Politically Re-Active with W. Kamau Bell & Hari Kondabolu
86 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 3.5K ratingsW. 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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Episodes
Political Analyst Angela Rye Calls It Like It Is
May 11, 2017 07:00 - 57 minutes - 52.7 MBIt’s hard to find a bright spot in the 2016 election, but born woke, political commentator and analyst Angela Rye was one. A regular on CNN’s thuderdome-like panels, Angela doesn’t mince words calling out lies and advocating for people of color and women. In this episode of #politicallyreactive we speak with Angela about authenticity and difficult conversations. Click “play” to find out why Angela is not trying to be objective. Follow Angela on Twitter (@angela_rye ). Book tours, TV show...
Getting Adversarial with Journalist Jeremy Scahill
May 04, 2017 07:00 - 52 minutes - 48 MBFolks on both the left and the right have a love-hate relationship with reporter and Intercept co-founder Jeremy Scahill. His brand of “adversarial” investigative journalism makes no exceptions – not for the nation’s most powerful, and especially not for those advocating for wars abroad. In this episode of #politicallyreactive, we talk with Jeremy about his refusal to sit on a panel with Milo Yiannopoulos on Real Time with Bill Maher, what it was like to interview Julian Assange for the Inter...
Aasif Mandvi on the Gaslighting Presidency
April 27, 2017 07:35 - 59 minutes - 54.3 MBYou probably got to know him as the “Senior Middle East Correspondent,” or the “Senior Muslim Correspondent,” or maybe the “Senior Foreign Looking Correspondent”, but actor, writer, and former Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi has moved into the hot seat for this episode of Politically Re-Active. Join Aasif and your favorite hosts as they talk about political satire during the Bush years, Aasif’s reaction to the Muslim ban and the “gaslighting presidency”, and what it means to “wrestle yo...
Michael Skolnik on Being a White Woke Guy
April 19, 2017 07:37 - 54 minutes - 49.7 MBLong before we asked our white audience members to “come get your boy” (keep tweeting!: #WhitesAgainstTrump), activist and entrepreneur Michael Skolnik was using his privilege to support social justice movements and reform the criminal justice system all over the country. Whether it’s getting “I can’t breathe” t-shirts to LeBron James, advising celebrities making their first foray into political activism, or supporting grassroots organizers, Skolnik is all about listening to and building up o...
Journalist Alia Malek on What We're Missing When We Talk About About Syria
April 12, 2017 09:04 - 55 minutes - 51.3 MBIt’s been six years of the devastating civil war in Syria – more than 11 million people have been displaced, and last week’s horrifying chemical attack on Syrian citizens by their own president Bashar al-Assad has been yet another reminder of the human cost of the conflict. On this episode of Politically Re-Active, journalist and author Alia Malek helps contextualize the war and shares her own experiences of living in Damascus during the start of the conflict. Alia recommends following these ...
YouTube's Akilah Hughes on #BlackWomenAtWork & Feeding The Buzz
April 05, 2017 09:00 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBOur guest this week is Akilah… obviously! Akilah Hughes – otherwise known as Akilah Obviously – is a writer, comedian, and YouTuber who talks as easily about race, feminism, and intersectionality as she does pizza, hair, and punching Nazis. In this conversation, our hosts chat with Akilah about her life as a creator and the videos she’s most proud of (like the fantastic series, “This Shouldn’t Be News”). We also dive into what it’s like to be a black woman in media in the time of #blackwomena...
Patrisse Khan-Cullors on Black Lives Matter & Resistance under 45
March 29, 2017 08:39 - 1 hour - 67.9 MBKick off Season 2 with your favorite hosts and grassroots organizer, resistance fighter, and #blacklivesmatter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors! We dig into why Patrisse identifies as an organizer and not an activist, what it was like to see #blacklivesmatter go viral, and the fear – and courage – that goes along with being viewed as an enemy of the state. There’s no other person we’d rather laugh and resist with than Patrisse – and you. Follow Patrisse on Twitter: @osope. You can also learn...
Season Two Trailer!
March 22, 2017 16:00 - 2 minutes - 2.76 MBThe second season of Politically Re-Active launches March 29th! Be sure to subscribe now on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts, so you won't miss a thing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Season Two?
March 15, 2017 14:00 - 15 minutes - 13.8 MBKamau and Hari play catch up on the state of the world since last November. We hear some updates on past guests and they talk a little about who they might want to have on, if, you know, they were interested in doing another season... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Presenting Maeve in America
November 23, 2016 11:00 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MBThis week, we present a new podcast from our friend Maeve Higgins! Maeve grapples with perhaps the hottest topic of Trump’s USA: immigration. More importantly, she meets Roz Koo - business woman, activist, and professional butt-kicker of the highest order. Roz recounts a childhood in occupied Shanghai, a high flying career in 1980s San Francisco, and a bold life of service that merges two countries into one.Be sure to subscribe to Maeve in America so that you don't miss an episode! See omnys...
Facing the Future with CNN’s Jake Tapper
November 17, 2016 08:04 - 1 hour - 72.8 MBWhat do you do when a liar, xenophobe, misogynist, and racist becomes president? Get to work and do some damn good reporting if you’re guest Jake Tapper of CNN. In our final episode of the season, Kamau and Hari continue to process the reality of a Trump presidency by reading notes from our listeners who are also coping with the election results. Then, the guys talk with the CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent about the future of journalism, the elitism of the Democratic Party, and ...
Roxane Gay on Anger After the Election
November 10, 2016 11:12 - 1 hour - 70.3 MBThis week on Politically Re-Active, Kamau and Hari process the election results. Standup comedian Laurie Kilmartin and writer Roxane Gay join the guys to help make sense of a deeply painful moment in American history. From the costs to black and brown communities, to the culpability of the mainstream media, to what the future will actually look like following the end of Hillary’s historic run, there are many questions and few answers. This is not the post-election conversation we wanted to ha...
Voting Day Update About This Week's Show!
November 08, 2016 19:54 - 45 seconds - 767 KBOur show will be Thursday not Wednesday, but we've got the amazing Roxane Gay!You read that right, one of our all time favorite writers Roxane Gay will be joining us on this post-election recap/cool-down/anxiety fest. Check out her most recent piece in the New York Times "Voting with My Head and Heart." http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/opinion/sunday/voting-with-my-head-and-heart.htmlHope your voting day goes well, remember to call 866-OUR-VOTE if you have any issues! See omnystudio.com/list...
Comedian Hasan Minhaj on New Brown America and His Superpowers
November 02, 2016 07:31 - 1 hour - 77.3 MBAlso, what Chief Wahoo means for #NoDAPL and Native American rights.We’ve only got a few more episodes left in this season of Politically Re-Active, so we’re packing each show to the brim! First, Kamau and Hari call up Sterling HolyWhiteMountain of the Blackfeet Nation and CleveScene editor-in-chief Vince Grzegorek to get the down low on Cleveland’s racist baseball mascot. Then the hosts sit down with an old friend: Daily Show contributor and standup comedian Hasan Minhaj. Minhaj talks about...
Dr. Jill Stein on Investing Your Vote
October 26, 2016 09:49 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBIn spite of being called a long shot, Dr. Jill Stein aims to prove that the only wasted vote is the vote for the failed two-party system. The doctor, activist, and Green Party presidential nominee sits down with Kamau and Hari to talk about her political origins, diversifying the Green Party, her invitation to Bernie Sanders, and the rumors that have followed her throughout the campaign. That’s all in this week’s episode of Politically Re-Active!Learn more about Dr. Stein (the “other woman” o...
S. E. Cupp on being an Anti-Trump Conservative
October 19, 2016 07:04 - 1 hour - 59.9 MBThe first conservative guest in the history of Politically Re-Active opens up to Kamau and Hari about being a “Republican Translator,” how the GOP can win back Trump supporters, and America’s last remaining safe space: baseball. It’s a civil, respectful, aisle-crossing look at a garbage year in politics. Plus, Kamau defines a very gross word and Hari regrets a sexist joke.Keep up with S. E. Cupp on Twitter at @secupp, or find her work at http://thesecupp.com/.Catch Kamau and Hari at a venue n...
Comedian Zahra Noorbakhsh & Chicano Band Las Cafeteras are Everything Trump Fears
October 12, 2016 08:56 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBThe East LA band Las Cafeteras has a saying: “if we can’t dance together, we can’t move together.” The Chicano/Chicana group continues our discussion on the intersection of art and activism today: not just the fights and struggles of community movements, but the joy and laughter (and in their case, the dancing).And given perhaps the wildest weekend in this whole election, we brought in our favorite feminist muslim comedian Zahra Noorbakhsh to help us figure out what the hell just happened. Ye...
Rosa Clemente on Third Parties in a Broken System
October 05, 2016 07:26 - 45 minutes - 41.9 MBHip-hop activist, journalist, and community organizer Rosa Clemente has a few good reasons why she doesn’t rock with the Dems. For one, they keep trying to kick her party – the Green Party – off of state ballots. And don’t get her started on Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy! In this episode of Politically Re-Active, the Green Party’s ’08 vice presidential nominee talks about the personal consequences of being on a political ticket, why the Green Party is forced to go after the presidency, and...
Rachel Maddow on Donald Trump, Dick Cheney, and River Monsters
September 28, 2016 08:06 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBNot Loch Ness Monsters, River Monsters.Decompress from the presidential debate with your favorite hosts and this week’s guest, Rachel Maddow! With just under six weeks to go until the election, the author and TV icon gets real about Trump, from his chances of actually winning to his media strategy and finally to Mike Pence’s motivations for joining the ticket (the guy just needed a job). Rachel’s mission is to “increase the amount of useful information in the world,” and she does plenty of th...
Presidential Debate Tailgate with John Dickerson
September 21, 2016 09:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBThe host of CBS' Face the Nation talks about the skill of moderating presidential debates.In a first for Politically Re-Active, Kamau and Hari chat with a member of the mainstream media! John Dickerson is the host of CBS’s Face the Nation, and like Kamau, is a man of many podcasts (“Whistlestop,” anyone?). The veteran journalist and moderator extraordinaire stops by just in time for next week’s Hillary v. Trump showdown, offering pro tips on steering a presidential debate and explaining why i...
BONUS EPISODE: NoDAPL, Mailbag, & Our Old Pal Adam Mansbach
September 15, 2016 09:00 - 1 hour - 63 MBThe long-awaited Mailbag Episode!HOLD UP; WAIT A MINUTE – it’s a bonus episode in three acts! As Native tribes continue their protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Kamau and Hari catch up with the #NoDAPL movement by calling writer, filmmaker, and indigenous advocate, Benalex Dupris. Then we dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Politically Re-Active mailbag, from your questions about “being invited into whiteness” to Hari’s awkward relationship with John Brown. Last but not least:...
Jasiri X: Hip Hop and the Movement
September 14, 2016 09:00 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBAlso - bonus episode tomorrow!Before Kendrick Lamar electrified the Grammys and Beyonce got mainstream America in “Formation,” rapper Jasiri X was making music with a message. His social justice-inspired approach to hip hop has won him countless fans – Angela Davis, Harry Belafonte, and Chuck D, to name a few. Molded by his experiences as a teenager in Pittsburgh, Jasiri’s songs address the challenges and current events that affect people of color in America. In this episode, Jasiri talks wit...
Shaun King on Controversy, Color, and Kaepernick
September 07, 2016 08:00 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBAnd Kamau's musical take on the Star Spangled Banner.Our guest this week is known for his bold and relentless writing on racial injustice and police brutality. Surprise: the “alt right” is not a fan. They’ve accused New York Daily News Senior Justice reporter Shaun King of everything from theft to being the new Rachel Dolezal (remember her?). One of the most vocal members of the Black Lives Matter movement, King breaks down how BLM unites unlikely allies and is a true extension of the Civil R...
Lindy West on Seeing Women as Real People
August 30, 2016 21:51 - 49 minutes - 45.1 MBAnd how movies in the 80s were really kinda creepy.This week on Hari and Co. Politically Re-Active, Kamau and Hari chat with author, columnist and legendary internet-troll confronter, Lindy West! West delves into rape culture, the objectification of female Olympians, the perils of white feminism, and why her feelings on Hillary may be complicated, but her decision to vote for her isn’t. Check out Lindy’s new book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman at lindywest.net, and follow her on Twitter at #...
Dave Zirin on Loving and Hating the Olympics
August 25, 2016 05:13 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBToday we're talking about sports! (And politics)Every four years, Americans pick a president. And every fours summers, the world’s nations send its most muscled and agile to compete in a display of artistry and athleticism. And on #politicallyreactive, we’re talking about both! Put your headphones on and get pumped because this episode has legs: Kamau and Hari zip through a recap of the Rio Olympics with The Nation’s sports editor Dave Zirin, talking about the political highlights (Ethiopian ...
David Daley on How Republicans Ratf**ked American Democracy
August 17, 2016 08:31 - 43 minutes - 40 MBNo really, that's what it's about.The year 2012 looked like the start of a promising era for Democrats. Obama had just won his second term as president, the Dems had taken a big majority in the Senate, and the party had earned 1.3 million more votes than the GOP. So how on earth did the House of Representatives stay in the hands of Republicans?? Former Salon editor-in-chief David Daley says it all comes down to one word: gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the drawing of congressional boundarie...
dream hampton on Black Liberation in the Hour of Chaos
August 10, 2016 08:54 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBAnd the price of being a critical woman of color. She was tight with Biggie and has the ear of some of today’s biggest musicians, but writer, filmmaker, and social justice activist dream hampton prefers to stay out of the limelight – if she can. Known as “your favorite rapper’s favorite writer,” hampton has become an influencer who doesn’t shy away from dialogue, both supporting the movements she cares about most while continuing to question them from within. In this name- and mic-dropping e...
How Van Jones Keeps His Cool in the Cable News Circus
August 03, 2016 08:58 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBAnd why does he call himself Van...Our guest this week is one of Fox News’s least favorite people. Coincidentally, he’s one of Kamau and Hari’s favorites! Van Jones is a CNN commentator and activist who has started numerous social and environmental justice initiatives – and that’s on top of serving as President Obama’s green jobs advisor in 2009. In this candid conversation, Jones shares what it’s like to be the preferred punching bag of conservative pundits while also being the most compassi...
Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman Gives Us the Election Unfiltered
July 27, 2016 08:39 - 34 minutes - 32 MB(Almost) Live from the DNC!Kamau and Hari are in Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention! ...or at least they’re in the recording studio just outside of the convention. In this episode, the Politically Re-Active hosts talk to Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman to break down the resignation of DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the policing Amy observed at the RNC, and the movements across America that give her hope.For more of Amy’s independent investigative journalism, head over ...
Pramila Jayapal on Majority Minority Districts & Teaching Hari How to Dress Himself
July 20, 2016 07:34 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBHari and Kamau also get into #GOPSoWhite. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Robert Reich on Min. Wage, the Bern, & His Date with Hillary
July 14, 2016 09:00 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBRobert Reich wants to save capitalism?The richest people in the U.S. right now are wealthier than they have been “ever in the history of humankind,” says former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. So why are the rest of us hustling so hard? In this episode, the Berkeley professor joins hosts W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu to talk about the viability of a universal basic income, Trumponomics, Bernie Sanders’ influence on the direction of the Democratic Party, and yes, the time Reich asked Hilla...
Pastor Michael McBride Says Stop Reaching for Whiteness
July 13, 2016 09:00 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MBWe talk Black Lives Matter and setting white people free.There are two things that Pastor Michael McBride is sure of: Jesus... and white supremacy. The activist and religious leader join W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu in the studio to make sense of last week’s fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, as well as the attack on the Dallas police during a peaceful protest of those killings. For those in search of a little grace and some straight talk about freeing white fo...
Kathleen Hanna on 3rd Wave Feminism & Why She's "With Her"
July 06, 2016 09:44 - 42 minutes - 39.4 MBA brief history of third wave feminism and how some of those ideas fit into politics todayPunk and feminist icon Kathleen Hanna join W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu on Politically Re-Active to talk about her time in the riot grrrl band Bikini Kill and what it was like to be at the forefront of third wave feminism. Not to mention, clarifying that for us. As well as the second wave. And the first.They discuss the prospect of the first female president, and what obligation - if any - women have...
Private Prisons with Shane Bauer
June 30, 2016 10:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBWe still have a show!Mother Jones journalist Shane Bauer joins hosts W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu to talk about his recent and crazy article about working as a guard at a private prison in Louisiana for four months. You may recognize his name as one of the American hikers held in an Iranian prison from 2009 to 2011. Well after that, he went back in (albeit in a very different way). He tells his story and sheds some light on the private prison industry. Spoiler alert, it's a mess.You can f...
Dog Whistling with Ian Haney-López
June 29, 2016 04:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBOur first show! On the first episode of this brand new show, comedians W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu start digging into the strange facets of our political system. Berkeley professor Ian Haney-López joins them to talk about dog whistling in politics. They get into some of the history of this coded language we've heard so much of in politics. Some of it seems obvious - like from former Alabama Governor George Wallace - but some of it is harder to decipher...anyone remember Bill Clinton pla...
Introducing Politically Re-Active
June 09, 2016 19:17 - 2 minutes - 1.91 MBComing soon, a new podcast from W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu. Subscribe now to be sure to get all of the latest episodes as they are launched! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.