Despite the chocolate rum, Sam Saunders was in high spirits.
“I feel alcoholic,” he said. “I took a sneak shot before entering here.”
Sanders, a longtime radio and podcast host, was in a conference room at New York Magazine’s Lower Manhattan office, dutifully going through a drunken gauntlet. Someone posted on his Slack about the proliferation of celebrity-owned liquor brands.Into ItSanders’ new pop culture podcast from New York, Vulture and Vox Media Podcast Network.
At 3:24 p.m. on a weekday in May, Sanders was drunk at a blind tasting test with the help of a few colleagues. With his kitsch pop R&B star Bruno His Chocolate His Rum by Mars, SelvaRey has won a host, largely because of its aptly saucy slogan, “Made in the Jungle.”
“It’s silly and corny and cheesy, but it works,” he said.
“Into It,” which debuted Thursday, enters the crowded talk show podcast space. It’s marked by a deep bench of vulture-tending contributors who’ve done little activity in podcasting so far, and a generous pour of irreverence. Like “Culture Gab Fest” and “Pop Her Culture Her Happy Hour,” it promises wise take from critics on the week’s news and trends. As with “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” and “Love It Or Leave It,” in-studio games (booze tasting will appear in the next episode) and calls from listeners provide dynamism. But it’s Sanders himself, formerly best known as the founder of his NPR’s Pop Culture, His Podcasts and Radio His Show, who most clearly demonstrates the show’s ambitions.It’s Been A Minute. “
For Sanders, 37, “Into It” is both a reset and a moment of release. He spent his 12 years in public radio and during the 2016 presidential election,NPR Political Podcast. All that time, he says, he felt cramped on public radio, but honed his center stage persona on “Into It.”
“Each year on NPR, you could hear me stand out: what can you say what can’t you say How can you say” Sanders said in a recent interview. [Expletive] this line.i passed it. “
In 2017’s “It’s Been a Minute,” Sanders charmed his loyal following with a mix of old-school solemnity and lighthearted casualness. He was a firm bearer of tough news, keeping listeners up-to-date on Trump’s White House and the early pandemic. But the show leaned into dialogue rather than monologues. Sanders brought a cheerful generosity and enthusiasm to his group discussions and lengthy interviews. Often he was communicated with audible sounds such as “hmm”, “come on”, “let’s talk”. He gossips, sympathizes.
NPR Senior Producer Brent Bowman, who co-developed “It’s Been a Minute” with Sanders, said that while working on the “NPR Politics Podcast,” he noticed the unusual effect hosts have on listeners. At that show event in 2016, fans wore homemade t-shirts with Sanders’ face screen-printed on them.
“It was clear he had star power that transcended politics,” Bowman said. “People will tune in just because they love him.”
Sanders’ outspoken, intriguing style imbued “It’s Been a Minute” with the generative power of unpredictability. In 2018 he shared with FX series ‘Atlanta’ actor Brian Tyree when he talked to Henry about how Henry ordered his hash browns.
The actor, who had been lamenting his inability to eat undisturbed at Waffle House, responded with a deadpan rhetorical wrist slap.
They both burst into laughter as Sanders roared in protest. When Henry finally revealed his order (“choked and covered” with sautéed onions and melted American his cheese), he followed suit with the Georgia-based restaurant he A surprisingly earnest tribute to the chain’s pluralistic charm. as a potato.
“That’s what I love about Atlanta,” he said, softening his voice. “There’s something in every corner.”
Uncovering rare pathways for emotional integrity has long been the purpose of Sanders’ work. I was drawn to In 2016, one year after his black church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, and after his gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, Sanders A Rare Note of Catharsis On the “NPR Politics Podcast.”
“Think of the mother who lost her life in Charleston. because there is no,’ he said. “The reason people in Orlando clubs need a safe place is because they don’t know if they’ll get beaten up for kissing their boyfriends or if they’ll keep their jobs. Gay. Many people in America I hope you understand that you don’t feel safe every day in this society.”
Born in Seguin, Texas, Sanders never expected to work as a journalist. He was raised in a strict Pentecostal household and once thought he would become a preacher. He turned during his college years to prepare for a career as an election strategist or political fundraiser. It wasn’t until his final year of his master’s degree in public policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government that he considered applying to his NPR. He and his mother were hooked on his hour-long drive to and from church.
“It was a way of getting information and getting involved without getting political,” Sanders said.
He learned journalism through his work at NPR and initially embraced the nonprofit’s strict rules of impartiality.Ann Ethics handbook from 2012 advised journalists to ‘transcend’ how do we feel tell the audience about the subject what we know About it and what we are not doing. “
Sanders toyed with bringing more of himself into his story, but was wary of getting too personal. You didn’t mention sexuality. (Two years later, he discussed coming out as gay. “It’s Been a Minute” episode.) Like many journalists in traditional news outlets, he avoided using words like “racist” and “lie” during the 2016 presidential election and largely hid his feelings for Donald Trump. I was.
“It took years of work before I felt comfortable sharing the personal things in the story,” he said.
Sanders said he realized at some point in the middle of last year that he needed a fresh start. The announcement that he’s leaving NPR this spring comes in a wave of high-profile departures by other correspondents of color, including Odie Cornish, Noel King and Lulu Garcia-Navarro. Done. (Garcia Navarro joined The New York Times last fall.)
King, Garcia Navarro and others previously had Alleged pay gap In the organization between male and female hosts, among other problems. NPR believes that improving diversity and equity Its “top priority” He pointed to competition from wealthy rivals as one of the reasons for the withdrawal.
Sanders said “fairness issues” were a factor in his decision, but the choice was largely personal and fueled by his desire to maximize his creative freedom. He added that it had been
“I spent a third of my life there and it still means a lot to me.” It is.”
In the first episode of “Into It,” Sanders was lithe and feisty, a long-distance runner taking an easy stride, and over the course of 30 minutes he worked his way through a series of games with his Vulture colleagues. Highlights of the week included Jennifer Lopez (“A Human Angel Here on Earth”), Ben Affleck (“Something Dead Behind His Eyes”), Keke Palmer and more. (“A Breath of Fresh Air”).
The structure of the show, where Sanders has wide discretion, is intentionally flexible. His lengthy interview is back in the mix (the first episode included Beyoncé details with journalist Danielle Smith).
Most of the time, he wants to talk about things that make him feel good and encourage others to do the same.
“I think the best I can offer is a place where you can recharge, learn, be entertained, and then return to the world with a little bit of euphoria.” It’s what we wanted from our listeners.”