NPR's Sam Sanders Discusses Intersection Of Politics And Pop Culture

. OK we know you want to keep up with what's going on in the world because here you are listening to your public radio station. But let's face it it is no longer humanly possible to keep up with all that's going on in news arts culture politics and try to understand it all. That's where my next guest comes in. From NPR. I'm Sam Sanders. It's been a minute here with two wonderful guests with me in studio Zach Stafford the editor in chief Sam Sanders and his guests cover what's been going on this week in a way that is humanly possible. And we are so pleased to say that it's been a minute is now part of the CBS Radio weekend lineup. Joining me now is NPR's Sam Sanders and Sam welcome to the program. Thanks for having me. Good to be here. There's a segment in the show where you have your guests describe how the week of news felt for them in three words I'm asking you how would you describe your show in three words. I've never been asked this question so this is an exciting challenge. I will use the words sure we can. I think that's kind of the attitude we try to take about the news every week no topic is off limits. So the goal of the show is to look at the world and look at the week of news not just as holistically as we possibly can and understanding that you can you know talk about the news in many kinds of ways but to understand that there's no one way to do it. So we format the show in a way where it's not just journalists talking about the news. We call up listeners every week we have listeners send us audio. Every week we are hearing about the news through song. We are hearing about the news through all kinds of things. And I love that we're able to just play in the way that we discuss the topics of the day. And I think increasingly when you have a president who is a bona fide celebrity and came from the world of reality TV there's no way to talk about politics without talking about the culture itself because as much as he is you know the head of the White House Donald Trump is a master celebrity and he operates in the culture as much as he does in politics aside from being a pop culture and politics junkie. You've said that for some listeners you might be the most vocal gay or black voice in their everyday lives. Do you feel that puts a lot of pressure on you. I try to avoid it. You know we hear a lot from our listeners we're a show that tries to forge really strong connections with our audience. And I know that you know the majority of our audience is white and straight but I know that all of our audience is curious about the world and they want to learn new things. And I think my obligation on the show is to be true to who I am and to bring our guest a multitude and a wide array of voices all the time. So we're thinking not just about the different perspectives that I can show our audience but we're booking the show every week to give you people who are covering sports and who are covering politics and who were covering food and have all of those people come together and have a talk holistically about the news. And we also format you know these Tuesday conversations are become a part of the radio show as well. We want to bring you a really wide array of guests and those conversations you will hear everyone from a Republican congressman from Texas to an actor like Keith Stanfield to any kind of author or director or musician bringing my listeners and my audience different viewpoints is more than just me bringing my viewpoint. We are strategically programming every episode that you hear to make sure that you get a lot of different stuff. Following up on hearing from listeners you hear from them from all over the U.S. about the best thing that happened to them in a given week. Hi Sam. This is Christina from Midland Texas. Best thing that happened to me this week is finally getting over my jetlag from two full weeks in South Africa. My fiance and I bought a new house. I'm flying home to see my family for the first time in five months. It's my last day of work and my first year as a public school teacher in Crown Heights Brooklyn. And it's also my birthday. I went into my room as you prepared to ask for a raise and I didn't have to ask for one because it was simply offered to me. Now why did you feel it was important to get that into the show. I think it's real to people's lives. And I think it works for many reasons. I think given the nature of news cycles these days it's good to hear some optimism. I also think people consume the news much more than ever through their social media feeds. There is no real disconnect between whatever Donald Trump just did and or whatever your. Pam just did. Because it's all going to be in the same social media feed. So I really think that the best way to get it how the week feels is to talk about the personal as well as a political and understand that we are a complex people that live both of those lives every day. One of my favorites was hearing a listener write in call and he had been colorblind his entire life and he was able through corrective lenses to see color for the first time. But he planned it so that he was able to see color for the first time at the Grand Canyon and he sends us the sound of his voice seeing color for the first time at the Grand Canyon. And this there wasn't a dry eye in the studio. So I left those moments of cheer and a celebration. And I loved to remind ourselves that no matter how crazy the news is we get to be happy and we get to celebrate small wins and a small one is a big win is a small one as a big win and a win win. And you can be happy and that's good. I've been speaking with Sam Sanders host of the NPR show. It's been a minute which begins airing here on PBS radio this Saturday at 11:00 a.m.. Sam thank you so much. It's a pleasure