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Sam Sanders has been a steady, calming fixture in the public radio world for the better half of a decade. So why does he always seem to be in a hurry? Where, you might ask, is he always speeding off to? Well, just about anywhere, as long as he’s doing it in a nice car. Sam takes Ellie and Scott back to his automobile origins in his mom’s green Mercedes, gives them a peek at the (more economical) car he drives these days, and tallies up all the speeding tickets he accrued in between.

Sam Sanders has been a steady, calming fixture in the public radio world for the better half of a decade. So why does he always seem to be in a hurry? Where, you might ask, is he always speeding off to? Well, just about anywhere, as long as he’s doing it in a nice car. Sam takes Ellie and Scott back to his automobile origins in his mom’s green Mercedes, gives them a peek at the (more economical) car he drives these days, and tallies up all the speeding tickets he accrued in between.

Follow Ellie @elliekemper on Instagram and Scott @mescotteckert on Twitter, and get in touch at [email protected]. Stay up to date with Lemonada on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

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Transcript

SPEAKERS

Scott Eckert, Sam Sanders, Ellie Kemper

Ellie Kemper  00:00

Ellie, welcome to Born To Love the show where we talk to the people we love about the things they love. I’m Ellie Kemper.

 

Scott Eckert  00:16

And I’m Scott Eckert.

 

Ellie Kemper  00:17

And today we are talking to the wonderful public radio personality and podcast host Sam Sanders, but first, Scott, talk to me, what have you been loving this week?

 

Scott Eckert  00:29

Ellie, it’s an easy answer for me. Have you ever heard of or been to a restaurant called Sizzler?

 

Ellie Kemper  00:40

Okay, I think I know where you’re going with it. Yes, I actually, Scott, no, I haven’t. I’ve never been I’ve never but you’ve heard of it, right? I have heard of it in spades.

 

Scott Eckert  00:51

All right, here’s the thing. I had heard of it for many, many years, and I only just went for the first time this fall. And I want to know, Ellie, what is your impression, if you had a guess? What is it, Ellie?

 

Ellie Kemper  01:03

when I imagine Sizzler, I imagine a steakhouse. I don’t know whether it isn’t Steakhouse. Don’t answer me yet. I’m gonna, I want to complete the portrait. I imagine a steakhouse sizzlers on the outside in, like, not neon, but bright lights. And you go inside and there are peppers sizzling everywhere, and and there’s steaks sizzling as well, and there’s just the Sizzler sound in the air, and it smells a lot like steak. Am I right?

 

Scott Eckert  01:31

Ellie, your vision of Sizzler was exactly the same as mine. But guess what?

 

Ellie Kemper  01:37

What?

 

Scott Eckert  01:37

That’s not correct.

 

Ellie Kemper  01:39

Oh, my. Okay. I think a lot of people are surprised.

 

Scott Eckert  01:42

I suppose right now  they’re brakes that are doing the sizzling, because they’re wheels tires screeching as people are like, what? That’s not what sizzler is primarily, no, it’s not. My friend and I had a lunch. This was a little a couple of months ago, and he took me to sizzler as kind of a joke, because it’s like, Haha, we’ll go to Sizzler. My vision of it was that it was a steakhouse, kind of like Outback Steakhouse, which I love, an Outback Steak up, but kind of like, maybe a little lower rent version about Outback that’s what I expected. It turns out Ellie, they do sell steak, all right, so the Sizzler executives who are getting all wound up that I’m saying it’s not a steakhouse. Let me be clear. They do sell steak, but that is not the jewel in the crown of Sizzler. What it is an enormous salad bar. They have a gigantic old school salad bar that, and if you’re thinking like this sort of side salad bar that you might find at a Pizza Hut or something. Not that, no. It’s got all the fixings. But it is not one of these fancy new salad bars that had that, like, where they where you point at what you want, and they have kale and they have all it’s just like old school salad bar that’s got shredded carrots, black olives. They also have hot items. They have a taco bar. They have often baked potatoes. They have an ice cream sauce or ice cream machine with a buffet of toppings. You go to sizzler Ellie and you can get a steak. But primarily what you’re going for is the salad bar.

 

Ellie Kemper  03:25

Okay? The Sizzler cannot decide what it wants to be. It is. It’s not a steak house at all. It’s a it’s a house that serves steak, but it also serves an insane salad bar, but there’s also a hot foods bar like one might see at a college dorm, not to lower its college dorm.

 

Scott Eckert  03:47

Bringing up the college dorm comparison, I hadn’t made that connection. I said, this is it’s much, much, much fancier than a fancier it’s got many more options. It’s decked out. What Sizzler is, effectively, is it’s a giant all you could eat buffet, tights, place that focuses on salad, and then, if you choose, you can get steak or shrimp on the side.

 

Scott Eckert  03:55

Scott, are there waiters and waitresses are there Servers?

 

Scott Eckert  04:02

You pay at a cashier at the beginning, and they give you a ticket and there so no waiters do not take your order, that if you order a steak, a server will come and bring you the steak to your table. But since it is primarily this buffet, it’s you pay when you walk in, you go sit down, you take a plate and you just start scooping, just scooping, whatever you scooping. One of the things I like to do, I’ll make a salad, yes, myself, and we could go through our favorite kinds of make it yourself salads if you want. My expectation is that our favorite salads are quite different, but separate and apart from the salad, I get a big old mound of broccoli and a big old cup of ranch. I’m just dipping the broccoli in the ranch, and that’s my salad. Side to the salad. And if I want a taco, get a taco. If I want some some chips with Nacho Cheese and and and jalapenos, I can do it, and then.

 

Ellie Kemper  05:12

Too many different foods and textures and crunch and flavors.

 

Scott Eckert  05:16

And I don’t think that salad is so different from broccoli and ranch.

 

Ellie Kemper  05:20

It’s too much. It’s a baked potato. The roughage, the roughage is raw broccoli, right? Oh yeah, it’s not cooked. I want to be in the car with you after.

 

Scott Eckert  05:31

I just love a salad bar. Ellie, do you like salad bars?

 

Ellie Kemper  05:37

I love a salad bar. I am well, one of my earliest memories was actually the salad bar at Wendy’s. One of my first memories of being a human was, is the salad bar at Wendy’s? I mean, it was not extravagant. It was not I mean, I think it was mostly a taco bar, but there was Iceberg lettuce, so I remember that. Or it was a hot potato bar. It was a hot potato bar, sorry.

 

Scott Eckert  05:57

You were so horrified when I was like, what if they got all these crazy things. I got salad and tacos and potatoes.

 

Ellie Kemper  06:03

I’ll tell you, when I turned, it’s when you describe putting together your salad and then getting broccoli on the side. I was just like, it’s enough. It’s too much crunch at this point. That’s when I turned. But I didn’t mean I’d, of course, a salad with a baked potato. That’s a very reasonable thing meal to get, but Scott scissor could not be more different from what I had in my head. If you tried. I’m thrilled. Your friend took you there. I How many times have you been back since? I’m assuming you just went recently. If that’s what.

 

Scott Eckert  06:31

I took my family over the holidays, it’s like, well, what are we gonna do, guys, especially, especially after eating all the heavy holiday foods?

 

Ellie Kemper  06:40

Oh, yeah.

 

Scott Eckert  06:41

Right? I mean, look, I don’t know. I don’t know what, what your family situation was. I know you guys traveled for for the holidays, but like, it’s always a little dicey, because we just had all this, like, these big meals at home, these holiday meals, and we want to go to dinner, but, but like, I don’t necessarily know that I want either to pay a whole lot of money or have more heavy foods, it’s always a little dicey, and sizzler was the perfect antidote to that. Because guess what? Affordable all you can eat salad bar. It makes you feel healthy, even if it’s not.

 

Ellie Kemper  07:18

Scott check it off the list, a healthy, reasonably priced salad with a side of broccoli. Sizzler delivers. No, I completely I can’t wait to check it out myself. I’m glad you loved it this week. Scott, I am loving this conversation so far, and there is more to come with our guest, Sam Sanders. Sam.

 

Scott Eckert  07:41

One of my faves.

 

Ellie Kemper  07:42

Sam, one of our faves. Sam Sanders is a long time radio and podcast host, and he’s currently hosting the Sam Sanders Show, a brand new hot off the recorders weekly show from KCRW. Sam has been named Best podcast host at the ambys and the iHeartRadio awards for his previous work at NPR. Also he’s hosted culture podcasts for Vulture and Sirius XM. Sam lives in Los Angeles. He has two adorable dogs, and he is much better versed in pop culture than I will probably ever be, which is fine, you know, I know my limitations. So guys, when we come back, we will chat with the delightful Sam Sanders.

 

Scott Eckert  08:36

All right, here we are with Sam. Sam, you are, you’re a cultural critic, you’re you’re a journalist, you are an award winning podcaster with a brand new show, the SAM Sanders Show, you even interviewed J Lo, I think. But we’re not going to talk about any of that. That’s not what we’re here for. No, Sam, what is it that you love?

 

Sam Sanders  09:00

I love cars. And you wouldn’t be able to tell by my actual life, because my car is always filthy. One of the tires is always low on air. There’s a windshield wiper that’s just busted, and I’m like, I’ll get to it when I get to it. But I like cars. I do like cars. It’s also very funny to hear if people ever now call me like cultural critic. I’m like girl. Everybody’s a cultural critic. What you mean when you say cultural critic is he won’t shut up. He’ll talk about anything. He will talk about anything. Cultural critic. But.

 

Ellie Kemper  09:39

I love it. Let’s say this, you’re you’re in for you’re better informed than most cultural.

 

Sam Sanders  09:44

Perhaps sometimes, I’m just like, this is a hot take, like, I’ve been talking to all of my friends all week about how bad the new Joker movie is. I haven’t watched it. I probably never will, but I’m a cultural criticize on it.

 

Ellie Kemper  09:56

Um, I understand the. Um, I guess the the gap between loving cars and also you your words having a self admitted, uh, filthy car, because your love of one thing doesn’t necessarily translate to, oh, I’m gonna, you know, I don’t know, keep it in pristine form in my own life. But what is it about cars and this, I think this is surprising. I didn’t know that about you. You told me that you grew that you grew up subscribing to car magazine.

 

Sam Sanders  10:29

Yes, my 12 year old ass had my mama and daddy. I was like, You need to pay for these subscriptions right now. They’re coming to the house. Yeah, I was subscribed to Automobile Magazine, Road and Track and Car and Driver subscribed when my mother would drag my brother and I to the hair salon with her every week, because she got her hair done every week, I made sure that the hair salon had those magazines there for me to peruse as I waited for my mom to get her hair done.

 

Ellie Kemper  10:59

No, and did they? How did they were those, like, regularly offered at the salon, or did you have to put in like, a special?

 

Sam Sanders  11:05

Like, Miss Letty? I’m gonna need my mags. I’m gonna need my stories. And they were so kind to me.

 

Ellie Kemper  11:13

Oh my What is it? Did your parents have night, like, fun cars. Was it? How did you get this interest in cars? I didn’t have.

 

Sam Sanders  11:25

You know yeah, it’s, I don’t know how it happened, but before I knew it, it happened, and I was one of those kids who could look out of the window on a trip and know what every car was like. It was just in me intrinsically. But my parents were two very different car people. So my father had been a rancher for decades. When I came around, he had retired, but he still held on to his pickup truck. And so he had like, one or two Dodge Rams when I was a kid, then a Dodge Dakota, like the smaller version of the RAM. And I drove that truck for a while, once he was done with it, but my mother was kind of the entire polar opposite. She grew up dirt poor, one of six kids, and she’s one of those people where as soon as she had enough money to get a nice car, she did. So as long as she was living, she would drive a Mercedes. And it was not like our family had Mercedes money, but mama had Mercedes taste, and so she yeah, she had a green e3 20 when I was super small, and then when I was, like, in grade school, she got a midnight blue Mercedes e3 20 sedan with gold trim. So the little Mercedes thing on the front and the grill, it was gold.  It was so fun, and because she had no sense, and I was her favorite, when I turned 16, she leveled up to a Mercedes SUV, and let me drive that Mercedes girl. Let me tell you, you should not give a 16 year old boy a Mercedes because within two years, I had gotten so many speeding tickets that my driver’s license was suspended. Are you kidding? I’m not kidding. In Texas, at least back in the day, when I was there, if you get six speeding tickets in a year, they suspend your license. And I got six, my worst ticket. Speeding ticket was I was going 96 and a 65.

 

Ellie Kemper  13:23

That’s fast.

 

Scott Eckert  13:24

Sam, that’s too fast. And also, the Texas law seems reasonable if six and six in a year is too many.

 

Ellie Kemper  13:33

Yes, yeah, I was gonna say yeah, one every two months. Yeah, that’s enough. But, oh yeah, 96 and 65 that’s 96 is fast, no matter what. Yeah, yeah, it was very fast. You had places, I’m assuming, to go. But also, I have a question, are you the baby of this? Wait, how many kids? How many siblings?

 

Sam Sanders  13:51

[…] Story. so long story. If you’re just counting my parents, yes, I’m a second of two. Okay, if we’re counting my father’s previous marriages. I am the fifth or the sixth. There are questions of my family.

 

Ellie Kemper  14:08

Understood, say no more you are. You have baby runs all over you. You’re the Baby. Baby. I love that. You’re my I mean, but what faith and confidence she had in you to give you this. I mean, it sounds to me not knowing your mother’s entire life, but that she placed such importance on this car, on cars, on having a nice, fun, beautiful car, and she gave that to you. That’s a huge I mean, she trusted you.

 

Sam Sanders  14:37

Mama, I love you. You shouldn’t have trusted me. You shouldn’t have trusted me.

 

Scott Eckert  14:41

Yeah, it’s also a mark of true loyalty that she kept. She kept letting you drive the car after.

 

Ellie Kemper  14:48

One, two.

 

Scott Eckert  14:52

The state of Texas took your car away before she did.

 

Sam Sanders  14:55

Yes, and can I tell you when I got the ticket where I was going? 96 65 I was driving so fast I had the music up so high, I didn’t notice the cops behind me. So I’ll never forget I was coming home from the movies. One of my high school friends had had a birthday party where we were all gonna go see a movie together. And I wanna say, what was that? I think it was Saving Private Ryan it’s coming home from Saving Private Ryan, and I had to get home before curfew, which was midnight, and that was a long movie. So I was like, let me speed to get home.

 

Scott Eckert  15:27

You’re probably amped up from the World War Two drama.

 

Sam Sanders  15:32

Oh, well, yeah. So I’m flying home on Highway 35 and I’m going 96 and I’ll never forget, I’m blaring Jay Z’s big pimpin, because that song was big back then, and so I didn’t hear the sirens, and I wasn’t looking, so I didn’t see the sirens. So when I finally go to exit, to my exit, I look over. Finally, I’m like, huh, there’s six police cars chasing somebody.  And I was like, huh, they’re looking for, they’re behind me. And so I start to freak out. I start to freak out. And this could have easily been something gone really wrong, you know, young black man South Texas. But to their credit, these cops are so nice. So they finally pulled me over. And I’m like, All right, let me get my license. And so they think this is like a drug bust, because I’m in a midnight blue Mercedes with gold trim, 96 miles an hour, 4:05 pm. I’m like, let me get my driver’s license. Then I hear, like the loud speaker, put your hands on the wheel. And so then they get me out. I’m like, get on the ground. And I was like, You know what? They’re actually it’s fair for them to say that they’ve been chasing me for like, 10 miles and but very soon they realize, they’re like, you’re a kid. And I’m like, I am. And they’re like, what’s your deal? I was like, It’s my mama’s car. I’m coming home from the movies, and they’re like, so long story short, it goes on on and on. They sent me in the back of their car where they like, figure it out. Because they’re like, We don’t want to take this guy in. We’re supposed to, but we don’t want to, obviously.

 

Ellie Kemper  17:12

They’re supposed to take you in for going 30.

 

Sam Sanders  17:15

A certain level above they’re supposed to. It’s supposed to be, yeah, yeah. But they’re like, We don’t want to do this. And they’re like, what’s your deal, dude? And I was like, I’m a high school senior, I’m in marching band, I’m band President, I’m really, I just, I’m trying to get home before curfew. And they’re like, all right, cool. We’re gonna need to call your parents to come get you. Oh, literally, to them, just arrest me.

 

Ellie Kemper  17:45

Again, rather be arrested than incur the wrath of your mother, yes, yeah, and wake her up. I’m sure she was asleep, right?

 

Sam Sanders  17:53

Yes, yeah so they call home and both of my parents, because they’re actually really good eggs and kind of hilarious. When they first get to the scene, they’re like, Oh my God, what’s happening? Could this be just like the most traumatic experience for a black family? And then they realize what’s going on, and talk to the cop, and then they can’t stop laughing. They are laughing at me like you little idiot, you so dumb.

 

Ellie Kemper  18:28

Oh, my God.

 

Sam Sanders  18:30

My mom was laughing. My daddy’s laughing. The cops are laughing at me. And we’re like, this kid.

 

Scott Eckert  18:38

They’re like, do you have any idea how dorky this kid is, he’s the marching band president, and he reads Car and Driver. Your mom just shows up with stacks of your magazines, and it’s like, look, he’s trust us. He’s on the straight and narrow. This is how he spends his free time.

 

Ellie Kemper  19:00

Sorry, was that that was the sixth?

 

Sam Sanders  19:03

I don’t know if that was the sixth. I think there were more, even after that.

 

Scott Eckert  19:07

Sam, based on this, you don’t love cars. You just love driving really, really fast.

 

Sam Sanders  19:14

I want to live in Mario Kart under like, I don’t just want to drive fast. I want to throw banana peels out the window at mean, drivers like, that’s what I want. But, yeah, you know, this was the thing, and this is why you don’t give a 16 year old a freaking Mercedes, right? They’re so smooth before you know it, you’re driving 80, and it feels like you’re driving 40. Yep, that’s the problem.

 

Ellie Kemper  19:33

I have never driven a Mercedes. I have driven, well once, I got to drive a Maserati, and that was fun. Listen to this. I didn’t even mean to insert the story, but here it goes. I was renting a car. It was only last fall. Like it was, a fully grown woman, and I rented like a mid sized sedan. Is that what you call it? A com. Hacked car. It was just a weekend in St Louis, and I needed to rent a car. And literally, the only car I got, went to pick it up, and they said, all we have is a Maserati. And I couldn’t I lucky day. Yeah, lucky day. And I was so nervous. Okay, can I just tell you I was not sure what a Maserati was, and the but the way that they said, it made me like, this must be nice. This must be nice, exactly. And I so all that to say I have, I’ve driven a Maserati, and it is this a similar experience where you feel like, wow, I’m in a race car. All of a sudden I’m driving very fast without knowing it. That’s the fanciest car I’ve driven, but you are exactly now. I’m just name dropping Maseratis, but it is easy to go much faster in a nice car because.

 

Sam Sanders  20:50

They’re also quieter. They’re quieter too. So like you’re going 80, it’s smooth and it’s quiet, so you don’t know how fast you’re going. For years in adulthood, I drove a Toyota Prius, and I never got a single ticket in that car because they’re loud, and when they go over 60, they start shaking. I was not flying in that car, right? I was not flying in my Prius.

 

Ellie Kemper  21:13

I was rear ended in a Prius, and the entire bumper just fell. It’s plastic. It’s like, it’s plastic, like the whole back of the car fell. It was an 80 year old man who rear ended. It was not powerful, and it was just like.

 

Sam Sanders  21:27

Oh yeah, my Prius. I had my Prius for like, six or seven years. I put over 100,000 miles on it. I bought it used. It was already used. But that thing, it never broke down, never gave me problems. She labored.

 

Ellie Kemper  21:41

Oh, she went through it. I have a Camry now, and she is a workhorse tank.

 

Sam Sanders  21:48

She’ll give you 20 years.

 

Ellie Kemper  21:50

I love it. Yeah, absolutely, dang, that’s what it is. Yeah, Scott, what kind of car do you have?

 

Scott Eckert  21:58

I have? I have a Kia, a Kia. Sorrento, my I, my car was destroyed in a catastrophic accident that I happened that I was not a part of. I don’t want to get into the details, but in the middle of the night, somebody drove down my residential street at high speed and and and smashed into the front of my yard and flipped their car and my way. It was your yard. It was great. It was like, we like, I’ve only seen this movie once, but it left an indelible impression on me as a culture critic, Sam maybe remember in the movie War of the Worlds Tom Cruise, like, at one point he, like, walks out of a building and there’s like a plane has fallen from the sky, and there’s just like mayhem. And that’s what the front of my yard looked like. It was crazy. There was fire. It’s okay. Everyone was okay. There weren’t any major injuries, other than the fact that my car and the car the other car involved, were obliterated like, as a first, as a first approximation. And I think, speaking of Mercedes, I think the other car was some luxury car. And it’s like, wow, if that had been a Prius, it would be, there’d be rain strewn across the street. But anyway, well, my wife and I, we were, we were like, well, how much money can we get for this? And the insurance money came in and stuff, and we were like, we were we weren’t sure what car we wanted to get. And the one car I didn’t want to get was a Kia, because I associated it with, like, cars made out of tin foil, right? And and then in the end, that’s what we ended up getting. And it was funny to just like, monitor my own reactions about it, because at the beginning it was like, well, we’re never, we’re not gonna get one of those. And then by the end, I was like, Well, they do have a 10 year power train warranty. There you go. They are very reliable. And, I mean, that’s way above the industry standard. So you probably Sam, understand what that means. I just was like, trying to give myself a fig leaf.

 

Sam Sanders  24:00

Yo, listen, I remember when Kia started, because they were, like, newish when we were kids, right? And I remember that, like their whole thing early on was just like, we’ll get you a cheap car and we’ll warranty that thing for years. I remember was like, and so you’re like, God damn, my brother drove a Sportage for a Kia Sportage for a while, yeah. And we always were like, how can you fit in that thing? And he did. But what Kia did once they just, like, got into the American market, they began to make the cars better. And now they’re like, really good cars. They’re actually really good cars.

 

Scott Eckert  24:40

So that seems to me to be like, there’s generic car guy, and you seem to be certainly in that mold, Sam, but then there’s vintage car guy, which is like, almost like a sub like Jay Leno is a vintage car? Are you a vintage car guy also?

 

Sam Sanders  24:57

Yow, I follow three. For vintage Bronco Instagram accounts, and I COVID Vintage Bronco so hard. And if I ever got rich, I’m not buying a mansion. I’m getting the vintage Bronco and souping that baby up.

 

Ellie Kemper  25:12

What is it about the vintage Bronco?

 

Sam Sanders  25:16

You know they have the line. They have hard lines. I like cars that have a distinctive shape, and there’s a lot of factors at play now that make cars kind of all look the same. They want them to be more aerodynamic. They want them to work in all kinds of markets across the globe, like they’re never just made for one country anymore. The brands have consolidated, and they’re sharing parts and frames. So we end up use like, you know this, a lot of new cars look like a lot of other new cars, and all cars kind of look the same, the new ones, and there was a moment in car culture and history before, like, I don’t know, car globalism or like, yes, nothing else looked like a Fiat, and nothing else looks like a Ford Bronco, and nothing else looked like a Volvo, right? But now they all look like eggs. They look like weird, nebulous eggs. I know, you know I’m saying?

 

Ellie Kemper  26:08

I know, by the way, I have not spent time considering that until you brought it up, and I You’re exactly right, because yes, they all look, they look very similar. And I want to ask you now, bringing it back to the Bronco, am I correct the bronco? Is the Bronco, the one that has, like a horse?

 

Sam Sanders  26:28

A car? Yeah girl.

 

Ellie Kemper  26:29

Oh, of course. Wait, hold on, were you interested in Broncos at that time? You must have gone insane.

 

Sam Sanders  26:38

Obssesed, you know that for years, I’ve wanted to own a vintage Ford Bronco that was the same as OJS, just to be like a weird joke in LA but everyone’s like, you cannot do that. You cannot do that. Because I’d be like, wouldn’t it be so ironic? And like, cause so much cultural conversation, if you just see this middle aged black man driving the same Bronco, OJ, did? It would get people talking. And everyone close to me is like, you fucking idiot, no.

 

Scott Eckert  27:13

Well, it’s funny the idea that you would get that you would effectively get canceled for driving a white Ford Bronco. How many white Ford Broncos? Can you imagine being a white Ford Bronco owner, when that Chase was happening and you’re just like, well, this is fantastic, now I’m screwed.

 

Ellie Kemper  27:33

That is so interesting. I wonder what they all did at the top. When was that that was like, not. That was like, 92, 94?

 

Sam Sanders  27:40

I wonder yeah, it was like 92, 94 but I remember they discontinued the Broncos for a while and brought them back recently. Did they discontinue Broncos because of that?

 

Ellie Kemper  27:51

I want look that up. Look that up because I that is not too far to go. Because, like, once that, once you have that, it’s, I mean.

 

Sam Sanders  27:59

How do you come up, get back?

 

Ellie Kemper  28:01

How do you recover from that? It’s the worst publicity you could get, although I guess there’s worse.

 

Scott Eckert  28:07

Sam, thank you so much. Do you have.

 

Sam Sanders  28:10

Nobody indulge me. I was all over the map with this one.

 

Ellie Kemper  28:13

I could talk to you for seven more hours, just a day, but I you are busy and you are busy. But I want to ask, do you have time to stick around for one of our favorite and only games?

 

Sam Sanders  28:25

Always, I love it. Y’all. This is so much fun. I’m having so much fun.

 

Ellie Kemper  28:30

I couldn’t be having more fun. So stick around. We’ll be right back for our one and only game.

 

Ellie Kemper  28:35

You guys, we are back with Sam Sanders. We have been having a ball. What a geeky i is mutual, and I wasn’t. If you have nine more hours today, we’ll keep chatting off air. You don’t have nine more hours. You’re a busy man. And so I will get straight to the point. Sam, we have a game we love to play. It couldn’t be simpler and yet it couldn’t be more difficult, it is […]

 

Scott Eckert  29:14

Like life.

 

Ellie Kemper  29:18

It is, all of those things. It’s an enigmatic game. It’s called Love it or loathe it. We’re going to give you several items, several topics, several subjects. You’re going to tell us whether you love that thing or you load that thing. Sam, there is no gray area. There is no is.

 

Sam Sanders  29:34

It speed round or take my time.

 

Ellie Kemper  29:36

It is not speed round. We want to hear why you love it or loathe it. There is no lightning-ness about this. Take the time.

 

Scott Eckert  29:43

Get it right, is the thing. We don’t want to sacrifice accuracy for speed. I know that you’re a speeding guy. You’re a speeding guy, so that’s your temptation. I know but, but take your time signal before you turn and tell us, do you love it or loathe it?

 

Sam Sanders  29:59

Leopard print. I love it. If it’s not on me. I’ve never worn leopard print. I don’t think I can pull it off. But when I see a confident human in the world in their leopard print, they get a yes queen from me. Don, yeah, I can’t wear it. I can’t.

 

Ellie Kemper  30:16

You wear it.

 

Sam Sanders  30:17

You know? I need to unpack that. I need to unpack that more. Sam, what’s going on there? What’s going on there? Yeah, maybe I could, maybe I should, maybe I need to.

 

Ellie Kemper  30:25

Maybe, I mean, you don’t need to do anything. But maybe I didn’t know if there was, like, a specific, like.

 

Sam Sanders  30:31

Some point of trauma in my life. That time, leopard print just hurt

 

Ellie Kemper  30:34

Me too much. I love leopard print myself. But I, because I like to, I feel like it immediately. I have these leopard print sneakers that I feel immediately like, pull it together so that it doesn’t look it looks more thoughtful, like I I don’t have a good sense of style. But when I So, when I put those on, I feel like, if someone sees me, they say, well, she made an effort. And so that I feel like that with a leopard print. You know? It’s like, yeah, yes. And I think it works for people of all ages as well. Like I see a four year old girl wearing it and a grandmother, and it’s it, I don’t know. It’s a nice fact.

 

Sam Sanders  31:16

Few things more beautiful than a senior citizen wearing leopard print.

 

Ellie Kemper  31:19

Oh, so Sam, succinctly, yes, exactly, right. I like it. It’s a hard yes, yep, okay, Sam, love it or loathe it. Key Lime Pie?

 

Sam Sanders  31:33

How did I was just talking about key lime pie the other day, it’s my favorite dessert. A little sweet, a little tart. Always pretty to look at, great colors going on. I it’s, for me, the ideal dessert, because what you’re gonna get is, like the three flavors we all need in our lives, in conjunction sweet, tart and that graham cracker crust is a little salty, a little salty. You get that umami flavor mixture going on. Oh, my God, I don’t need whipped cream on it. Because, like, who needs whipped cream on that? The pie is enough, yes. But a key lime pie, yeah, baby. Love it to the end of the world and back.

 

Ellie Kemper  32:17

Yeah, really. Well, I, I’ve never made a key he loves pie, and specifically key lime pie. I think I first had key lime pie with him. What is the actual like filling? What is it? Is it?

 

Sam Sanders  32:30

It must have sweetened condensed milk in it.

 

Ellie Kemper  32:32

Right? But it is.

 

Sam Sanders  32:34

I’ve never made one. Let me look.

 

Ellie Kemper  32:35

I’ve never made one. I’ve only ever purchased one. And it’s occurring to me it’s like a custard, I guess, right?

 

Sam Sanders  32:42

Sweet and condensed milk, brown sugar, melted butter. I mean, there’s many recipes.

 

Scott Eckert  32:49

And lime, I would presume lime.

 

Ellie Kemper  32:52

And lime, and I’m assuming the green, unfortunately, if you get it green, because I know not all key lime pie is green, right?

 

Sam Sanders  32:58

But some of them are like, a little like light yellowish.

 

Ellie Kemper  33:00

Which I guess is more natural, but I prefer mine green. It is so funny to think, who thought of that? Who was like, Oh, that makes sense, because it doesn’t. It does get.

 

Sam Sanders  33:13

A bunch of limes, yeah, a can of sweetened condensed milk. And see what happens.

 

Ellie Kemper  33:18

And see what happens.

 

Scott Eckert  33:19

Well, thank God for them, because they came up with a miracle, a minor miracle that Sam loves, I love Ellie loves. This is a three for three guys, keep on high. Love it or loathe it. Sam TV show reboots? We’ve hit something. Oh, here we go. We they might get trickier as the game goes on. Yeah, did we mention.

 

Ellie Kemper  33:42

This is the third wheel of my spiritual politics. Because I’m so conflicted. I’m so conflicted. Y’all know we are all industry people, industry adjacent. The central story of the biz in Hollywood right now, is recycling IP. So I’m like, can we stop doing that? But also, if a good reboot works, I endorse so can I say the love or low this conditional?

 

Scott Eckert  34:15

No, you cannot.

 

Sam Sanders  34:17

The point of the game.

 

Ellie Kemper  34:19

I was about to give you that, but Scott, I know you’re right.

 

Scott Eckert  34:24

No, you’re I don’t make the rules. I just enforce them, love it loathe it, Sam reboot, because you’re gonna be held to this for all time.

 

Sam Sanders  34:34

I know what is the last reboot I loved? I can’t think of one, so I’m gonna say loathe.

 

Ellie Kemper  34:41

I think I’m with you. Not that it matters. It’s your game to win or lose, but I think I’m with you because I don’t want to put, I don’t want to put this label on it. Is it? Say it lazy?

 

Sam Sanders  34:55

I’m snaps. Girl, snaps. I agree. Can we have new ideas? Can we have new ideas?

 

Ellie Kemper  35:02

No, and basically, like, on the one hand, it’s like, when you, if you break down any story, it might be the same elements at play. So in that way, okay, we’re always recycling stories, but we’re not so it is. It also makes me a little sad, because then it you feel like, Oh, this is the end of that’s the end of humanity. Now we’re going back and doing re reruns.

 

Sam Sanders  35:24

Yeah, like so many reboots, yeah, new ideas. Let’s do new things.

 

Scott Eckert  35:29

I feel like I’m just the one today that’s got rocks in his head. Because if, if I like something before, give me more of it I like.

 

Sam Sanders  35:37

So you enjoyed the mat lock reboot?

 

Scott Eckert  35:39

No, I mean, the TV part of it does it pushes it a little I think. Do I like Matlock? Do I like MacGyver? Do I like Hawaii Five? Oh, no, not really. I like the new Star Treks. I mean, I’m a dork. I like, I like, I like movie reboots, maybe more than TV reboots, to see I understand where you’re coming from. Hard to disagree.

 

Sam Sanders  35:58

I am conflicted around movie reboots, because now we like, swim in this IP soup of a reboot. So, like, there’s been this rash of movie reboots that are actually musical reboots that are actually movie reboots. Like, mean, girls was first book that, yeah, then it was a movie, then it was a musical, and then it was a movie again, but based on the musical. And by the time people got in the theater see that Mean Girls reboot, you didn’t know what, what you were in.

 

Ellie Kemper  36:31

Right? But, but to me, that is like a different it’s so that’s not quite a reboot. It’s like Exactly, yeah, it’s like a reinvention, almost. And I and that I this is where I wanted to insert something, which is that I’ve seen, I have seen the Mean Girls, the musical movie, so I have seen that. I should mention. I’m speaking very strongly about reboots, that I haven’t seen a lot of reboots. So it’s like, it’s, I’m cultural criticing right now. I’m criticizing I’ve not when you mentioned Star Trek reboot, I was, like, there was a Star Trek reboot. When you said Matlock reboot, I was, oh, there’s a mat like, I haven’t seen any actual reboots, but just the idea of them could seem easy.

 

Sam Sanders  37:16

What would I most want to reboot? I want to reboot.

 

Ellie Kemper  37:21

Little House on the Prairie.

 

Sam Sanders  37:23

The Mary Tyler Moore Show, yeah, and like, but also the House on the Prairie, which I watched a lot as a kid, I watched it was always on.

 

Ellie Kemper  37:35

Always sick from school. If you weren’t sick from school, it was always on. Episodes, right? I think they were always on, and I would watch a reboot of that. So anyway, but you love them. I love them. I haven’t seen any of them okay, Sam, this is your final chance. And by the way, I should mention that you’re winning so far.

 

Scott Eckert  37:58

This is so far, but you could lose it all in this.

 

Sam Sanders  38:00

I can lose it all in here. Nothing right here, yeah.

 

Ellie Kemper  38:04

Love it or loathe it, self checkout.

 

Sam Sanders  38:07

Oh, this will mark the end of civilization. So there’s, there’s, when we look back and say, Why did humanity fail? They’re gonna be like, yeah. Self checkout, yeah, I freaking loathe it.

 

Ellie Kemper  38:20

Yep.

 

Sam Sanders  38:21

It is it no one likes it. The employees don’t like it. The customers don’t like it. It’s just, why did we [..]

 

Ellie Kemper  38:33

And I know that it is saving money somewhere, but there’s always fat.

 

Sam Sanders  38:41

Cats in the C suite,

 

Ellie Kemper  38:42

Yes, and they always have an employee manning.

 

Sam Sanders  38:47

Who has to be there.

 

Ellie Kemper  38:48

Yes, and correct all of our mistakes and how.

 

Sam Sanders  38:51

And they’re just rolling their eyes their whole eight hour shift, because they’re like, I could have just done this. I could have just done this. And then you’ll walk into a store where they have 20 checkout lines, only one of them is actually open, and then all the self checkouts are open, and I’m just like this, ah.

 

Scott Eckert  39:08

I know that is taunting. That’s taunting, I think, right? The classy way to do it is, we’ll give you one or two, you know, human checkouts. And if you want us waiting the line. That’s your choice, right? So at least I have a choice. I’m either gonna endure the indignity of making mistakes as I do it myself, or I’m gonna wait in the line and it’s that’s that’s on me. But if there’s no option, if I’m forced to debase myself by being a fool and not knowing the code for oranges or whatever it is, feeling like an idiot that then, then I’ve been, I mean, it’s not, it’s not an enjoyable grocery experience. On the other hand, I do like bagging my own groceries because I’m a control freak, and they all mess they always mess it up so.

 

Sam Sanders  39:55

Ho do I bag it right? I think I know how to bag. I don’t know how to bag.

 

Ellie Kemper  39:59

Bagging is. It’s very difficult. And I, yeah, I don’t have like, space I’m not good with, uh, I’ve named so many things I’m not good with today. The list is long. One of them is organizing and like and and anticipating what. I guess it’s like Tetris in a way. Scott, you’re very good at Tetris. I I’m fine at Tetris, but bagging groceries is not something I would enter a contest doing.

 

Sam Sanders  40:22

The feeling I get bagging my own groceries at self checkout is the same feeling I get when I’m trying to get all my shit through TSA, deep worry and dread, I’m not going fast enough. Someone is mad at me. They’re grading me on this. They’re grading me on this.

 

Ellie Kemper  40:38

And you didn’t ask for it. I didn’t you were forced into the situation and now and going as fast as you can.

 

Sam Sanders  40:45

I’m really trying.

 

Scott Eckert  40:47

You need. What you need is the freedom of the open road.

 

Sam Sanders  40:52

Burning rubber.

 

Ellie Kemper  40:54

96 mph.

 

Scott Eckert  40:57

Sam, what a delight that it has been such a joy. Where can people find you? Tell us about your show.

 

Sam Sanders  41:05

So I have two shows now. I have been hosting a weekly chat with two of my favorite friends, Zach Stafford and Syed Jones. Our weekly show is called Vibe Check, and we call it your favorite group chat come to life. We talk about any and everything. So you can find that from Sirius every Wednesday in your podcast feeds. But I just launched a new show that I’m really excited about. It’s produced in partnership with KCRW, the best radio station in the world, and it’s called the Sam Sanders Show, and it’s an entertainment and talk show all about the pop culture that I’m obsessed with.

 

Ellie Kemper  41:41

Yes, thank you so much. This has been a joy and a delight.

 

Sam Sanders  41:46

Delightful, this was delightful.

 

Ellie Kemper  41:47

Thank you for being here, Scott. What a lovely conversation with Sam. He is the greatest I had so much fun talking to him.

 

Scott Eckert  41:56

Me too. Well, it’s such a delight. I haven’t thought about Ford Broncos in decades, and now I’m tempted to go out and buy one.

 

Ellie Kemper  42:04

Listen, that’s how charming he is. I get it Scott, anything in particular? It’s January. I know things can be gray and gloomy, but is there anything you’re looking forward to this week?

 

Scott Eckert  42:16

I am Ellie, now this is not gonna land well with our non California listeners, but I am looking forward to my daughter’s new swim team. She is joining a swim team. It’s at the community center. And do you know what the best part of this swim team is? Ellie?

 

Ellie Kemper  42:32

I know what is it?

 

Scott Eckert  42:34

It’s three months long, four days a week.

 

Ellie Kemper  42:38

Holy cow.

 

Scott Eckert  42:39

So an awful lot of practices. She’s obviously not gonna go to all of them. They’re optional. You don’t have to go all four Guess what? Three months, four days a week, costs.

 

Ellie Kemper  42:49

Oh, this is the best part. I can’t do the math that fast, but I would say $600?

 

Scott Eckert  42:55

$10.

 

Ellie Kemper  42:56

What?

 

Scott Eckert  42:58

There’s apparently some program that the Olympics, that Los Angeles is hosting the Olympics in 2028 and there’s some program where certain Olympic sports, if you do them through the like public community centers or whatever, they cost $10 flat. So, so there’s a whole bunch of things. Oh my, check it out. If you live in Los Angeles. He had a great deal on stuff like swimming. So that’s what I’m looking forward to. What are you looking Are you looking forward to?

 

Ellie Kemper  43:23

Ellie, that is Scott. Do you know what I’m pivoting now, because I was going to talk about just having my kids are going back to school, and I’m happy because, you know, can get a little stressful with everyone home over the holidays. And I was going to talk about that, but now I’m talking about something else. I’m realizing my younger son is gonna, he’s gonna do his first round of baseball. I mean, it’s not really baseball, it’s more like T ball. But he’s never played. He’s played in the backyard, of course. But I’m wondering now if I can somehow redeem, we didn’t sign up through, you know, a public community center. It’s like a club here.

 

Scott Eckert  43:58

Some league, yeah, some [..]

 

Ellie Kemper  44:02

Yeah, you know, yeah, familiar with the concept.

 

Scott Eckert  44:05

Oh, my son’s a baseball. All Star T ball. All Star. I was a T Ball Coach Ellie.

 

Ellie Kemper  44:10

Oh, believe me, I know.

 

Scott Eckert  44:12

Unqualified for sure.

 

Ellie Kemper  44:14

So anyway, that’s what I’m looking forward to. Everybody. Thank you so much for joining us for another episode of Born to Love now if you want to find me, I am @Elliekemper on Instagram.

 

Scott Eckert  44:27

And I am @mescotteckert on Twitter, be sure to leave us a five star review. And if you have any thoughts or questions for the show, send us an email. We love to get emails at bornto [email protected].

 

CREDITS  44:39

There is more Born To Love with Lemonada Premium subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content where we flip the script and talk about something we don’t love. This week, I gripe about people who are sick but claiming it’s just allergies. Here are gripes, and not just our loves, but only if you subscribe in Apple podcasts. Born to Love is a production of Lemonada Media our producers are Kegan Zema and Aria Bracci.  Our engineers are Ivan Kuraev and James Sparber. Our SVP of weekly production is Steve Nelson and our cover art photography is by Tony Russo.  Executive Producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer, Stephanie Wittels Wachs, Ellie Kemper and Scott Eckert follow Born To Love. Wherever you get your podcasts  or listen ad free on Amazon music with your Prime membership. We’ll be back next week with more Born To Love and take us out. I’d like to leave you with the immortal words of Doc Brown roads where we’re going. We don’t need roads get it because it’s car related.