Hari Kondabolu

Photo courtesy of Rob Holysz

Hari Kondabolu is a comedian, writer & co-host of Politically Re-Active with W. Kamau Bell & Hari Kondabolu. Hari he has a Netflix standup special out now called "Warn Your Relatives" and his documentary, “The Problem with Apu,” is now available on HBO Max. Follow him on Twitter here. Follow Politically Reactive on Twitter here.

How are you PERSONALLY different than you were in Politically Reactive season one?
My partner and I just had a baby, so that certainly is a huge difference from the first 2 seasons where me being single was a running joke (on the podcast and in my life). There's obviously a lot more Dad talk on the show now and Kamau loves to give me tips like "Refer to yourself as a 'Dad" and not as a 'Daddy' because that word doesn't always mean what you think it means.

Why did you decide to come back now? Were you often hit with pangs of nostalgia in the last three years, longing to be hosting Politically Reactive again? What did you miss?
Kamau and I definitely talked about the possibility of bringing it back periodically over the last 4 years, but we were both so busy. The show's high quality is the result of many, many hours that both of us, the producers and editor put in. I don't think people always knew how much work was involved. Whenever we were overloaded with touring and projects, the podcast recordings during the week would nearly push us over the edge. COVID freed a lot of our time up and with another Presidential election, we thought it was the right moment to return.

What do you love about the podcasting space?
I love the immediacy of podcasting and the fact that anyone can do it. I realize this means that there are now a million podcasts, but it's amazing that we live in a time where you don't need gatekeepers to prevent you from sharing your points of view to the masses and the production values can be whatever you want them to be. Our podcast is extremely well-produced with tons of bells and whistles, but my podcast with my brother Ashok, "The Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Podcast," is really lo-fi and still really fun and loved by an audience.

What do you hope the show does for people?
I hope Politically Reactive is both informative, funny and hopeful. This isn't a podcast where we discuss opinions from both the left and the right. This is a podcast about justice, equality and equity and how we get there. Knowing that a lot of the listeners are advocates, organizers, teachers and other people who are actively trying to save the world and that our podcast might be useful or cathartic for them definitely makes us proud.

What shows do you love?
In the Thick and Code Switch are amazing, as is Yo, Is This Racist? I love podcasts, like ours, that have honest conversations about topics that make people uncomfortable.

Thanks, Hari!