It's Been A Minute With Sam Sanders

Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff), Vox senior policy correspondent and host of the Vox podcast 'The Impact,' and NPR film critic Bob Mondello (@Bob_Mondello) join Sam to talk about the week that was: raging wildfires in southern California, the resignation of Sen. Al Franken, and TIME Magazine naming "The Silence Breakers" people of the year – along with a call to a longtime listener in Alabama. They also discuss the health care implications of the GOP tax plan. It's all capped off with the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

Veteran journalist Dan Rather thinks the U.S. is facing an 'existential crisis,' but one the country can survive. His new book is called What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism. Sam and Dan talked in front of an audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last month. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

Sam is joined by Jody Avirgan (@jodyavirgan) from 538 Politics and ESPN's '30 for 30' podcast series, along with Brittany Luse (@bmluse), co-host of Gimlet Media's 'The Nod,' to talk about the week that was: Michael Flynn, Republican progress on taxes, net neutrality, even more sexual assault firings, along with a call to a listener currently in Puerto Rico. It's all capped off with the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

In her new memoir, "The Mother of Black Hollywood," Jenifer Lewis chronicles a career that has spanned decades, from Broadway to the hit ABC show Black-ish. Along the way, she played fictional moms to Tupac Shakur, Taraji P. Henson, and Whitney Houston. Jenifer talks to Sam about her long career, struggling with addiction and bipolar disorder, growing up in Missouri, and lying her way into the DNC in 2008. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

Dan Pashman, host of the Sporkful (@TheSporkful), and a surprise special guest join the show — and three listeners share Thanksgiving horror stories. Then, as always, the best things that happened to our listeners all week. We're back with a deep dive on Tuesday, and our regular wrap on the week next Friday. As always, you can reach the show at samsanders@npr.org or @NPRItsBeenAMin. Tweet at Sam @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

The one and only Bill Nye the Science Guy (@BillNye) is the subject of a new documentary all about his life. He talks to Sam about the film, how he thinks fame has changed his brain, a troubling degenerative disease that afflicts his family, and his advocacy of climate science. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

Guest host Sarah McCammon (@sarahmccammon) talks with NPR newscaster Korva Coleman (@KorvaColemanNPR) and NPR Weekend Edition Sunday host Lulu Garcia-Navarro (@lourdesgnavarro) about the week that was: the status of the tax plan turned healthcare bill in Congress, sexual assault accusations against U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore and Senator Al Franken, a shooting in California, and the butterball turkey hotline. They also call a listener in Australia, and it's all capped off by the best things that happened to listeners all week. Sam will be back next week for a special Thanksgiving edition of the show, which we'll release on Thursday morning. As always, you can reach the show at samsanders@npr.org or @NPRItsBeenAMin. Tweet at Sam @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

Iliza Shlesinger's (@iliza) new book, "Girl Logic: The Genius and the Absurdity," is her take on how women think. She and Sam talk about the book, her dog, Blanche; the party goblin in us all, growing up in Texas, getting her start in comedy, and publishing her book with what was formerly Weinstein Press. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

Public radio reporter and Marketplace contributor Sally Herships (@sherships) and WNYC Reporter Sean Rameswaram (@rameswaram) join Sam to talk about the week that was: Election Day, an update on the Paradise Papers, and the Texas shooting, along with a call to a listener in Los Angeles. It's all capped off with the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

Washington Post reporter Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) and Michael D'Antonio, author of the biography "The Truth About Trump," join Sam to talk about the President one the year since he was elected. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

NPR Asia Correspondent Elise Hu (@elisewho) and Weekend Edition Editor Barrie Hardymon (@bhardymon) join Sam to talk through the week that was: Facebook and Twitter executives testifying in front of Congress, President Trump's Asia trip, the resignation of NPR Senior Vice President of News Michael Oreskes — plus a check-in with a listener who just moved to Antarctica. It's all capped off with the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

Daniel Alarcón's (@DanielGAlarcon) new book of short stories, "The King Is Always Above The People," deals closely with immigration and the Latino experience. Alarcón talks to Sam about his own life immigrating from Peru to the U.S. at a young age, the Latino diaspora, and reinventing oneself in a new place. Though Alarcón didn't intend for it to be political, his book gets at what it means to be an immigrant in today's political climate. Alarcón is also host of NPR's Spanish-language podcast, Radio Ambulante. E-mail the It's Been A Minute team at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith (@tamarakeithNPR) and All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro (@arishapiro) join Sam to talk through the week that was: President Trump's speech on opioid addiction, the internal politics of the GOP, the surprise return of James Comey on Twitter — plus a check-in with a listener in Houston and our usual game of 'Who Said That.' It's all capped off with the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

Ashley Nicole Black (@ashleyn1cole) gave up pursuing a PHD to make it in comedy. This year she won an Emmy for her work on "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee." She talked to Sam about Savage Garden, why the Chicago comedy scene is great for aspiring comics and tough for people of color, developing her own comedy style, landing a job on "Full Frontal" and making the transition from writer to correspondent, and why she says improv could help people bridge political divides. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

New York Magazine's Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) and The Atlantic's McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) join Sam to talk through the week that was: the healthcare subsidy battle in Congress, the fallen soldiers in Niger, the social media outpouring over #MeToo — plus a call to a listener at the University of Florida where white nationalist Richard Spencer spoke this week. That's all capped off with the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org or tweet @NPRItsBeenAMin with your feedback. Follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders and producers Brent Baughman @brentbaughman and Anjuli Sastry @AnjuliSastry.

SNL alum Taran Killam talks to Sam about his new action-comedy mockumentary Killing Gunther, which he directed and stars in alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. They also discuss Wild 'N Out, Taran's role in Hamilton, the challenges of being a first-time director, why and how he left SNL a year earlier than he expected, what made Drake one of his favorite hosts, and the week in November 2015 when then-candidate Donald Trump controversially hosted the show. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org and follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders.

Washington Post blogger and columnist Alexandra Petri and Mike Pesca from Slate's The Gist podcast join Sam to talk through the week that was: the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood, the Trump administration's actions without Congress's help, and the Environmental Protection Agency's handling of the Clean Power Plan — plus a call to a listener in Northern California about wildfires that have ravaged the state, and the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org and follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders.

Sam talks to journalist Max Read about his recent New York Magazine cover story, "Does Mark Zuckerberg Know What Facebook Is?" Max writes about Facebook's role in the 2016 election as the company grapples how to handle fake news, free speech, and political advertising. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org and follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders.

New York Times reporter Katie Rogers and Stephen Thompson from NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour join Sam to talk through the week that was: the Las Vegas shooting and its aftermath, the continued recovery in Puerto Rico, and President Trump's response to Puerto Rico amid the usual palace intrigue at the White House — plus a call to a listener in Barcelona and the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org and follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders.

Google him. You know his face. John Carroll Lynch is one of the most recognizable character actors in Hollywood, and he's just directed his first film, "Lucky," starring the late, legendary Harry Dean Stanton. John talks to Sam about the film, and about being a character actor (and what that even means), getting recognized in public, what made Harry Dean Stanton so special, how he got into acting as a teenager in high school, playing evil characters, and a lesson about acting from Tropic Thunder. Email the show at samsanders@npr.org and follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders.