The interview opens with W. Kamau Bell welcoming Mo Willems (and later his wife Cher) to the podcast. Kamau explains that he has never fallen out of love with children's books, even as an adult.

 

The conversation quickly moves into a rich discussion about the nature of picture books. Willems describes them as songs rather than novels, meant to be experienced repeatedly, and argues that the reader supplies 51% of the book's meaning. He emphasizes that a writer's job is not to convey an idea but to recreate the discovery of that idea.

 

Willems then explains his creative process, describing how he separates creative time from reactive time and stays unreactive until after lunch. He discusses his "idea garden" notebook and the practice of auditioning characters before assigning them to stories. He reveals that each book begins with a philosophical question he does not yet know the answer to, and that "The Pigeon Needs a Bath" grew from his personal resistance to doing things he loves.

 

Mo's wife Cher joins the conversation, and the couple discusses their collaborative dynamic, describing themselves as co-philosophers who work out ideas together at the dinner table. The origin story of "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" is shared, including how Cher first tested it with kindergartners in a library and the children responded with enormous enthusiasm.

 

The interview closes with the Willems recommending local food pantries and regional food banks, as well as DonorsChoose, as causes they support. Willems ends with a reflection on generosity during difficult times.

 

Find and support your local food bank, and donate to DonorsChoose at donorschoose.org

 

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

The interview opens with W. Kamau Bell welcoming Mo Willems (and later his wife Cher) to the podcast. Kamau explains that he has never fallen out of love with children's books, even as an adult.
&nbsp;
The conversation quickly moves into a rich discussion about the nature of picture books. Willems describes them as songs rather than novels, meant to be experienced repeatedly, and argues that the reader supplies 51% of the book's meaning. He emphasizes that a writer's job is not to convey an idea but to recreate the discovery of that idea.
&nbsp;
Willems then explains his creative process, describing how he separates creative time from reactive time and stays unreactive until after lunch. He discusses his "idea garden" notebook and the practice of auditioning characters before assigning them to stories. He reveals that each book begins with a philosophical question he does not yet know the answer to, and that "The Pigeon Needs a Bath" grew from his personal resistance to doing things he loves.
&nbsp;
Mo's wife Cher joins the conversation, and the couple discusses their collaborative dynamic, describing themselves as co-philosophers who work out ideas together at the dinner table. The origin story of "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" is shared, including how Cher first tested it with kindergartners in a library and the children responded with enormous enthusiasm.
&nbsp;
The interview closes with the Willems recommending local food pantries and regional food banks, as well as DonorsChoose, as causes they support. Willems ends with a reflection on generosity during difficult times.
&nbsp;
Find and support your local food bank, and donate to DonorsChoose at <a href="http://donorschoose.org">donorschoose.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.

Mo Willems on The Necessity of Art

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e485e34e-0721-45bf-869d-b4b801835a55/transcript