It's Been a Minute

There are few paths to freedom for people serving life sentences in prison on federal drug charges. Guest host Ayesha Rascoe talks with Brittany K. Barnett , lawyer, entrepreneur and author of A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom , about her role in the fight to free incarcerated people from these sentences. They talk about high profile clemencies, how life sentences are hand...

In the wake of Tuesday's mass shooting in Atlanta, guest host Ayesha Rascoe talks to critical race theorist and professor Jennifer Ho about the history behind anti-Asian racism and what it means to be an Asian woman in America. Then, Ayesha chats about her latest obsession, the reality dating show Married at First Sight , with fellow devotees Delece Smith-Barrow , education editor at Politico, and...

A special episode from our friends at NPR's Planet Money : A show all about the things we're obsessed with. Sam joins Planet Money co-host Karen Duffin to dig into obsessions including the Beyoncé of economics, an actual musician, Lubalin , finding deep inspiration in shallow web posts, and curried chicken. Also, we stage an intervention, and, we bring you Planet Money's first ever meditation to h...

We take stock of a year that challenged us emotionally, culturally and politically. Sam talks to Hira Deol , a former contestant on Big Brother Canada , about what it was like to learn about the pandemic while sequestered away from the outside world. Plus, Sam chats with culture writer Anne Helen Petersen about the gradual return to our "normal" lives — and just how messy it's going to be. — Read...

Sohla El-Waylly called out her previous employer, Bon Appétit , during the magazine's racial reckoning last summer and resigned. The chef and food star is now a columnist at Food52 and star of the YouTube series Off-Script with Sohla . She and Sam talk about racism in the food media industry (and everywhere else), The Cheesecake Factory, and certain kinds of mushrooms. You can follow us on Twitter...

Sam joins the Pop Culture Happy Hour team to talk about the French Netflix series Lupin with culture writer Bedatri D. Choudhury and co-hosts Aisha Harris and Glen Weldon . They discuss the twisty caper's exciting (if implausible) plot, dissect its take on race and class, and gush over Omar Sy's performance. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsa nders@npr.org. See pcm....

A new case before the U.S. Supreme Court could jeopardize the power of the Voting Rights Act. Sam talks to Mark Joseph Stern , staff writer for Slate, about what's at stake and how so much of the current debate goes back to Reconstruction. Sam also chats with contributing writer for The Atlantic and podcaster Jemele Hill about how tv viewership across almost all sports has tanked during the pandem...

Torrey Peters ' new book Detransition, Baby , is about navigating identity, commitment, parenthood and divorce. The three main characters, a pregnant cis woman, her partner who is a detransitioned man, and his ex, a trans woman, are all considering how they might come together to create a family. Sam talks to Torrey about writing for trans readers, creating flawed characters and how the COVID-19 p...

What's an awards season when many theaters are still closed and it's harder to track which movies and shows deserve buzz? Louis Virtel and Ira Madison III , co-hosts of Keep It chat with Sam about who's being selected and who's being overlooked, and whether the pandemic further exposes awards' irrelevance or not. Plus, Sam talks with Maria Garcia about her podcast, Anything for Selena , and why ho...

A special episode from our friends at NPR's history podcast Throughline : Octavia Butler's alternate realities and 'speculative fiction' reveal striking, and often devastating parallels to the world we live in today. She was a deep observer of the human condition, perplexed and inspired by our propensity towards self-destruction. But along with her warning is her message of hope - a hope conjured...

Will the vaccine make me feel sick? Is it OK if I see grandma if she's vaccinated but I'm not? And what's the deal with double masking? Listeners had questions about the coronavirus and vaccines, Sam and NPR Short Wave host Maddie Sofia have answers. Sam also talks to his Aunt Betty about her experience getting her COVID-19 vaccination. Then, the view on coming out to the other side of the pandemi...

Sam talks to filmmaker and activist Abigail Disney , daughter of Roy E. Disney, about her views on inequality in the U.S., corporate greed and why, despite her last name, she's become one of the more vocal and prominent critics of The Walt Disney empire. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferen...

An Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, has become ground zero in a battle that could change Amazon as we know it. Sam chats with a worker about his experience, and labor reporter and organizer Kim Kelly talks about what the fight for unionization in Amazon's warehouses means for the future of workers' rights. Plus, Sam talks to Nick Cho , known as Your Korean Dad on TikTok, about becom...

Desus Nice and The Kid Mero went from calling up "anyone in their phone book" in the early days of their podcast Bodega Boys , to booking big names in politics like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Barack Obama on Desus & Mero , their late-night show airing on Showtime. Covering a mix of pop culture, politics, headlines and internet hijinks, Desus and Mero talk to Sam about keeping their sho...

What would you do if a truck full of money flung its doors open right in front of you? Our friends at the Snap Judgment podcast tell six stories that will make you question your own conscience. You can follow 'It's Been a Minute' on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to m...

Why does Whitney Houston's 1991 Super Bowl national anthem still resonate 30 years later? Sam chats with author and Black Girl Songbook host Danyel Smith about that moment of Black history and what it says about race, patriotism and pop culture. You can follow 'It's Been a Minute' on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collecti...

Sam sits in the Fresh Air host chair to chat with actor Angela Bassett . She talks about her most recent film, Disney and Pixar's Soul , what drew her to acting as a young person growing up in Florida, whether Hollywood has changed for Black creatives and which of her past roles define her as a performer. You can follow 'It's Been a Minute' on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr...

What does immigration look like under President Biden? Sam talks to Caitlin Dickerson , staff writer at The Atlantic , about the likelihood Biden can push through policies that other administrations from both parties tried and failed to do. Plus, Sam chats with former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara about his new podcast, Doing Justice , and how the nation's ideas about rules and law have changed...

Hello, sweatpants. With scaled-down Fashion Weeks, department stores hurting, and more and more people opting for loungewear rather than workplace attire... where does that leave the fashion business in 2021? Sam talks to Robin Givhan , senior critic-at-large at The Washington Post, about how the very harsh reality of the pandemic has shifted an industry largely built on fantasy. You can follow us...

How will the response to far-right extremism compare to the response after 9/11? Sam talks to Hannah Allam , NPR national security correspondent, about the security and civil liberties debate over taking a "war on terror" mindset to today's far-right threat. Also, Sam chats with sisters Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar, co-authors of the book You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey, about their in...

What will happen to Fox News after President Trump leaves office? Fox News is facing Trump's anger for not being sufficiently "loyal," and it's seeing new competition as viewers head to conservative networks like Newsmax and One America News Network. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik and Sam discuss how the feuds of cable news fuel our politics and how the whole news industry adapts to life...

A lot of the pro-Trump extremism behind the attack on the Capitol flourished online. Sam talks to Bobby Allyn and Shannon Bond , who both cover tech for NPR, about social platforms and the actions they've taken since the siege, the implications for free speech and whether the internet could fundamentally change. Also, Sam talks to Devon Price , author of the book Laziness Does Not Exist , about th...

History has a way of repeating itself. Last week's storming of the U.S. Capitol has parallels to an incident dating back to 1874, when a paramilitary force of ex-Confederates seized control of the Louisiana state house. Their goal? To depose a governor who won the election and replace him with his opponent. Sam revisits this history with Jamelle Bouie , columnist at The New York Times. They explor...

With the pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol this week, at the same time that Congress was set to certify the presidential election results, 2021 is off to a rocky start. Sam checks in with NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis and NPR White House correspondent Ayesha Rascoe on the Capitol breach and the week in politics. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and us...

Sam revisits his conversation from 2020 with actress Pamela Adlon. Adlon is the writer, star, director and co-creator of the acclaimed comedy-drama Better Things on FX. The series follows Adlon's character, Sam, as a divorced actress, raising three kids in Los Angeles - all things that mirror Adlon's real life. Sam talks to Adlon about her career, seeing your parents as real-life people, and the a...