The Sam Sanders Show

Today we’re sharing Sam’s recent collaboration with 'Switched On Pop.'

Jacob Collier is a rare musician. He’s been described as an ambassador of music, known for lushly orchestrated pieces with a myriad of collaborators. He’s also known for conducting the crowds of his live shows, turning the concert into a massive choir performance. 

He did just that recently at On-Air Fest, with Charlie Harding, host of ‘Switched On Pop.’ Sam joined them both on stage to discuss the power of music, why we shouldn’t be afraid to sing, and the communal joy of harmonizing with others. 

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

The Kardashians are one of the most famous families of our modern era. 

Since their hit reality TV show first debuted in 2007, the family has become synonymous with American culture. Their celebrity has only grown with each new beauty and fashion enterprise.   

Author MJ Corey analyzes the family’s staying power in her new book Dekonstructing the Kardashians: A New Media Manifesto. She talks to Sam about how the family built their media empire, how Kim Kardashian normalized selling her own image and what it says about our digital age, and how the family mirrors our deepest fears. 

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

Today we’re bringing you an episode from our friends at Prestige Junkie. 

Sam joins host Katey Rich to look ahead at this summer’s stacked box office lineup. From Christopher Nolan’s 'The Odyssey' and Spielberg’s 'Disclosure Day' to the movies you shouldn’t sleep on including Aleshea Harris’ directorial debut 'Is God Is' and Hannah Einbinder’s queer slasher film 'Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.'

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 Jimmy O. Yang is full of contradictions.

On stage, he exudes a party guy vibe, always down for a good time. But in actuality, Jimmy is pretty serious. He edits his own stand-up specials and thinks a lot about starting a family.

Jimmy works through all of this in his comedy. He tells Sam how he learned English as a teenager, his favorite karaoke song, and how he’s actively trying to make new friends. His latest special ‘Finally Home’ is 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.

We’ve got a very special episode for you today, featuring the legendary rapper and musician Wyclef Jean. Sam teamed up with Justin Richmond of the Broken Record podcast for this live conversation recorded at the On Air Fest.

Wyclef Jean may just be the most wide-ranging rapper, producer, performer, and composer of his time. As the lead producer and MC of Fugees, he helped craft their 1996 landmark album The Score, one of the best-selling hip-hop albums of all time. The following year he released his debut solo album, The Carnival, which included hits like “Guantanamera” featuring Celia Cruz, and the platinum-certified single “Gone Till November.”

As a writer and producer for other artists, Wyclef is behind Whitney Houston’s “My Love Is Your Love,” Santana’s chart-dominating “Maria Maria,” Shakira’s global smash “Hips Don’t Lie,” and Destiny’s Child’s breakout single “No, No, No.”

They get into what it was really like in the studio with Whitney Houston, how The Fugees shaped their sound while recording The Score, and the wisdom Wyclef would pass on to his younger self about what makes a great creative collaboration.

Check out more great interviews from Broken Record.

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.

Trixie Mattel might be one of the busiest women in show business. 

Since she made a name for herself on 'RuPaul’s Drag Race,' she's starred in multiple TV shows, created a hit podcast, became a best-selling author, launched a cosmetics line and even opened her own motel. 

But Trixie says all that work led to burnout. She tells Sam how she learned the importance of slowing down, why there would be no Trixie without 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' and how she’s trying to be more present in gratitude.   

Plus, Trixie reflects on the pop culture that keeps her grounded, including a favorite country music album and the comfort show she can always turn on. 

Don’t miss Trixie at KCRW’s Summer Nights! 

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.

Mariah Carey has more No. 1 hits than any other American artist to date. 

“Fantasy,” “Vision of Love,” and “We Belong Together” have all landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Part of the magic is in her voice, but it’s also in her songwriting — a skill that has too often been overlooked. 

Music journalist Danyel Smith interviewed the artist for The New York Times’ list of “The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters.” Sam caught up with Danyel to talk about Mariah Carey’s songwriting and sampling prowess, the systemic disrespect for Black women in music, and how Mariah cemented her place in music history. 

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.

Despite everyone’s nostalgic feelings for the ‘90’s, it was undoubtedly a complicated time for women. 

Feminism was alive and well at the start of the decade, but author Sophie Gilbert explains how the movement’s energy collapsed into a problematic media storm that still lingers today. 

She chronicles the decline through the ‘90s pop culture that shaped women from the Riot Grrrl movement, to the Spice Girls, and beyond in her book 'Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves.’

“At the beginning of the '90s, third wave feminism was very much alive. Anita Hill was testifying in Congress, it was the ‘Year of the Woman.’ You had Riot Grrrl, you had all this energy and this momentum behind trying to make things better for women,” Sophie explains. “And then over the course of the decade, it just kind of flatlined.”

Sophie talks to Sam about her book, how feminism is more fractured than ever, and how the extreme caricatures of women we see today aren’t that different from the tropes of women in the ‘90s.   

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.

Models, designers, celebrities and Anna Wintour will soon gather for fashion’s biggest night: The Met Gala. But this year’s event has already spawned protests and boycotts.

Sam breaks it all down with fashion and culture journalist Amy Odell, host of the 'Back Row' podcast and newsletter. They look at how sponsors Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez could be overshadowing the gala’s purpose and ask if the event is more out-of-touch than ever before. Plus, Amy explains fashion's new 'gilded age.'

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

There’s no denying 2026 has been chaotic — but what about pop culture?

Hunter Harris and Peyton Dix (hosts of Lemme Say This) join Sam to break down the biggest moments of the year so far — and what they reveal about where culture is headed.

From reality TV dominating the conversation to debates about monoculture, celebrity overexposure, and what actually breaks through now, they unpack what’s working, what’s not, and why everything feels louder than ever.

Plus: Zendaya’s takeover, Timothée Chalamet discourse, Olympic breakout stars like Alysa Liu, and our enduring obsession with ‘Heated Rivalry.’

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.