Politically Re-Active with W. Kamau Bell & Hari Kondabolu

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Politically Re-Active with W. Kamau Bell & Hari Kondabolu

W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu are comedians who take politics seriously — and longtime friends, trying to help keep each other sane. Join them as they pull the alarm on the dumpster fire that is American politics, and talk to the creators, thinkers, and leaders doing the work to defend and reinvent our democracy.

  1. W. Kamau Bell on Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

    03/28/2022

    W. Kamau Bell on Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

    We're sharing an episode from our friends over at Talk Easy. Kamau sits down with host Sam Fragoso to discuss his four-part docuseries We Need to Talk About Cosby. They talk about Kamau's reluctance to talk about Bill Cosby, whose legacy became something he decided to publicly grapple with. You'll hear about Kamau's approach to the series, the integral women who helped create it, and a formative United Shades of America moment that transformed the way he encounters and tells painful stories. Plus, how the project permanently altered Kamau’s course. You can listen to more episodes of Talk Easy at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/politicallyreactivetalkeasy See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    38 min
  2. Season Finale: MY BAD

    04/08/2021

    Season Finale: MY BAD

    Hari and Kamau face up to their mistakes before it's too late. And we all learn so much.Rosa Clemente calls bullshit on Puerto Rican statehood—and gives a crash course on the Puerto Rican people’s historic struggle for self-determination.Yasmin Benoit unpacks the basics of asexuality and shares asexual perspectives on libido, attraction, romance, and kids.And Oren Nimni talks Cargill v. Doe and Nestle v. Doe—the Supreme Court cases about cocoa, corporate America, and child slavery we should have asked Neal Katyal about.Plus: The disturbing revelation that Hari is in fact a "strawberry man".Find our guests:Rosa Clemente (@rosaclemente) https://rosaclemente.netYasmin Benoit (@theyasminbenoit) Oren Nimni (@orennimni) https://www.currentaffairs.org/author/oren-nimniMentioned on the show:War Against All Puerto Ricans https://waragainstallpuertoricans.comNaomi Klein: The Battle for Paradise https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1235-the-battle-for-paradiseCorredor Afro https://corredorafro.org/inicio/The Asexual Visibility and Education Network https://asexuality.orgJust Security: Nestle/Cargill v. Doe https://www.justsecurity.org/tag/nestle-cargill-v-doe-symposium/ Find us:Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) http://www.harikondabolu.com/W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) http://www.wkamaubell.com/Find the show:Twitter (@PoliticReActive)Facebook (@politicallyreactive)Instagram (@politicallyreactive)Produced by Topic Studios. Part of the WarnerMedia Podcast Network.Full credits. www.PoliticallyReActive.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 25m
  3. Ilana Glazer + Sex Work Without Shame

    04/01/2021

    Ilana Glazer + Sex Work Without Shame

    LaLa B Holston-Zannell invites Hari and Kamau to let go of the shame and have a real conversation about sex work, white supremacy, and why decriminalization is a matter of life and death for trans Black women.Then Ilana Glazer talks about mobilizing young voters during a pandemic, the pros and cons of baby modeling, and how to make a horror movie about fertility treatments. And yeah, "Yas queen."Find our guests:LaLa B Holston-Zannell (@LaLaZannell) https://www.aclu.org/news/by/lala-b-holston-zannell/Ilana Glazer (@ilazer) ACLU: It's Time to Decriminalize Sex Work https://www.aclu.org/sexworkVeneno https://www.hbomax.com/venenoPOSE https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/poseGenerator Collective https://www.generatorcollective.comIndivisible https://indivisible.orgBessemer Amazon Union https://bamazonunion.org Find us:Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) http://www.harikondabolu.com/W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) http://www.wkamaubell.com/Find the show:Twitter (@PoliticReActive)Facebook (@politicallyreactive)Instagram (@politicallyreactive)Produced by Topic Studios. Part of the WarnerMedia Podcast Network.Full credits. www.PoliticallyReActive.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 17m
  4. Chase Strangio + Dr. Connie Wun + Derek DelGaudio

    03/25/2021

    Chase Strangio + Dr. Connie Wun + Derek DelGaudio

    Three powerful, absolutely-nothing-like-one-another conversations on this week's jam-packed mega-episode:The ACLU's Chase Strangio blows open the absurdity and cruelty of state legislation targeting trans youth who want to play sports—and agrees with Hari about Rodney Dangerfield's relevance to the conversation.Dr. Connie Wun lifts up the humanity of the victims of the spa killings near Atlanta and connects their murders to America's long history of racist and colonial violence against Asians and Asian-Americans. And she makes the case that cops won't end hate crimes—but organized communities can.Then Derek DelGaudio, creator of In & Of Itself and author of AMORALMAN, communes with Kamau about magic, identity, performance, and only-childness.Find our guests:Chase Strangio (@chasestrangio) https://www.aclu.org/news/by/chase-strangio/Dr. Connie Wun (@conniewunphd) https://www.conniewunphd.comDerek DelGaudio (@derek_del) Trans-led orgs recommended by Chase:Transformation Project (South Dakota) https://www.transformationprojectsd.org Transgender Education Network of Texas https://www.transtexas.orgGrassroots orgs highlighted by Connie:AAPI Women Lead https://www.imreadymovement.orgAdvancing Justice https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.orgCAAAV https://caaav.orgDRUM: Desis Rising Up and Moving https://www.drumnyc.orgRed Canary Song https://www.redcanarysong.netVietLead https://www.vietlead.orgVietRISE https://vietrise.org18 Million Rising https://18millionrising.orgAlso mentioned in the show:Disclosure http://www.disclosurethemovie.com/about Find us:Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) http://www.harikondabolu.com/W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) http://www.wkamaubell.com/Find the show:Twitter (@PoliticReActive)Facebook (@politicallyreactive)Instagram (@politicallyreactive)Produced by Topic Studios. Part of the WarnerMedia Podcast Network.Full credits. www.PoliticallyReActive.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 45m
  5. Soledad O'Brien + Desmond Meade

    03/18/2021

    Soledad O'Brien + Desmond Meade

    Desmond Meade, who led the campaign to restore voting rights to the formerly incarcerated in Florida, returns to talk about Gov. Ron DeSantis's decision to deny him a pardon and renewed threats to democratic participation in his state. But in spite of it all, Desmond's excitement about people exercising the franchise is infectious.Then, Emmy-winning journalist Soledad O'Brien is ready to Disrupt & Dismantle structural racism in her new BET series—and to call out cable news for its role in spreading disinformation.Plus: Hari admits that for him "new music" means Baby Beluga, and Kamau reveals The Goal of Life.Find our guests:Desmond Meade (@desmondmeade) https://floridarrc.com/desmond-meade/Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) https://soledadobrienproductions.comMentioned in the show:Silk Sonic, "Leave the Door Open" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adLGHcj_fmAFlorida Rights Restoration Coalition https://floridarrc.comACLU of Florida https://www.aclufl.orgDisrupt & Dismantle https://www.bet.com/shows/disrupt-and-dismantle.htmlComedian and Filmmaker Hari Kondabolu on Comedy, Culture and Maintaining Your Integrity https://www.culturedmag.com/comedian-and-filmmaker-hari-kondabolu-on-comedy-culture-and-maintaining-your-integrity/Brontez Purnell Explores Intimacy and Longing in New Book 100 Boyfriends https://www.culturedmag.com/brontez-purnell-100-boyfriends/ Find us:Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) http://www.harikondabolu.com/W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) http://www.wkamaubell.com/Find the show:Twitter (@PoliticReActive)Facebook (@politicallyreactive)Instagram (@politicallyreactive)Produced by Topic Studios. Part of the WarnerMedia Podcast Network.Full credits. www.PoliticallyReActive.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 13m
  6. Dr. Rhea Boyd + The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears

    03/11/2021

    Dr. Rhea Boyd + The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears

    Do Black people have an attitude problem about the COVID-19 vaccine? Dr. Rhea Boyd says absolutely not—the problem is lack of access to the vaccine and to real information. So she's launched BetweenUsAboutUs, a national campaign with Black doctors, scientists, and health care professionals (and a certain podcast host), to give Black communities the resources they need to make informed choices and get vaccinated.Then Kamau and Hari have the conversation that every politically engaged basketball fan dreams of with Marc J. Spears, Senior NBA writer for The Undefeated. Hear the full story of how the league shut down after the police killing of Jacob Blake, the underappreciated impact NBA players had on the 2020 election, and what it will take for Becky Hammon to get a real shot as the league's first female head coach. Marc also attempts to convert our resident Knicks fan to the Nets. It doesn't work.Plus: Hari's anticolonialist recap of Oprah's takedown of the British royal family.Find our guests:Dr. Rhea Boyd (@RheaBoydMD) https://rheaboyd.comMarc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) https://theundefeated.comMentioned in the show:BetweenUsAboutUs https://www.betweenusaboutus.orgNYT Opinion: Black People Need Better Vaccine Access, Not Better Vaccine Attitudes https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/opinion/us-covid-black-people.html Find us:Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) http://www.harikondabolu.com/W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) http://www.wkamaubell.com/Find the show:Twitter (@PoliticReActive)Facebook (@politicallyreactive)Instagram (@politicallyreactive)Produced by Topic Studios. Part of the WarnerMedia Podcast Network.Full credits. www.PoliticallyReActive.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 30m
  7. Neal Katyal + Amber Ruffin + Lacey Lamar

    03/04/2021

    Neal Katyal + Amber Ruffin + Lacey Lamar

    Amber Ruffin's career is really taking off (FYI, The Amber Ruffin Show is now on NBC), and she and her sister Lacey Lamar are as close as ever, trading stories about the crazy everyday racist behavior Lacey encounters in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Their book You Won't Believe What Happened to Lacey is necessary reading for anyone who doesn't understand how enough microagressions and you'll want to flip a table. Hari and Kamau also talk to top litigator and former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal about facing the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland vs. the insurrectionists, and how the right uses affirmative action to divide Asian Americans from Black and Latino Americans. Plus: Arjun unbound!Find our guests:Neal Katyal @neal_katyal https://www.nealkatyal.comAmber Ruffin @ambermruffin https://youllneverbelievelacey.comMentioned in the show:Billie Joe Armstrong on Brontez Purnell’s ‘White Boy Music’: ‘Blast This On a Big-Ass Speaker' https://bit.ly/3sKHFZAHow to win an argument (at the US Supreme Court, or anywhere) | Neal Katyal https://bit.ly/30b8MRu Find us:Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) http://www.harikondabolu.com/W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) http://www.wkamaubell.com/Find the show:Twitter (@PoliticReActive)Facebook (@politicallyreactive)Instagram (@politicallyreactive)Produced by Topic Studios. Part of the WarnerMedia Podcast Network.Full credits. www.PoliticallyReActive.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 24m
  8. Marc Lamont Hill + Kamau's Mom

    02/25/2021

    Marc Lamont Hill + Kamau's Mom

    Can we talk about Palestine? Dr. Marc Lamont Hill (who, admittedly, calls himself "a prisoner of hope") says we can, and that Americans are ready to even if our government isn't. He joins Hari and Kamau for a conversation that encompasses Michael Che, Bill Clinton, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the Columbia House record club. Then Kamau's Mom, Janet Cheatham Bell, talks about structural racism in healthcare and her distrust of the pharmaceutical industry—and why none of that stopped her from getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Plus: a surprisingly-detailed analysis of the NBA MVP race.Find our guests: Dr. Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) https://www.marclamonthill.comJanet Cheatham Bell (@CheathamBell) https://www.janetcheathambell.com Mentioned in the show:Marc Lamont Hill + Mitchell Plitnick Except for Palestine https://thenewpress.com/books/except-for-palestinePlaygrounds for Palestine https://playgroundsforpalestine.orgUncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books https://www.unclebobbies.com Find us:Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) http://www.harikondabolu.com/W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) http://www.wkamaubell.com/Find the show:Twitter (@PoliticReActive)Facebook (@politicallyreactive)Instagram (@politicallyreactive)Produced by Topic Studios. Part of the WarnerMedia Podcast Network.Full credits. www.PoliticallyReActive.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 32m
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W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu are comedians who take politics seriously — and longtime friends, trying to help keep each other sane. Join them as they pull the alarm on the dumpster fire that is American politics, and talk to the creators, thinkers, and leaders doing the work to defend and reinvent our democracy.

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