Actor, rapper, and activist Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal, Rogue One) rides the subway with Kareem to drop one of the wildest takes yet: abolish elections and pick leaders the way we pick juries. Riz explains why he thinks politics attracts the wrong kind of people, how a randomized lottery system could change who gets power, and what democracy might look like if we stripped away ambition. Along the way, he opens up about identity, belonging, and the role of storytelling in changing culture.

SubwayTakes Uncut is like SubwayTakes, but longer, looser, and with more stops, more takes, and more room to go deeper.

Host: Kareem Rahma
Guest: Riz Ahmed
Creators: Kareem Rahma & Andrew Kuo
Camera: Anthony DiMieri & Tian Sippel & Ramy Shafi
Editor: Tyler ChristieMixer: Dale Eisinger
Associate Producer: Ramy Shafi
Artwork: Andrew Lawandus
Theme Music: Tyler McCauley

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Actor Austin Butler (Caught Stealing, Elvis) opens up on the subway about his hottest takes, from bachelor parties to embarrassment as a life philosophy. He also laughs about people still asking him about his Elvis voice, tells the story of dancing at a Bad Bunny concert in Puerto Rico with director Darren Aronofsky, and talks about the weirdness of fame, water, and why making a fool of yourself might be the best thing you can do.
SubwayTakes Uncut is like SubwayTakes, but longer, looser, and with more stops, more takes, and more room to go deeper.
Host: Kareem Rahma
Guest: Austin Butler
Creators: Kareem Rahma & Andrew Kuo
Camera: Thomas Kasem Lim & Tian Sippel
Editor: Tyler Christie
Mixer: Dale Eisinger
Associate Producer: Ramy Shafi
Artwork: Andrew Lawandus
Theme Music: Tyler McCauley

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Musician, artist, and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne (Stop Making Sense, American Utopia) joins Kareem on the subway for a conversation about how technology has reshaped the way we listen to and experience music. From life before the internet to the impact of streaming on artists and audiences, David shares his thoughts on what’s been lost, what’s been gained, and why the way we consume music might need to change. They also dive into creativity, culture, and what keeps David inspired after decades in the spotlight.
SubwayTakes Uncut is like SubwayTakes, but longer, looser, and with more stops, more takes, and more room to go deeper.
Host: Kareem Rahma
Guest: David Byrne
Creators: Kareem Rahma & Andrew Kuo
Camera: Anthony DiMieri & Maksim Axelrod & Hudson Price
Editor: Tyler Christie
Associate Producer: Ramy Shafi
Artwork: Andrew Lawandus

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Kareem and Andrew catch up in SubwayTakes HQ to discuss the distinction between office and studio, new approaches to email response productivity, a recap of the heroic Tiny Gun performance at the incredible Newport Folk Festival last weekend, a reminiscence of the Tupac hologram and other Festival memories, an impassioned defense of Chicago from Kareem, a business style announcement (SubwayTakes goes to Berlin), the foreign sidequests of SubwayTakes mainstay Anthony DiMieri, an address of the recent discourse surrounding the show, and we take some calls from the SubwayTakes Hotline – call in at 917-336-8340 to leave your take and be featured on the show. 

Host: Kareem Rahma and Andrew Kuo

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Kareem, from his home in Brooklyn, and Andrew, from his home in the Hudson Valley, meet up on the Internet to talk trash about podcasting software, Kareem’s misadventures in the sky, a recap of the big guy's birthday saga in Puerto Rico, Kareem’s love for Bad Bunny and his live show, the broad SubwayTakes fan base of Puerto Rico, a reminiscence of Andrew’s freshman college year roommate who watched Remember The Titans literally every night, some very deep Kareem college lore, a sad wikipedia rabbit hole, and we take some calls from the SubwayTakes Hotline–call ‪917-336-8340‬ to leave your take and be featured on the show. 

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Kareem and Andrew go live on tape in the SubwayTakes HQ office to talk over why Andrew is the whitest of the friend group, the origin of their names, Zohran’s objectively correct racial profiling of himself (and the Times’ huge fail of an expose on the matter), the debate around appropriate emoji skin tone, explaining to Andrew the complexities of Memeojis, more racial stuff, Morgan Wallen, Kareem making “breaking news” in the tabloids for a 9-month-old interview, more speculation on the Epstein and Diddy affairs, the horrifying visage of Quentin Tarantino, Kareem’s birthday and his celebration habits, Andrew’s sad 40th, his inexplicable deep love for acquiring hot dogs, his new grill, Kareem’s recently stolen bike, and we take some calls from the SubwayTakes Hotline. Call in at 917-336-8340 to leave your take and be featured on the show.
Host: Kareem Rahma and Andrew Kuo
Creators: Kareem Rahma and Andrew Kuo
Producer and A/V Editor: Dale Eisinger
Artwork: Andrew Lawandus
Theme Music: Tyler McCauley

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Stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and director Bill Burr (Paper Tiger, F Is for Family, Glengarry Glen Ross) hits the subway for an unfiltered conversation about everything from Bloomberg ruining New York to billionaires blaming immigrants for low wages. He explains why he’ll never move to Brooklyn, why cable news is tearing people apart, and why America feels more divided than ever.
From parenting advice to politics, Bill has thoughts. And of course, he’s not holding back.
Host: Kareem RahmaGuest: Bill Burr
Creators: Kareem Rahma and Andrew Kuo
Camera: Anthony DiMieri and Tian Sippel
Editor: Tyler Christie
Mixer: Dale Eisinger
Associate Producer: Ramy Shafi
Artwork: Andrew Lawandus
Theme Music: Tyler McCauley

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Kareem is joined by deep-cut friend of the pod, Blake Bensman, to discuss his SubwayTake that men should pee sitting down, including its health benefits, Kareem’s curation of a museum of mayonnaise (July 9th 6-8 pm 155 Suffolk Street NYC), more urination strategies, the handwashing gossip of a major network news anchor, additional approaches to personal hygiene, the “Long Island Compromise,” the stinky situation of corporate life, how and where Kareem and Blake know each other (from Minneapolis to New York City), Blake reshafting his irons, a Puerto Rican hole-in-one, and we take some calls from the SubwayTakes Hotline–call in at 917-336-8340 to leave your take to be featured on the show.

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Kareem and Andrew inaugurate the new video version of the podcast by meeting in person at SubwayTakes HQ in Manhattan. Kareem, with a somewhat hoarse voice, recaps the crazy energy of the Zohran Mamdani election victory party, the allegations surfaced as a result, the continued rise of Islamophobia, what’s for lunch today, young Ramy's romantic entanglements in his acting class, the ongoing saga of New York City’s most dangerous asset (window-mount air conditioners), and a brief discussion on the production of the Bill Burr episode of SubwayTakes. No hotline this week: leave your take at 917-336-8340 to be featured in upcoming episodes. 

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Kareem is joined by Annie Hamilton, to reconsider her original take, the absolute avalanche of DMs she’s received since, the reveal of the controversial censored joke she told on the show, how she landed a book deal because of her appearance on the show, if it accomplished the goal of all goals (getting laid), whether or not Annie and Kareem have “the thing,” the ruination of Annie’s life/art, Kareem’s life plans and terms of address, how Annie is an honest liar, why Kareem’s nickname is Mr. Grumpy, Annie's many (many) alternate takes for the show, and we take some calls from the SubwayTakes Hotline–tune in to see if your take made the show. 

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