Politically Re-Active
| 'Politically Re-Active with W. Kamau Bell & Hari Kondabolu' | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | W. Kamau Bell & Hari Kondabolu |
| Genre | Politics |
| Updates | Weekly |
| Publication | |
| Original release | 2016 – present |
| Provider | Panoply Media |
| Website | www.politicallyreactive.com |
Politically Re-Active is a political comedy podcast from First Look Media and Panoply hosted by comedians W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu.
History
Bell and Kondabolu previously worked together on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell,[1] with Bell hosting and Kondabolu serving as writer and correspondent.[2]
Politically Re-Active was First Look Media's first podcast, produced in collaboration with Slate's podcasting division, Panoply.[3] The show grew out of conversations the two hosts were having by telephone and backstage at shows over the course of their careers as stand-up comedians.[4]
Schedule
The podcast debuted in June 2016.[2] Early episodes focused on the U.S. presidential campaign of 2016, with weekly episodes from June through the election. Politically Re-Active aired two post-election episodes in November 2016, then went on hiatus.[5] Season 2 began on March 15, 2017.
Format
The show consists of interviews and political comedy. Bell and Kondabolu "host (typically left-leaning) guests each week to try to understand the different ideologies that are shaping this election."[6] Wired described Politically Reactive as "mostly reasonable discussions with guests."[7] Topics of discussion have included dog-whistling, private prisons, presidential debates[8] and the Olympics.[9] Interviews are edited to insert occasional explanations from Bell and Kondabolu (introduced by Kondabolu saying, "Hold up, wait a minute!") to give additional context.[8]
Reception
ColorLines called it a "hilarious new politics podcast"[10] and The Guardian said of the debut, "Bell and Kondabolu are two of the sharpest, funniest political minds around, and based on the first episode, Politically Re-Active will be a great addition to the podcast roster."[11] In July The A.V. Club said the series had "start[ed] off strong," particularly praising the interview with Kathleen Hanna: "an altogether enjoyable episode that’s also a nice primer on both feminism and mansplaining. If the first three episodes are any indication, Bell and Kondabolu are going to be a podcasting force to be reckoned with."[12] AlterNet called it "a seriously great podcast series...easily one of the most binge-worthy things I’ve listened to in recent memory, and already a runaway hit."[13]
In the first six episodes, Politically Re-Active made iTunes' top 15 chart.[14]
Episodes
Season 1
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| June 9, 2016 | Introducing Politically Re-Active |
| June 28, 2016 | Dog Whistling with Ian Haney-López |
| June 30, 2016 | Private Prisons with Shane Bauer |
| July 6, 2016 | Kathleen Hanna on 3rd Wave Feminism & Why She's "With Her" |
| July 13, 2016 | Pastor Michael McBride Says Stop Reaching for Whiteness |
| July 14, 2016 | Robert Reich on Min. Wage, the Bern, & His Date with Hillary |
| July 20, 2016 | Pramila Jayapal on Majority Minority Districts & Teaching Hari How to Dress Himself |
| July 27, 2016 | Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman Gives Us the Election Unfiltered |
| August 3, 2016 | How Van Jones Keeps His Cool in the Cable News Circus |
| August 10, 2016 | dream hampton on Black Liberation in the Hour of Chaos |
| August 17, 2016 | David Daley on How Republicans Ratf**ked American Democracy |
| August 24, 2016 | Dave Zirin on Loving and Hating the Olympics |
| August 30, 2016 | Lindy West on Seeing Women as Real People |
| September 7, 2016 | Shaun King on Controversy, Color, and Kaepernick |
| September 14, 2016 | Jasiri X: Hip Hop and the Movement |
| September 15, 2016 | BONUS EPISODE: NoDAPL, Mailbag, & Our Old Pal Adam Mansbach |
| September 21, 2016 | Presidential Debate Tailgate with John Dickerson |
| September 28, 2016 | Rachel Maddow on Donald Trump, Dick Cheney, and River Monsters |
| October 5, 2016 | Rosa Clemente on Third Parties in a Broken System |
| October 12, 2016 | Comedian Zahra Noorbakhsh & Chicano Band Las Cafeteras |
| October 19, 2016 | S. E. Cupp on being an Anti-Trump Conservative |
| October 26, 2016 | Dr. Jill Stein on Investing Your Vote |
| November 2, 2016 | Comedian Hasan Minhaj on New Brown America and His Superpowers |
| November 8, 2016 | Voting Day Update about This Week's Show! |
| November 10, 2016 | Roxane Gay on Anger after the Election |
| November 17, 2016 | Facing the Future with CNN's Jake Tapper |
| November 23, 2016 | Presenting Maeve in America |
Season 2
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| March 15, 2017 | Season Two? |
| March 29, 2017 | Patrisse Khan-Cullors on Black Lives Matter & Resistance Under 45 |
| April 5, 2017 | YouTube's Akilah Hughes on #BlackWomenAtWork & Feeding the Buzz |
| April 12, 2017 | Journalist Alia Malik on What We're Missing When We Talk About Syria |
| April 19, 2017 | Michael Skolnik on Being a White Woke Guy |
| April 27, 2017 | Aasif Mandvi on the Gaslighting Presidency |
| May 4, 2017 | Getting Adversarial with Journalist Jeremy Scahill |
| May 11, 2017 | Political Analyst Angela Rye Calls It Like It Is |
| May 18, 2017 | Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl on Rad American Women |
References
- ↑ Kumar, Rashmee (3 August 2016). "Hari Kondabolu: 'People want to laugh to deal with frustrations about the world'". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- 1 2 Dry, Jude (27 June 2016). "Hari Kondabolu and W. Kamau Bell Get Political In New Comedy Podcast". Indie Wire. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ Kulwin, Noah (27 June 2016). "Pierre Omidyar’s First Look Media and Slate are teaming up on podcasts, starting with W. Kamau Bell". Recode. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ Sarah, Lakshmi (July 14, 2016). "Race, Identity and the (Digital) Airwaves: The Renaissance of POC-Hosted Podcasts". KQED Pop. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ↑ Acker, Mike (November 23, 2016). "Political comedian Hari Kondabolu brings tour to Portland: 'I don't hold back'". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
- ↑ Mausser, Grace (7 November 2016). "In the Public Ear: Time to Pod-Cast Your Ballot". MediaFile. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ↑ McFarland, K.M. (July 21, 2016). "Hari Kondabolu Is the Best Political Comedian You Don’t Know Yet". Wired. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- 1 2 Jagannathan, Meera (October 19, 2016). "7 podcasts that will make your life better — especially if you like improv comedy, Lifetime movies or politics". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ↑ Ober, Lauren (December 20, 2016). "Here Are Some Of Our Favorite Podcast Episodes Of 2016". NPR. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ↑ Rao, Sameer (29 June 2016). "W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu Launch Election-Focused Podcast". ColorLines. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ↑ Locker, Melissa (5 July 2016). "This week's best podcasts: Serial's impact, Vox Tablet ends, FOUND begins". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ↑ Browning, Laura M. (11 July 2016). "W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu’s Politically Re-Active begins with a bang". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ Holloway, Kali (21 July 2016). "Hari Kondabolu: America's Smartest and Funniest 'Mainstream Comic'". AlterNet. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ Tseng, Ada (July 25, 2016). "Mainstream comic? Hari Kondabolu is changing the definition.". PRI. Retrieved 5 August 2016.