Choice Words with Samantha Bee

Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka joins Sam to talk about her new special “Father” and why in her relationship she is “father” and her husband is “mother.” They talk about recalibrating your goals once you’ve reached them, which is what Atsuko had to do after accomplishing her only childhood goal of working at an ice cream parlor. They discuss Atsuko being unknowingly undocumented as a child after h...

Senator Elizabeth Warren joins Sam to explain that the most important thing individuals can do right now to fight back is to pick their path of resistance and be loud about it—and sometimes that means being the most annoying person at the party until you get your way. They dive into the corruption of the infamous memecoin dinner, how her former employer Harvard University is demonstrating exactly how to fight back, and how th...

As a bonus, we’re thrilled to share an episode of Happier with Gretchen Rubin, another standout podcast from Lemonada Media — and one that recently featured our very own Sam as a guest!

Happier is hosted by Gretchen Rubin, the #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before. Known for her insightful, practical advice, Gretchen brings her signature approach to building good habits and finding more j...

Cofounder of Run For Something and Author of When We’re In Charge Amanda Litman joins Sam to talk about the gerontocracy running our country and her call for politicians over 70 to stop running for re-election. They talk about how to be a better boss and why that includes creating better parental leave programs and the importance of a four day work week. Sam asks Amanda if we’ll ever have “normal” boring pol...

Chef, author, activist and restaurateur Tom Colicchio joins Sam to talk about big life decisions like joining Top Chef almost 20 years ago and how it’s one of the only times he hasn’t followed his wife’s advice. They reminisce over meeting while Sam was dressed as a flight attendant and having kids that only eat bread. Tom explains his “shoot from the hip” decision making process and the occasional pro...

Each week, comedians and best friends Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael take a ‘deep dive’ into their real lives and discuss a wide range of topics including how to pursue joy amidst the insanity of motherhood and family, grief and loss, sh*t they put on their faces, and why they refuse to check their voicemails or unpack their suitcases. 

In this episode, June and Jessica petition to bring back the return o...

Connie Britton, creator and host of Hallmark’s new series The Motherhood, joins Sam to unpack parenting and talk about the importance of choosing community when raising kids, and how she is now helping other new single moms to do the same. They talk about why it’s hard for women to ask for help, how babies don’t respect working hours, why it’s important for kids to see a range of emotions from their parents,...

Weird Al Yankovic joins Samantha Bee to discuss their unique meet-cute, and how their interview came to be due to a scam gone right. Al tells Sam about how he’s actually happy with all the choices he’s made in life except (other than wishing he had bought Apple stock) and yet he agonizes over little decisions—especially when editing music videos. He reveals that the ultimate dig at him is when people say he’...

Renowned restaurant critic, food writer, and magazine editor Ruth Reichl joins Sam to talk about why taking a job as the editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine was such a hard decision, and how it ended up changing her life. They talk about getting paid to do a job you would do for free, her new documentary “Food and Country,” thoughts on meal kits, and their recurring waitressing nightmares.

Keep up with Samantha Bee @rea...

Iconic American fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi joins Sam and talks about choosing to honor a commitment to do costumes at the Kennedy Center despite its hostile conservative takeover. They talk about his Trump-induced “meat-mares”, how sometimes there’s nothing to do but “double Spanx” and learning to do female impersonations as a seven year old in Brooklyn. Isaac tells Sam about how he loves performin...

Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii joins Sam to talk about what it’s like to show up to work amidst all the chaos in DC and why the best preparation for being in Congress was growing up with three brothers. They discuss why the enormous dissatisfaction with President Trump still can’t paper over the real problems with Democrats, the importance of telling different types of people that they are welcome in the Democratic part...

Comedian Matteo Lane joins Sam and reveals that there may not be a single language he doesn’t speak? They talk about his new comedy cookbook “Your Pasta Sucks,” and if you’re even allowed to write a cookbook if you’re not a writer or a chef (he proves the answer is yes). Matteo explains he makes decisions for his personal life in a completely different way than his business life (in one he’s supe...

This week we're excited to share an episode of Pantsuit Politics. In today's episode, hosts Sarah Steward Holland and Beth Silvers are discussing the Signal controversy, in which Jeffrey Goldberg (editor-in-chief of The Atlantic) was accidentally added to a group chat discussing war plans among top US officials. They discuss the national security implications and what this tells us about the second Trump administration's approach t...

Actress and host of the podcast Squeezed, Yvette Nicole Brown, joins Sam and admits she’s better at making decisions for other people than for herself because she wants to be perfect even though she knows she never can be. Yvette shares a regret about not being able to attend her dream school Howard University and how she hopes they might give her an honorary degree someday. She also talks about taking "dumb risks" like movin...

Tarana Burke, founder of the Me Too movement joins Sam to celebrate Women’s History Month and talks about how she’d rather be with good people in a dark place than bad people in a bright place and how Tesla cybertrucks are the only things that make them laugh these days. Sam and Tarana discuss how so many people in the administration are credibly accused of sexual violence and what to do when funding and policies for li...

Actress and activist Sophia Bush joins Sam and they quickly crank it all the way up to a 15 on the rage chart and talk about how much better it would be if moms were in charge instead of bros. They talk about our current state of fascism and why we can’t even imagine how bad things are going to get because our imaginations have never had to work this hard. Sophia explains to Sam why she doesn’t use her phone for an hour...

Congressman Maxwell Frost joins Sam to talk about what it’s like to be the first member of Gen Z in Congress, and why it’s so important for Democrats to choose to see themselves as the opposition party, not the minority party. They talk about how to make decisions that impact millions of people and why the Kennedy Center coup was more significant than people think, and that he has been reading a lot about Elon Musk beca...

Actor and fellow Daily Show alum Josh Gad joins Sam to talk about why it’s harder to do political satire now than in the early aughts (hint: it’s the fascism). They also talk about his new book, In Gad We Trust, lying to your therapist, experiencing imposter syndrome even after years of success, and why he tried to say no to the Book of Mormon. Plus they talk about why Trump impersonations are bad for comedy and hurt mo...

Actor Kathryn Hahn joins Sam from her “she shed” to talk about how important it is to try a decision on for size before you make it and how she’s very good at getting rid of stuff (except for her kids’ art projects). They talk about taking jobs to pay off student loans, the distinct wetness of pre-packaged hardboiled eggs, why moving to LA was never part of her plan, and watching their moms go through menopa...