Hey everyone, Ben Meiselas here.
I had a powerful, hilarious, and motivating Substack Live session with the brilliant W. Kamau Bell. If you missed it live, I want to share it with you now.
We opened with a simple truth: joy is resistance. Authoritarians like Trump want to crush it—want to crush us. But we’re still here, still laughing, still fighting. They failed.
Kamau and I talked about raising kids in this political mess, about the No Kings protests, about how his seven-year-old has already been to more protests than most adults. And we talked about what it means to do comedy in a world where the biggest joke is the wannabe dictator who can’t take one.
Trump skipped the White House Correspondents’ Dinner because he can’t handle a roast, but has the nerve to say “I was joking” when he talks about nukes or dictators. If you have to keep saying “I was joking,” it’s not a joke.
Kamau broke down the danger of what he calls “McDonald’s comedy”—cheap, fast, and addictive. And like Joe Rogan and many in the bro-podcast right, it’s become a delivery system for laundering racism, misogyny, and full-blown Trumpism under the guise of “just asking questions.” It’s just propaganda with an attempt at a punchline.
We dug into everything from billionaires throwing cringe foam parties on Bezos’ yacht to corporate media’s obsession with glamorizing oligarchs while ignoring everyday people struggling to afford a bus ride.
Through it all, we will survive. They want us demoralized, silenced, and divided, but here we are. Still showing up. Still fighting for truth. Still laughing. And they can’t stand that.
If you haven’t already, subscribe to Kamau’s Substack, “Who’s With Me?” It’s free, it’s brilliant, and it’s a weekly snapshot of America through the eyes of one of the smartest comedians out there.
And of course, remember to subscribe to the Meidas+ Substack—and consider joining as a paid member to keep our independent reporting going!
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kamau, and feel free to drop your comments below!
