The Sam Sanders Show

We gotta admit, this summer felt great for movies!

From all the monoculture surrounding The Odyssey, to the successful sleeper hits like Backrooms and Obsession, the past few months felt like a magical comeback for the industry.

Joining Sam to break it all down is Jacqueline Coley, awards editor at Rotten Tomatoes and host of the Seen On The Screen podcast. Together, they unpack the biggest lessons for Hollywood and also give some movie recommendations for your watchlist.

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The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

Musician and rapper Wyclef Jean shot to fame in the ‘90s after founding the seminal hip-hop group Fugees. Since then, he’s had an impressive solo career with plenty of acclaimed projects. He’s also become an undeniable hitmaker, creating massive records for artists like Shakira, Santana, Whitney Houston and many more.

Wyclef joined Sam in the studio with his guitar, to play some songs that tell his life story. From his campaign to be president of Haiti, to his fondness for church music, he shares the many life moments that shaped his craft.

He also breaks down his new project 'Quantum Leap,' a seven-album project spanning seven different genres. So far, his jazz album ‘Q Theory’ and ‘Clef Notes,’ the hip-hop project, are out now. 

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

This episode, we’re going back in time for one of Sam’s favorite shows…‘Portlandia!’

For eight seasons, the sketch comedy show famously poked fun at the hipster culture, all while set in a fictionalized version of Portland. Creators and co-stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein played many of the show’s central characters. Now, they’re revisiting the episodes with a weekly rewatch podcast called ‘Podlandia: A-O Rewatch with Fred and Carrie.’

Sam got to chat with Fred about the show, their favorite sketches, and why hipsters were always ripe for spoofing. 

“Podlandia: A-O Rewatch” is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is available on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard. New episodes air every Thursday.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

We will always love Dolly Parton.

Sam unpacks Dolly’s immense legacy with Ann Powers, critic and correspondent for NPR Music. Together they spend time reflecting on her many hit songs, her brilliant roles in Hollywood and her everlasting philanthropic efforts. 

They also break down the secrets to Dolly’s impeccable stardom, diving into what exactly made her so ubiquitous and beloved. Plus, they share some overlooked music from her catalog.

Also, make sure to check out Ann's moving tribute essay to Dolly Parton.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

Whether it was big sporting events, or big blockbusters, or even celebrity weddings, Summer 2026 had a ton of pop culture that we all consumed together. For the first time in years, we even talked about it all together.

But was it actually a return of monoculture? Sam looks at how this happened (and if it will ever happen again) with Esther Zuckerman, culture reporter for The Wall Street Journal who recently wrote all about the monoculture phenomenon. 

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

Comedian Janelle James became a star after playing the selfish, scamming, yet hilarious principal Ava Coleman in 'Abbott Elementary.'

She’s since been nominated for five Emmy awards for the role. But Janelle spent years grinding through the standup scene before finding television success. She told Sam about what inspired her to try comedy years ago, and what she’s learned about herself from playing a larger than life character in a sitcom. Plus, Janelle breaks down her forthcoming Hulu show inspired by her own childhood in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

This conversation took place in front of a live audience at KCRW’s Annenberg Performance Studio in Santa Monica.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

Sam recently experienced one of the best stage musicals he’s seen in years. 

Cats: The Jellicle Ball reimagines the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber story with a ballroom twist. The show is filled with voguing, runway and Black, queer joy. It also won multiple Tony awards this year, which packed the theater night after night. 

The whole show seemed like it was on the path to success, until it closed suddenly on August 8th. 

Theater critic Naveen Kumar wrote about the fate of the production for The New York Times. He joined Sam to break down the major money problems facing Broadway. He also shares some ideas to fix them…Which may involve a certain charismatic mayor.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

Comedian Eliot Glazer feels like he “missed the first day of Gay 101.” 

Even though he came out in college, he has always struggled to fit into gay culture. He doesn’t like the parties. He doesn’t wear the right clothes. Never listens to the right music. Can’t give off the right vibes.

He writes about all these feelings in his hilarious new book of essays ‘The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay.’ Eliot tells Sam about feeling like an outcast, yearning for connection, and how he learned to find peace with his style of queerness.

Check out Eliot on his book tour now through September.  

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

Today we’re sharing an episode from our friends at Decoder Ring, a podcast that explores cultural mysteries.

In this episode, host Willa Paskin digs into one of Sam’s biggest critiques about culture right now. There is more of it than ever before, it’s more accessible than ever, but so little of it feels original. New movies are based on old stories, new songs are recycling old hooks, and fashion trends are cycling so fast that everything’s in. Has our culture grown stagnant? 

Author and culture critic W. David Marx thinks so. His book, Blank Space, argues that there is a “blank space” in the 21st century where cultural innovation should be. David explains to Willa how culture change worked in the 20th century, what changed after the turn of the millennium, and what we might do about it.

Listen to Decoder Ring on your favorite podcast app! 

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

Actor and comedian Hannah Einbinder has had an eventful past few years.

She burst onto the scene with the acclaimed HBO comedy ‘Hacks’ in 2021. She won an Emmy for her role last season, and is nominated again this year. Now, she’s starring in the new horror film, ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.’ 

Hannah tells Sam about the craft of transitioning from comedy to drama, television to film, and why her true love will always be standup. She also dives into the importance of queer art and her lessons for navigating Hollywood.

Plus, she tells Sam about her future passion project: An eventual stoner comedy made with her best friend.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.