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PODCAST

Choice Words with Samantha Bee

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

comedy

All Episodes

65:48

Choices We Made: Wealthy or Wise? (with Michael Lewis)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/12/13

Author Michael Lewis joins Sam to celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Big Short and talk about if we’ve learned any lessons since its publication—like why we so often conflate wealth and wisdom. They discuss why they don’t think anyone would actually prefer to go back 30 or 60 years if they had the choice, why cutting interest rates mean house prices will go up, and why Michael wouldn’t bet against Bitcoin but Sam refuses to take most financial risks. They talk about the

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51:50

Act or Direct? (with Michael Showalter)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/12/11

Comedy legend turned director extraordinaire Michael Showalter joins Sam to talk about how he made this career shift and how he now realizes he hates acting. Michael tells Sam that he’d ultimately like to direct a film in every genre and he hopes horror is next. They talk about how they love traveling at this time of year to see how other countries celebrate Christmas, and why it’s better than staying home. Michael talks about fanning out when actors he loves are in his movies, how he

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57:10

Outraged or Engaged? (with Patton Oswalt)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/12/04

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt joins Sam to catch up where they left off during the first Trump administration and how they simply can’t believe we’re doing round two of this shit. They discuss how there’s money in outrage and how it drives engagement, and how news channels take advantage of your cortisol levels to keep you engaged with constant alerts of BREAKING NEWS. Patton explains why he no longer interacts with people on X but still can’t leave his followers behind,

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51:52

Choices We Made: Mother or Father? (with Atsuko...

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/12/02

Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka joins Sam to talk about her new special “Father” and why in her relationship she is “father” and her husband is “mother.” They talk about recalibrating your goals once you’ve reached them–like when Atsuko fulfilled her only childhood goal of working at an ice cream parlor. They discuss Atsuko being unknowingly undocumented as a child after her grandmother brought her to Los Angeles, and why they both prefer the company of

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50:52

City or Country? (with Leslie Bibb)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/11/20

Actress Leslie Bibb joins Sam while Mercury is fully in retrograde and they quickly agree that their shoulders only fully relax when they’re in the country despite both living in the city. They talk about being subject to the winds of planetary forces, not being gamblers (they both abide by a strict “only 20 dollars at a time” rule) because they’ve worked too hard for their money, and their shared hatred of wasting stuff including chicken carcasses. Leslie talks about how

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56:56

Choices We Made: Caretaker or Comedian? (with...

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/11/15

Comedian Cristela Alonzo joins Sam to talk about her new Netflix special Upper Classy, and how before her career took off she made the life-changing decision to leave LA to become her mom’s full-time end of life caretaker. She explains that she started standup as a way of dealing with the grief of losing her mom, and how she didn’t even know it could be a real job before then. Cristela talks about how when you grow up below the poverty line you learn that part of privilege is having the

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50:53

Earth or Space? (with Kal Penn)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/11/13

Actor and former Obama White House staffer Kal Penn joins Sam to talk about how he doesn’t make calculated decisions and hates when people suggest he makes a decision tree. They unpack the hope of last week’s elections and his serendipitous decades-long connection to Zohran Mamdani. He explains how every job he’s ever said yes to has turned into subsequent exciting opportunities that have all been meant to be. They wonder if his former job in the White House even exists anymore,

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49:56

Bread Baskets or Bougie Butter? (with Tony Shalhoub)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/11/06

Actor Tony Shalhoub joins Sam to discuss living out both their dreams while traveling the world eating bread for his new CNN show Breaking Bread. He talks about how bread is the “OG social media,” and while his bigger decisions have been pretty random, little decisions like ordering off a menu are easy for him—as long as he lets the menu speak to him. Sam tells Tony about how important his film Big Night is to her family, and Tony explains that he’s not a born foodie like

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44:41

Magazine Makeup Artist or Cosmetics CEO? (with Bobbi...

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/10/30

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 to sell her eponymous makeup brand to when it wasn’t even for sale. They talk

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42:29

HHS or DOJ? (with Alex Wagner)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/10/23

Journalist Alex Wagner, host of Runaway Country: a new podcast from Crooked Media, joins Sam to talk about how she can’t decide which department—HHS or DOJ—is the current worst offender. They talk about how journalism school isn’t preparing journalists for the way the news system currently works, and why the Pentagon press corp handed in its badges. They both reflect on the hundreds of travel pieces they’ve done and why it’s still important to talk to people at

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48:17

Choices We Made: Sourdo or Sourdoughn’t? (with Nancy...

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/10/18

Chef and restaurateur Nancy Silverton joins Sam to talk about being one of the first American chefs to bring sourdough to the masses. They talk about Nancy opening a new diner with longtime friend Phil Rosenthal and how to decide what gets to be on the menu (not yogurt, yes cottage cheese). They talk about how to run more than one restaurant at a time, and protecting her immigrant kitchen workers at her Los Angeles restaurants from ICE. They discuss earliest memories of dining at home, the cookie

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46:27

Introducing: Don’t Listen To Us with Mandy Patinkin...

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/10/16

We’re so excited to share a new show from Lemonada Media, Don’t Listen To Us, an advice show for advice-skeptics and wisdom-lovers, hosted by Mandy Patinkin, Kathryn Grody, and their son Gideon. Legendary actor Mandy (The Princess Bride, Homeland, Criminal Minds) is the consummate entertainer who shoots from the hip, stage actress Kathryn is the thoughtful connector who sees all the nuance, and Gideon is the brave soul keeping them on track (or at least trying). Together, Mandy and

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65:48

Wealthy or Wise? (with Michael Lewis)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/10/09

Author Michael Lewis joins Sam to celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Big Short and talk about if we’ve learned any lessons since its publication—like why we so often conflate wealth and wisdom. They discuss why they don’t think anyone would actually prefer to go back 30 or 60 years if they had the choice, why cutting interest rates mean house prices will go up, and why Michael wouldn’t bet against Bitcoin but Sam refuses to take most financial risks. They talk about the

en-US

45:47

Cash or Card? (with Stephanie Ruhle)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/10/02

Host of The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle and former Wall Streeter Stephanie Ruhle, joins Sam to talk about why it’s important to teach your kids use cash if you care about financial literacy. They talk about trying to lower the political temperature and why sometimes going viral is the worst thing for us. Stephanie explains why she doesn’t let herself get tired or sloppy and needs to “keep it tight” in her reporting so no one can attack her and the importance of fact

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56:56

Caretaker or Comedian? (with Cristela Alonzo)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/09/25

Comedian Cristela Alonzo joins Sam to talk about her new Netflix special Upper Classy, and how before her career took off she made the life-changing decision to leave LA to become her mom’s full-time end of life caretaker. She explains that she started standup as a way of dealing with the grief of losing her mom, and how she didn’t even know it could be a real job before then. Cristela talks about how when you grow up below the poverty line you learn that part of privilege is having the

en-US

56:21

Weightlifter or Runner? (with Casey Johnston)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/09/18

Casey Johnston, the author of Sam’s favorite new book A Physical Education, joins Sam to talk lifting and leaving diet culture. Casey explains why initially she—and many others—felt lifting wasn’t for women who wanted to be seen as attractive, and why people are afraid to question the status quo of health industries. Casey explains the importance of resting your muscles, the dangers of the manosphere, and why Don Jr. did the worst deadlift she’s ever seen. Sam explains

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40:12

Bystander or Upstander? (with Governor JB Pritzker)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/09/11

Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois joins Sam to talk about what to do when the president declares war on one of your cities—totally normal stuff! The Governor explains why people need to finally decide if they’re going to be bystanders or upstanders and why he thinks people usually try to be upstanders. They talk about how President Trump talks a big game but also the federal government conveys nothing to the actual states they’re talking about, and why Illinois is always ready to go

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44:53

Actress or Animal Tracker? (with Martha Plimpton)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/09/04

Actress Martha Plimpton joins Sam to talk about how she became a trained animal tracker in Africa, how she ended up living in the same apartment for 42 years, and at the risk of turning this into a total real estate podcast, Martha shares that for the first time in her entire life she won’t have a homebase in New York. She tells Sam about living in London and how people are less grossed out by menopausal women (and women in general) there, and why hot flashes were actually kind of fun for her

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47:16

A Bob or A Buzz? (with E. Jean Carroll)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/08/28

Advice columnist extraordinaire and author of the new book Not My Type: One Woman vs a President, E. Jean Carroll joins Sam to talk about why she decided to write her book in secret even going to the length to edit it over Signal. Because Sam grew up reading E. Jean’s column, E. Jean also pauses to take credit for all of Sam’s success. They talk about the unwritten rules of jury trials like why you’re not allowed to entertain the jury with interesting stories and why E. Jean says

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43:40

Hopeful Pessimist or Doom and Gloom? (with Jen Statsky)

Choice Words with Samantha Bee ·

2025/08/21

Writer, executive-producer, and co-creator of Hacks Jen Statsky joins Sam to discuss her particular brand of hopeful pessimism, and their shared obsession with Jean Smart, who she says is one of the greatest nappers of all time. Jen explains that she is decisive if it’s a decision that only involves herself, but as soon as she brings in other people, there’s a big problem. Which is why she’s fortunate to have two amazing co-showrunners of Hacks, because they make most of the

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231 results

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