Who's with Me? with W. Kamau Bell

Kamau Bell is known for embracing uncomfortable conversations that acknowledge differences, confront embarrassment, and change people’s perspectives. Throughout his career, Kamau has talked with everyone from KKK members to Oprah Winfrey to strangers on the streets. Each time, Kamau fills these conversations with humor, heart, and intellect, showing that a simple conversation can lead to surprising revelations and spark change, one person at a time. Kamau brings all that and more to his new weekly podcast, Who’s With Me? Inspired by Kamau’s popular Substack newsletter of the same name, Who’s With Me? is more than just a simple question. It is an invitation to connect, a call to action, and a reassuring pat on the shoulder in these increasingly hectic times.  In every episode, Kamau addresses what has caught his attention in the current cultural or political landscape. He also sits down with someone he admires deeply—a time for Kamau to give them their flowers, ask his most burning questions, and invite his guest to give him and his audience homework on how to make the world a better place. Kamau will talk to celebrities, his fellow comedians, his fellow Oaklanders, activists, and sometimes he will talk to someone like Daveed Diggs, who is all of that in one body. So… who’s with Kamau? New episodes every Wednesday. 

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  1. 19h ago

    Bao Nguyen on Making Every Frame Matter

    The interview opens with Kamau giving flowers to fellow documentary filmmaker Bao Nguyen and praising the breadth and quality of his work. Kamau recounts first meeting Bao through the Bruce Lee documentary "Be Water," then being surprised by the announcement of "The Greatest Night in Pop", which he attended with Tom Morello. Kamau was also excited and a bit jealous upon learning Bao was making a Jimi Hendrix documentary.   The conversation turns to Bao's filmmaking philosophy, particularly his serious approach to cinematography, rooted in his background as a photographer. Both discuss the collaborative nature of working with cinematographers and the deliberate visual choices made in each film.   They then discuss "The Stringer" in depth, a film investigating the true authorship of the iconic "Napalm Girl" photograph from the Vietnam War. Bao reflects on the challenge of disrupting a celebrated narrative within the Vietnamese American community, acknowledging a generational divide over whether to confront or leave such histories undisturbed.   Discussion moves to "The Greatest Night in Pop," covering the making of "We Are the World." Bao explains his initial skepticism about the song's corniness, but a chance encounter with a Vietnamese taxi driver playing it convinced him of its universal resonance. He framed the film as a heist story rather than a standard music documentary. Notably, Sheila E's candid account of feeling sidelined during the recording session highlights Bao's commitment to honesty.   The interview closes with a discussion of "BTS: The Return," a fly-on-the-wall film that follows BTS as they record an album after military service. He recommends documentaries including "Stop Making Sense," "Minding the Gap," "Hoop Dreams," "Shirkers," and "Mistress Dispeller".   Donate to the IRC at  help.rescue.org and Boat People SOS at bpsos-cca.org    Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Bao Nguyen on Making Every Frame Matter
  2. Sep 16

    Guy Branum on Being Unapologetic

    Kamau kicks off the episode by reconnecting with comedian and writer Guy Branum, noting they haven't seen each other in person in a while but keep up via social media. Kamau gives Branum his flowers and recalls their time working together on Totally Biased. Kamau praises Branum for refusing to be sidelined in the entertainment industry despite having a law degree and facing industry bias against gay and larger performers.   The conversation turns to Branum's solo show, "Be Fruitful," which explores his place in the world as a gay man who will never "be fruitful and multiply." Branum discusses taking the show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the ongoing work of refining it. Bell shares advice about performing at Edinburgh, including the importance of acknowledging local culture for the audience.   They discuss Branum's social media series "Old Gays Remember," which grew out of filming standup clips in West Hollywood, and touch on the changing diversity of writers' rooms in Hollywood since 2020.   The episode gets more serious when Branum addresses his public criticism of the film "The Whale" for its portrayal of fatness, and his broader experience of being overlooked for roles despite fitting the exact description required. Branum also shares nuanced views on the Israel-Palestine conflict as a Jewish man, emphasizing complexity over simplistic positions.   The episode lightens again with a discussion of Branum's appearance on regular Jeopardy after 20 years of taking the test.   Donate to Lambda Legal at lambdalegal.org, the ACLU at aclu.org, Teens of Color Abroad at teensofcolorabroad.org, and to Black Voters Matter at blackvotersmatterfund.org.   Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Guy Branum on Being Unapologetic
  3. Sep 9

    Ken Jennings on Carrying the Jeopardy! Legacy

    The interview opens with Kamau welcoming Ken Jennings and reflecting on how they first met at a Seattle Bumbershoot festival through comedian Doug Benson's podcast. They bond over the classic era of Twitter, agreeing that their generation of Gen Xers had one social media platform they tolerated before it deteriorated.   Kamau shares his admiration for Jennings as a Jeopardy! host, recalling how smooth and natural Jennings appeared when Bell appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy!. The two discuss how Jeopardy! built itself around Trebek over decades, and Jennings admits he was skeptical the show would survive after Trebek's passing.   Jennings describes the difficult circumstances of stepping into the hosting role, explaining that he was originally scheduled to guest host while Trebek underwent cancer treatment, only to receive a call the morning he was due to rehearse informing him that Trebek had died overnight. Jennings felt compelled to continue because crew members told him he reminded them of Trebek.   The conversation turns to Jeopardy!'s cultural significance, its loyal multigenerational audience, and its role as a rare steady long-term job in show business. Jennings discusses his hosting philosophy of receding into the background, following Trebek's ethos that the show should be about the players and clues.   The interview then addresses Jennings speaking out politically on issues including immigration enforcement, trans rights, and reproductive rights, with Jennings framing this as a matter of personal conviction rooted in his Latter-day Saints upbringing.   Donate to World Central Kitchen at wck.org and support Scarecrow Video at scarecrowvideo.org. Support families in Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan at  anera.org. Donate to immigration relief at alotrolado.org.   Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Ken Jennings on Carrying the Jeopardy! Legacy
  4. Sep 2

    Mo Willems on The Necessity of Art

    The interview opens with W. Kamau Bell welcoming Mo Willems (and later his wife Cher) to the podcast. Kamau explains that he has never fallen out of love with children's books, even as an adult.   The conversation quickly moves into a rich discussion about the nature of picture books. Willems describes them as songs rather than novels, meant to be experienced repeatedly, and argues that the reader supplies 51% of the book's meaning. He emphasizes that a writer's job is not to convey an idea but to recreate the discovery of that idea.   Willems then explains his creative process, describing how he separates creative time from reactive time and stays unreactive until after lunch. He discusses his "idea garden" notebook and the practice of auditioning characters before assigning them to stories. He reveals that each book begins with a philosophical question he does not yet know the answer to, and that "The Pigeon Needs a Bath" grew from his personal resistance to doing things he loves.   Mo's wife Cher joins the conversation, and the couple discusses their collaborative dynamic, describing themselves as co-philosophers who work out ideas together at the dinner table. The origin story of "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" is shared, including how Cher first tested it with kindergartners in a library and the children responded with enormous enthusiasm.   The interview closes with the Willems recommending local food pantries and regional food banks, as well as DonorsChoose, as causes they support. Willems ends with a reflection on generosity during difficult times.   Find and support your local food bank, and donate to DonorsChoose at donorschoose.org   Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Mo Willems on The Necessity of Art
  5. Aug 26

    Shannon Lee on Legacy and Wrath

    Kamau’s interview with Shannon Lee opens with a discussion about her role as steward of her father Bruce Lee’s legacy, which she frames as “stewarding” and “nurturing” rather than “parenting” his legacy, focusing on protecting its energy and helping people understand it beyond kicks and punches. She emphasizes Bruce’s philosophy of self-actualization and his four-step formula: research your own experience, accept what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is your own.   The conversation turns to her viral statement about being “tired of white men in Hollywood trying to tell me who Bruce Lee was,” rooted in Quentin Tarantino’s portrayal of Bruce in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which she calls less than kind, generous, and accurate. Drawing on a former Buddhist nun’s teaching, she distinguishes anger from “wrath,” describing wrath as a protective force deployed to defend compassion and prevent unnecessary suffering, and explains how Tarantino’s doubling down in the novelization and interviews pushed her into that protective wrath.   Shannon reflects on the toll of decades of legacy work: her introversion, “Bruce Lee exhaustion,” and the struggle to maintain her own identity while constantly “doing right” by her father. She describes ending relationships that didn’t have her best interests at heart and reframing the work as part of her legacy, guided not only by Bruce’s energetic boundaries but her own.   In addition to her father, she speaks about stewarding her brother Brandon Lee’s more constrained legacy, complicated by studio control over The Crow and unpaid merchandise royalties, which powerfully triggers her wrath.   The interview closes with her core practices: “be here now,” accept death so you’re not afraid to live, and trust that you are held by life and the universe, returning to simplicity as the remedy for complexity.   Support The Bruce Lee Foundation at https://bruceleefoundation.org, The AAKOMA Project at aakomaproject.org, and the Freedom Community Clinic at freedomcommunityclinic.org .   Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Shannon Lee on Legacy and Wrath
  6. Aug 19

    Sara Sidner on Protecting Your Humanity

    W. Kamau Bell opens the interview with Sara Sidner by giving her flowers and praising her long record of reporting from conflict zones.   Sidner explains her attraction to covering conflict despite disliking it, seeing it as a way to witness honesty and possibly help resolution, a dynamic she connects to her family background. She describes being mixed race, the “quintessential person to hate” for white supremacists, and her commitment to showing her humanity even to those who hate her, insisting she does not truly hate anyone.   The conversation turns to their shared experience as only children and Sidner’s deeply “country” childhood in North Florida: no shoes, many animals, and even picking up snakes, followed by a move to Miami Lakes and a more urban life. Her British mother from rural England ensured she knew her Black family and culture, giving her “double country” roots and vivid Southern Black church and music memories like “Great Balls of Fire.”   She recounts early poverty in Florida with no electricity, running water, or TV, pumping well water and entertaining herself outdoors, which later made television mesmerizing and helped spark her interest in journalism through shows like 60 Minutes and 20/20.   She describes how traumatic stories and war coverage live in her body, from George Floyd’s murder to bombed children in hospitals, and argues that external conflicts stem from unresolved inner conflicts and ego.   Sidner insists on being “human being first, journalist second,” willing to intervene in emergencies even if it “kills the story,” and says if she ever loses her humanity she must leave the profession.   Sara discusses publicly sharing her breast cancer diagnosis, the unexpected community of survivors it created, and her current “cancer‑free” status, while highlighting the Breast Cancer Research Fund’s work, especially on aggressive cancers and the 40% higher mortality risk for Black women.   Donate to the Breast Cancer Research Fund at give.bcrf.org   Chapters: 00:00:00 Conflict, Humanity, and War Coverage 00:10:04 Florida, Miami, and Multiple Lives 00:20:23 Education, Privilege, and Mom’s Work 00:32:03 Big J Journalism School, Low Pay, and Ethics 00:42:30 Human First, George Floyd, and Refusing to Lose Humanity 00:52:14 Cancer Journey   Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Sara Sidner on Protecting Your Humanity
  7. Aug 12

    Margaret Cho on Choosing to Matter

    Kamau chats with comedy legend Margaret Cho about her evolution from prodigy stand-up to comedy elder, activist, and craft‑obsessed lifer. They bond over their shared San Francisco roots and how he sees her as a “comedy mother.” Cho embraces that role, saying she loves taking ownership when younger comics build on what she did and “make it better.”   They dig into her landmark solo show I’m the One That I Want, which kicked open the door for comics to be vulnerable and “give a damn” onstage. Cho contrasts traditional self‑deprecation with a philosophy of self‑affirmation, arguing that comics can “choose yourself,” insist “I matter,” and avoid self‑deprecation that, for comics of color, can reestablish white supremacy in front of mostly white audiences.   Asked for her “state of the comedy universe,” she critiques the Kevin Hart roast as disheartening, praising Cheryl Underwood while condemning the racist jokes about lynching, George Floyd, and Underwood’s husband’s suicide, as ugly and unimaginative. This leads into a broader discussion of how comedy has drifted from speaking truth to power and punching up toward being “cozy with power,” with some comics mistaking racist or “forbidden word” jokes for genuine edginess.   Cho’s decades‑long LGBTQ advocacy runs through the episode. The host notes she identified as queer early and helped define the universe of what comedy could be, especially in San Francisco’s queer scene. She warns that comics “testing” boundaries around trans people without understanding the stakes contributes to real‑world harm: “when you take trans lives lightly… trans people die.” She calls current conditions “really sad” and “scary,” citing bathroom and identity laws, driver’s license issues, and the re‑legalization of conversion therapy, and says “we’re in the middle of a transgenocide” that demands action to keep trans people safe and restore equality.   The episode also touches on grief and community as Cho and the host remember their friend, brilliant but troubled comic Jim Short, reflecting on his neurodivergence, volatility, and genius, and wishing more people would discover his work.   Support Friendly House, which provides assistance for low‑income women dealing with addiction, at https://friendlyhousela.org.   Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Margaret Cho on Choosing to Matter
  8. Aug 5

    Open Mike Eagle on Life Beyond the Mainstream

    The interview opens, as always, with Kamau giving Open Mike Eagle his flowers. Open Mike Eagle is someone Kamau feels a lot of kinship with, both men being somewhat outsiders in their given crafts.   After, they shift to recalling how they met during the production of Kamau’s TV show Totally Biased, and the chaotic period when the show expanded to five nights a week.   Both describe their shared “over there” feeling, being spiritually outside mainstream entertainment spaces even when physically in LA or New York, and how that shapes their careers.   Mike recounts growing up on Chicago’s South Side, raised largely by grandparents, kept indoors because of neighborhood violence, and absorbing hours of MTV and The Comedy Channel, which helped form his alt-Black sensibility.   He explains discovering Chicago’s underground hip hop scene, breakdancing, graffiti, DJing, freestyling, and building a sense of self through that meritocratic culture. Initially scared of rap as a child, hearing Eazy-E with his mom, he later finds his lane in “art rap,” naming his first album Unapologetic Art Rap.   They discuss capitalism’s role in killing alternative rap once fans stopped buying records, and both agree American capitalism is the “ultimate villain” behind many social issues.   Mike describes his TV peak with The New Negroes alongside Method Man, Lizzo, and MF DOOM, then the emotional toll of Comedy Central’s handling and the network “shitting in his heart,” leading to no second season.   He describes his recent YouTube work—clips from Twitch, commentary on the Kendrick vs. Drake battle and Diddy’s arrest—and the tension between chasing algorithmic topics and only speaking on issues he genuinely cares about, like Jack Harlow and misogyny in hip hop.   They close with parenting and the manosphere: Mike’s 17-year-old son at a mostly white school, his constant effort to warn him that many online figures and artists “hate women,” and the need to fight those influences.   Mike offers a five-song “starter kit” for his catalog and shares a core life lesson: maintaining deep gratitude for improbable achievements—from underground success to seeing a billboard of his own TV show outside his bedroom window—even in lean years.   Check out Inglewood Mutual Aid at https://www.instagram.com/mutual_aid_inglewood/ and Los Angeles Mutual Aid at https://www.instagram.com/mutualaidactionlosangeles/    Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Open Mike Eagle on Life Beyond the Mainstream

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4.9
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About

Kamau Bell is known for embracing uncomfortable conversations that acknowledge differences, confront embarrassment, and change people’s perspectives. Throughout his career, Kamau has talked with everyone from KKK members to Oprah Winfrey to strangers on the streets. Each time, Kamau fills these conversations with humor, heart, and intellect, showing that a simple conversation can lead to surprising revelations and spark change, one person at a time. Kamau brings all that and more to his new weekly podcast, Who’s With Me? Inspired by Kamau’s popular Substack newsletter of the same name, Who’s With Me? is more than just a simple question. It is an invitation to connect, a call to action, and a reassuring pat on the shoulder in these increasingly hectic times.  In every episode, Kamau addresses what has caught his attention in the current cultural or political landscape. He also sits down with someone he admires deeply—a time for Kamau to give them their flowers, ask his most burning questions, and invite his guest to give him and his audience homework on how to make the world a better place. Kamau will talk to celebrities, his fellow comedians, his fellow Oaklanders, activists, and sometimes he will talk to someone like Daveed Diggs, who is all of that in one body. So… who’s with Kamau? New episodes every Wednesday. 

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