W. Kamau Bell asks, “Who’s with Me?

Articles

Is It Really Last Call In America?

1 week ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell

Earlier this week I had the immense pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite bands ever, Fishbone, at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. It was a great evening. I interviewed them. We did an audience Q&A, and then Fishbone played some of their classic songs and a few songs from their new album, Stockholm Syndrome. It comes out June 27. Needless to say, I took this assignment very seriously. I wanted the band to have fun. I wanted the audience to have fun.
Doug McMillion is a real person, I swear.

2 weeks ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell

I can’t imagine being Michael B. Jordan. On the surface, of course I can’t imagine being him. He seems like he was built in a laboratory to be a 21st century A-list movie star. He’s handsome, but not intimidatingly so. Broadshouldered but not weighed down with muscle…unless he needs to be. He’s one of the few adult men who can somehow pull off having a mustache without looking like a creeper. Also he can act. In fact, he can really, really act.
It’s an Ugly Day in America’s Neighborhood

3 weeks ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell

I remember the first documentary that totally blew my mind. It features all the qualities of the best documentaries. It is smart, surprising, informative, sublime, beautifully filmed and scored. And just like the best documentaries, it makes your next conversation better, because you have something new and interesting to talk about. “I just saw this amazing documentary. You must see it.”Of course, I’m talking about Mr. Rogers’ How Crayons Are Made. Actually, I don't know if that is what it is called.
I won Celebrity Jeopardy!

1 month ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell

The cat’s finally out of the bag! I am the winner of season 3 of Celebrity Jeopardy! When I say “finally” I mean finally. I’ve been holding this secret since the finals were taped in November 2024. I hope you all forgive me for not telling you. I was sworn to secrecy. (And I’m guessing I signed stuff saying I couldn’t tell.) It has been slightly maddening to regularly talk about being on Celebrity Jeopardy! and not be able to say, “I’M NOT JUST ON IT.
See You This Tuesday, vol. 3

1 month ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell

It’s been an especially heavy couple of weeks in politics. Trump keeps doubling down on disappearing people. RFK Jr. keeps doubling down on eugenics. And there was all of that (likely) insider trading that happened right out in the open?! Secretary of Defense and Future Fox News host Pete Hegseth is addicted to texting government secrets to people who shouldn’t have government secrets. So for the sake of sanity, today you’re getting a silly video from me.
In case you missed it, here's my conversation with theee Kathleen Hanna.

1 month ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell |Kathleen Hanna

In my role as the self-appointed official (unofficial) spokesperson of Substack, I was thrilled to welcome the legendary Kathleen Hanna to the platform. You know and love her from Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, The Julie Ruin, and her book Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk. Well, she has a new newsletter, Future Windows, that you should check out. She even made the intro video to beat all intro videos.
Yes, Trump is F*cking with The Museums

2 months ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell

Earlier this month when I was on Marc Maron’s podcast WTF, Marc and I had a rollicking good time. We talked about everything under the American sun… but mostly the fall of America. At one point, Marc shifted the conversation and asked me about being a dad, something we had never really talked about in the years I have known him. I was excited to let him know about my three girls, but then somehow — as always seems to happen in conversations these days — we made it back to the fall of America.
The Cruelty is the Point

2 months ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell

In the early years of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg used a perfectly Zuckerbergian motto. Because of the success of Facebook, the motto was adopted all over Silicon Valley. The depressingly misanthropic motto is “Move fast and break stuff.” At some point Mark Zuckerberg claimed to have changed the Facebook motto to “Move fast with stable infrastructure.” Meh. You’ll notice that even with the change of motto, there is nothing in there about Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook making the world a better place.
Office Hours with Anna Sale

2 months ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell

In case you missed it, here’s a recording of today’s Office Hours with Anna Sale. We had fun with our first Substack Live. We’ll be live again next month with another set of Office Hours. Get more from W. Kamau Bell in the Substack app Available for iOS and Android
Gavin Newsom’s Bro Ambition

2 months ago | wkamaubell.substack.com | W. Kamau Bell

It was a nice day. I do remember that. But because it was San Francisco, I have no idea if it was July, November, or March. Any of those days could be a “nice” day in the Bay. I was walking down 4th Street in downtown San Francisco, between Market Street and Mission Street. For those of you who don’t know, Market is the main street of downtown SF. It is basically the “Broadway” of San Francisco.