Kamau kicks off the episode by reconnecting with comedian and writer Guy Branum, noting they haven't seen each other in person in a while but keep up via social media. Kamau gives Branum his flowers and recalls their time working together on Totally Biased. Kamau praises Branum for refusing to be sidelined in the entertainment industry despite having a law degree and facing industry bias against gay and larger performers.

 

The conversation turns to Branum's solo show, "Be Fruitful," which explores his place in the world as a gay man who will never "be fruitful and multiply." Branum discusses taking the show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the ongoing work of refining it. Bell shares advice about performing at Edinburgh, including the importance of acknowledging local culture for the audience.

 

They discuss Branum's social media series "Old Gays Remember," which grew out of filming standup clips in West Hollywood, and touch on the changing diversity of writers' rooms in Hollywood since 2020.

 

The episode gets more serious when Branum addresses his public criticism of the film "The Whale" for its portrayal of fatness, and his broader experience of being overlooked for roles despite fitting the exact description required. Branum also shares nuanced views on the Israel-Palestine conflict as a Jewish man, emphasizing complexity over simplistic positions.

 

The episode lightens again with a discussion of Branum's appearance on regular Jeopardy after 20 years of taking the test.

 

Donate to Lambda Legal at lambdalegal.org, the ACLU at aclu.org, Teens of Color Abroad at teensofcolorabroad.org, and to Black Voters Matter at blackvotersmatterfund.org.

 

Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries.

Kamau kicks off the episode by reconnecting with comedian and writer Guy Branum, noting they haven't seen each other in person in a while but keep up via social media. Kamau gives Branum his flowers and recalls their time working together on Totally Biased. Kamau praises Branum for refusing to be sidelined in the entertainment industry despite having a law degree and facing industry bias against gay and larger performers.
&nbsp;
The conversation turns to Branum's solo show, "Be Fruitful," which explores his place in the world as a gay man who will never "be fruitful and multiply." Branum discusses taking the show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the ongoing work of refining it. Bell shares advice about performing at Edinburgh, including the importance of acknowledging local culture for the audience.
&nbsp;
They discuss Branum's social media series "Old Gays Remember," which grew out of filming standup clips in West Hollywood, and touch on the changing diversity of writers' rooms in Hollywood since 2020.
&nbsp;
The episode gets more serious when Branum addresses his public criticism of the film "The Whale" for its portrayal of fatness, and his broader experience of being overlooked for roles despite fitting the exact description required. Branum also shares nuanced views on the Israel-Palestine conflict as a Jewish man, emphasizing complexity over simplistic positions.
&nbsp;
The episode lightens again with a discussion of Branum's appearance on regular Jeopardy after 20 years of taking the test.
&nbsp;
Donate to Lambda Legal at <a href="http://lambdalegal.org">lambdalegal.org</a>, the ACLU at <a href="http://aclu.org">aclu.org</a>, Teens of Color Abroad at <a href="http://teensofcolorabroad.org">teensofcolorabroad.org</a>, and to Black Voters Matter at <a href="http://blackvotersmatterfund.org">blackvotersmatterfund.org</a>.
&nbsp;
Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Distributed by Pushkin Industries.

Kamau Bell is known for embracing uncomfortable conversations that acknowledge differences, confront embarrassment, and change people’s perspectives. Throughout his career, Kamau has talked with everyone from KKK members to Oprah Winfrey to strangers on the streets. Each time, Kamau fills these conversations with humor, heart, and intellect, showing that a simple conversation can lead to surprising revelations and spark change, one person at a time.

Kamau brings all that and more to his new weekly podcast, Who’s With Me? Inspired by Kamau’s popular Substack newsletter of the same name, Who’s With Me? is more than just a simple question. It is an invitation to connect, a call to action, and a reassuring pat on the shoulder in these increasingly hectic times. 

In every episode, Kamau addresses what has caught his attention in the current cultural or political landscape. He also sits down with someone he admires deeply—a time for Kamau to give them their flowers, ask his most burning questions, and invite his guest to give him and his audience homework on how to make the world a better place. Kamau will talk to celebrities, his fellow comedians, his fellow Oaklanders, activists, and sometimes he will talk to someone like Daveed Diggs, who is all of that in one body. So… who’s with Kamau? New episodes every Wednesday. 

Kamau Bell is known for embracing uncomfortable conversations that acknowledge differences, confront embarrassment, and change people&rsquo;s perspectives. Throughout his career, Kamau has talked with everyone from KKK members to Oprah Winfrey to strangers on the streets. Each time, Kamau fills these conversations with humor, heart, and intellect, showing that a simple conversation can lead to surprising revelations and spark change, one person at a time.
Kamau brings all that and more to his new weekly podcast,&nbsp;Who&rsquo;s With Me? Inspired by Kamau&rsquo;s popular Substack newsletter of the same name, Who&rsquo;s With Me? is more than just a simple question. It is an invitation to connect, a call to action, and a reassuring pat on the shoulder in these increasingly hectic times.&nbsp;
In every episode, Kamau addresses what has caught his attention in the current cultural or political landscape. He also sits down with someone he admires deeply&mdash;a time for Kamau to give them their flowers, ask his most burning questions, and invite his guest to give him and his audience homework on how to make the world a better place. Kamau will talk to celebrities, his fellow comedians, his fellow Oaklanders, activists, and sometimes he will talk to someone like Daveed Diggs, who is all of that in one body. So&hellip; who&rsquo;s with Kamau? New episodes every Wednesday.&nbsp;

Who's with Me? with W. Kamau Bell

Who’s With Me? is more than just a simple question. It is an invitation to connect, a call to action, and a reassuring pat on the shoulder in these increasingly hectic times. Every Wednesday, stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell sits down with someone he admires deeply to give them their flowers, ask his most burning questions, and invite his guest to give him and his audience homework on how to make the world a better place.

W. Kamau Bell is a Peabody Award winner, 4X Emmy Award winner, documentary filmmaker, Celebrity Jeopardy! champion, Official Ambassador of the band Fishbone, self-proclaimed #1 Bruce Lee Expert (non-Asian division), part-time activist, and full-time family man. Kamau is also known for his CNN docuseries United Shades of America, his four-part docuseries We Need To Talk About Cosby, and for scrawling “HAHA!” over his enemies’ faces on his Instagram account.

Who&rsquo;s With Me? is more than just a simple question. It is an invitation to connect, a call to action, and a reassuring pat on the shoulder in these increasingly hectic times. Every Wednesday, stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell sits down with someone he admires deeply to give them their flowers, ask his most burning questions, and invite his guest to give him and his audience homework on how to make the world a better place.
W. Kamau Bell is a Peabody Award winner, 4X Emmy Award winner, documentary filmmaker, Celebrity Jeopardy! champion, Official Ambassador of the band Fishbone, self-proclaimed #1 Bruce Lee Expert (non-Asian division), part-time activist, and full-time family man. Kamau is also known for his CNN docuseries United Shades of America, his four-part docuseries We Need To Talk About Cosby, and for scrawling &ldquo;HAHA!&rdquo; over his enemies&rsquo; faces on his Instagram account.

Guy Branum on Being Unapologetic 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/31392dce-0b14-4e3f-bbe0-b4c700142531/transcript