Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air

Larry weighs in on the L.A. Rams, Whoopi Goldberg, Joe Rogan, COVID-19 misinformation, election disinformation, and anti-Semitism. He's then joined by Reinaldo Marcus Green to discuss his movie 'King Richard.’ They start by talking about how the film came together (25:05) and what it like meeting and working with Will Smith. (31:18) They then pivot to the casting of Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton as Venus and Serena Williams,(41:54) the process of getting the tennis scenes as authentic as possible, and the tribulations of raising child athletes in Black communities like Compton (55:05). Next they dissect Will Smith's physical and mental transformation into Richard Williams (58:31) and the message Green is hoping to convey with the movie.(103:34) Finally, Reinaldo details his journey from a young baseball prospect through stints on Wall Street and as a teacher to ultimately finding his calling as a filmmaker (106:43).Host: Larry WilmoreGuest: Reinaldo Marcus GreenProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry weighs in on Joe Biden's first year as president of the United States. He's then joined by W. Kamau Bell to discuss his documentary 'We Need To Talk About Cosby.' They start their conversation by touching on how Bill Cosby influenced them through his TV shows and albums in the '60's and '70's and American culture in general with 'The Cosby Show' in the 1980's. They then pivot to Cosby's infamously controversial behavior and the turning points that led to them coming to light, starting with the "Pound Cake" speech (24:14), the viral Hannibal Buress rant (32:16), and Barbara Bowman's essay on her firsthand experience with him (38:30). Finally, they talk about how the film highlights society's treatment of victims of sexual assault and what we can do as a community to fix those issues. (46:00)Host: Larry WilmoreGuest: W. Kamau BellProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry is joined by John McWhorter to discuss his book 'Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America' and the factors that are affecting racial discourse within the current cultural and political climate. They touch on many of the issues and obstacles holding back the modern anti-racism movement, including religion (9:16), victimhood (24:34) and white supremacy (22:15). Larry and John then dissect the definition of "whiteness" (27:20), share their views on critical race theory (35:53), talk about the future of the woke movement (49:04) and much more.Host: Larry WilmoreGuest: John McWhorterProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 WilmoreGuest: Prentice PennyProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 WilmoreGuest: Mariana van ZellerProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction 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 WilmoreGuest: Lizz WinsteadProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction 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 WilmoreGuest: Bill SimmonsProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction 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 WilmoreGuest: Jabez OlssenProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction 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 WilmoreGuest: Bob CostasProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction 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 WilmoreGuest: David CopperfieldProducer: Kaya McMullenProduction Assistant: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices