The High Life with Ricki Lake

Olympian Alexi Pappas may have won gold during the 2016 Summer Games representing Greece, but she wasn’t prepared for the debilitating depression she faced after the glory. Join Ricki in conversation with Alexi as they talk about losing loved ones to suicide, opting into life, and how Alexi regained her footing after her Olympic win and ensuing battle with her mental health. 

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At 55 years old, Emmy-winning talk show host Ricki Lake is feeling better than ever! She’s cracked the code to her own happiness, and she wants to help you do the same. Join Ricki as she continues her lifelong journey of self-reinvention by talking to friends and experts in the realm of healing, health and wellness such as Olympian Alexi Pappas, journalist and psychedelics expert Ernesto Londoño, and death doula Alua Arthur. She’ll...

Receiving love letters from women in prison, busting guests for lying on TV, flying Usher to the studio in a helicopter. These are just a handful of the stories longtime producer, Andrew Scher, remembers from his chaotic and thrilling days on The Ricki Lake Show. He tells Ricki and Kalen about why every day on TRLS felt like a party, how he’s seen daytime TV evolve in the last 30 years, and why he’ll never forget a shocking 2:00 am...

Pop culture expert Danny Pellegrino knows what TV shows are worth watching and when it’s time to change the channel. Danny, a New York Times Bestselling author and host of the Everything Iconic podcast, has seen everything from early 90s talk shows to today’s popular reality TV and he’s here to spill the tea. He tells Ricki and Kalen about his memories watching The Ricki Lake Show after school, digs into all the drama that surround...

Would you go on national TV and admit that you steal things? That’s exactly what these guests did in The Ricki Lake Show episode that Ricki and Kalen dissect today. From stringing along children to stealing from people’s homes, Ricki and Kalen discuss the scam artists featured in this episode: Brandie, who got caught shoplifting with her friend’s baby, MD, who picks up retail jobs and pockets the cash behind the register, and Rache...

Believe it or not, there was once only one channel where we could watch new music videos, hear celebrity gossip, and catch stars like Mariah Carey give private tours of their luxurious homes. This might be before your time, but for journalist and Add to Cart host SuChin Pak, MTV was the launching pad that jump started her career. She joins Ricki and Kalen to talk about starting off in the industry as a teen reporter, becoming the f...

When Ross Mathews was a kid, he would watch The Ricki Lake Show and pretend to host the show alongside Ricki. Now he's one of the most beloved personalities on TV, currently serving as a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race and co-hosting The Drew Barrymore Show. Talk about manifestation! Ross tells Ricki and Kalen about his successful decades-long career on screen, including how an internship with Jay Leno turned into the opportunity of a ...

Aminatou Sow, host of the popular podcast Call Your Girlfriend, joins Ricki and Kalen to talk about growing up in Nigeria, where The Ricki Lake Show was her first introduction to American culture. She tells them about the impressions of African-American culture she formed from watching American television, and how her expectations compared to the reality she experienced when she moved to the US at age 19. Then, the friendship exper...

Long before shows like Love Is Blind and Blind Date caught our attention, The Ricki Lake Show set shallow singles up on blindfolded dates to see if they could find a love match without knowing what their date looked like. Ricki and Kalen discuss the three superficial guests featured in this episode: Tamara, who believes she can “sense ugly” through a blindfold, Don, who says it’s dumb to date someone you don’t find attractive, and ...

In The Ricki Lake Show’s last season, the Gay Pimp gave people and spaces makeovers, taught us about “metrosexuality,” and tested out some dubious aphrodisiacs. Today, the man behind the Gay Pimp character, Jonny McGovern, joins Ricki and Kalen to talk about the origins of the Gay Pimp, where his career went after his TRLS appearances, and even sings some of his hit song “Soccer Practice” for Ricki and Kalen! Plus, they discuss the...

Lauren Lake has done it all – music, TV, books, law, interior design – and she says it’s all because of her appearances on The Ricki Lake Show! Lauren tells Ricki and Kalen about the dating docuseries she was in that caught the attention of TRLS producers, her time as a life coach and relationship expert on Ricki’s show, and how those appearances led to Lauren laying down the law on Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court and We the People w...

Britney Spears. NSYNC. Usher. Salt-N-Pepa. The Ricki Lake Show featured performances from some of the most iconic pop stars of the 90s and early 2000s. Ricki and Kalen talk with former MTV VJ Dave Holmes about the amazing artists who visited TRLS, looking back at the teen pop craze knowing what we know now, and the surprising places Ricki and Dave find new music nowadays. Plus, Kalen tells the story of when he hosted the announceme...

Grab a friend and some snacks – we’ll provide the tea. We’re traveling back to the 90s, when The Ricki Lake Show was the place for drama and fun unlike anywhere else on TV. Ricki and Kalen are joined by Stuart Krasnow, former supervising producer of The Ricki Lake Show, to talk about the show’s beginnings and its lasting impact on a new generation.

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Raised by Ricki is off this week on holiday break, so we’re excited to bring you an episode of V Interesting that Ricki was recently a guest on.

When V thinks back to their childhood, they remember rushing home from school to watch the Ricki Lake Show. That's where they learned about diverse relationships, how to stand up to bullies, and that wearing blazers is cool. Now, V’s talking to the show’s iconic star about how she w...

Raised by Ricki is off this week, but we’re sharing an episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour, another show we think you’ll love. For more than three decades, Maury has been a platform for flamboyant guests seeking paternity and lie detector tests for significant others. They’ve yelled, bawled and kicked over chairs. Now, the show’s host Maury Povich is retiring and it’s the end of an era for a particula...

The Weave Wars stretched the imagination of what hair could look like. From the hair-icopter to a hairdo with actual, live finches, The Ricki Lake Show spotlighted the artistry of fantasy hair. In this jam-packed episode, Ricki and Kalen are joined by the top two competitors of Weave Wars: Sharon Shearer and Weaven Steven. They talk about their most memorable creations and how The Ricki Lake show catapulted their careers. Plus, hai...

Twenty years before Bob the Drag Queen won the eighth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” he would run home after school to catch The Ricki Lake Show. And today, Bob joins Ricki and Kalen to talk about the show’s significance for queer people and people of color – especially drag queens. As a certified fan of The Ricki Lake Show, Bob introduces Kalen to the Ricktionary and talks about why the show was unlike any other on TV in the 90s....

The Ricki Lake Show never shied away from controversial topics. The most spicy and taboo topic of all? Sex! This week, iconic comedian, actress, and musician Margaret Cho joins Ricki and Kalen to talk about sex work, sex positivity, and how society’s views on all things sex have evolved since the 90s. She talks about her time as a phone sex worker, how working at a leather dildo shop kickstarted her LGBTQIA+ advocacy, and her memor...