The interview opens with Kamau welcoming Ken Jennings and reflecting on how they first met at a Seattle Bumbershoot festival through comedian Doug Benson's podcast. They bond over the classic era of Twitter, agreeing that their generation of Gen Xers had one social media platform they tolerated before it deteriorated.

 

Kamau shares his admiration for Jennings as a Jeopardy! host, recalling how smooth and natural Jennings appeared when Bell appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy!. The two discuss how Jeopardy! built itself around Trebek over decades, and Jennings admits he was skeptical the show would survive after Trebek's passing.

 

Jennings describes the difficult circumstances of stepping into the hosting role, explaining that he was originally scheduled to guest host while Trebek underwent cancer treatment, only to receive a call the morning he was due to rehearse informing him that Trebek had died overnight. Jennings felt compelled to continue because crew members told him he reminded them of Trebek.

 

The conversation turns to Jeopardy!'s cultural significance, its loyal multigenerational audience, and its role as a rare steady long-term job in show business. Jennings discusses his hosting philosophy of receding into the background, following Trebek's ethos that the show should be about the players and clues.

 

The interview then addresses Jennings speaking out politically on issues including immigration enforcement, trans rights, and reproductive rights, with Jennings framing this as a matter of personal conviction rooted in his Latter-day Saints upbringing.

 

Donate to World Central Kitchen at wck.org and support Scarecrow Video at scarecrowvideo.org. Support families in Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan at  anera.org. Donate to immigration relief at alotrolado.org.

 

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

The interview opens with Kamau welcoming Ken Jennings and reflecting on how they first met at a Seattle Bumbershoot festival through comedian Doug Benson's podcast. They bond over the classic era of Twitter, agreeing that their generation of Gen Xers had one social media platform they tolerated before it deteriorated.
&nbsp;
Kamau shares his admiration for Jennings as a Jeopardy! host, recalling how smooth and natural Jennings appeared when Bell appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy!. The two discuss how Jeopardy! built itself around Trebek over decades, and Jennings admits he was skeptical the show would survive after Trebek's passing.
&nbsp;
Jennings describes the difficult circumstances of stepping into the hosting role, explaining that he was originally scheduled to guest host while Trebek underwent cancer treatment, only to receive a call the morning he was due to rehearse informing him that Trebek had died overnight. Jennings felt compelled to continue because crew members told him he reminded them of Trebek.
&nbsp;
The conversation turns to Jeopardy!'s cultural significance, its loyal multigenerational audience, and its role as a rare steady long-term job in show business. Jennings discusses his hosting philosophy of receding into the background, following Trebek's ethos that the show should be about the players and clues.
&nbsp;
The interview then addresses Jennings speaking out politically on issues including immigration enforcement, trans rights, and reproductive rights, with Jennings framing this as a matter of personal conviction rooted in his Latter-day Saints upbringing.
&nbsp;
Donate to World Central Kitchen at <a href="http://wck.org">wck.org</a> and support Scarecrow Video at <a href="http://scarecrowvideo.org">scarecrowvideo.org</a>. Support families in Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan at&nbsp; <a href="http://anera.org">anera.org</a>. Donate to immigration relief at <a href="http://alotrolado.org">alotrolado.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.

Ken Jennings on Carrying the Jeopardy! Legacy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/fcbaaf66-f7b8-4339-9afe-b4bf0186860a/transcript