Published on Oct 3, 2025, 2:15:00 AM
Total time: 00:49:57
Ben Collins became CEO of The Onion after a long career working in traditional news, so he's got major thoughts about speaking truth to power. He breaks down the role of satire in our current politics and what journalism is getting wrong about free speech.
Ben also talks about relaunching The Onion’s print newspaper and why AI will never write a good joke. Plus, he shares his pop culture hot take.
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.
The Sam Sanders Show from KCRW is your guide to entertainment. Find out what makes your favorite artists tick, dissect the trends that shape our culture, or just make sense of that random meme you can’t stop thinking about. Join us every week to unpack the pop culture we love.
Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.
Sam Sanders is an award-winning podcast and radio host. He’s been named best podcast host by both The Ambies and the iHeart Podcast Awards. He was one of the founding hosts of The NPR Politics Podcast and the host who launched both It’s Been A Minute from NPR and Into It from Vulture. He currently co-hosts Vibe Check.