The Sam Sanders Show

EVENT ALERT! Join us LIVE on June 28 at Dynasty Typewriter in LA. Get tickets here.

Roz Hernandez is a comedian who approaches the craft unlike most other comics right now.

For starters, she is a trans woman, working in a world still largely ruled by bros, her comedy is always tailored for her queer fanbase, and last year Roz embarked on a stand-up tour across the country, but instead of hitting up comedy clubs, she performed at gay bars.

She tells Sam about the lessons she learned on the road and how the current political climate around trans issues has changed the way she thinks about jokes. Roz shares many of these lessons in her new audiobook: ‘Peeing in an Empty Bottle: And Other Glamorous Shenanigans of an Almost-Famous Transgender Comedienne on the Road.’

Plus, Roz explains how she became a ghost huntress and Sam argues that ghosts are actually very queer.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

EVENT ALERT! Join us LIVE on June 28 at Dynasty Typewriter in LA. Get tickets here.

Summer movie season is off to a good start. Two movies in particular are giving Hollywood a lot of hope.

Both original horror films, Backrooms and Obsession, are new movies made by Gen Z creators that very quickly became massive hits at the box office. So, are young people going to the movies again? Maybe they’re finally taking over Hollywood?

Despite these success stories, a recent piece from The Ankler’s Christopher Rosen argues that the larger film industry is still focused on the old guard. Sam spoke with Christopher about what’s going with the generational warfare happening in Hollywood right now.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

EVENT ALERT! Join us LIVE on June 28 at Dynasty Typewriter in LA. Get tickets here.

At the halfway point of 2026, Sam is joined by Traci Thomas (The Stacks) and Christiana Mbakwe Medina (Pop Syllabus) to ask what this year in pop culture is really becoming.

Their answer moves from the rise of “The Sculpt” and the pressure to optimize everything about ourselves, to the bigger feeling that so much of culture now looks filtered, flattened, and strangely unreal.

They also get into the dominance of big name celebrities, the absence of exciting new stars, AI anxiety, and why live sports and theater might be the thing we’re all craving most. Plus, predictions for the rest of 2026.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

Today we’re sharing an episode of Apple News In Conversation, guest hosted by Sam.

The headlines say that American men are in crisis. But what does that actually mean — and what does it look like up close?

Journalist Jordan Ritter Conn spent five years inside the lives of four different men to find out. His new book, American Men, explores the gap between masculine ideals and the reality of men’s lived experience. Sam sat down with Ritter Conn to talk about what those four lives reveal about masculinity, inadequacy, and what the national conversation about men keeps getting wrong.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

EVENT ALERT! Join us LIVE on June 28 at Dynasty Typewriter in LA. Get tickets here.

Leslie Jones thinks comedy has a problem.

The comedian and former 'Saturday Night Live' cast member joins Sam to talk about how comedy has changed, why viral fame doesn’t equal success, and why too many young comics are skipping the hard part: Honing their craft.

She also reflects on her years at SNL, what she’s learned from nearly 40 years in comedy, and why she wants gatekeepers back.

Plus: menopause, comedy clubs, and the one thing every great comedian has in common.

Catch Leslie Jones on her 'I’m Hot Tour' and on her HGTV show 'Roast My Rental,' premiering July 24.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.