Here We Go Again With Kal Penn

Earsay goes live at Audible Story House in New York for an episode about Dungeon Crawler Carl, the global phenomenon that started as a single line in a middle school notebook ("Alien Game Show") and grew into an eight-book franchise with a TV adaptation in the works.

Kal was joined by author Matt Dinniman, and Jeff Hays, the narrator who brings this immersive world and all its characters to life in the audiobook. They get into where the story and the performance comes from, why Carl is a deeper character than meets the eye, and how maybe it’s the cats who are really in charge.

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Comedian and activist W. Kamau Bell has a new show, Who’s With Me?, and today we’re sharing an episode from it featuring Ted Danson. On Who’s With Me?, Kamau addresses what’s caught his attention in the current cultural or political landscape and sits down with someone he deeply admires to give them their flowers, ask his most burning questions, and discuss how to make the world a better place. Full of humor, heart, and intellect, Who’s With Me? shows that a simple conversation can lead to surprising revelations and spark change. Kamau and Ted discuss Ted’s storied career, starting with his breakout role as Sam Malone in the legendary sitcom Cheers. They talk about activism, Ted’s podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name, and the 1993 Friars Club Roast of Whoopi Goldberg. Watch full episodes of Who’s With Me? With W. Kamau Bell on YouTube and listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. 

Link: lnk.to/WWMKal 

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It's a newfound era for content creators, sex workers, and video bloggers; one spearheaded by the rising popularity of the platform OnlyFans. This week's guest, Art Bezrukavenko, sheds some light on what it takes to become a modern entrepreneur in an adult-forward world. What are the benefits and misconceptions? Is it all it's cracked up to be?

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Ever wonder how dictators use global, financial, and legal systems to move and hide money, influencing politics and altering democracies? If you answered 'no', then you may be an oligarch in hiding, and if you are, you may want to steer clear of this week's guest: Casey Michel, an oligarch combatant. Casey is an American investigative journalist, author, and anti-kleptocracy researcher. He examines how America's wealthiest have allied with dictators, all in the pursuit of maintaining power, and gaining more.

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What happens when you spend over a decade talking about one distinct topic? You kind of want to talk about ANYTHING else. This week’s guest, the illustrious Tan France, has drifted into that exact cycle with fashion. So, Kal and Tan go on a much-needed tangent about…everything but fashion. This week, it’s all on the table. They explain exactly why diversifying conversation about other skillsets and cultural touch-points is healthy for the wider entertainment industry. From conspiracy theories to judging petty disagreements, and even Kal’s role on the hit HBO show, “Industry” (Spoilers abound!), there is no shortage of enlightening topics for two entertainers.

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Why do we as Americans flock to Medical Dramas like rabbits to aromatic herbs? We can’t get enough! Since 1951, starting with City Hospital, there have been 140 medical TV shows on air, which is insane. Some have even gone on for over 21 years, "Greys Anatomy" we’re looking at you. This week, Kal sits down with Simran Baidwan, executive producer and writer of the Emmy-winning TV show "The Pitt". She's also a writer and producer of "The Good Doctor", "Chicago Med", "Royal Pains", and her first job in Hollywood was actually on "House", so if anyone out there knows about the healthcare industry on screen, it's Simran.

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Opening up the can of worms that is one’s trauma can be heavy. It's especially daunting when you're unpacking it through the lens of stand-up comedy, a seemingly dichotomous medium to use. This week, Kal speaks with one of his dearest friends, comedian Daniel Sloss, to talk about where power exists in comedy and how it also exists in tragedy and in silence. How do comedians unravel stories in a way that makes audiences relive the experience as if it’s happening to them in real time, and how can this form of artistic storytelling reframe those stories with a powerful message behind them?

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Every time a new international conflict breaks out, it feels like we might very well be on the brink of World War III. With that comes a low grade sense of anxiety over nuclear weapons. Embroiled in a new war with Iran, suddenly the risk of nuclear war feels very real once again. But that doesn't mean it ever really went away. Jeffrey Lewis is one of the country's leading experts on nuclear weapons policy. How did we get stuck in this cycle of nuclear dread? And is there any chance we'll ever escape so long as nukes are around?

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Comedy is often political. In fact, it's been landing comedians in hot water for years. Take the warrant for George Carlin's arrest after those seven memorable words he said on television. In 1973, a year after Carlin's arrest, the US Supreme Court made it much harder to throw performers in jail for their offensive language, but that doesn't mean comedians in plenty of places don't still end up in jail -- or at least with warrants out for their arrest. Vir Das is an Emmy-award winning actor, writer and comedian, and today he sits down with Kal to talk about the politics of comedy, how it's changing, and satire about the government.

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It's no secret that during acts of war, artifacts get stolen as an old act of dominance. But you may not realize that it's still happening today. In 2024, the Metropolitan Museum of Art physically returned 14 statues to Cambodia when they discovered that they had been looted during decades of civil war. And in 2023, the CEO of Hobby Lobby was indicted when he was found to be at the center of stolen Iraqi pieces that were for his Bible museum. Kal sits down with J.P. Labbat, a retired special agent who worked in the US government's Cultural Property, Art, and Antiquities unit. He's spent his career investigating stolen artifacts and returning them home.

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