Choice Words with Samantha Bee

Choices We Made: Actress Leslie Bibb joins Sam while Mercury is fully in retrograde and they quickly agree that their shoulders only fully relax when they’re in the country despite both living in the city.  They talk about being subject to the winds of planetary forces, not being gamblers (they both abide by a strict “only 20 dollars at a time” rule) because they’ve worked too hard for their money, and ...

Bobbi Brown, Founder of Jones Road Beauty, joins Sam fresh off the plane from Paris to discuss her new book, Still Bobbi, and to explore her career trajectory from behind-the-scenes makeup artist to two-time cosmetic company CEO. Bobbi talks about how some of her most important choices were choosing men—both her husband, who she knew within weeks was “the one” and Leonard Lauder, who she decided to sell her eponym...

Actor Tony Shalhoub joins Sam to discuss living out both their dreams while traveling the world eating bread for his new CNN show Breaking Bread. He talks about how bread is the “OG social media,” and while his bigger decisions have been pretty random, little decisions like ordering off a menu are easy for him—as long as he lets the menu speak to him. Sam tells Tony about how important his film Big Night is to her...

Author Michael Lewis joins Sam to celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Big Short and talk about if we’ve learned any lessons since its publication—like why we so often conflate wealth and wisdom. They discuss why they don’t think anyone would actually prefer to go back 30 or 60 years if they had the choice, why cutting interest rates mean house prices will go up, and why Michael wouldn’t bet against Bitcoin...

Comedy legend turned director extraordinaire Michael Showalter joins Sam to talk about how he made this career shift and how he now realizes he hates acting. Michael tells Sam that he’d ultimately like to direct a film in every genre and he hopes horror is next. They talk about how they love traveling at this time of year to see how other countries celebrate Christmas, and why it’s better than staying home. Michael talk...

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt joins Sam to catch up where they left off during the first Trump administration and how they simply can’t believe we’re doing round two of this shit. They discuss how there’s money in outrage and how it drives engagement, and how news channels take advantage of your cortisol levels to keep you engaged with constant alerts of BREAKING NEWS. Patton explains why he no longer interacts...

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–like when Atsuko fulfilled her only childhood goal of working at an ice cream parlor. They discuss Atsuko being unknowingly undocumented as a child after her grandmother brou...

Actress Leslie Bibb joins Sam while Mercury is fully in retrograde and they quickly agree that their shoulders only fully relax when they’re in the country despite both living in the city.  They talk about being subject to the winds of planetary forces, not being gamblers (they both abide by a strict “only 20 dollars at a time” rule) because they’ve worked too hard for their money, and their shared hatr...

Comedian Cristela Alonzo joins Sam to talk about her new Netflix special Upper Classy, and how before her career took off she made the life-changing decision to leave LA to become her mom’s full-time end of life caretaker. She explains that she started standup as a way of dealing with the grief of losing her mom, and how she didn’t even know it could be a real job before then. Cristela talks about how when you grow up b...

Actor and former Obama White House staffer Kal Penn joins Sam to talk about how he doesn’t make calculated decisions and hates when people suggest he makes a decision tree. They unpack the hope of last week’s elections and his serendipitous decades-long connection to Zohran Mamdani. He explains how every job he’s ever said yes to has turned into subsequent exciting opportunities that have all been meant to be. The...

Actor Tony Shalhoub joins Sam to discuss living out both their dreams while traveling the world eating bread for his new CNN show Breaking Bread. He talks about how bread is the “OG social media,” and while his bigger decisions have been pretty random, little decisions like ordering off a menu are easy for him—as long as he lets the menu speak to him. Sam tells Tony about how important his film Big Night is to her...

Bobbi Brown, Founder of Jones Road Beauty, joins Sam fresh off the plane from Paris to discuss her new book, Still Bobbi, and to explore her career trajectory from behind-the-scenes makeup artist to two-time cosmetic company CEO. Bobbi talks about how some of her most important choices were choosing men—both her husband, who she knew within weeks was “the one” and Leonard Lauder, who she decided to sell her eponym...

Journalist Alex Wagner, host of Runaway Country: a new podcast from Crooked Media, joins Sam to talk about how she can’t decide which department—HHS or DOJ—is the current worst offender.  They talk about how journalism school isn’t preparing journalists for the way the news system currently works, and why the Pentagon press corp handed in its badges. They both reflect on the hundreds of travel pieces th...

Chef and restaurateur Nancy Silverton joins Sam to talk about being one of the first American chefs to bring sourdough to the masses. They talk about Nancy opening a new diner with longtime friend Phil Rosenthal and how to decide what gets to be on the menu (not yogurt, yes cottage cheese). They talk about how to run more than one restaurant at a time, and protecting her immigrant kitchen workers at her Los Angeles restaurants from...

We’re so excited to share a new show from Lemonada Media, Don’t Listen To Us, an advice show for advice-skeptics and wisdom-lovers, hosted by Mandy Patinkin, Kathryn Grody, and their son Gideon. 

Legendary actor Mandy (The Princess Bride, Homeland, Criminal Minds) is the consummate entertainer who shoots from the hip, stage actress Kathryn is the thoughtful connector who sees all the nuance, and Gideon is the brave...

Author Michael Lewis joins Sam to celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Big Short and talk about if we’ve learned any lessons since its publication—like why we so often conflate wealth and wisdom. They discuss why they don’t think anyone would actually prefer to go back 30 or 60 years if they had the choice, why cutting interest rates mean house prices will go up, and why Michael wouldn’t bet against Bitcoin...

Host of The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle and former Wall Streeter Stephanie Ruhle, joins Sam to talk about why it’s important to teach your kids use cash if you care about financial literacy. They talk about trying to lower the political temperature and why sometimes going viral is the worst thing for us. Stephanie explains why she doesn’t let herself get tired or sloppy and needs to “keep it tight” in her...

Comedian Cristela Alonzo joins Sam to talk about her new Netflix special Upper Classy, and how before her career took off she made the life-changing decision to leave LA to become her mom’s full-time end of life caretaker. She explains that she started standup as a way of dealing with the grief of losing her mom, and how she didn’t even know it could be a real job before then. Cristela talks about how when you grow up b...

Casey Johnston, the author of Sam’s favorite new book A Physical Education, joins Sam to talk lifting and leaving diet culture. Casey explains why initially she—and many others—felt lifting wasn’t for women who wanted to be seen as attractive, and why people are afraid to question the status quo of health industries. Casey explains the importance of resting your muscles, the dangers of the manosphere, and wh...