It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

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What's It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders about?

A talk show with a heart. Each week, Sam interviews people in the culture who deserve your attention. Plus weekly wraps of the news with other journalists. Join Sam as he makes sense of the world through conversation.

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"Everything's Fine" With Sa...

10.30.2020

With 2020 progressing the way it has, comedian Sarah Cooper wants you to know that Everything's Fine in her new comedy special. Sam talks to Sarah Cooper about her journey from going viral on TikTok lip-syncing to President Donald Trump, ...

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders episodes:

10.30.2020 "Everything's Fine" With Sarah Cooper With 2020 progressing the way it has, comedian Sarah Cooper wants you to know that Everything's Fine in her new comedy special. Sam talks to Sarah Cooper about her journey from going viral on TikTok lip-syncing to President Donald Trump, ...
10.27.2020 Election Night(mare): Bush v. Gore and Why It Matters in 2020 Election Night 2020 is a week away. It's hard to know whether we'll have results that night, in a week or maybe even a month. But that's exactly what happened 20 years ago — between candidates Vice President Al Gore ...
10.26.2020 Presenting 'Rough Translation': Dream Boy And The Poison Fans On this bonus drop, we feature an episode from the NPR podcast Rough Translation. A Chinese idol had millions of fans who adored him for his kindness and good looks. Then, this February, one group of fans accused another of ...
10.23.2020 Getting Gamers To The Polls, Plus The Pandemic Economy Voter outreach took on an unconventional form Tuesday night when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez streamed her gameplay of the hit game "Among Us" on Twitch. While she played the game with friends, her stream became one of the 20 most watched ...
10.20.2020 'They've Dismissed Us': How Latino Voter Outreach Still Falls Short Latinos are the second largest group of eligible voters by race or ethnicity in the United States, but they continue to be misunderstood and underappreciated by political campaigns of all parties. Sam talks to Lisa García Bedolla, a scholar of ...
10.16.2020 Voting In Texas, Plus John Paul Brammer Gives Advice From fights over early voting applications to ballot drop-off sites, voting in Texas has drawn national attention. Sam talks to Texas reporters Ashley Lopez of member station KUT and Jessica Huseman of ProPublica to unpack what's happening and what it ...
10.13.2020 Throughline: James Baldwin's Fire Writer and thinker James Baldwin used the power of his words to confront in order to connect, something that feels especially relatable in a year when the United States has been forced to reckon with racial inequality. This week we ...
10.09.2020 Joel Kim Booster On Religion, Identity, and Coming Out In honor of Coming Out Day this weekend, Sam talks to comedian and actor Joel Kim Booster about his experience coming out to his evangelical Christian family. As Kim Booster grew up in this religious household, he struggled to come ...
10.06.2020 'Radio Ambulante' Host Daniel Alarcón On The Immigrant Experience Sam revisits his 2017 chat with author and Radio Ambulante host, Daniel Alarcón. They discuss Alarcón's book of short stories, The King Is Always Above The People, which holds a mirror to the immigrant experience in today's political climate. Alarcón ...
10.02.2020 The Dangers of White Supremacy, Plus Demi Adejuyigbe Brings Joy When President Trump told white supremacists to "stand back and stand by," the country responded with heavy criticism. Sam talks with Kathleen Belew, assistant professor of history at the University of Chicago, about what we get wrong when we talk ...
09.29.2020 Bowen Yang on 'SNL,' Diversity, and Culture Sam chats with comedian Bowen Yang about becoming the first Chinese American cast member on Saturday Night Live, what it was like to do the show during a pandemic, and why Adele Dazeem is the number one moment in the ...
09.25.2020 Supreme Court Misconceptions When the biggest news stories happen all at once, it's easy to miss what each of them really means. Since Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death last week, there have been questions about who will replace her and what ...
09.24.2020 The Life And Legacy Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away last week at the age of 87. The conversation has quickly moved to the politics around her replacement, but what kind of legacy did she leave? In the award-winning documentary RBG, filmmakers ...
09.22.2020 Coronavirus And Teachers This school year is proving to be unlike any other. Teaching might be a nightmare in schools doing hybrid learning, a success for those doing virtual learning, or vice versa. It all depends on which school district you're in and ...
09.18.2020 Movie Industry Adapts, Plus LeVar Burton Reads The movie industry is hurting. Most theaters in the U.S. are still shut down, and who knows when—or if—audiences will pack into theaters again. Adam B. Vary and Angelique Jackson of Variety talk about the state of the movie industry ...
09.15.2020 Larry Wilmore's Return to Late Night Larry Wilmore has a resume that could rival pretty much anyone's in Hollywood. Name a show and he probably had his hands in it. He created The Bernie Mac Show, co-created Insecure, wrote for shows like In Living Color, The ...
09.11.2020 West Coast On Fire, Plus Comedian Sam Jay The smoke, the flames, the creepy orange and red skies. It's fire season out west and it's already one for the books. Sam talks a resident of Napa County, CA, who had to flee her home because of the fires. ...
09.08.2020 Poet Claudia Rankine And 'Just Us' Poet Claudia Rankine is back with a new book called Just Us: An American Conversation. Much like her acclaimed 2014 book of poetry, Citizen: An American Lyric, her new volume offers an unflinching examination of race and racism in the ...
09.04.2020 Pandemic Childcare; Plus Mukbang Meets True Crime Guest host Elise Hu looks at how the pandemic has exacerbated existing problems when it comes to the care of small children. A Massachusetts childcare center owner shares her story about reopening, while a public policy professor talks about the ...
09.01.2020 How Bill Nye Became the 'Science Guy' Sam revisits his 2017 chat with Bill Nye the Science Guy. They discuss climate change (and climate change deniers), how Nye got his start in TV, and whether fame has changed him, for better or worse.
08.31.2020 Bonus Episode: 'Truth Be Told' A special bonus feed drop from the KQED podcast Truth Be Told, hosted by Tonya Mosley. A conversation about parenting during the pandemic — there's no right way to do it. Tonya and two Wise Ones, Nancy Redd, author and ...
08.28.2020 Protests, Yesterday And Today This week we're talking protests, both old and new. On Wednesday, Milwaukee Bucks players refused to play their NBA playoff game in protest of racial injustice. Other pro athletes in the NBA, WNBA and more also walked off the job. ...
08.25.2020 'Pose' Star Billy Porter: 'Love Always Wins' Billy Porter is a force to be reckoned with. A Tony Award-winning Broadway performer. A fashion icon with unforgettable red carpet looks. An Emmy Award-winning actor (with another nomination under his belt this year). Currently, Porter stars in the acclaimed ...
08.21.2020 Another Wrench In The (Voting) Works, Plus Robin Thede On 'A Black Lady Sketch Show' Everyone's talking about obstacles to voting this year, from the post office to the pandemic. Sam talks with NPR's Miles Parks about how everything's supposed to work with the election in November. Then, Sam calls up historian Martha S. Jones, ...
08.18.2020 All About That Base: Trump And Biden Voters In 2020 We're in the homestretch of the 2020 presidential election campaign. Joe Biden announced Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, Democrats have their national convention this week, Republicans next week, and each party's candidate is hoping to energize their voter ...
08.14.2020 The Good, Bad And Ugly Of The Pandemic Housing Market, Plus TikTok Under Fire Home sales are up, but the number of people facing evictions is also up. Sam talks to The Indicator's Stacey Vanek Smith and Cardiff Garcia about the good and bad news of the housing market in a pandemic. Then, TikTok ...
08.11.2020 The Rise of Netflix One of the few companies doing well during this pandemic is Netflix. In the last few months, the streaming service has seen a huge uptick in new subscribers. Sam talks to Peter Kafka and Rani Molla, co-hosts of the podcast ...
08.07.2020 Regina King on Race, Policing and HBO's 'Watchmen' Sam revisits his chat with Regina King from 2019 after the actress' recent Emmy nomination for her performance on the HBO series Watchmen. In this encore interview, King talks about why she gravitates toward work that deals with race and ...
08.04.2020 Code Switch: What's In A 'Karen'? "Karen" is not just a name. It's also a persona, an attitude, a label for a certain type of white woman determined to get what she wants—especially at the expense of Black people. Karens are part of a long lineage ...
08.03.2020 Bonus Episode: Padma Lakshmi on 'Asian Enough' A special bonus feed drop from The Los Angeles Times podcast Asian Enough: A conversation with Top Chef host, model and writer Padma Lakshmi about growing up Indian American in the San Gabriel Valley, cultural appropriation vs. appreciation in food, ...
07.31.2020 Coronavirus Questions Answered, Plus A Chat About 'Indian Matchmaking' Should I wear a mask while running? How often should I wipe down my phone? Can I say hello to other people's dogs? Our listeners had questions about coronavirus, we have answers. Sam is joined by Short Wave host Maddie ...
07.28.2020 Aminatou Sow, Ann Friedman And Their 'Big Friendship' All relationships have a backstory, even friendships. Best friends Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, hosts of the podcast Call Your Girlfriend, are out with a new book called Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close. In it, they write ...
07.24.2020 It's A Women's Recession We're in a recession, and it's hitting women especially hard. So how does it compare to the last recession, and how much of it has to do with childcare? Sam is joined by Planet Money's Mary Childs and Stacey Vanek ...
07.21.2020 'I May Destroy You' Star Michaela Coel Sam revisits his 2019 conversation with actress and writer Michaela Coel, who is the star and creator of the new critically acclaimed show, I May Destroy You. Before that show, Coel made waves in the hit British sitcom Chewing Gum. ...
07.17.2020 What's College Without A Campus? Plus Ziwe Makes Things Awkward Colleges and universities are getting ready for a new year, but like everything else, coronavirus is complicating everything. Some are closing campus and moving online, others plan to bring students back with social distancing. Sam checks in with Tressie McMillan ...
07.14.2020 Reckoning With Race in Journalism The newsrooms that covered the protests for racial justice are now being forced to confront racism and inequity within their own organizations. Black journalists and other journalists of color are sharing their experiences on social media and leading a public ...
07.10.2020 Paying The Price Of Coronavirus Four months into the pandemic, it seems like we're no better off in dealing with the coronavirus. There are still so many questions and few definitive answers about how this all ends, and for a lot of us, that's turned ...
07.07.2020 Chelsea Handler On White Privilege Last year, comedian Chelsea Handler made a documentary on Netflix called, Hello Privilege. It's Me, Chelsea, where she explored the idea of white privilege. Which happens to be a thing that a lot of people are talking about again... right ...
07.03.2020 Summer Pop Culture Recs, Plus A Visit With Kirk Franklin It's summer without a lot of the usual summer fun because, you know, pandemic. But we've got music and TV recommendations to keep you company. Joining Sam are All Things Considered co-host Audie Cornish and Code Switch co-host Gene Demby ...
06.30.2020 Nicole Byer On How To Love Yourself Ever wonder what it would be like to take hundreds of photos of yourself for a giant coffee table book ... wearing only a bikini? Comedian Nicole Byer has. And did, for her new book: #VeryFat #VeryBrave: The Fat Girl's ...
06.26.2020 How Much Have Facebook And Twitter Changed Since 2016? How much has Big Tech changed since the 2016 election? Sam is joined by Washington Post tech reporters Elizabeth Dwoskin and Tony Romm. They chat about Facebook and Twitter and how their platforms and views on free speech have evolved ...
06.23.2020 Tracee Ellis Ross Is Thriving, Not Surviving Actress Tracee Ellis Ross has been acting for years — from the early 2000s sitcom 'Girlfriends' to her Golden Globe winning role on ABC's 'Black-ish.' She talks to Sam about pushing back against Black stereotypes on and off-screen, pursuing success ...
06.19.2020 Supreme Court Protects Rights For DACA And LGBTQ Workers What does it all mean when so much change happens at the same time? This week, the Supreme Court protected the rights of two marginalized groups — DACA recipients and LGBTQ workers — and protests against police brutality continued around ...
06.16.2020 James McBride on Race, Religion and Why He's Hopeful James McBride is the National Award-winning author of The Good Lord Bird and the best-selling memoir, The Color of Water. His latest book is Deacon King Kong, which is set against the backdrop of 1960s Brooklyn and tells the story ...
06.12.2020 Lessons About Racism from 'Cops' and 'Gone With The Wind' Sam talks to NPR's Tanya Mosley and Eric Deggans about popular culture's reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement.
06.09.2020 Trump v Nixon on Race: Why 2020 Isn't Quite 1968 Sam talks to The Atlantic's Adam Serwer about this current moment in history and how it recalls the Nixon era and the Reconstruction era.
06.05.2020 Not Just Another Protest There is so much to unpack in this current moment. Sam has a candid conversation with Aunt Betty about how history has shaped her view of the current protests, and he walks around downtown Los Angeles to get the perspective ...
06.02.2020 Hasan Minhaj On Faith And Seeking Answers Comedian Hasan Minhaj is not afraid of talking about his faith, even when it gets him in trouble. He's a two-time Peabody Award winner and host of the Netflix show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, which has just begun its ...
05.29.2020 Money and Coronavirus; Samantha Irby On Judge Mathis The coronavirus pandemic has us worrying not only about our health, but also about money. Sam talks to CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger, about the current economic crisis and how it's affecting different generations. Then, Sam talks to writer ...
05.26.2020 Interview: Yvonne Orji on 'Insecure' Yvonne Orji plays the part of best friend Molly Carter on the HBO series Insecure, but Orji will soon headline her own stand-up special in June called, "Mama, I Made It." Orji talks to Sam about religion, getting her start ...

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