Who's with Me? with W. Kamau Bell
Kamau Bell is known for embracing uncomfortable conversations that acknowledge differences, confront embarrassment, and change people’s perspectives. Throughout his career, Kamau has talked with everyone from KKK members to Oprah Winfrey to strangers on the streets. Each time, Kamau fills these conversations with humor, heart, and intellect, showing that a simple conversation can lead to surprising revelations and spark change, one person at a time. Kamau brings all that and more to his new weekly podcast, Who’s With Me? Inspired by Kamau’s popular Substack newsletter of the same name, Who’s With Me? is more than just a simple question. It is an invitation to connect, a call to action, and a reassuring pat on the shoulder in these increasingly hectic times. In every episode, Kamau addresses what has caught his attention in the current cultural or political landscape. He also sits down with someone he admires deeply—a time for Kamau to give them their flowers, ask his most burning questions, and invite his guest to give him and his audience homework on how to make the world a better place. Kamau will talk to celebrities, his fellow comedians, his fellow Oaklanders, activists, and sometimes he will talk to someone like Daveed Diggs, who is all of that in one body. So… who’s with Kamau? New episodes every Wednesday.
Episodes
This week’s episode with Colin Kaepernick was recorded live at Marcus Books in Oakland, California. Kamau opens by thanking Kaepernick for his book, The Perilous Fight, which reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
The conversation turns to Kaepernick's 2016 protest. Kamau reads Kaepernick's famous quote about refusing to stand for the flag of a country that oppresses Black people. Kaepernick explains that this stat...
The podcast opens with Kamau giving Rafael his flowers. Rafael, who has lived in LA for seven years, insists he still identifies Berkeley and Oakland as home, describing his time in LA as an extended work trip.
The conversation moves into Rafael's background in the Bay Area youth poetry scene, where he competed in the National Poetry Slam and earned a reputation. Around season three of Def Poetry Jam, producers sought out younger ...
We’re sharing an episode of No Such Thing, a show where Manny Fidel, Devan Joseph and Noah Freidman—three best friends and journalists—argue about stuff, like friends do, but instead of just yelling at each other on the internet, they actually go find out the answer In this episode, they dive into the reading crisis in America. They speak with children’s author Jason Reynolds, professor Paul Thomas, and publ...
The interview starts with Kamau giving Don Lemon his flowers. The two reflect on their shared history at CNN, with Bell recalling that Lemon consistently welcomed and supported newer talent at the network. Lemon pushes back on claims made after his departure that he was difficult to work with.
The conversation shifts to Lemon's post-CNN career and his commitment to field reporting. Lemon explains that he has always been a reporter ...
The interview opens with Kamau giving flowers to fellow documentary filmmaker Bao Nguyen and praising the breadth and quality of his work. Kamau recounts first meeting Bao through the Bruce Lee documentary "Be Water," then being surprised by the announcement of "The Greatest Night in Pop", which he attended with Tom Morello. Kamau was also excited and a bit jealous upon learning Bao was making a Jimi Hendrix documentary.
The conver...
Kamau kicks off the episode by reconnecting with comedian and writer Guy Branum, noting they haven't seen each other in person in a while but keep up via social media. Kamau gives Branum his flowers and recalls their time working together on Totally Biased. Kamau praises Branum for refusing to be sidelined in the entertainment industry despite having a law degree and facing industry bias against gay and larger performers.
The conve...
The interview opens with Kamau welcoming Ken Jennings and reflecting on how they first met at a Seattle Bumbershoot festival through comedian Doug Benson's podcast. They bond over the classic era of Twitter, agreeing that their generation of Gen Xers had one social media platform they tolerated before it deteriorated.
Kamau shares his admiration for Jennings as a Jeopardy! host, recalling how smooth and natural Jennings appeared wh...
The interview opens with W. Kamau Bell welcoming Mo Willems (and later his wife Cher) to the podcast. Kamau explains that he has never fallen out of love with children's books, even as an adult.
The conversation quickly moves into a rich discussion about the nature of picture books. Willems describes them as songs rather than novels, meant to be experienced repeatedly, and argues that the reader supplies 51% of the book's meaning. ...
Kamau’s interview with Shannon Lee opens with a discussion about her role as steward of her father Bruce Lee’s legacy, which she frames as “stewarding” and “nurturing” rather than “parenting” his legacy, focusing on protecting its energy and helping people understand it beyond kicks and punches. She emphasizes Bruce’s philosophy of self-actualization and his four-step formula: r...
W. Kamau Bell opens the interview with Sara Sidner by giving her flowers and praising her long record of reporting from conflict zones.
Sidner explains her attraction to covering conflict despite disliking it, seeing it as a way to witness honesty and possibly help resolution, a dynamic she connects to her family background. She describes being mixed race, the “quintessential person to hate” for white supremacists, and ...
Kamau chats with comedy legend Margaret Cho about her evolution from prodigy stand-up to comedy elder, activist, and craft‑obsessed lifer. They bond over their shared San Francisco roots and how he sees her as a “comedy mother.” Cho embraces that role, saying she loves taking ownership when younger comics build on what she did and “make it better.”
They dig into her landmark solo show I’m the One That ...
The interview opens, as always, with Kamau giving Open Mike Eagle his flowers. Open Mike Eagle is someone Kamau feels a lot of kinship with, both men being somewhat outsiders in their given crafts.
After, they shift to recalling how they met during the production of Kamau’s TV show Totally Biased, and the chaotic period when the show expanded to five nights a week.
Both describe their shared “over there” feeling, ...
Kamau chats with alternative comedy legend Maria Bamford, praising her artistry and creative fearlessness, recounting how fellow comedians have long considered her a genius.
They bond over difficult, irritable fathers teaching practical skills like changing tires, and how the “vibe” made learning impossible.
Maria and Kamau discuss their sometimes complicated love of standup: both cherish the craft but often prefe...
Kamau sits down with Leslie Jones for a raw, funny, and fiercely honest journey through becoming one of Saturday Night Live’s most unforgettable forces, and why she ultimately had to walk away. She explains the emotional grind of SNL, and the insane internet reaction to the announcement of an all-female Ghostbusters.
Jones traces how Chris Rock helped propel her toward Saturday Night Live, including the controversy over SNL&r...
Kamau sits down with the outspoken multihyphenate Eddie Huang to discuss his evolution as a chef and writer.
Kamau gives Huang flowers for his moral clarity and refusal to let Hollywood reshape his identity. Eddie describes himself as blunt, and is guided by a strong internal compass that his wife and close collaborators help refine.
They discuss code-switching and how Huang leverages being perceived as nonthreatening, while his &l...
Kamau opens the episode recalling Misty Copeland’s surprise appearance at the Oscars shortly after her hip replacement, marveling at her return to elite performance so soon after surgery and the physical demands of ballet.
Copeland explains she had her farewell performance at American Ballet Theatre (ABT) after a 25‑year career, then learned she needed a hip replacement, which she welcomed as a solution to debilitating pain.
...
W. Kamau Bell talks with economist, author, and former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich about his lifelong fight against inequality, his journey through four presidential administrations, the capture of American democracy by big money, and why he refuses to give up on social justice.
Kamau opens the show by “giving Robert his flowers” for being one of the few public figures who have remained focused on social justice a...
W. Kamau Bell talks with actress and filmmaker Nava Mau about Baby Reindeer, her short films, being a trans woman in Hollywood, and the pull of Oakland.
Kamau opens up the show by giving Nava her flowers, praising her performance in Baby Reindeer, her advocacy, and her public presence.
He warmly reviews All The Words But The One, a short film she wrote, directed, and acted in, which hit the festival circuit right when she broke out...
W. Kamau Bell and Daveed Diggs sit down to discuss Daveed's hip-hop career, parenthood, Hamilton, acting, and pursuing creative projects with friends.
Kamau gives Daveed his flowers for being intentional with the work he selects. From his rap group 'clipping.' to his role in the final season of The Boys, to his new film Magic Hour, Daveed busts his ass with projects he believes in.
They discuss how the Bay Area fosters the arts and...
Kamau sits down with chef-turned-host Kristen Kish to talk about her stepping up as host of Top Chef after the departure of Padma Lakshmi, being kind, outrage over Netflix's Roast of Kevin Hart, and being a transracial adoptee.
Kamau starts by giving Kristen her flowers for being a true natural on camera and the shoes she had to fill as a relative newcomer to television.
They talk about the surprisingly big cultural gap between Gen...
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