It's Been a Minute

Guest host Elise Hu looks at how the pandemic has exacerbated existing problems when it comes to the care of small children. A Massachusetts childcare center owner shares her story about reopening, while a public policy professor talks about the difficult choices women often have to make between their careers and caregiving. Also, a look at how mukbang and true crime collide in the world of Stepha...

Sam revisits his 2017 chat with Bill Nye the Science Guy. They discuss climate change (and climate change deniers), how Nye got his start in TV, and whether fame has changed him, for better or worse. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

A special bonus feed drop from the KQED podcast Truth Be Told , hosted by Tonya Mosley . A conversation about parenting during the pandemic — there's no right way to do it. Tonya and two Wise Ones, Nancy Redd, author and mother, and Wajahat Ali, New York Times contributor and father, answer questions about parenting during this tricky time. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

This week we're talking protests, both old and new. On Wednesday, Milwaukee Bucks players refused to play their NBA playoff game in protest of racial injustice. Other pro athletes in the NBA, WNBA and more also walked off the job. Sam talks it out with Clinton Yates , columnist for The Undefeated . Then, we take it back 50 years to the Chicano Moratorium in Los Angeles on August 29, 1970. That mar...

Billy Porter is a force to be reckoned with. A Tony Award-winning Broadway performer. A fashion icon with unforgettable red carpet looks. An Emmy Award-winning actor (with another nomination under his belt this year). Currently, Porter stars in the acclaimed FX show Pose , all about New York's underground ball culture in the 80s and 90s. It's also takes place during the height of the HIV-AIDS cris...

Everyone's talking about obstacles to voting this year, from the post office to the pandemic. Sam talks with NPR's Miles Parks about how everything's supposed to work with the election in November. Then, Sam calls up historian Martha S. Jones , author of the forthcoming book Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All . They talk about why voting looks...

We're in the homestretch of the 2020 presidential election campaign. Joe Biden announced Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, Democrats have their national convention this week, Republicans next week, and each party's candidate is hoping to energize their voter base. Sam talks to The Atlantic 's McKay Coppins about Donald Trump's base and how his campaign's digital efforts have evolved since 20...

Home sales are up, but the number of people facing evictions is also up. Sam talks to The Indicator 's Stacey Vanek Smith and Cardiff Garcia about the good and bad news of the housing market in a pandemic. Then, TikTok is massively popular around the world, but now it's under fire from the Trump Administration due to national security concerns. We hear from NPR tech reporter Bobby Allyn about the...

One of the few companies doing well during this pandemic is Netflix. In the last few months, the streaming service has seen a huge uptick in new subscribers. Sam talks to Peter Kafka and Rani Molla, co-hosts of the podcast Land of the Giants , about the Netflix effect — how it got to where it is today, its win over Blockbuster, and the one TV show that launched a thousand binges (figuratively spea...

Sam revisits his chat with Regina King from 2019 after the actress' recent Emmy nomination for her performance on the HBO series Watchmen . In this encore interview, King talks about why she gravitates toward work that deals with race and policing, why she's still proud to call herself an American and why that also means demanding things to get a lot better than they are now. See pcm.adswizz.com f...

"Karen" is not just a name. It's also a persona, an attitude, a label for a certain type of white woman determined to get what she wants—especially at the expense of Black people. Karens are part of a long lineage going back at least a couple centuries. This week we share an episode from Code Switch about the origins of "Karen" as an archetype, who her ancestors were, and why such a label even exi...

A special bonus feed drop from The Los Angeles Times podcast Asian Enough : A conversation with Top Chef host, model and writer Padma Lakshmi about growing up Indian American in the San Gabriel Valley, cultural appropriation vs. appreciation in food, and her new Hulu show Taste the Nation . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to man...

Should I wear a mask while running? How often should I wipe down my phone? Can I say hello to other people's dogs? Our listeners had questions about coronavirus, we have answers. Sam is joined by Short Wave host Maddie Sofia to dig into the science behind some of the decisions we have to make about everyday encounters in this pandemic. Then, Sam is all caught up in the buzz around Netflix's Indian...

All relationships have a backstory, even friendships. Best friends Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman , hosts of the podcast Call Your Girlfriend , are out with a new book called Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close . In it, they write about their friendship story and they share lessons for all of us about how to keep our own friendships strong. Sam chats with them about going to friend therapy...

We're in a recession, and it's hitting women especially hard. So how does it compare to the last recession, and how much of it has to do with childcare? Sam is joined by Planet Money 's Mary Childs and Stacey Vanek Smith to make sense of it all. Then Sam chats with Reverend Jes Kast , an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, about how faith and scripture provide solace in moments of un...

Sam revisits his 2019 conversation with actress and writer Michaela Coel, who is the star and creator of the new critically acclaimed show, I May Destroy You. Before that show, Coel made waves in the hit British sitcom Chewing Gum. Her work as the creator, writer, and lead actress on the show earned her a BAFTA. She tells Sam about the emotional transparency that comes from shaving her head and ho...

Colleges and universities are getting ready for a new year, but like everything else, coronavirus is complicating everything. Some are closing campus and moving online, others plan to bring students back with social distancing. Sam checks in with Tressie McMillan Cottom , associate professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and author of Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy , a...

The newsrooms that covered the protests for racial justice are now being forced to confront racism and inequity within their own organizations. Black journalists and other journalists of color are sharing their experiences on social media and leading a public debate over what it means to be "objective," whose stories are told, and how whiteness still dictates newsroom practices, opportunities and...

Four months into the pandemic, it seems like we're no better off in dealing with the coronavirus. There are still so many questions and few definitive answers about how this all ends, and for a lot of us, that's turned into anger and frustration. Sam talks to comedian Laurie Kilmartin about how she used Twitter and her iPad to process her mother's illness and death from COVID-19. Then he chats wit...

Last year, comedian Chelsea Handler made a documentary on Netflix called, Hello Privilege. It's Me, Chelsea , where she explored the idea of white privilege. Which happens to be a thing that a lot of people are talking about again... right now, in 2020. Sam talks to Chelsea about what she's learned since then, her latest book — Life Will Be the Death of Me...and You Too! -- and coming to terms wit...

It's summer without a lot of the usual summer fun because, you know, pandemic. But we've got music and TV recommendations to keep you company. Joining Sam are All Things Considered co-host Audie Cornish and Code Switch co-host Gene Demby to chat about their TV picks — Netflix's Bojack Horseman and HBO's I May Destroy You — and to play a special summer songs version of Who Said That. Then, Sam chat...

Ever wonder what it would be like to take hundreds of photos of yourself for a giant coffee table book ... wearing only a bikini? Comedian Nicole Byer has. And did, for her new book: #VeryFat #VeryBrave: The Fat Girl's Guide to Being #Brave and Not a Dejected, Melancholy, Down-in-the-Dumps Weeping Fat Girl in a Bikini. Sam talks to the "Nailed It" Netflix host about what it was like to make the bo...

How much has Big Tech changed since the 2016 election? Sam is joined by Washington Post tech reporters Elizabeth Dwoskin and Tony Romm . They chat about Facebook and Twitter and how their platforms and views on free speech have evolved since the last presidential election. Sam also chats with Washington Post columnist and satirist Alexandra Petri about her book of essays Nothing Is Wrong and Here...

Actress Tracee Ellis Ross has been acting for years — from the early 2000s sitcom 'Girlfriends' to her Golden Globe winning role on ABC's 'Black-ish.' She talks to Sam about pushing back against Black stereotypes on and off-screen, pursuing success at any age, finding Black joy during a tumultuous time, and sharing her singing work in her latest film 'The High Note' with her mother, music legend D...

What does it all mean when so much change happens at the same time? This week, the Supreme Court protected the rights of two marginalized groups — DACA recipients and LGBTQ workers — and protests against police brutality continued around the world. Sam chats about the Supreme Court with Slate's Mark Joseph Stern , then checks in with Tobore Oweh, a DACA recipient who is hopeful yet realistic about...