There’s a lot of political news to talk about. And W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu are back to talking about it on their podcast, “ Politically Re-Active.”
After a three-year hiatus, the show returns just in time for the general election on November 3. The show began during the last election cycle and it set out to provide sharp political analysis with a comedic edge.
Kondabolu talked to Fast Company about why they brought the show back.
“Once COVID happened, it became more realistic,” Kondabolu says. “Everything’s shut down. We’re at home more. Also, it just felt like people suddenly have more time for listening to podcasts. The bandwidth people have is a lot greater as a result of people working from home, and you can be watching your kids and have them on in the background. Like there is a demand. So we felt like this was the opening.”
Of course, even though the podcast was started and resurrected in election seasons, Kondabolu understands that elections are only one piece of the sociopolitical puzzle.
“The election isn’t the end in itself,” the host says. “It’s the means to the end, or even just a step along the way toward it. But when we talk about institutional racism, when we talk about women controlling their own bodies, when we’re talking about LGBTQ rights—that work, to me, is always going to be there. The election might be every two to four years, but democracy is a constant process.”
We’re checking in with the hosts of “Politically Re-Active” about what they’ve been up to and what they’re hoping to accomplish with the show this time around.
Copyright 2020 WAMU 88.5. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5. 9(MDAxODc0NzU5MDEyMTgyMDUxMzlkN2IzMw004))