The Sam Sanders Show

Comedian Jazmyn W. pokes fun at everything from being a single mom to dating post-divorce. It’s part therapy, part life advice, and 100% real. She chats with Sam about why she isn’t afraid to be honest in her stand up, the realities of working as a comedian and content creator, and why even though she has over a million followers on TikTok, she couldn't care less if the app shuts down....

Surprise! From now on you’ll be getting double the Sam in your feed every week.  In today's episode...When Sam placed Jaws on our Horror Movie Mt. Rushmore our videographer, Luis Peña, had A LOT to say. Sam and Luis duke it out and find out once and for all what actually makes a horror movie a horror movie.   The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders...

We were all burned by the #GIRLBOSS era… just ask comedian Phoebe Robinson. Her latest standup special I Don’t Wanna Work Anymore gets into all the ways hustle culture made us all tired.  Phoebe and Sam break down the realities of the girlboss, trad wives and tired baddies everywhere. They also reflect on the legacy of her comedy podcast  2 Dope Queens , which she hosted wit...

Hallelujah! It's finally spooky season! Time to break down the very best of Hollywood horror. Joining the show are culture journalists Brittany Luse (host of NPR’s It’s Been a Minute ) and Tre’vell Anderson (host of the film podcast SEATED ).  They rank their favorite scary movies of all time and build the definitive Horror Movie Mount Rushmore . Can anything top Jordan Peel...

Maybe there actually was a song of the summer? At least if you’ve seen the hit movie KPop Demon Hunters. The film’s hottest song, Golden, has been dominating the Billboard Hot 100 charts since August. And it’s the most popular film to ever hit Netflix. Songwriter  Mark Sonnenblick helped create the soundtrack’s major pop anthems. He talks about bringing them to life, h...

Ben Collins became CEO of The Onion after a long career working in traditional news, so he's got major thoughts about speaking truth to power. He breaks down the role of satire in our current politics and what journalism is getting wrong about free speech.  Ben also talks about relaunching The Onion ’s print newspaper and why AI will never write a good joke. Plus, he shares his pop cult...

Actor June Squibb became a Hollywood leading lady in her 90s, decades after she first began acting. She tells Sam about finding stardom in older age, her Broadway debut in Gypsy in 1959, and why it’s alright to bend the truth every now and then. They also discuss her latest starring role in Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor the Great . The film follows June’s charact...

Zosia Mamet is known for her breakout role as Shoshanna in the millennial core HBO series Girls. She breaks down the show's lasting legacy, what her character would be up to today, and why younger generations are still connecting with the show.  Plus, Zosia’s new book of essays, Does This Make Me Funny? , gets candid about being a self-described “B-minus nepo baby” and...

Anna Sale hosts one of our favorite podcasts (and probably yours too) Death, Sex & Money .    In honor of her show, Sam and Anna roundup their picks for the best movies, tv shows, music and books all about (you guessed it!) death, sex and money. Together they get into the timeless lessons on grief in The Lion King , why Bonnie Raitt’s catalog is the ultimate remedy for heartbre...

Pulitzer Prize–winning fashion critic Robin Givhan joins Sam to talk style, luxury, and legacy. Sam also asks the eternal question: which jeans should he wear—skinny, baggy, barrel, or wide leg? Robin offers sharp fashion advice and dives into her new book, Make It Ours: Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh . They unpack the rebellious influence of Virgil Abloh—the lat...

Why do bad lyrics happen to good people?  From ‘ suckin' on a chili dog ’ to ‘ making love to his tonic and gin ,’ even the biggest hits from our favorite artists can feature lyrical turns that make us feel quizzical, offended, or even downright nauseated. Sam joins Nate and Charlie, hosts of the Vulture music podcast Switched on Pop , to plumb the depths of the worst...

BFF’s Lindy West and Meagan Hatcher-Mays ( Text Me Back! Podcast ) dive into what pop culture gets right (and wrong) about friendships.  The duo share their hot takes with Sam, make a case for renaming Love Island to Friendship Island , and ask if MTV’s The Real World ruined the country. Plus, should some problematic celebrities ( cough *Cardi B* cough ) get a pass for being too r...

Harriet Tubman… as a rap icon?  Bob the Drag Queen ’s new book Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert reimagines the historical icon as an abolitionist rapper in present-day America. Bob tells Sam about Tubman’s radical impact on history and why he’s obsessed with her legacy. They dive into what freedom means in 2025. Plus, Bob shares hilarious impressions (Thanks, Obama) an...

Big Freedia is best known as the Queen of Bounce, but her new gospel album  Pressing Onward showcases her holy roots.  She tells Sam about growing up as a young gay church kid in New Orleans, what moved her to make a gospel album, and how twerking and praising God go hand in hand. Plus, Big Freedia breaks down her iconic feature on Beyoncé’s 2016 hit single “Formation....

Beyoncé just wrapped her Cowboy Carter era, which saw an acclaimed world tour, historic Grammys wins, and a lot of backlash. So what does her massive crossover really mean for country music and its politics? Writer and cultural critic Tressie McMillan Cottom joins Sam to unpack whether or not country music still has a race problem (spoiler alert: it does), the reaction to Beyoncé&rsq...

This week, writer Anne Helen Petersen unpacks the idea of Feminist Exhaustion — a term she coined to describe the burnout, backlash, and disillusionment many women feel toward the hollow promises of modern feminism. Sam and Anne explore how pop culture shaped (and warped) our ideas of empowerment through shows like Scandal , Girls and basically every recent Nicole Kidman project. Plus, they...

Anyone else exhausted?  

We’re halfway through the year, so it’s time for a pop culture check-in!  Sam is joined by two of your faves  — Linda Holmes ( Pop Culture Happy Hour ) and Ronald Young Jr. ( Leaving the Theater , Weight For It ) — to break down the best and worst of the year so far. From Sinners to The Studio to Love Island and the online discourse that kept us all talking. Plus,...

Atsuko Okatsuka’s comedy is bright and joyful, yet rooted in trauma. In this episode, she joins Sam to talk about her wild childhood, including being kidnapped by her grandmother, growing up undocumented in LA, and navigating her mother’s schizophrenia. They also talk about Atsuko’s new Hulu special Father, and what it reveals about marriage, mental illness, and emotional surviva...

Today we’re sharing an episode from our friends at The Big Flop ! Every week, the show unpacks pop culture’s most fascinating flops, frauds, and fiascos. In this episode, host Misha Brown throws back to Woodstock '99 with Sam and Lindy West ( Text Me Back! ). The music fest was meant to commemorate the original 1969 festival with “three days of peace and music” but instead...

Allison Williams became a millennial icon as Marnie on HBO’s Girls — but her second act is even more thrilling. From Get Out to M3GAN , she’s carved out a new space as a horror star and unexpected scream queen. In this episode, Allison joins Sam to unpack what draws her to morally messy characters, and why she keeps playing women we love to hate. They dive into her newest film, M...

We’re taking a little break from the show week, but very excited to share an episode from the Normal Gossip podcast. It’s a hilarious show with a simple premise: listeners send in the strangest, juiciest gossip they’ve heard, then host Rachelle Hampton dishes it all out. In this episode, Sam and Rachelle break down a case of “accidental” love-bombing at a Colombian ho...

Actor Jeff Hiller opens up about his journey from church kid in Texas to queer fame in Hollywood. Jeff and Sam swap stories of growing up gay in conservative Christian spaces, where church was both a sanctuary and a source of shame. They unpack the complicated ways faith and queerness collide. They also break down how Hollywood struggles to tell stories about people who are queer, religious, worki...

This week, we’re building the ultimate Queer Hollywood Mount Rushmore. Who belongs on the mountain of the most iconic LGBTQ+ entertainers in history?  Sam is joined by comedians Cameron Esposito and Jay Jurden for a fast, funny, and heartfelt debate covering everyone from RuPaul to Little Richard, Janelle Monáe to George Michael, and Abraham Lincoln. Yes, we put Lincoln on the li...

We all know the saga of Britney Spears. Her meteoric rise, followed by a grim downfall and a troubling conservatorship. Her story captured a generation. But what does it say about America and ourselves? Sam reflects on it all with journalists Andrea Domanick and Jeff Weiss. They break down Britney’s impact on music, the tabloids that encroached on her private life and how she became a symbol...