Bakari Sellers has partnered with The Ringer to launch a self-titled podcast centering around the 2020 presidential election. Sellers will also discuss pop culture and interview public figures. It is scheduled to be released bi-weekly.
“We’re launching The Bakari Sellers Podcast with Bakari Sellers on June 29th — 2 episodes per week about the Presidential election and America in 2020, plus celebrity interviews, debate analysis and more. [I’m] excited to have his voice at The Ringer. He’s a truly talented guy,” The Ringer CEO Bill Simmons tweeted.
This news come along with Sellers’ latest appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast. Together, Sellers and Simmons discussed recent nationwide unrest, the NBA’s plan to return in July and much more.
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We’re launching “The Bakari Sellers Podcast“ w/ @Bakari_Sellers on June 29th — 2 episodes per week about the Presidential election and America in 2020, plus celebrity interviews, debate analysis and more. Excited to have his voice at @ringer – he’s a truly talented guy.— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) June 22, 2020
Coinciding with this announcement, the sports and pop culture platform has come under fire for its lack of racial diversity within the workplace. The Ringer represents roughly 65 employees with no Black editors covering the NBA, or NFL. Furthermore, roughly 85% of the speakers on the network’s podcasts were white in 2019. When the topic of creating podcast opportunities for younger staffers came up, Simmons wrote in a company email, “It’s a business.” “This isn’t open mic night,” he added. However, he has offered his daughter her own podcast, featured his son on several podcasts and provided a podcast about food to his college friend, Joe House, who had no prior experience covering food.
In spite of criticisms against Simmons, Sellers, Jemele Hill, Van Lathan, Larry Willmore and Rachel Lindsay have all joined the outlet’s podcast network. However, even those members of The Ringer family have questioned how much progress the brand has made.
“But who is the black person that is a real decision maker? That’s what I need to know,” Hill said about The Ringer.
As the network continues to make strides in improving diversity, Sellers’ will debut his self-titled podcast on June 29, 2020.
