Kamau sits down with Leslie Jones for a raw, funny, and fiercely honest journey through becoming one of Saturday Night Live’s most unforgettable forces, and why she ultimately had to walk away. She explains the emotional grind of SNL, and the insane internet reaction to the announcement of an all-female Ghostbusters.

Jones traces how Chris Rock helped propel her toward Saturday Night Live, including the controversy over SNL’s lack of Black women and her long‑gestating “slave joke,” written from a bad date in 1999 and eventually used in her audition for SNL and on Weekend Update. 

She describes arriving at SNL as a writer, the brutal table reads, and the psychological grind of the show’s 200‑hour weeks, breaking down the Monday-Saturday schedule in detail.

Jones explains how profound family losses—her parents dying within a year and her brother a decade later—pushed her into fearless living and fueled her pursuit of comedy.

She shares behind‑the‑scenes SNL stories; from Black Trump and Weekend Update chemistry to how sketches live or die, and why “the good ones always want to leave.”

Later, Jones recounts the racist abuse and hacking she endured after Ghostbusters, including leaked nudes, and uses it to talk about social media toxicity and the fragility of fandom.

To support Brown Bag Lady’s mission to feed LA’s homeless community, visit brownbaglady.org, and donate to Planned Parenthood at plannedparenthood.org .

Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Part of the Pushkin Network.

Kamau sits down with Leslie Jones for a raw, funny, and fiercely honest journey through becoming one of Saturday Night Live&rsquo;s most unforgettable forces, and why she ultimately had to walk away. She explains the emotional grind of SNL, and the insane internet reaction to the announcement of an all-female Ghostbusters.
Jones traces how Chris Rock helped propel her toward Saturday Night Live, including the controversy over SNL&rsquo;s lack of Black women and her long‑gestating &ldquo;slave joke,&rdquo; written from a bad date in 1999 and eventually used in her audition for SNL and on Weekend Update.&nbsp;
She describes arriving at SNL as a writer, the brutal table reads, and the psychological grind of the show&rsquo;s 200‑hour weeks, breaking down the Monday-Saturday schedule in detail.
Jones explains how profound family losses&mdash;her parents dying within a year and her brother a decade later&mdash;pushed her into fearless living and fueled her pursuit of comedy.
She shares behind‑the‑scenes SNL stories; from Black Trump and Weekend Update chemistry to how sketches live or die, and why &ldquo;the good ones always want to leave.&rdquo;
Later, Jones recounts the racist abuse and hacking she endured after Ghostbusters, including leaked nudes, and uses it to talk about social media toxicity and the fragility of fandom.
To support Brown Bag Lady&rsquo;s mission to feed LA&rsquo;s homeless community, visit <a href="https://www.brownbaglady.org/">brownbaglady.org</a>, and donate to Planned Parenthood at <a href="http://plannedparenthood.org">plannedparenthood.org</a> .
Who's With Me is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Chris Dowd. Part of the Pushkin Network.

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.

Leslie Jones on Knowing Your Worth

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/2875a366-5f40-4fe7-9a8b-b48f0043fa6b/transcript