Larry Wilmore: Black On The Air

Larry weighs in on testing positive for COVID-19, the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, the great Sidney Poitier, and the Amhaud Arbery verdict. He's then joined by Prentice Penny to talk about his journey from being a young writer inspired to work in television through a chance intervention at NYU (29:00) to navigating the industry as a prominent Black producer and showrunner (31:40). Prentice and Larry then offer valuable insight into what it takes to be a successful writer in show business (39:17) before discussing the HBO show 'Insecure' (54:59), his working relationship with the show's lead Issa Rae, (1:04:05) and Prentice's favorite memories from his time working on the series. (1:15:32) Finally, Larry shares some of his experiences working on the 'Bernie Mac Show' (1:21:19) and Prentice looks forward to his career after 'Insecure'. Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Prentice Penny Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adch

Larry weighs in on the Omicron variant and his faith in the current political system while looking forward to 2022. He's then joined by Mariana van Zeller, host of the National Geographic TV series 'Trafficked' to talk about her early days in Portugal (19:11) and how the events surrounding the 9/11 attacks inspired her to become a journalist. Then they discuss how 'Trafficked' was created and it's production process (28:21) while touching on some of the shows' subject matter including white supremacy, (37:00) crystal meth, (42:04) legalized marijuana, and much more. Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Mariana van Zeller Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on the Jussie Smollett verdict and how to understand the complexities of opposing arguments in politics. (8:47) He's then joined by Lizz Winstead from Abortion Access Front to talk about her journey from being a young stand-up comedian (10:11) to cocreating 'The Daily Show' at Comedy Central and Air America. (25:37) They continue by diving deep into how she became an activist (43:39), the state of Roe V. Wade (53:26), and how we as a community can protect reproductive rights for women in our society (1:09:43) Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Lizz Winstead Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on the Omicron variant, vaccine divisiveness, and at-home testing. He's then joined by The Ringers own Bill Simmons where they where they discuss fame (19:48), the Beatles (27:28) Saturday Night Live (28:39) and HBO's new 'Music Box' series (40:26). Then they break down the "genius athlete" (49:10), Scottie Pippen (59:56), share their NBA and NFL champion picks (1:15:47), and much, much more. Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Bill Simmons Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial and the trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killers, right-wing vigilantism, and why he loves the Beatles. He's then joined by film editor Jabez Olssen ('Lord of the Rings,' 'King Kong') to talk about the making of the upcoming Beatles documentary, 'Get Back,' (25:49) and how the original 'Let It Be film and LP came together (28:00). Then they dive deep into the technical aspects of making the movie (42:16) and how the project will change the public perception of both the landmark album and some of the supporting cast like George Martin (56:43), Billy Preston (1:00;55), Yoko Ono (1:08:19), and much, much more! Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Jabez Olssen Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on the infrastructure bill, unnecessary racism in political commentary, and how Darwin influences our points of view. He's then joined by Bob Costas where they discuss Pete Rose (27:07), Bob's early broadcasting influences (31:21), and Baseball's waning popularity. After that they wax poetic on the importance of regional announcers (42:01) Larry asks Bob about his favorite calls (48:57) the role of the athlete in political protest (55:45) and much, much more.Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Bob Costas Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on his birthday, the Dave Chappelle controversy, and cancel culture. He then joins David Copperfield in Las Vegas to discuss his book "History Of Magic" and his early days before becoming one of the worlds most successful magicians.(13:39) David tells some of the stories behind his greatest illusions, like the Statue of Liberty vanishing (49:50), goes deep with Larry on the secrets of performing (1:03:15) and much, much more. Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: David Copperfield Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s episode is taken from a live conversation between Larry Wilmore and representative Adam Schiff for ‘Live Talks Los Angeles.’ The two discuss Schiff’s new book ‘Midnight in Washington,’ being in the Capitol during the attacks in January, and much more. Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Adam Schiff Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on Kyrie Irving refusing to get vaccinated (1:00) before he is joined by ‘Insecure’ star Jay Ellis and New York Times writer Walter Thompson-Hernández to talk about their new podcast with Lemonada Media, ‘Written Off,’ which features work from young writers who developed their voice while incarcerated (18:29). Plus, Ellis gives some hints on what’s to come on the final season of ‘Insecure’ (57:42). Host: Larry Wilmore Guests: Jay Ellis and Walter Thompson-Hernández Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on NBA players and their stances on COVID-19 vaccinations (01:00). Later, Larry is joined by magician and author Joshua Jay to discuss his latest book, ‘How Magicians Think,’ and how many magicians get into magic for the same reasons but stay for different ones (14:00). Later, they talk about the ethics of a magician and diversity in the world of magic, and Jay even performs some magic effects. Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Joshua Jay Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry is joined by Washington Post journalist Craig Whitlock to talk about his new book ‘The Afghanistan Papers’ which details America’s long, un-winnable war in Afghanistan and how the public was deceived. Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Craig Whitlock Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on pandemic fatigue, his issue with voter ID laws being called racist, and the Texas abortion ban (01:00). Later, Ken Burns joins Larry to discuss his latest documentary, ‘Muhammad Ali’ (25:00). They talk about the making of the documentary, Ali’s relationship with the Nation of Islam, and much more. Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Ken Burns Producer: Kaya McMulllen Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and more to open the show (01:00). Later, he is joined by creator of the Me Too Movement Tarana Burke to discuss her new book ‘Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement,’ as well as the difference between self esteem and self worth, and much more (20:00). Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Tarana Burke Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry is joined by the LA Times Sports and Culture columnist LZ Granderson to talk about becoming comfortable with his identity as a Black gay man (8:26), NFL player Carl Nassib coming out as gay and the other progress the sports world is making to be more inclusive (47:24), and how he feels about athlete activism (1:07:29). Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: LZ Granderson Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on Richard Branson’s space trip and the return of mask mandates (01:00). Later, Larry is joined by writer Michael Pollan to discuss his latest book ‘This Is Your on Mind on Plants,’ the effects of Opiates on the body, and much more (10:00) Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Michael Pollan Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry opens the show by weighing in on critical race theory (1:00). Later, he is joined by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, New York Times bestselling author and host of the podcast ‘Be Antiracist,’ to discuss the mission of his relatively new podcast (17:00) as well as what it means to be antiracist. Later, Dr. Kendi briefly dives deeper into critical race theory with Larry (49:00). Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on Bill Cosby’s release from prison to open the show (01:00). Later, Larry is joined by comedian and author Wayne Federman to discuss his new book ‘The History of Stand-Up: From Mark Twain to Dave Chapelle’ (10:00). Later they look at the vaudeville era of comedy (29:00), how technological advancements such as the microphone changed comedy (34:00), and the impact of cancel culture on comedy today (1:20:00). Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Wayne Federman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on Juneteenth becoming a holiday, the Catholic church’s potential communion ban on President Biden for his abortion stance, and the “heartbeat bill” (01:30). Later, Larry is joined by comedian and writer Sam Jay to discuss working on her show ‘PAUSE with Sam Jay,’ the difference between writing for ‘Saturday Night Live’ vs. her own show, and much more (24:00) Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Sam Jay Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Larry weighs in on how the privilege of being from the United States has contributed to the country’s lack of interest in getting vaccinated (0:43). Larry is joined by Oscar-winning actress Helen Hunt to discuss her latest work in the series ‘Blindspotting' (13:00). They also discuss a rejected ‘Twister’ reboot, her acting career, and much more. Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Helen Hunt Producers: Kaya McMullen and Bobby Wagner Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To open the show, Larry again weighs in on alien conspiracies, as well as Tucker Carlson’s quote on COVID-19 vaccinations being the “medical Jim Crow" (1:00) Then, Larry is joined by Emmy Award-winning comedian Wanda Sykes to discuss working on her new Netflix show ‘The Upshaws’ during the pandemic (13:00). They also talk about Sykes transitioning from a NSA agent to stand-up comedian, and possible government cover ups (31:00). Later, they look back at their times performing at The White House Correspondents’ Dinner during the Obama years (44:00). Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Wanda Sykes Producer: Kaya McMullen Production Assistant: Jonathan Kermah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices