We make a lot of choices, every single day. Some explode, some implode, most we barely remember. Each week on Choice Words, Samantha Bee sits down with people she admires to examine the biggest choices they’ve made in their lives and the ripple effects those decisions have had. What’s a story a journalist took a chance on that changed history? A vote that a politician never should have cast? A song lyric a musician came up with in the shower that made them instantly famous? Sam’s made a lot of…
Subscribe:.rss.atom.json.md.m3u.pls
Live Last read · last published · next check
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
Bobbi Brown, Founder of Jones Road Beauty, joins Sam fresh off the plane from Paris to discuss her new book, Still Bobbi, and to explore her career trajectory from behind-the-scenes makeup artist to two-time cosmetic company CEO. Bobbi talks about how some of her most important choices were choosing men—both her husband, who she knew within weeks was “the one” and Leonard Lauder, who she decided…
Professor, author, and podcast host Kate Bowler joins Sam to talk about her new book Joyful Anyway, and what the difference between joy and happiness really is. They talk about why happiness is circumstantial but joy is big and bright and hits your reward system. They talk about the Prosperity Gospel, Christian amusement parks, and what on earth the Pope must be feeling right now. They talk about…
Actress and author Gina Gershon joins Sam to talk about her new book AlphaPussy which leads to discussing their shared love of audiobooks, allowing cats to choose their owners, and the wild women who have shaped her life. They talk about making decisions from your brain or from your body, the unconventionality of her career, learning to be tough, and the importance of “fuck you” money. Sam is…
Aasif Mandvi joins Sam for a major Daily Show catch up, and to talk about juggling his return to Broadway in Fallen Angels with his new TV show The Miniature Wife. They bond over the perfection of theater shows with no intermissions, but disagree about when they first met each other. They talk about meeting Bruce Springsteen at The Daily Show, how Kid Rock used to be a huge fan, and what it would…
Financial journalist and author of the new book 1929, Andrew Ross Sorkin, joins Sam to talk about the parallels between 1929 and now and, and how while history does repeat itself, there are some comparisons that don’t work. Sam explains Soul Cycle vs. Peloton, they rehash the Gamestop frenzy, why the lottery is a “tax on the stupid,” and get rich quick schemes. They unpack what Venezuela means for…
Television host and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi joins Sam to talk about her new show, America’s Culinary Cup and how she’s a triple threat on it serving as creator, executive producer, and host. She reveals if she brought anyone from Top Chef with her, why it is important to set the contestants up for success, and why we crave shows where we can witness expertise. Padma talks about ten years of…
Actor Christa Miller joins Sam to talk about the new season of Shrinking and her other role where she serves as music supervisor. Christa talks about how she loves giving new artists their big break on TV and how TV really is the new radio. They talk about the never-ending seasons of 90s sitcoms, choosing spending time with her kids over certain jobs and why it’s always risky to turn something…
Journalist Jodi Kantor joins Sam to talk about her new book, How To Start, and how, much to the chagrin of her parents, she dropped out of Harvard Law to go into a career in Journalism. They talk about why it is so uniquely hard to find a job out of college these days, and how even if you’re not a recent grad, AI is destroying the interview process and the need for entry-level jobs. They talk…
Author George Saunders joins Sam to talk about his new book Vigil and why people are so obsessed with turning him into a secular saint (and his childhood role of church guitarist). George explains that even though he’s not on social media he still finds ways to doom scroll, how the current government could have learned empathy if they bothered to read a few books, and how he found inspiration for…
Jennifer Welch, host of the podcast “I’ve Had It” joins Sam to talk about taking a midlife gap year in Manhattan and how the country is led by people with no shame, and you just can’t shame the shameless. They talk about how she navigates the daily shitstorm (by starting her day at 5am with four shots of espresso), staying on Twitter despite the Elon Musk factor, how growing up atheist in Oklahoma…
The New Yorker editor David Remnick joins Sam to talk about if The New Yorker is the “slow food movement” of news and how today’s current events remind him of living in Moscow at the end of the Soviet Union. They talk about how the industry changed when Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post and why his ownership is different in the second Trump administration than in the first, and how David is…