Why Here

Can you imagine getting up in front of thousands of people to talk about your conservative religious upbringing AND your sexual exploits? Joel Kim Booster can. His humor is unapologetic, honest and intriguing. On this week's episode of Why Here, the Korean-American comedian and writer shares how he tactfully navigates conversations about race and sexuality with humor ... and what his "first time" sounded like. It's a conversation that proves why James Corden, Conan O'Brien and Comedy Central have all invited him to perform, and why shows like Big Mouth put him in their writer's room. At the end, Matt Rogers, Joel's friend and host of Las Culturistas podcast as well as HBO Max's smash hit Haute Dog, joins in for a “fact check."

It's Thanksgiving, that weird holiday that definitely needs a major rewrite. This year's a bit of a wash, but maybe it's a chance to start a new tradition or a new story, especially if you're not sitting at the table where you thought you'd be. To help, Why Here's very own home chef, stuffing expert and food & lifestyle contributor Dan Pelosi joins hosts Benton Whitley and Tristan McAllister to talk turkey, tradition and gratitude. 

There are a lot of adoring fans who'd love to know what London hotel Charlie Carver has been holed up in for nearly four months, in quarantine for his role in the latest Batman feature. Well, that's a secret he won't share, much like any of the details around the role that he and his twin brother Max have in Gotham. But he does share so many other things with hosts Benton Whitley and Tristan McAllister on this week's episode of Why Here.  It's been a big year for Charlie, the openly gay actor and activist who is currently starring in The Boys In The Band and Ratched, on Netflix. They talk all of this, "twinship" and much more. 

Stories are some of the most powerful tools we have to shape our world.  Native Nigerian Wana Udobang tells them on many different canvases. She's a journalist, a poet, an artist and a political activist whose work has been featured on the BBC, CNN and other renowned outlets. Her three spoken word albums focus on the themes of body, self-love, sexual agency, sensuality, female injustice and marginalization. On this week's episode of Why Here, she joins hosts Benton Whitley and Tristan McAllister from Lagos to talk about #EndSARS, a youth uprising, LGBTQIA rights, radical self love and what #BlackLivesMatter looks like from afar. 

WHY ARE ELECTIONS SO STRESSFUL? Well, the media are the easiest to point a finger at, but it really has more to do with the general amount of information coming our way, especially when one of the candidates is spewing lies. Fortunately, there's a man with a plan ... or at least he knows how to make it all make sense. On this special episode of Why Here, campaign strategist and political wunderkind Brian Derrick helps us understand where the U.S. election is and where it's likely going. 

Yes, it's ironic that Broadway star Elizabeth Stanley received her first Tony nomination for a show in which the cast sings a song called "Ironic," in a year that could only be described as a Jagged Little Pill. Never mind whether or not the famed Alanis Morrissette song "Ironic" actually has any real examples of irony in it. That's a debate that's raged for more than two decades ... On this week's episode of Why Here we don't get to the bottom of that, but we do indeed get the infinitely talented Elizabeth to tell us how she became the star of the Broadway musical JAGGED LITTLE PILL, an adaptation of the album that many Gen X'ers and most Millennials will recall as the music that changed their lives. 

While some might say Rosie O'Donnell has a jagged edge, we say her kindness, empathy and fucking incredible sense of humor mean she may very well be the exact sort of person who can help all of us to better see ourselves and our place in this world. On this week's episode of Why Here Rosie joins hosts Benton and Tristan to talk gayness, motherhood, politics, mental health and (yes Benton) Broadway. Oh, and her unlikely friendships with famous convicts! 

Growing up in the shadow of a Trump golf course, when you’re in-fact living in a low-income neighborhood, stokes a special brand of motivation. This is something that NYC city council member Ritchie Torres knows all too well. On this season’s first episode of Why Here he joins hosts Benton & Tristan to talk politics, his run for U.S. congress and his early crushes on WWE wrestlers. Torres is gay, which makes him the first ever openly LGBTQIA official to represent the Bronx. His highly likely win in November makes this Afro-Latino, Bronx-born political star on the rise a sure bet for the future of American politics. 

When Why Here started in May of 2020, amid a global pandemic, the hosts had no idea what the next few months would look like. On this week's episode of Why Here, contributors Claudine Ko and Dr. Virat Madia join hosts Benton Whitley and Tristan McAllister to look back on the podcast's first season. The four reflect on big moments that changed how they saw the conversation around them and how their thinking has evolved during a summer that none of us will ever forget.