Well, if you have to ask… ‘Yo, Is This Racist?’ offers a comedic remedy for handling those tough, not-talked-about-enough scenarios

TV and comedy writer Andrew Ti and actress Tawny Newsome host the hit comedy podcast “Yo, Is This Racist?” Together, the two, along with guest hosts, read off listener-submitted voicemails about racism, ranging from the state of Maryland trying to put a positive twist on Harriet Tubman being born into slavery to micro (and macro) aggressions people experience from their bumbling bosses. Scathing, hilarious, and the true definition of “edutainment,” this podcast will open your eyes and tickle your funny bone.

Andrew actually began “Yo, Is This Racist?” as a Tumblr blog in 2011 before it became a podcast just one year later. Tawny joined in 2018, and the show has only continued booming as time goes on. This Sub-Optimal Pods podcast, Andrew and Tawny’s own podcast network, has over 100 episodes on its RSS feed dating back to just 2020 when they created the new network. Episodes are 45 minutes long.

Not only do Tawny, Andrew, and guests comedically rage over the stories their listeners submit, but at the start of every episode, they discuss the biggest news stories and current events circulating during the week. Most recently, they have been talking about Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic nomination for the Supreme Court and the wild lines of questioning she received during her nomination hearing.

They also held nothing back while talking about a recent article about their old podcast network, Earwolf, and their experience working under their umbrella. It’s an enlightening (and enraging) listen if you’re curious about what happened between Earwolf and the podcast hosts-of-color in the summer of 2020. Spoiler alert: it’s real bad.

After bitingly reviewing bad New York Times Op-Eds and trying to understand the meltdowns over the green M&M becoming either more or less sexy (we can’t remember this argument anymore), it’s on to the main show. Whether it’s people tattling on teachers who made rather questionable jokes in front of an entire class of students, or talking about being an entire friend group’s token friend, or calling out the entire state of Maryland for trying to make it seem as if it’s not the state that enslaved Harriet Tubman, “Yo, Is This Racist?” has heard much about many shenanigans. Sometimes, it’s people calling in with genuine questions about whether or not they experienced a micro-aggression. Sometimes, it’s people calling in just to tell someone about the racism they witnessed. No matter what, Tawny and Andrew are on the case.

“Yo, Is This Racist” somehow finds a way to balance the heaviness of racism with the levity of their hilarious commentary. Every week, these two manage to give us something to laugh about while offering enticing discourse on handling racism.