Can Satire Save Democracy? w/ The Onion CEO Ben Collins
The Sam Sanders Show
KCRW & Sam Sanders
4.9 • 709 Ratings
🗓️ 3 October 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ben Collins became CEO of The Onion after a long career working in traditional news, so he's got major thoughts about speaking truth to power. He breaks down the role of satire in our current politics and what journalism is getting wrong about free speech.
Ben also talks about relaunching The Onion’s print newspaper and why AI will never write a good joke. Plus, he shares his pop culture hot take.
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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. |
| 0:15.3 | Hey, listeners, can I ask you for a quick favor? |
| 0:18.6 | I want to hear your hot takes on pop culture. |
| 0:21.9 | Hot takes that are so hot, even your friends can't help you defend them. |
| 0:25.4 | We have an email address now for this show so you can send them right to our inbox. |
| 0:30.2 | Drop me a line, Sam at KCRW.com. |
| 0:33.9 | That's it, Sam, S-A-M at KCRW.com. |
| 0:38.1 | And we'll probably include your hot takes in an upcoming episode. |
| 0:46.3 | Hey, y'all, it's the Sam Sanders show from KCRW, here with big questions and hot takes on the pop culture we love. |
| 0:54.3 | Thank you so much for listening. |
| 1:00.7 | This episode, I talk with the CEO of a media company that is winning a lot right now. |
| 1:07.1 | This company just released a documentary in independent theaters across the country. |
| 1:12.2 | Their newspaper, which they relaunched last year, it's already one of the top 15 papers in the country by circulation. |
| 1:20.0 | This company is big on social media, and they've launched a branding agency as well. |
| 1:25.4 | And in a moment when newsrooms are retracting, this media company is growing. |
| 1:31.7 | I am talking about a satirical news site here. |
| 1:34.8 | Which company you ask? |
| 1:36.8 | The Onion. |
| 1:38.0 | Yeah, the Onion, that satirical news site. |
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