PODCAST · news
The Karel Show
by Karel
The Karel Show delivers bold commentary from Karel, an openly gay entertainer, author, and nationally syndicated talk show host known for saying what others won’t. With humor, heart, and zero patience for nonsense, Karel takes listeners on a fast-paced, no-filter journey through politics, culture, and modern American life—hilarious, incisive, and always honest. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-karel-show--1368295/support.
Episodes
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I Know Why Democrats Seem Powerless
I Know Why Democrats Seem PowerlessYesterdayI Know Why Democrats Seem PowerlessI know what Democrats seem powerless in the USA right now, and why so many non-MAGA people feel frustrated, afraid, anxious. I get it now more than ever.It's like a cancer diagnosis; when you first get it you feel...
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The Straw that Broke Me
The Straw that Broke Me Saturday was day one of voting in Nevada, so I went. I was greeted by a woman with a bull horn, who proceeded to berate me, call me homophobic slurs and then literally committed battery on my person. Why? Because she supports Trump and MAGA. And she was allowed because she...
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LGBTQ+ Rights: Hungary Advances, The World Retreats | The Karel Cast
LGBTQ+ Rights: Hungary Advances, The World Retreats | The Karel Cast LGBTQ+ rights are advancing in Hungary while crackdowns and threats elsewhere show how fragile equality remains. From harsher prison sentences in Senegal to a fight over LGBTQ+ youth protections in Washington state, Karel…
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The Lost American Value: The Truth
The Lost American Value: The Truth We live in a country where the most controversial thing you can do is tell the pure, unvarnished truth. Why? Because many think the truth is relative, that the truth changes, and that the truth can be argued and debated. Take the recent weather issues all across...
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Kelly Clarkson’s “Pretty Woman” Store Clash: Who’s Telling the Truth? | The Karel Cast
Kelly Clarkson’s “Pretty Woman” Store Clash: Who’s Telling the Truth? | The Karel Cast Kelly Clarkson says a Brooklyn store gave her the “Pretty Woman” treatment—assuming she couldn’t afford an item and steering her toward something cheaper. The store denies her account. What happened, and why…
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California Floods: A Tragedy—or a Warning We Ignored? | The Karel Cast
California Floods: A Tragedy—or a Warning We Ignored? | The Karel Cast Long Beach suffers coastal destruction. Newport Beach’s Balboa Island floods. Las Vegas faces heavy rain it wasn’t built to handle. When communities are warned about climate risks and fail to prepare, how should we react when...
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This Gay Week: LGBTQ Rights Under Pressure Worldwide
This Gay Week: LGBTQ Rights Under Pressure Worldwide It’s This Gay Week, and Karel and Scott Jacobsen are taking a trip around the world to see where LGBTQ+ rights are advancing, where they’re retreating—and why the same political patterns keep appearing in very different countries. This week,...
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THE NEXT PANDEMIC IS COMING: Are We Ready—or Making the Same Mistakes Again?
THE NEXT PANDEMIC IS COMING: Are We Ready—or Making the Same Mistakes Again? Plague. Measles. Ebola. COVID taught us what a global outbreak can do—but did we actually learn anything from it? In this episode of The Karel Cast, Karel looks at alarming infectious-disease headlines around the world,...
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Occam's Razor Is a Truth We Don't Want
Occam's razor Is A Truth We Don't Want The Supreme Court is weighing lawsuits from states that claim oil companies are responsible for climate change, and as such, must pay other help mitigate it. But it doesn't take any great thought...of course they caused it, of course they knew it was going…
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The US Is Setting Records, And It's Not Good
The US Is Setting Records, And It's Not GoodYesterdayAmerica Is Breaking Records — And Not the Good KindRecord heat. Record gas prices. A potential $2 trillion AI IPO. A Hollywood superstar hitting a career low. And Donald Trump taking aim at… “vaygans”?America is setting records—but these aren't...
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Is America Losing Its Cool? Why the World Is Moving On
Is America Losing Its Cool? Why the World Is Moving On Is America still the country the rest of the world wants to imitate—or is something changing? A recent New York Times discussion about America’s declining “cool factor” raises a bigger question: what happened to the country that once seemed…
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The Bigger Threat Than AI Is Already Here
The Bigger Threat Than AI Is Already Here Social Media has side effects, we know them. Here's just a list: Depression and anxiety; Lower well-being and life satisfaction; Low self-esteem, envy, and feelings of inadequacy; Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating; sleep disruption; compulsive or...
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Trump’s America Is Exhausting Us — And That May Be the Point
Trump’s America Is Exhausting Us — And That May Be the Point It feels like America barely has time to process one crisis before the next one arrives. On today’s The Karel Cast, Karel takes on the relentless political and cultural news cycle—from the Trump administration’s latest moves affecting...
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What Do You Do When Trump Decides You're Not A Citizen?
What Do You Do When Trump Decides You're Not A Citizen? My sister was born in Massachusetts in 1957 and has the birth certificate to prove it. But not according to Donald Trump's America. She is in Arizona and receives state aid. She just received a letter she is being cut off. Why? It says the...
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"This Gay Week: Progress and Panic, All in 7 Days"
"This Gay Week: Progress and Panic, All in 7 Days" It's This Gay Week on The Karel Cast — and this week proves LGBTQ rights are moving in every direction at once, sometimes in the same breath. Turkey just arrested 241 people in an anti-trans sweep so severe that human rights groups are now...
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Your Health Is Your Most Valuable Asset — Are You Actually Protecting It?
Your Health Is Your Most Valuable Asset — Are You Actually Protecting It? Your health determines almost everything about the life you get to live — yet how much time do we actually spend protecting it? Today on The Karel Cast, we look at what you can do every day to improve your odds of living a...
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Trump, Hollywood & Streaming: Is Entertainment Taking Over Politics?**
Trump, Hollywood & Streaming: Is Entertainment Taking Over Politics?** Politics has become entertainment — and entertainment has become political. Donald Trump came to the presidency after decades as a celebrity and reality-TV star. His administration has included people with backgrounds in...
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Why Hate Is the Only Thing Uniting America Right Now
Why Hate Is the Only Thing Uniting America Right Now America doesn't have one shared value left — except hate. Not division, not gun violence, not high prices. Just hate. And it's everywhere: from the Ed Sheeran pile-on after he simply called out the catastrophe in Gaza, to Trump banning CNN,...
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160 Arrested for Being Gay — Why Is the World Silent?
160 Arrested for Being Gay — Why Is the World Silent? Over 160 people arrested in Turkey — for being LGBTQ. This is one of the most alarming crackdowns on gay rights in recent memory, and almost nobody's talking about it. This Gay Week, after an Ukraine check-in, Scott Jacobsen joins Karel to…
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Why Can't We Criticize Israel? Ed Sheeran's Band Just QUIT
Why Can't We Criticize Israel? Ed Sheeran's Band Just QUIT Ed Sheeran's band walked. Every opening act pulled out. AOC says she'd turn off the radio if he came on. And the thing nobody will name out loud is the reason why. In today's world it seems there's exactly one country immune to criticism…
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Do Award Shows Even Matter Anymore? Plus: Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran’s Tour Over Palestine
Do Award Shows Even Matter Anymore? Plus: Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran’s Tour Over Palestine The Emmys just happened. Did anyone outside Hollywood actually care? Award shows have always caught flak for being elitist, out-of-touch spectacles — but they still move the needle: box office…
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AI Extinction Warnings vs. Trump’s AI Policy: What’s at Stake?
AI Extinction Warnings vs. Trump’s AI Policy: What’s at Stake? Could artificial intelligence threaten humanity—and how is Washington responding? The Karel Cast examines AI extinction warnings, Donald Trump’s approach to AI regulation, and the debate over how fast this technology should advance....
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The Gay Hero Who Helped Stop 9/11 — And the Partner Benefits Fight That Came After
The Gay Hero Who Helped Stop 9/11 — And the Partner Benefits Fight That Came After He helped take down a hijacked plane headed for the Capitol — then his own partner had to fight to be recognized at all. Tomorrow marks 9/11, and one of the biggest heroes of that day was Mark Bingham — one of the...
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Zepbound Could Save My Heart — Or Wreck My Gallbladder | The 9/11 Lie Nobody Talks About
Zepbound Could Save My Heart — Or Wreck My Gallbladder | The 9/11 Lie Nobody Talks About My cardiologist just offered me Zepbound — for my heart, my weight, my blood pressure. So why am I hesitating? Zepbound and the other GLP-1 weight loss drugs are being called wonder drugs, and for good…
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Trump’s Wild Weekend: If This Happened on a Plane, They’d Tape Him to the Chair
Trump’s Wild Weekend: If This Happened on a Plane, They’d Tape Him to the Chair A passenger aboard a flight from Tucson reportedly became so disruptive—using racial and homophobic slurs and behaving aggressively—that he ultimately had to be restrained. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump spent part...
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This Gay Week: Anti-LGBTQ Violence Rises as Trump Officials Joke About Our Lives
This Gay Week: Anti-LGBTQ Violence Rises as Trump Officials Joke About Our Lives Anti-LGBTQ violence is rising in America—and while LGBTQ people are being attacked and killed, members of the Trump administration are making jokes. What is happening to LGBTQ safety in the United States, and how…
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Are Influencers Dying? Why Brands Are Spending Billions on the New Creator Economy
Are Influencers Dying? Why Brands Are Spending Billions on the New Creator Economy The era of the influencer may be ending—but influence itself is bigger business than ever. Social media has changed dramatically, and the creators who once dominated Instagram, YouTube and TikTok are discovering…
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Trump Isn't The Problem — Our Broken Institutions Are
Trump Isn't The Problem — Our Broken Institutions Are Everyone with a functioning brain is disgusted by Trump — alienating our allies, unjust wars, prices at the pump and grocery store skyrocketing, and dodging accountability on Epstein. But here's the uncomfortable truth: it's not his fault. So...
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Iran Strikes, Nepal's Death, Trump's Lake, Rogue AI — Monday News Meltdown
Monday News Meltdown Iran Strikes, Nepal’s Death, Trump’s Lake, Rogue AI — Monday News Meltdown USA attacks Iran again. Nepal’s death toll climbing to horrifying numbers. Trump pettily trying to rename a lake out of spite. Canada refusing to bow to the Orange Oligarch. And AI quietly acting on…
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Dolly Parton’s LGBTQ Legacy, Texas Drag Ban Defeated & Hope for Uganda
Dolly Parton’s LGBTQ Legacy, Texas Drag Ban Defeated & Hope for Uganda Why did the loss of Dolly Parton resonate so deeply throughout the LGBTQ community? On this edition of “This Gay Week,” Karel and Scott Douglas Jacobsen of The Good Men Project examine Parton’s enduring legacy as an ally—and…
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Dolly Parton’s Death Raises a Big Question: Does the Public Have a Right to Know?
Dolly Parton’s Death Raises a Big Question: Does the Public Have a Right to Know? Dolly Parton’s death shocked millions of fans around the world. Within hours, the public learned that cancer was the cause. But increasingly, when celebrities, politicians and other public figures die, we hear that...
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Democrats Need to Figure It Out, Fast
Democrats Need to Figure It Out, FastYesterdayTrump Tanks But Democrats Don't Soar in America—Can They Turn It Around Before It’s Too Late?Donald Trump’s approval ratings are falling—but Democrats shouldn’t celebrate yet. Many polls suggest the Democratic Party is struggling to win over voters,...
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Trump's War on Americans Continue
Trump's War on Americans ContinueYesterdayTrump's War on Americans ContinueTrump’s Canada Tariff, Iran Conflict & ICE Crackdown: Americans Pay the PriceDonald Trump’s latest policies could hit Americans where it hurts most: their wallets, workplaces, healthcare, and communities. In this episode…
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LGBTQ Rights Under Attack: Ukraine, Russia, Africa and the Politics Behind the Backlash
LGBTQ Rights Under Attack: Ukraine, Russia, Africa and the Politics Behind the Backlash Why are LGBTQ+ people increasingly being targeted during times of war, political instability and economic uncertainty? In this episode of This Gay Week, Scott Jacobsen joins Karel live from Ukraine during one…
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Did Lizzie Borden Get Away With Murder? The Chilling Truth Behind the Legend
Did Lizzie Borden Get Away With Murder? The Chilling Truth Behind the Legend Did Lizzie Borden really take a hatchet and murder her father and stepmother—or has history convicted an innocent woman? As Netflix revisits the infamous Lizzie Borden case in Ryan Murphy’s Monster, The Karel Cast...
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Is the West Running Out of Water? Las Vegas, Trump & a Congress in Hiding
Is the West Running Out of Water? Las Vegas, Trump & a Congress in Hiding Lake Powell is approaching record-low territory, the Colorado River crisis is intensifying—and the American West is running out of time. When will our leaders finally treat this like the emergency it is? Karel examines a...
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Why Americans Defend the Indefensible: Trump, Billionaires & Corporate Power
Why Americans Defend the Indefensible: Trump, Billionaires & Corporate Power Why do so many Americans defend corporations, billionaires and political leaders whose actions may work against their own interests? After discussing how corporate power is damaging everyday life in America, Karel was...
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LGBTQ Rights Worldwide: UN Honors Advocates as Senegal Arrests 72 Men | This Gay Week
LGBTQ Rights Worldwide: UN Honors Advocates as Senegal Arrests 72 Men | This Gay Week LGBTQ rights are making headlines worldwide. Scott Jacobsen of The Good Men Project joins Karel live from Ukraine for a new edition of “This Gay Week,” examining major stories affecting LGBTQ+ people and...
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The West Is On Fire And No One Cares
94 Major Wildfires Are Burning Across the West—Is This the New Normal? The Western United States is facing a dangerous wildfire crisis. Crews are fighting to protect Big Sur, three fires are burning near Reno with single-digit containment, and 94 large wildfires remain uncontained across the West...
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Can America Survive This Divided? The United States Isn’t United Anymore
Can America Survive This Divided? The United States Isn’t United Anymore America isn’t simply divided into left versus right anymore. We’re splintering into smaller and smaller tribes—and increasingly, those groups don’t just disagree with each other. They don’t even seem to want to coexist. A…
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Is Civility Dead in America? The Truth About Online Hate & Who’s Really Behind It
Is Civility Dead in America? The Truth About Online Hate & Who’s Really Behind It Is America really becoming more hateful—or is social media giving us a dangerously distorted picture of who we actually are? Oprah Winfrey has limited online comments after dealing with relentless negativity. Perez...
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This Gay Week: Apple Censors Gay Apps, Pride Flag Creator Flees | This Gay Week
Content note: This episode discusses self-harm, online harassment and mental-health struggles. If you or someone you know needs help please reach out to the services globally setup to assist. This Gay Week: Apple Censors Gay Apps, Pride Flag Creator Flees | This Gay Week Apple has removed gay...
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Is Modern Life Actually Better? Online Shopping, Refund Scams & Toxic Social Media
Is Modern Life Actually Better? Online Shopping, Refund Scams & Toxic Social Media Modern life promises greater convenience—but is it really making our lives better? Shopping has increasingly moved online, even when dealing with major retailers such as Home Depot and Best Buy. The selection may…
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America Is Exhausted: Is Tuning Out Self-Care—or Surrender?
America Is Exhausted: Is Tuning Out Self-Care—or Surrender? Political chaos, economic anxiety, extreme heat, social media outrage—America is running on empty. In this episode of The Karel Cast, Karel examines the growing sense of national fatigue under Donald Trump. As controversies pile up and...
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Trump’s Reflecting Pool Claims, Gun Violence & Boy George’s Israel Controversy
Trump’s Reflecting Pool Claims, Gun Violence & Boy George’s Israel Controversy Another deadly weekend in America—and another mass shooting followed by familiar arguments but few meaningful solutions. Three people are dead, five are injured, and an armed civilian reportedly helped bring the…
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UK Arms Police to Protect Pride as Anti-LGBTQ+ Violence Surges Worldwide
UK Arms Police to Protect Pride as Anti-LGBTQ+ Violence Surges Worldwide As the UK considers arming police officers assigned to protect LGBTQ+ communities and Pride events, Karel asks a difficult question: Have we become dangerously numb to violence, war, and injustice? Gay Week contributor Scott...
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America’s Food Safety Crisis: Cyclospora, Salmonella and Trump-Era Cuts
America’s Food Safety Crisis: Cyclospora, Salmonella and Trump-Era Cuts More than 11,000 Cyclospora cases nationwide, a multistate salmonella outbreak linked to eggs—and critical questions about the safety of America’s food supply. Why are foodborne illnesses spreading, why has identifying their...
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Democrats, Read the Room: Why AOC, Mamdani and Young Voters Could Decide the Future
Democrats, Read the Room: Why AOC, Mamdani and Young Voters Could Decide the Future Republicans are already branding Democrats as “socialists” and “communists” to frighten voters—but should Democrats really let those attacks dictate their agenda? Candidates such as Zohran Mamdani are winning...
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Middle East on the Brink, Berlin Pride Terror
Middle East on the Brink, Berlin Pride Terror, and America’s Housing Crisis | The Karel Cast The world feels like it’s balancing on the edge of a knife. Iran says it will stop bombing if the attacks against it stop, while the Houthis open another dangerous front by targeting Saudi Arabia. Is the...
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LGBTQ Rights Attacked: Pride Bans, Political Vetoes and Violence
LGBTQ Rights Under Fire Worldwide: Pride Bans, Political Vetoes and Violence | This Gay Week LGBTQ rights are advancing in some parts of the world—but this week’s headlines reveal a dangerous global backlash. On this episode of This Gay Week, Karel examines new reporting about the LGBTQ community...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Karel Show delivers bold commentary from Karel, an openly gay entertainer, author, and nationally syndicated talk show host known for saying what others won’t. With humor, heart, and zero patience for nonsense, Karel takes listeners on a fast-paced, no-filter journey through politics, culture, and modern American life—hilarious, incisive, and always honest.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-karel-show--1368295/support.
HOSTED BY
Karel
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Karel Show have?
The Karel Show currently has 172 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Karel Show about?
The Karel Show delivers bold commentary from Karel, an openly gay entertainer, author, and nationally syndicated talk show host known for saying what others won’t. With humor, heart, and zero patience for nonsense, Karel takes listeners on a fast-paced, no-filter journey through politics, culture,...
How often does The Karel Show release new episodes?
The Karel Show publishes regularly with 172 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Karel Show?
You can listen to The Karel Show on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Karel Show?
The Karel Show is created and hosted by Karel.
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