Kal Penn has one of the strangest resumes in Hollywood. You most likely remember Kal as half of the stoner comedy duo “Harold and Kumar”, or if you’ve watched a lot of medical dramas like I have you may have enjoyed his 2 season arc on House MD where he lit a patient on fire instead of doing chest compressions. But if your name is “Barack Obama” (hey Prez, check your DMs, come on the show?) you may instead remember Kal as a full time staff member at the White House. Huh? President Obama hired the White Castle guy, after he was already famous? That’s right. Your tax dollars paid his salary for years as a full time staff member of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Turns out the roller coaster ride of Kal’s life didn’t end with him sitting at the movie premiere for Van Wilder, next to his strict Indian immigrant parents, watching his oiled body slide off a naked woman while playing a character literally named “Taj Mahal” (yikes). In Kal’s new book, You Can’t Be Serious, he not only details some of the stunning racism he’s faced throughout his 20+ years in Hollywood, but also stories of those late nights in Washington DC working alongside President Obama navigating some of America’s most highly controversial political issues, such as the hurdles they had to clear to remove the army’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which barred openly queer people from serving in the armed forces. I asked Kal about all of these big picture stories, as well as some smaller ones, like how it’s possible he walks around every day with a tattoo on his left arm that has a typo.

Executive Producer and Host: Dr. Mike Varshavski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Art by Caroline Weigum

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