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Politically Re-Active
American political and comedy podcast From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Politically Re-Active is a political comedy podcast hosted by comedians W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu. The left-leaning show, organized around guest interviews, launched in June 2016 and initially focused on the 2016 United States presidential election, but continued through October 2017. After a hiatus, it resumed in October 2020.
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History
Bell and Kondabolu previously worked together on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell,[1] with Bell hosting and Kondabolu serving as writer and correspondent.[2] 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.[3]
The first two seasons of Politically Re-Active were produced by First Look Media in collaboration with Slate's podcasting division, Panoply.[4] The show was First Look Media's first podcast. The third season was produced by Topic Studios and WarnerMedia Podcast Network.[5]
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Schedule
The podcast debuted in June 2016.[2] 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.[6] Season 2 began on March 15, 2017, and ended on October 5, 2017.[7] The show's third season debuted on October 5, 2020.[8][9][10][11]
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."[12] Wired described Politically Reactive as "mostly reasonable discussions with guests."[13] Topics of discussion have included dog-whistling, private prisons, presidential debates[14] and the Olympics.[15] Interviews are edited to insert occasional explanations from Bell and Kondabolu (introduced by Kondabolu saying, "Hold up, wait a minute!") to give additional context.[14]
Reception
ColorLines called it a "hilarious new politics podcast"[16] and The Guardian 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."[17] In July The A.V. Club said the series had "start[ed] off strong," particularly praising the interview with Kathleen Hanna: "an altogether enjoyable episode that's also a nice primer on both feminism and mansplaining. If the first three episodes are any indication, Bell and Kondabolu are going to be a podcasting force to be reckoned with."[18] AlterNet 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."[19]
In the first six episodes, Politically Re-Active made iTunes' top 15 chart.[20]
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Episodes
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
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See also
References
External links
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