Kickass News
Hosted by Hollywood producer and political media strategist Ben Mathis, KickAss News is a twice weekly podcast that features the most interesting personalities and thought leaders in politics, entertainment, tech, business, science, and more. Enjoy the podcast? Then please support the show and help keep us on the air by making a donation to our GoFundMe campaign at www.gofundme.com/kickassnews. Another way you can support the show is to subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review on iTunes to help keep us ranking strong on the top podcasts charts. For more information visit www.kickassnews.com. Thanks for listening!
326
Jennifer Palmieri Empowers Women w/ Lessons fro...
Jennifer Palmieri, communications director of the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign, says she wants to turn the results of the 2016 election into something empowering for future female leaders and advises the next woman who runs for President to...
45 min
327
Director Barry Levinson on Paterno, Pacino, & O...
Director explores the Penn State sexual abuse scandal that ended Coach Joe Paterno’s career in his new film on HBO. He explains why he wanted to present the straight facts of the case without actually taking sides, talks the...
44 min
328
Ed Helms on Re-examining Ted Kennedy and Embrac...
Actor Ed Helms (THE OFFICE, THE HANGOVER) talks about playing Ted Kennedy's best friend in CHAPPAQUIDDICK, why the Chappaquiddick incident is an often forgotten chapter in America’s modern political history, and how making the film led him...
49 min
329
Tim Robbins Humanizes Immigration & Heals Priso...
Actor/director discusses how his new HBO series is tapping into the anxiety of America in 2018 and why his classic political mockumentary BOB ROBERTS is more relevant now than ever. He says Harvey Weinstein reminds him of the shady...
50 min
330
Andie MacDowell on Acting Over 40, Time's Up, &...
Andie MacDowell discusses why there are so few good roles for actresses over 40 and why she thinks that’s about to change. She talks about getting thrown into the deep end on her very first movie GREYSTOKE, the hard work she had to...
51 min
331
David Mamet on Jazz, Noir, and Whorehouse Piano...
David Mamet discusses how the old gangster stories he heard as a child inspired him to write . He talks about his love of classic noir and hot jazz, and dislike of social media, computers, and flowery prose. He shares why famous...
41 min
332
Futurist Michio Kaku on Mars, Immortality, and ...
Futurist says sooner or later humanity will face the possibility of extinction, and it’s up to scientists to come up with a plan B whether it’s another planet or even another galaxy. He explains why it’s important for us to...
43 min
333
Bizarre Foods Host Andrew Zimmern
host of on talks about how he became the man who’ll eat anything and some of the weirdest foods he’s tried over the years. He reveals some of the strangest delicacies that turned out to be surprisingly good and whether he’s...
50 min
334
Robert Malley Lists 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2018
Robert Malley, president of the , discusses ICG's annual list of the . He cautions against Donald Trump’s bluster about decertifying the Iran Nuclear Deal, warns that the stakes in North Korea are too high to be ignored, and speculates on...
51 min
335
Comedian Nikki Glaser Is Up and On the Radio
Comedian talks about the worst week of her life, why she’s steering clear of politics for a while, and why she decided to move to NYC rather than get up early. She reveals why she likes long distance relationships, why she prefers to follow really...
50 min
336
Steve Buscemi, Armando Ianucci, & Andrea Risebo...
The cast and creator of talk about mining one of Russia’s darkest chapters for comedy and some of absurd but true stories that make into . Writer/director Armando Ianucci (, ) talks about how fighting ruthless authoritarians is a family tradition...
48 min
337
Cass Sunstein on Authoritarianism in America
Cass Sunstein attempts to answer the question "Can authoritarianism happen in America?" He discusses a few of America’s past flirtations with authoritarianism, some of the weaknesses in our system that could be exploited by an aspiring...
46 min
338
Matt Ingebretson & Jake Weisman Go Corporate
Matt Ingebretson and Jake Weisman, the stars and co-creators of the new series talk about their own experiences in corporate America and the irony doing their new show for corporate conglomerate Viacom. They discuss why they wanted a...
42 min
339
Gloria Allred Was Saying Time's Up Long Ago
Attorney was fighting for women long before anyone ever hashtagged Me Too or Time's Up, and she's the subject of a new Netflix documentary . She reveals how her own personal experience inspired to fight for victims assault, harassment, and...
43 min
340
Comedian Ali Siddiq Goes from Jail to Jokes
20 years ago comedian served six years in the Texas state penitentiary, and now he’s returning to the cellblock for his new standup special . On today’s podcast, Ali talks about the incident that landed behind bars, and why he says...
47 min
341
Malcolm McDowell on Mozart, Movies & Never Look...
Malcolm McDowell has starred in over 260 films and television shows from classics like Clockwork Orange to his latest role as an egotistical conductor on . He shares stories about "mostly drunken gambling and whoring" at the Royal...
47 min
342
Twice the Funny w/ the Sklar Brothers
Comedians talk about how they got into comedy and why they don’t just want to be known as the "twin comics." They talk about their podcast that riffs on the dumbing down of America, talk about a few of the DPT characters who’ve...
55 min
343
An Unspirational Conversation w/ Elan Gale
Elan Gale, executive-producer of The Bachelor, says if you want to improve your life, be your own worst critic, not your own best cheerleader, and get to know your new best friends...shame, anxiety, and desperation. He takes on some of the...
47 min
344
Whitney Cummings Hacks the Female Brain
Comedian talks about the humbling experience of being a first time director on her film , how she learned that every moment doesn’t have to be a joke, and why she says isn’t just for the ladies. She shares how she broke free of a...
46 min
345
David Frum on How Trump Corrupts the American R...
, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, discusses his new book . He documents how Trump and his administration is steadily damaging the tenets of American democracy, warns that Trump’s military generals could become a liability to...
38 min
346
David Cay Johnston Tried to Warn You About Trump
, bestselling author of , returns to the podcast to say "I told you so" and discuss his new book . The Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist says the President who promised to "drain the swamp" has become the biggest swamp monster...
44 min
347
A Skeptic's Guide to the Afterlife, Immortality...
, editor of , talks about his new book . He reveals the surprising history of our concept of heaven, he proves that out-of-body experiences are nothing more than hallucinations, and he questions why reincarnated souls only seem to hang...
48 min
348
Phil Rosenthal Eats His Way Around The World
, creator of , reveals how the idea for his new travel show came from a trip he and Ray Romano took to Italy, he recalls some of the cultural roadblocks he encountered when he later produced the Russian version of , and talks about the places he...
47 min
349
Secretary of State George Shultz on Reagan, Gor...
Former Secretary of State George Shultz recalls his close friendship with President Ronald Reagan, the moment he realized that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was someone the U.S. could do business with, and Reagan's Pershing missile moment as...
32 min
350
Greg Barker Captures Obama's Final Year
Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Greg Barker (Ghosts of Rwanda, Manhunt, Homegrown) talks about following President Barack Obama and other senior White House officials during the final 12 months of the Obama Administration for his new film . He...
41 min