The podcast opens with Kamau giving Rafael his flowers. Rafael, who has lived in LA for seven years, insists he still identifies Berkeley and Oakland as home, describing his time in LA as an extended work trip.

 

The conversation moves into Rafael's background in the Bay Area youth poetry scene, where he competed in the National Poetry Slam and earned a reputation. Around season three of Def Poetry Jam, producers sought out younger voices and brought Rafael on at age 18. He describes being a nervous, skinny kid staring at the ground on stage, having never memorized a poem before. He was one of the first people to convert his clip from VHS and upload it to YouTube, where it reached a million views, a rare feat at the time. He then toured colleges for a decade off that single clip.

 

During this period, Rafael and his childhood friends opened a recording studio in a North Oakland warehouse, where he first began collaborating with Daveed Diggs. He later took a role as creative director of a poetry scholarship program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also worked toward a degree, finishing four credits shy of completion.

 

The interview touches on Rafael's identity as a white Latino, the complexity of Hispanic racial identity, and the importance of honest self-placement within conversations about race and representation in Hollywood.

 

The conversation closes with Rafael discussing his commitment to the Bay Area community, including efforts around the Oakland film incentive, the Baylist initiative connecting Bay Area media makers, and a call for investment in local film infrastructure. He reflects on the importance of mentorship and passing permission to younger artists, citing an encounter with Jim Carrey as a defining moment of validation.

 

Donate to #Makeitbay at https://makeitbay.org and to Youth Speaks at https://youthspeaks.org

 

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

The podcast opens with Kamau giving Rafael his flowers. Rafael, who has lived in LA for seven years, insists he still identifies Berkeley and Oakland as home, describing his time in LA as an extended work trip.
&nbsp;
The conversation moves into Rafael's background in the Bay Area youth poetry scene, where he competed in the National Poetry Slam and earned a reputation. Around season three of Def Poetry Jam, producers sought out younger voices and brought Rafael on at age 18. He describes being a nervous, skinny kid staring at the ground on stage, having never memorized a poem before. He was one of the first people to convert his clip from VHS and upload it to YouTube, where it reached a million views, a rare feat at the time. He then toured colleges for a decade off that single clip.
&nbsp;
During this period, Rafael and his childhood friends opened a recording studio in a North Oakland warehouse, where he first began collaborating with Daveed Diggs. He later took a role as creative director of a poetry scholarship program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also worked toward a degree, finishing four credits shy of completion.
&nbsp;
The interview touches on Rafael's identity as a white Latino, the complexity of Hispanic racial identity, and the importance of honest self-placement within conversations about race and representation in Hollywood.
&nbsp;
The conversation closes with Rafael discussing his commitment to the Bay Area community, including efforts around the Oakland film incentive, the Baylist initiative connecting Bay Area media makers, and a call for investment in local film infrastructure. He reflects on the importance of mentorship and passing permission to younger artists, citing an encounter with Jim Carrey as a defining moment of validation.
&nbsp;
Donate to #Makeitbay at <a href="https://makeitbay.org">https://makeitbay.org</a> and to Youth Speaks at <a href="https://youthspeaks.org">https://youthspeaks.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.

Rafael Casal on Building Something Real

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f57b2a8a-f5bc-42f5-bd3d-b4db017e96fa/transcript