The Sam Sanders Show
KCRW & Sam Sanders
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.
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 12, 2026 • 48min
Did Whitney Houston Sing Out Of Tune? w/ Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean, Haitian-born rapper, musician, and producer who co-founded the Fugees and wrote hits for big pop stars. He tells stories from Haiti and church, how The Score’s sound was built, what it was like producing Whitney Houston, a tense studio moment about singing on pitch, creative partnerships, and why global hip-hop still thrives.
May 8, 2026 • 48min
Trixie Mattel Wants Us To Slow Down
Trixie Mattel, drag performer, musician, author, and entrepreneur known from RuPaul’s Drag Race, talks career reinvention and creative limits. She discusses burnout and a life-changing hiatus. She traces her drag origins to Rocky Horror and shares the pop culture that grounds her, from Townes Van Zandt to The Office.
May 5, 2026 • 28min
Is Mariah Carey the Greatest American Songwriter?
Danyel Smith, a music journalist and author who helped shape The New York Times’ list of top songwriters, discusses Mariah Carey’s songwriting and sampling craft. Short takes cover debates over her inclusion, her insistence on credit, how she makes complex vocal lines singable, and the industry’s disrespect toward Black women in music.
May 1, 2026 • 33min
Did the ‘90s Kill Feminism?
Sophie Gilbert, author and culture writer who studies feminism and pop culture, discusses how 1990s feminism shifted as pop culture reshaped women’s images. She traces Riot Grrrl roots to the Spice Girls’ commercialized girl power. Topics include teen sexualization, industry pressure on young stars, porn’s mainstreaming, hip hop’s misogyny, and how nostalgia masks harm.
Apr 28, 2026 • 33min
Is the Met Gala Still Relevant?
Amy Odell, fashion and culture journalist and host of the Back Row newsletter, joins to discuss the Met Gala's controversies. They cover outrage over Bezos sponsorships, how tech money reshapes fashion cool, the industry's gilded age of conspicuous consumption, widening luxury vs fast-fashion divides, and what signals at the Gala will reveal about acceptance and power in the fashion world.
Apr 24, 2026 • 50min
Is Monoculture Back!? A Pop Culture Check-In w/ ‘Lemme Say This’
Peyton Dix, culture critic and co-host of Let Me Say This, and Hunter Harris, culture critic and co-host of Let Me Say This, dissect 2026 pop culture. They debate a return to monoculture. They trace reality TV’s dominance, celebrity overexposure from Timothée to Zendaya’s quiet stardom, Olympic breakout stars, and why Heated Rivalry still hooks audiences.
Apr 21, 2026 • 23min
Was Justin Bieber’s Coachella Set Lazy… or Genius?
Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker staff writer and cultural critic, breaks down Justin Bieber’s stripped-down Coachella set as a deliberate four-act statement about fame and loneliness. He discusses screens and surveillance, catalog resets, child stardom comparisons, and who gets to shapeshift in pop. Short, sharp takes on spectacle versus concept and how performance shapes authenticity.
Apr 17, 2026 • 45min
Why Do We Still Love the ‘90s?
Rob Anderson, comedian and TikTok creator famous for 1990s pop-culture recaps and his live show Are You Afraid of the 90s?, dives into why the ’90s feel comforting. He dissects absurd TV moments, tropes like glasses=death, Baywatch’s global weirdness, and a tense Touched By An Angel storyline. He also traces how recaps became a live variety show with songs and nostalgic riffs.
12 snips
Apr 14, 2026 • 25min
Is Kanye Forgiven?
Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg entertainment reporter who analyzes celebrity comebacks and business moves. He unpacks Ye’s sold-out SoFi run and new album performance. They compare U.S. enthusiasm with U.K. backlash. They discuss whether business signals and audiences mean a full return to prominence.
Apr 10, 2026 • 37min
Aparna Nancherla: Should We All Ditch the Internet?
Aparna Nancherla, a stand-up comedian and actor known for introspective observational comedy, talks about introversion, anxiety, and why stand-up suits shy people. She explores the pressures of internet culture, surveillance and the urge to log off. She also shares phone-free rituals, a spicy pop culture hot take, and her 'hopeful potato' take on inertia and optimism.
