Podcast
Clock It with Symone & Eugene
Hosted by MS NOW, Eugene Daniels, Symone Sanders Townsend · EN
Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels first became friends over decade ago, as they built careers at the intersection of society and politics. Symone’s work inside administrations and campaigns thrust her into the culture wars, helping candidates navigate the minefields of identity, symbolism, and optics. At “Politico” and “Morning Joe,” Eugene decoded how pop culture shapes — and sometimes skewers — political figures.
On “Clock It with Symone & Eugene,” they invite listeners and guests into their personal groupchat. They talk about politics (think Nikole Hannah-Jones on civil rights!); they talk about arts and culture (Tony Goldwyn, aka President Fitz from “Scandal,” drops by!); and they talk about how all of it comes together to shape our lives.
This is where you can stay tapped in without burning out. Because on “Clock It,” you get a look at the world in Symone and Eugene’s signature style: off-the-cuff, engaging, and always with a dose of fun. New episodes drop Thursdays.
43episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Colbert Says Goodbye and Drake … Is Back?
1w ago00:48:35Summary readyIt’s official. CBS has closed the doors of the Ed Sullivan Theater to “The Late Show” and Stephen Colbert. The show’s expiration is a sign of the times, when media executives capitulate to federal power in order to get mergers approved and paychecks delivered. Eugene and Dr. Symone Sanders Townsend (yes, Dr. Sanders Townsend) lament the twilight of comedy on TV and ask what moguls like Byron Allen will do with the airtime going up for grabs. And then the conversation turns to the cruel face of the Trump administration’s immigration detention campaign. Before they go, our hosts congregate with another Dr. – Dr. Michael Eric Dyson – who has a bone to pick with Kendrick Lamar. They also talk about the shadow of white supremacy, and the ways the Black community’s contributions to American society continue to be simultaneously disrespected and appropriated. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Trump Won’t Save You, from the Billionaires or the Hantavirus
2w ago00:45:56Summary readyThe hantavirus is not the next COVID (at least that’s what we are being told…and hope). But Symone and Eugene wonder if they can trust the public health officials in the Trump administration. And a week after Tennessee and Alabama stripped Black voters of their ability to elect the local representatives of their choice, Eugene and Symone warn that Republicans in power are not done. Experts, like Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, would argue that attacks on Black political participation are nothing new. “If you're a racist white oligarch, and let's say you're stealing from white people and Black people, how do you continue to engage in those robberies? You convince those white people you're robbing that they're being robbed by Black people.” But Dr. Kendi says those attacks are misdirected. He joins Clock It to break down how we're being trained to think that political power is a zero sum game; and he urges people to see rights for Black and Brown people as something that benefits everyone. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Money for War (and the Met Gala) but Can't Feed the Poor
3w ago00:48:12Summary readyUsually at this time of the year fans of art and culture, like Symone and Eugene, are enjoying (or critiquing) the looks from the Met Gala's red carpet. But 2026 was different, because Jeff “Temu Lex Luthor” Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez-Bezos, were the primary sponsors. Symone and Eugene are joined by Honey Magazine co-founder and Ebony Magazine former Editor-in-Chief Kierna Mayo to discuss why exactly the streets were upset with the cultural takeover by one of the world’s richest tycoons. And why they themselves are not ready to fault the Carter family for attending. Our hosts also clock the Supreme Court’s recent alarming decisions and the ways in which fire has not ceased in Iran. Even though Trump has declared the Iran War “terminated,” shots (missiles) continue to be fired. Gas prices have doubled since the beginning of the fighting, which has some Americans trying to figure out how to pay for groceries. And the White House is requesting an additional 1.5 TRILLION taxpayer dollars for the Pentagon. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Eugene Is a Space Nerd, Symone Says Fill Up Your Tank ASAP, and We’re All Nostalgic for the ‘90s
Apr 900:52:11Summary readyThis week gas prices were dramatic, brand new Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin took to Fox News to walk back promises he made during his confirmation hearings just last month, and Trump (among other things) threatened journalists with jail time for protecting leakers. So Symone and Eugene ask Geoff Bennett, PBS anchor and author of “Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to '90s Sitcoms” to join the groupchat. Together they compile a list of ideas for distracting yourself – i.e. preserving your sanity – while the President of the United States is posting “a whole civilization will die tonight”: Victor Glover putting lotion on in space, Christina Koch fixing the space toilet, dinosaurs, rewatch “A Different World,” rewatch “Living Single,” dinosaurs again, make bracelets for your friends and family, make phone cases for your friends and family. “You gotta find some whimsy every day,” says Symone. “Cause the world is hard.” Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Druski, Nick Cannon, and Rachel Maddow's Top Questions for Trump
Apr 200:57:07Summary readyAs the war in the Middle East continues and Americans take to the streets to protest, Symone and Eugene turn to a familiar figure to make sense of these strange times: "Auntie" Rachel Maddow. The trio ask if President Trump can distinguish reality from fantasy. Does he have a comprehension problem? Or is he emotionally lazy? But the thing is, Rachel Maddow doesn’t actually care what’s going on in his brain. “I am very disinterested in him as a person,” she says. “I know that Donald Trump wants to dismantle us as a constitutional republic. The most important thing is what the country is going to do in trying to stop him. What is everybody else going to do?” And Eugene tears up talking about how important it is for the American people to realize they have agency. "They don’t have to accept the idea that their neighbors are gonna be snatched up and taken away. They don't have to accept the idea that, you know, gay marriage may go away. They don't have to accept that sh*t.” Plus Druski gets millions talking about Erika Kirk again, while Nick Cannon, Amber Rose, and TLC’s Chilli display their own comprehension problems. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Trump Sends ICE to Airports to Stand Around and Harry Sisson Asks Dems to Stop Dancing
Mar 2600:42:53Summary readyTrump says he was the first person to think ICE agents would help with the interminable lines around the country. “That was like the paperclip,” he said, standing on a tarmac in West Palm Beach on Monday. “You know the story of the paperclip? 182 years ago, a man discovered the paperclip. It was so simple and everybody that looked at it [would] say, why didn't I think of that?” And Eugene points out that no one else thought of it because it’s a terrible idea. He and Symone also call the war in Iran “a choice,” and look at the small percentage of Americans (it’s 1%) that stands to benefit from that choice. “This is a wealth transfer that is hiding in a gas price,” says Symone, referring to a study of the 2022 oil shock – caused by Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine – that showed the net income of publicly listed oil and gas companies tripled the last time oil cost as much as it does now. Then social media star Harry Sisson joins to talk the difference in standards between traditional media and creators, cynicism, and faith in the American people. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Gas Prices Are Soaring, the UFC Is Training the FBI, and Hollywood Is Ruining “Sinners”
Mar 1900:45:29Summary readySymone and Eugene observe the fallout of war in the Middle East, which has widened to include Iran’s soccer team, the price of gas all over the world, and the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Then Sam Sanders joins to talk about Oscars wins and merger losses. He argues that we’ll remember last weekend’s Academy Awards – when interesting movies like “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” won big – as the end of an era. “The version of Hollywood that we are walking into will be much less likely to actually green light those kind of films,” says Sam. And he places the blame for our more boring future at the feet of … the billionaires. “The question,” asks Sam, “is are we going to have people in charge of this stuff who choose to spend money on folks who aren't from central casting?” Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Don Lemon Thinks His Critics Are “Out of Their Rabbit A** Minds”
Mar 1200:51:37Summary readyAs the war in Iran extends into week two, the White House is turning the deadly fighting into a meme, while the president and Marco Rubio eye their next target: Cuba. And after being arrested for covering an ICE protest in Minnesota, Don Lemon comes on the show and gets real about his legal battle with the Department of Justice. The independent journalist and former CNN anchor has been called a “sleazebag” by the President of the United States. But he remains undeterred. He reminds us that the First Amendment is the “bedrock of our constitution,” and at the end of the day he believes he will have the last word. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Does Nikole Hannah-Jones Have Hope?
Mar 501:07:30Summary ready"You don't talk to me for hope," she says. But we found a little bit. First, Ayman Mohyeldin stops by to break down how he’s watching the news out of Iran, and what he sees in the chaotic conclusion to the Democratic primary for a Senate seat in Texas. In our guest segment – the groupchat – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and creator of “The 1619 Project” Nikole Hannah-Jones warns us that we have entered a second Nadir, a period when progress toward democracy is being rolled back. And returning to an era of Civil Rights enforcement is not a short-term struggle. But, she says, in the words of Coretta Scott King: “Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.” And now, Nikole says, it’s our turn to earn it. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Kash Patel, Gavin Newsom, and a Very "Raggedy" Black History Month
Feb 2600:36:30Summary readyTrump’s 2026 State of the Union was … one for the record books. Literally. In the longest State of the Union address in history – something the president is no doubt proud of – Trump continued to declare that America is bigger, better, richer, hotter, and stronger than ever before. Marc Lamont Hill joins Symone and Eugene to discuss how that could be possible when the price of beef, orange juice, and rent is up, and when Americans are looking down the barrel at losing their voting rights. Symone and Eugene also apologize to Vini Jr. – on others’ behalf – ask how FBI Director Kash Patel rationalizes taking a government Gulfstream to the Olympics after he repeatedly criticized his predecessor for similar behavior, and call out the BAFTAs for shoving Delroy Lindo, Michael B. Jordan, and a Tourette’s activist into a spotlight not a single soul asked for. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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