Bob the Drag Queen: What is Freedom?
The Sam Sanders Show
KCRW & Sam Sanders
4.9 • 709 Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2025
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Harriet Tubman… as a rap icon?
Bob the Drag Queen’s new book Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert reimagines the historical icon as an abolitionist rapper in present-day America. Bob tells Sam about Tubman’s radical impact on history and why he’s obsessed with her legacy. They dive into what freedom means in 2025. Plus, Bob shares hilarious impressions (Thanks, Obama) and his thoughts on today’s protest music.
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The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey listeners, it is the season of giving. |
| 0:03.0 | Get that warm, fuzzy feeling. |
| 0:05.1 | Make a donation, pick out some cozy KCRW merch, or send meals to local food banks. |
| 0:11.1 | Donate now at kCRW.com slash give. |
| 0:20.2 | Hey, y'all, Sam Sanders here. Thank you so much for checking out my show this week. This episode, I'm chatting with Bob the drag coin. I know, right? Major, I am so excited. You might know Bob from his winning season of Rupal's drag race. You might know Bob from an NBC reality show called The Traders, |
| 0:39.9 | or you might know Bob from his hit podcast sibling rivalry. |
| 0:44.4 | But did you know that Bob the drag queen is also a New York Times best-selling author? |
| 0:51.1 | He released a novel this year called Harriet Tubman Live in Concert. And this tracks because |
| 0:58.1 | Bob the Drag Queen is obsessed with Harriet Tubman. And I feel like every time you read about |
| 1:03.9 | Harriet Tubman, you learn something in there. Yeah. And it always sounds unbelievable. We always like, |
| 1:07.8 | this can't be possible. Oh yeah. She did what? I know, but it's all corroborated by many historians. |
| 1:12.7 | So in this book, Harriet Tubman, live in concert, Harriet has been teleported into the present |
| 1:18.7 | day through this weird sci-fi phenomenon called The Return. And now, in our current era, |
| 1:26.3 | Harriet Tubman decides to release a rap album about her life to inspire the people. |
| 1:32.3 | This is it the life I'm supposed to be living despite the hand I was given. |
| 1:36.1 | This ain't the grave that I'm digging. |
| 1:37.3 | And I can reach beyond what I can see. |
| 1:39.8 | And I deserve to be free. |
| 1:40.9 | And I believe it sucked for me. |
| 1:42.8 | And even if you were born a slave, it wasn't written in the stars they have an early |
| 1:46.7 | rape. |
| 1:48.3 | Yes, that is Bob the Drag Queen rapping about Harriet Tubman. |
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