Podcast
The Sam Sanders Show
Hosted by KCRW & Sam Sanders · EN
The Sam Sanders Show from KCRW is your guide to entertainment. Find out what makes your favorite artists tick, dissect the trends that shape our culture, or just make sense of that random meme you can’t stop thinking about. Join us every week to unpack the pop culture we love.
Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.
Sam Sanders is an award-winning podcast and radio host. He’s been named best podcast host by both The Ambies and the iHeart Podcast Awards. He was one of the founding hosts of The NPR Politics Podcast and the host who launched both It’s Been A Minute from NPR and Into It from Vulture.
64episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ms. Pat: Can Laughter Save Democracy?
Feb 2000:38:46Tap to summarizeComedian and actor Ms. Pat kinda does it all. She performs standup, hosts her own podcast and created the acclaimed sitcom The Ms. Pat Show on BET+. The series is known for mixing a laugh track with real issues like racism, sexual assault and immigration. A recent episode follows Ms. Pat’s family as they help a young kid hide from ICE agents, while the show’s fictional President comes to town. Chaos ensues, but the story demonstrates Ms. Pat’s sharp ability to use humor as a vehicle to talk about pain. She tells Sam about the pushback she got from the network’s parent company over the episode and why she will never be silenced. Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. And remember to take our survey! We want to know more about you and what you love about the show. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
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How Did Mormon Moms Take Over Pop Culture?
Feb 1700:27:57Tap to summarizeThe moment is Mormon. From The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, to The Bachelorette, to popular TikTok accounts like Ballerina Farm, women of the LDS faith are dominating pop culture right now. Sam breaks it all down with author and journalist Bridget Read. Her latest piece for New York Magazine is titled: Under The Mormon Influence. Bridget unveils the ‘receipts, proof, timeline…everything’ behind this phenomenon. Plus, could all this new attention radically change the religion and its followers? Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. Please consider taking our survey! We want to know more about you and what you love about the show. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
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Nia DaCosta: Why is Real Life Scarier Than Horror Films?
Feb 1300:49:14Tap to summarizeDirector Nia DaCosta has done it all. Horror, period drama, and even a Marvel blockbuster. Through it all, Nia is always asking: What does it mean to be human? Her latest films Hedda and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple are no different. She tells Sam about how horror themes mirror the real world, how she found her voice as one of the few Black women directors in the business, and why she’s not interested in teaching white people about race through her films. Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. And remember to take our survey! We want to know more about you and what you love about the show. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
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Why Are Movie Wigs Still So Bad?!
Feb 1000:16:15Tap to summarizeAs awards season grinds on, we're revisiting a topic that really irks Sam – bad wigs on the big screen. Why do sooo many wigs look so wrong? Here to break down what’s going on is Hollywood hairstylist and wigmaker Dawn Dudley. Her work has been seen in A Star is Born, Rob Zombie’s The Munsters, HBO’s Westworld and tons more. She breaks down what’s really happening on Hollywood sets and says it’s often not the hairstylist’s fault. Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. And please take our survey! We want to know more about you and what you love about the show. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
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How 'Heated Rivalry' Even Seduced Russia
Jan 2700:25:27Tap to summarizeEveryone is well aware of Heated Rivalry’s immense popularity. The gay hockey romance seduced the masses in ways we haven’t seen in years… Maybe decades? The show even has a following in Russia, where queer media is outlawed. Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar is familiar with that climate. He was exiled in 2022 when he came out as a gay and married his now husband. Mikhail recently wrote about the parallels between the show and his own life for Vanity Fair. He tells Sam about what it all means for state repression, freedom and hope for LGBTQ+ Russians. Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
Transcribe →TikTok Stars on the Politicians Begging Them for Exposure (From Question Everything)
Jan 2500:39:21Tap to summarizeToday we’re sharing an episode from KCRW’s Question Everything. What happens when TikTokers replace TV hosts and interviewers, and presidential candidates start begging to be on their shows? Question Everything host Brian Reed sits down in a Brooklyn wine shop with four of the internet’s biggest creators: Caleb Simpson, who gets people on the street to take him up to their apartments; Julian Shapiro-Barnum who interviews kids on Recess Therapy; Anania Williams of the LGBTQ quiz show Gaydar; and Jack Coyne, host of the music game show Track Star. Their videos reach more people than many major news outlets. But who gets control over what they run? When is money changing hands? What do they do when politicians like Kamala Harris and RFK Jr. come calling? A frank conversation about the blurry grey area between this new form of entertainment and journalism. Check out the Substack, with more reporting on the war over truth, free speech, and tech’s role in it all. Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.
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What’s Raphael Saadiq’s Golden Rule for Making Music?
Jan 2300:48:36Tap to summarizeRaphael Saadiq has been influential to the music industry since he burst onto the scene with his group Tony! Toni! Toné! — since then he’s produced hits with artists like Beyoncé and scored countless film and TV projects. He’s now nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for his blues anthem “I Lied To You” from the blockbuster film Sinners. He breaks down what went into creating the song, his connection to director Ryan Coogler and his golden rule for making music for movies. Plus, Raphael remembers his late friend D’Angelo and shares the story behind their iconic song “Untitled (How Does It Feel).” Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
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WTF is up with Spotify?
Jan 2000:27:52Tap to summarizeThere’s a little trend that’s gaining a lot of traction… Many people are leaving Spotify – and making a fuss on their way out. They’re angry at the platform and the algorithm. They’re angry with how it pays artists. Some users are very angry about the ads Spotify runs. It’s quite the vibe shift for the world’s largest music streaming service. Sam breaks it all down with Bloomberg’s Ashley Carman who recently reported from Spotify’s headquarters in Stockholm. Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
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The State of Movies in 2026 (ft. The Big Picture)
Jan 1601:03:55Tap to summarizeIt’s officially awards season in Hollywood – with endless red carpets, secret ballots, snubs, scandals… and vibes that feel increasingly weird. Joining Sam to check-in on the health of the movie industry are two of the sharpest cinephiles in the game. Amanda Dobbins and Sean Fennessey, hosts of The Big Picture podcast. They unpack the drama shaping this year’s hottest races and break down this era of dramatic mergers, shrinking monoculture, and box office uncertainty. Plus, a round of bold predictions for 2026 and a few under-the-radar films you’ll want to catch up on ASAP. Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
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Did Social Media Kill the Dance Floor?
Jan 1300:19:23Tap to summarizeConsumed by a fear of looking bad on camera, dance floors across the country are filled with young people standing still. It suddenly seems everyone is too scared to let loose and move to the rhythm. Artists like Tyler, The Creator and Kaytranada have recently called out their crowds for rigid behavior. Sam breaks it all down with Elias Leight, reporter covering the music business for The Wall Street Journal. Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
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