Despite the chocolate rum, Sam Saunders was full of energy.
“I feel my alcohol,” he said. “I took a secret shot before I came here.”
A longtime host of radio and podcasts, Sanders was in the conference room of New York Magazine’s Lower Manhattan office, faithfully passing through the tumultuous gauntlets. Someone has posted to Slack about the surge in celebrity-owned liquor brands.in addition”Sanders’ new pop culture podcast from New York, Vulture and Vox Media Podcast Network.
Now, at 3:24 pm on weekdays in May, Sanders was drunk all day on a blind taste test with the help of a few colleagues. Kitsch pop and R & B star Bruno Mars’ chocolate rum — SelvaRey Rum — has won hosts primarily because of its snug, cheeky slogan, “Made in the Jungle”.
“It’s ridiculous, horny, and cheesy — but it works,” he said.
Debuting Thursday, “Into It” will enter the crowded talk show podcast space. This is distinguished by the deep benches of the contributors (care for vultures, who used to be almost inactive in podcasting) and generous irreverence. We promise a smart take from critics about the news and trends of the week, like “Culture Gabfest” and “Pop Culture Happy Hour”. Like “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” and “Love It Or Leave It,” in-studio games (liquor tastings will appear in future episodes) and listener calls will give you a sense of dynamism. But the show’s ambitions are best demonstrated by Sanders himself, formerly best known as the founding host of NPR’s pop culture podcasts and radio shows.1 minute has passed“
For Sanders, 37, “Into It” is a reset and a moment of liberation. He said in the 2016 presidential electionNPR Political PodcastAll the while, he was honing his cramped persona on public radio, but he was at the heart of “Into It,” he says.
“Every year at NPR, I was able to hear me make a difference. What can i say? What can’t you say? How can i say that?Sanders said in a recent interview. “I didn’t want to think about it anymore. At some point [Expletive] This line.I’m past it“
In “It’s Beena Minute,” which began in 2017, Sanders captivated loyal supporters with a combination of old-fashioned gravita and hilarious informal. He is a powerful announcer of hard news and has updated the Trump White House and early pandemic listeners. However, the show was leaning towards conversation rather than monologue. Sanders brought cheerful generosity and enthusiasm to group discussions and lengthy interviews. Often, he was told by the audible sounds of “mmh,” “come on,” and “talk about it,” reminding me of a long-awaited Cookout friend. Gossip and communicate.
Brent Baughman, senior producer at NPR, who developed “It’s Beena Minute” with Sanders, said he noted the anomalous impact of the host on listeners while working on the “NPR Politics Podcast.” At the show’s event in 2016, fans wore homemade T-shirts with a screen-printed Sanders face.
“It was clear that he had a star power that transcended politics,” Bowman said. “People will go along just because they love him.”
Sanders’ candid and conspiracy style infused “It’s beena Minute” with unpredictable and generative veins. Talking to actor Brian Tyree Henry in the FX series “Atlanta” in 2018, he said how Henry was I ordered his hash brown..
The actor, who lamented that he couldn’t eat undisturbed at Waffle House, replied with a rhetorical wrist slap in Deadpan. “It’s not your job.”
Sanders barked in protest, and both men melted into a bout of laughter. When Henry finally revealed his order (“suffocated and covered” with sautéed onions and melted American cheese), he was surprisingly seriously respected for the multidimensional charm of the Georgia-based restaurant chain. Represented. As a potato.
“That’s what I liked about Atlanta, man,” he said, his voice softened. “There is something in every corner.”
Revealing unusual pathways for emotional integrity has long been the goal of Sanders’ work. In his first job at NPR, as a graduate student in 2009, he was drawn to a subject with a melancholy undercurrent. In 2016, after a deadly shooting at the Gay Night Club in Orlando, Florida, and a year after the deadly shooting at the Black Church in Charleston, South Carolina, Sanders A rare note of catharsis In “NPR Politics Podcast”.
“Think of a mother who died in Charleston. She needed a safe place because she didn’t know if her son would be killed because she had a Skittles bag,” he said. rice field. “People in Orlando clubs, the reason they need that safe space is because they don’t know if they’ll be beaten by kissing their boyfriend or if they’re there so they can keep working. Gay. I want you to understand that many people in the United States do not feel safe every day in this society. “
Born in Segin, Texas, Sanders didn’t expect to work as a journalist. He grew up in a strict Pentecostal family and once thought he would be a preacher. He pivoted in college and prepared for his career as a campaign strategist or political fundraiser. Until the final year of his master’s program in public policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy Government Graduate School, he and his mother considered applying for an NPR that was obsessed with a one-hour drive to and from the church. did.
“It was a way to get information and get involved without doing politics,” Sanders said.
He learned reports about his work at NPR and initially accepted the strict rules of nonprofits on fairness.Ann Ethics Handbook from 2012 “Transcend” to journalists Our feelings Tell about the subject and tell our audience What we know About that, and about what we aren’t doing. “
Even when he flirted with bringing himself more into his story, Sanders continued to be wary of becoming too personal. In his remarks about the Pulse Nightclub shootings, he didn’t mention his sexuality. (Two years later he talked about coming out as gay Episode of “It’s been 1 minute”.Like many journalists in the legacy press, he largely refrained from feelings for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election and avoided using words such as “racist” and “lie.”
“It took years of effort to be able to share anything personal in the story,” he said.
At some point in the middle of last year, Sanders said he realized he needed a new start. This spring’s announcement of his departure from NPR came in a wave of attention-grabbing exits by correspondents of other colors, including Audie Cornish, Noel King and Lulu Garcia Navarro. (Garcia Navarro attended the New York Times last fall.)
King, Garcia Navarro, etc. had before Alleged wage gap Among other issues, in the organization between male and female hosts. NPR is about improving diversity and fairness That “top priority” He pointed out competition with rivals with deep pockets as one explanation for his departure.
Sanders said that “the issue of fairness” was a factor in his decision, but he was inspired by the desire for maximum creative freedom and the choices were largely personal. I added that.
“I spent a third of my life there, but it still makes a lot of sense to me,” he said. “But I wanted the time and space to open up an identity that wasn’t” Sam Saunders at NPR. ” “
In the first episode of “Into It,” Sanders was supple and wonderful, and long-distance runners started walking. Over a 30-minute period, he bounced a series of games with his vulture colleagues, highlighting his interests for the week. Jennifer Lopez (“Human Angel on Earth”), Ben Affleck (“Dead Behind the Eyes”), Keke Palmer (“Breath of Fresh Air”).
The structure of the show, where Sanders has broad discretion, is intentionally flexible. His long interview is back in the mix (the first episode included Beyonce details with journalist Daniel Smith). He leaves space for what he calls “Hijink for Hyjink,” like a celebrity liquor tasting.
In most cases, he says he wants to talk about anything that feels good and encourage others to do the same.
“I think the best I can offer is a place where you can charge, learn, entertain, and then get a little uplifted and back in the world,” Sanders said. “That’s what I’ve been asking listeners to do from day one.”
