''Politically Re-Active'' is a political comedy

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

hosted by comedians

W. Kamau Bell Walter Kamau Bell (born January 26, 1973) is an American stand-up comic and television host. He has hosted the CNN series '' United Shades of America'' since 2016, and hosted FXX television series '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' from 20 ...

and

Hari Kondabolu Hari Karthikeya Kondabolu (born October 21, 1982)Beem, p. 38 is an American stand-up comic. His comedy covers subjects such as race, inequity, and Indian stereotypes. He was a writer for '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' and the creator of ...

. The left-leaning show, organized around guest interviews, launched in June 2016 and initially focused on the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

, but continued through October 2017. After a hiatus, it resumed in October 2020.

History

Bell and Kondabolu previously worked together on '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'', with Bell hosting and Kondabolu serving as writer and correspondent. The show grew out of conversations the two hosts were having by telephone and backstage at shows over the course of their careers as stand-up comedians. The first two seasons of ''Politically Re-Active'' were produced by First Look Media in collaboration with ''Slate'''s podcasting division, Panoply. The show was First Look Media's first podcast. The third season was produced by Topic Studios and WarnerMedia Podcast Network.

Schedule

The podcast debuted in June 2016. Early episodes focused on the U.S. presidential campaign of 2016, with weekly episodes from June through the election in November. ''Politically Re-Active'' aired two post-election episodes in November 2016, then went on hiatus. Season 2 began on March 15, 2017, and ended on October 5, 2017. The show's third season debuted on October 5, 2020.

Format

The show consists of interviews and political comedy. Bell and Kondabolu "host (typically left-leaning) guests each week to try to understand the different ideologies that are shaping this election." ''Wired'' described ''Politically Reactive'' as "mostly reasonable discussions with guests." Topics of discussion have included dog-whistling,

private prisons A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people are imprisoned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit p ...

, presidential debates and the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. Interviews are edited to insert occasional explanations from Bell and Kondabolu (introduced by Kondabolu saying, "Hold up, wait a minute!") to give additional context.

Reception

ColorLines ''Colorlines'' is a digital media platform that seeks to build a political home for everyday people and activists. The platform creates accessible multimedia to power its vision of a just multiracial democracy where all thrive. History ''Colorlin ...

'' called it a "hilarious new politics podcast" and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' said of the debut, "Bell and Kondabolu are two of the sharpest, funniest political minds around, and based on the first episode, ''Politically Re-Active'' will be a great addition to the podcast roster." In July ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...

'' said the series had "start doff strong," particularly praising the interview with

Kathleen Hanna Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band ...

: "an altogether enjoyable episode that's also a nice primer on both

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and

mansplaining ''Mansplaining'' (a blend word of ''man'' and the informal form ''splaining'' of the gerund ''explaining'') is a pejorative term meaning (of a man) "to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inac ...

. If the first three episodes are any indication, Bell and Kondabolu are going to be a podcasting force to be reckoned with." ''

AlterNet AlterNet is a left-leaning online news outlet. It was launched in 1997 by the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of '' Raw Story''. Coverage Coverage is divided into several special sections related to prog ...

'' called it "a seriously great podcast series...easily one of the most binge-worthy things I've listened to in recent memory, and already a runaway hit." In the first six episodes, ''Politically Re-Active'' made iTunes' top 15 chart.

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.politicallyreactive.com/ Political podcasts Comedy podcasts 2016 podcast debuts Political mass media in the United States Megaphone (podcasting) American podcasts Liberal podcasts