Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know: Best of Season 2 – Hasan’s Most Unhinged Moments

Host: Hasan Minhaj
Producer: 186k Films
Release Date: December 31, 2025

Episode Overview

This special “Best Of” episode showcases the wildest, funniest, and most thought-provoking moments from Season 2 of "Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know." True to its title, it leans into Hasan’s signature blend of serious inquiry and comic chaos, revealing both his relentless curiosity and tendency toward going gloriously off-script. Memorable guests join to tackle everything from language barriers in swearing to the philosophical purpose of life, and plenty of unfiltered, relatable tangents arise along the way.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Art of Swearing Across Cultures

[05:40 – 09:00]

• Bilingual Banter:
  Hasan hilariously discusses Hindi, Urdu, and Spanish curse words, comparing which languages deliver the best insults.
  • “There’s certain curse words in Hindi and Urdu that just cannot be articulated in English.” — Hasan Minhaj [05:45]
• Spanish Equivalents:
  Breakdown of meanings:
  • “Pendejo” literally means “pubic hair,” but is widely used as “moron” or “idiot.”
  • Use of “la verga” as both a term for male anatomy and an exclamation similar to "fuck!"
• Cultural Differences:
  Reflection on fathers’ go-to insults and the context of “son of an owl” in Hindi vs. “pendejo” in Spanish.

2. Social Media & Reply Guys

[10:12 – 13:00]

• What is a ‘Reply Guy’?:
  Hasan explains internet reply guys as “mouth breathing lurkers that generally reply to every single post a woman puts on the Internet.” [10:35]
• Bots vs. Real People:
  Examination of famous reply guys responding to Halle Berry; joke examples of both real and bot-like behaviors.
• ‘Blind Liking’ Debate:
  “No blind liking on a Catwoman costume. But if you said it’s World Orange, Health, education, Math Day, like, well, I do it all wrong because I like whatever I want to like. Because I am in menopause and I have no fuck to give.” — [Guest, 12:50]

3. Candid Political Interviews

[14:00 – 17:00]

• Roasting Beto O'Rourke:
  Hasan’s signature roasting introduces Beto O'Rourke’s track record:
  • “You ran for Senate in 2018. You lost. You ran for president in 2020. You lost. You ran for governor in 2022. You lost. Mr. Beto O’Rourke, what public office are you planning on losing in 2026?” — Hasan Minhaj [14:10]
• Military & Satire:
  Interview with a US Army General, drawing Onion headlines (“80% of Al Qaeda number two’s now dead”) into a chat about military strategy using Chicago Bulls analogies.
  • “Wait, so just for the analogy, if you’re looking at a super team, you didn’t get MJ. You didn’t get Scottie, but you blew up Dennis Rodman.” — Hasan Minhaj [15:30]

4. Science: Freestyling the Answers

[18:00 – 21:30]

• Hasan Attempts Science Q&A:
  • On tides: “The tide is high and the tide is the ocean, which is somehow connected to the moon. That also is connected to a woman’s cycle.” [18:23]
  • On gravity: “The sun is huge, and the Earth doesn’t fall into the sun because the gravitational pull is making it circle the block...” [18:55]
  • On DNA base pairs: “I don’t know. Next question. You look really constipated. Let’s just get... let’s get through this.” [20:31]
  • Guest: “All your answers are what an 8th grader would give who didn’t do the homework. They just take the words from the question and reassemble them.” [21:00]

5. Modern Parenting Challenges

[22:30 – 25:00]

• Screen Time Roleplay:
  Hasan and guest role-play a parent-child standoff over ending iPad time, mixing humor with real strategies.
  • “If you don’t look at me right now, I am gonna put my hands over the screen, and that’s gonna be really unfortunate…” — [22:55]
  • Kid negotiation, meltdowns, and creative bargaining ensue.

6. Math on the Spot & Accents

[26:00 – 28:30]

• Quick Math:
  Hasan works out multiplication problems on air, celebrating small victories and stalling on bigger ones.
  • “What is 3 times 34?... 102. Let’s go! You did it. You did it. Let’s effing go.” — [27:25]
• American Accents & Improv:
  Hasan attempts various American regional phrases & “yeehaw” call-outs, veering off into comedic spirals.

7. Philosophical Hot Takes (with Rainn Wilson)

[30:00 – 33:00]

• Big Questions in 15 Seconds:
  Hasan and Rainn Wilson rapid-fire on life’s biggest queries:
  • Free Will? “Yes, we have free will. And this is a test from the divine. So do with it as you will.”
  • True Love? “Yes and no. Yes, there is true love. No, there’s not a soulmate. There's many people that we could mate with...” [31:45]
  • Absolute Morality? “There’s an absolute morality and it’s God given. There, I said it.” [32:03]
  • “Are we noble beings or just animals?” “We’re both. That’s the rub and that’s the challenge.” — Rainn Wilson [32:20]

8. Complicated Role Models & Therapy

[34:00 – 37:00]

• Reflections on MLK Jr.:
  Candid, nuanced talk about messy personal lives of historical figures.
  • “Let us all understand that people are complicated and carry multitudes.” — [Guest, 36:15]

9. Childhood Trauma, Bullying & Vulnerability

[38:00 – 41:00]

• Personal Confessions:
  Hasan recalls being bullied and responding by biting others, prompting discussion on trauma and vulnerability.
  • “I was a biter. I’m 39 years old. I almost never bite people now.” — Hasan Minhaj [38:22]
  • Guest (on childhood safety): “If your kids were bullied… and they did not talk to you, how would you explain why?... On some level, I have not created a channel for them to talk to me… They don’t feel safe with you. They don’t trust you.” [39:30]

10. High Stakes Entertainment & Sacrifice

[42:00 – 43:30]

• TV at All Costs:
  An immigrant guest shares how they literally crawled under barbed wire at a refugee camp to watch Bollywood movies.
  • “What were the shows you were willing to bleed for?... It was Home Improvement. No, it was the Bollywood movie Dill.” [43:10]

11. Investing Regrets & Fantasies

[44:00 – 45:30]

• Stock Market FOMO:
  Hasan vents about missing out on massive stock gains, roasting standard investment advice.
  • “Had I put my $3,000 into Nvidia, I would have gone up 26,209%... So fuck your 12%, JL.” — Hasan Minhaj [44:07]
  • Guest rebuts: “And if you had wings, you could fly… What crystal ball did you have 10 years ago?”

12. The Condemn or Condone Game

[46:00 – 48:00]

• Rapid Judgment:
  Hasan plays a lightning round on ethical and pop-culture scenarios, riffing on everything from Olaf in Frozen and polyamory to the Crown TV show and Boko Haram.
  • “Condemn or condone? Polyamory. Oh, condemn. I’m a brown Muslim, I’m gonna condemn that.” — Hasan Minhaj [46:30]
  • “White people who discover cardamom and then repeatedly put it on everything. Condemn or condone? Condemn. 100% condemn.” [47:55]
  • “Condemn or condone? This game.” “Condemn. It’s a racist game.” [48:09]

13. Pop Culture, Power, and Scandal

[49:00 – 50:30]

• Trump, Michael Jackson & Scandal Fallout:
  Comparison of celebrity scandals—why some fans stick with Trump or MJ regardless of new information.
  • “Would I let this person babysit my kids? No. But, man, oh man, Off the Wall is a great album.” — Hasan Minhaj [49:50]

14. Comedy & Likability

[51:00 – 52:00]

• Hasan’s Bill Cosby Story:
  Hasan recalls being told by Bill Cosby that he wasn’t likable enough for comedy.
  • “He said comedy is about likability, and I can tell immediately you’re not likable.” [51:45]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “No blind liking on a Catwoman costume.” — [Hasan, 12:07]
• “Can you see why biting might be a totally natural response?” — [Guest therapist, 39:00]
• “There’s more photos of Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein than there are photos of me with Ronny Chieng.” — Hasan Minhaj [49:30]
• “You ran for president in 2020. You lost … Mr. Beto O’Rourke, what public office are you planning on losing in 2026?” — Hasan Minhaj [14:10]
• “All your answers are what an 8th grader would give who didn’t do the homework.” — [Science guest, 21:00]
• “If I were Trump, not that he’s going to listen to this podcast, or take my advice, I would release the files.” — [50:00]
• “People are complicated and carry multitudes.” — [Guest, 36:15]
• “If you had wings, you could fly.” — JL (on investment regrets), [45:10]
• “I was a biter. I’m 39 years old. I almost never bite people now.” — Hasan Minhaj [38:22]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Swearing Across Cultures: 05:40 – 09:00
• Reply Guys Explained: 10:12 – 13:00
• Political Roast & Onion Analogy: 14:00 – 17:00
• Science Freestyle: 18:00 – 21:30
• Parent/Child Screen Time Roleplay: 22:30 – 25:00
• Math & Accents Humor: 26:00 – 28:30
• Philosophy Rapid Fire: 30:00 – 33:00
• Trauma & Vulnerability: 38:00 – 41:00
• Condemn or Condone Game: 46:00 – 48:00
• Comedy & Likability: 51:00 – 52:00

Episode Tone & Style

• Language: Candid, irreverent, and thoughtful in equal measure; moves effortlessly between thoughtful sincerity and absurdist comedy.
• Format: Fast-paced, segment-driven, and guest-heavy, blending genuine curiosity with moments of joyful chaos.

Final Thoughts

This “Best Of” episode perfectly captures Hasan Minhaj’s fearless curiosity, love of cultural mashups, and propensity for letting things get genuinely unhinged—while always circling back to sincerity. Whether he’s making dad jokes, diving deep on parenting trauma, or putting celebrity scandals in perspective, the show is as nuanced and surprising as its host.