Here We Go Again With Kal Penn

What happens when you spend over a decade talking about one distinct topic? You kind of want to talk about ANYTHING else. This week’s guest, the illustrious Tan France, has drifted into that exact cycle with fashion. So, Kal and Tan go on a much-needed tangent about…everything but fashion. This week, it’s all on the table. They explain exactly why diversifying conversation about...

Why do we as Americans flock to Medical Dramas like rabbits to aromatic herbs? We can’t get enough! Since 1951, starting with City Hospital, there have been 140 medical TV shows on air, which is insane. Some have even gone on for over 21 years, "Greys Anatomy" we’re looking at you. This week, Kal sits down with Simran Baidwan, executive producer and writer of the Emmy-winning TV show "...

Opening up the can of worms that is one’s trauma can be heavy. It's especially daunting when you're unpacking it through the lens of stand-up comedy, a seemingly dichotomous medium to use. This week, Kal speaks with one of his dearest friends, comedian Daniel Sloss, to talk about where power exists in comedy and how it also exists in tragedy and in silence. How do comedians unravel stories i...

Every time a new international conflict breaks out, it feels like we might very well be on the brink of World War III. With that comes a low grade sense of anxiety over nuclear weapons. Embroiled in a new war with Iran, suddenly the risk of nuclear war feels very real once again. But that doesn't mean it ever really went away. Jeffrey Lewis is one of the country's leading experts on nuclear weapon...

Comedy is often political. In fact, it's been landing comedians in hot water for years. Take the warrant for George Carlin's arrest after those seven memorable words he said on television. In 1973, a year after Carlin's arrest, the US Supreme Court made it much harder to throw performers in jail for their offensive language, but that doesn't mean comedians in plenty of places don't still end up in...

It's no secret that during acts of war, artifacts get stolen as an old act of dominance. But you may not realize that it's still happening today. In 2024, the Metropolitan Museum of Art physically returned 14 statues to Cambodia when they discovered that they had been looted during decades of civil war. And in 2023, the CEO of Hobby Lobby was indicted when he was found to be at the center of stole...

Last week, you heard about brain rot and its neuroscience. So this week, we wanted to tackle how to combat it. Manoush Zomorodi is a journalist and host of TED Radio Hour. Mostly, she's trying to figure out how technology is changing your body, your brain, and your behavior. She and Kal sit down to talk about how movement and boredom can be vital parts of warding off the more negative effects of s...

Brain rot is a slang term for the cognitive decline we're experiencing these days due to screentime, social media, and the like. But is it a real thing? And is technology making us dumber? Kal sits down with neuroscientist David Eaglemann to delve into the relatively new idea of brain rot -- and whether it's so new after all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite its massive popularity, the culture of NASCAR has shifted -- from banning the Confederate flag at races to settling an antitrust lawsuit. Kal sits down with legendary NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, who just celebrated his first "crown jewel" victory. How is the sport evolving? How has it stayed the same? And, what's next? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are there harmful chemicals in our drinking water? Climate change and environmental reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio, Mara Hoplamazian, is on a mission to find out. On their new podcast, SAFE TO DRINK, Mara wades through the depths of what PFAS/PFOA Chemicals have been doing to us. Just how much is in our water, and how can we protect ourselves? And how come this same issue keeps repeating a...

Need a ride? This week, Kal speaks with co-founder, president, and executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Bhairavi Desai, about the ongoing disruption of the taxi industry. Bhairavi has fought alongside more than 21,000 drivers to raise the base income, create a cap on the number of ride-sharing vehicles permitted to drive in New York City, and relieve drivers of hundreds of tho...

Short form video is everywhere today. But if you rewind back to 2005, comedy trio The Lonely Island had only just released Saturday Night Live's first digital short: "Lazy Sunday." It went viral, transforming the lives of its members Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer. The Lonely Island would go on to produce hit after hit for SNL, from "I'm On A Boat," to "Dick in a Box." Kal and Jor...

When COVID told us we all needed to be six feet apart, some people became addicted to TikTok and other people picked up a racket. Since 2019, tennis participation in the U.S. has grown by 54 percent. And that's excluding all the avid pickleball lovers who keep stealing their courts. So, why are we just becoming obsessed with a game that Andy Roddick has been obsessed with his whole life? Kal talks...

LA City Council Member Nithya Raman is running for mayor. On this episode, she joins Kal for a candid conversation. She opens up about how she got into politics, LA's homelessness crisis, and being compared to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani. What does being a democratic socialist mean to her? And, what does it take to implement real change in her city? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

Bobak Ferdowsi is more than just the NASA Mohawk guy. He's a Systems Engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory with an incredible aptitude for studying spacecraft failures so we can learn from them. Kal breaks down Bobak's career through the spacecrafts that defined them, from the Mars Curiosity Rover to a brand new satellite. Plus, why our failures aren't always bad and how to keep the worst...

Does anyone completely trust the media landscape anymore? Mehdi Hasan, a broadcaster, journalist, and newly minted CEO & Editor-in-Chief of independent media company Zeteo, has a few insights that might shed light on how we've gotten to where we are, and how distrust has shaped his very specific, highly uncompromising style of reporting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a crazy year for late night TV -- from ratings on the decline and budget cuts to cancellations and political influence. Bill Carter, the journalist and author behind The Late Shift and The War for Late Night, joins the show to talk about the evolution (and de-evolution) of late night. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Baby boomers, millennials, now Gen Z -- they all have their haters. Whichever generation is in their twenties is always walking around with older people rolling their eyes at them. As the former Editor in Chief of Teen Vogue, journalist and millennial Versha Sharma is here to help us understand the seemingly cyclical generational pecking order. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Though he's a comedic actor, Kal has always felt like the label "comedian" was a sort of stolen valor. That is, until this past year, when he started opening for some of his stand-up friends. This week, Kal calls up Patton Oswalt, a legend in stand-up comedy, to get some advice about getting on stage, what's changed in the comedy world, what hasn't, and what's next. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Since 2018, sports betting has been legalized in 38 states. Plus, sports betting apps have brought gambling right to our fingertips. It turns out this country has a pretty long and fraught history with gambling. Albert Chen, journalist and author of the book, Billion Dollar Fantasy, helps us answer: How dangerous is sports gambling? Is it tainting the games we love to watch? And, how is technology...

Ann Friedman was running popular blogs, newsletters and podcasts before media people flocked to those mediums. But now that the industry is trapped in a rinse and repeat cycle of rising and falling and consolidating, she's getting off the social media content creator wagon and asking a much different question: What does the long game look like? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some historians trace this idea of the American dream back to the first European settlers and colonizers. American businessman, James Truslow Adams, popularized the phrase in his book: The Epic of America. But this notion of a single Americcan dream isn't so cut and dry. This week, Kal talks to Rafael Agustin, TV writer, film producer, and author of the memoir, Illegally Yours, about the weight of...

It's been coined, "The Caitlin Clark Effect." For the WNBA's last few seasons, it's translated to a surge in popularity, viewership, and revenue, sparked by one extremely talented, ever-watchabale player. But are women's sports at large suddenly having a moment? Where was that attention two or three decades ago? And what does the future look like for female athletes? Sports journalist, former coll...

Americans weren't always accepting of languages other than English. But nowadays, being bilingual is a huge asset. Kal talks to Patty Rodriguez, the founder of bilingual children's publishing company Lil' Libros, about transforming the narrative of multilingualism in the United States. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI is automating thousands of jobs. But humanity's fear of technology replacing us is nothing new. Journalist and podcaster Jacob Goldstein tells Kal the story of the original Luddites during the early 1800s Industrial Revolution. They talk about how technology changes, how those changes reshape our work, and who historically gets protected and who gets left behind. See omnystudio.com/listener for...