now, you know the next time that you and I share a conversation about your books, oh,

made, I'm going to sit here and say, now, did you build this story or is this actual?

I mean, because I need to know, because I read the novel, I got to figure out if you

read for your spot on here.

So, so now you've retrained my thinking, sir.

Well, I listen, anything you ever want to know about the book, I'm always happy to

long story.

And I, but I think it's fun, you know, when people read this, of course, like people

are going to try and figure out what is real, what isn't, but I will say that like when

you are reading the descriptions of these spaces in the palace, that no one has ever

really written about before, it is from experience, these are places that I spent time in.

I think we've got a great scene in the palace, staff cafeteria, and I remember the first

time seeing that someone describing to me the cliques at every table, just like a American

high school.

You know, you had the popular ones on one table, you had the gossipy garden party organizer

ladies, you had the Queens bagpiper in the corner, sulking, because he never likes to sit

next to anyone.

You had the royal historians, like the war capes and had like twirly moustaches, and it

was like straight out of central casting.

And these are the fun things that I think no one ever gets to see about the palace.

And so we really had a great time putting it in the book.

Wow.

As you can imagine, that cafeteria scene lit my fiction brain on fire, I could not wait

to write that scene.

Oh, there's going to be more coming from you guys.

Please come back to this show anytime in the future.

The door is always going to be open for you.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Thank you very much.

Will you be brilliant today, you two?

Thank you.

Enjoy that.

Have a great day.

Great.

Thank you.

Thanks for having me.

The sun shining, birds are singing, and all feels right in the world.

Until the season changes, and suddenly you lose your motivation to get out of bed.

In fact, one in five people experience some form of depression no matter the season or

time of year.

At the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, our vision is to build a mentally healthy

nation for all because we want you to live your best life and be your best you all year

round.

Please visit mentallyhealthynation.org to learn more.