Comedian Stavros Halkias sat down for an uncut episode of “SubwayTakes” with host Kareem Rahma and delivered a pointed swipe at the podcasting industry, declaring it a driving force behind the country’s collapsing standards of discourse.
The exchange began when Halkias talked about his own media career sarcastically, “What the [ ] happened to journalism?”
Raheem then replied jokingly, “Who said I was a journalist? That’s an ins[]lt to every journalist on earth.”
Halkias then turned the conversation toward the industry he himself works in. He said, “I know.”
Rahma then asked: “You know what the problem is? Podcasters.”
Halkias agreed and said, “I’m not going to argue with you there.”
Rahma pressed on anyway: “Podcasters ruined… podcasters ruined America.”
Halkias seemed to genuinely appreciate the punch, noting:Â “Oh, this I respect this. You’re going back at me. Yes. Okay, that’s fair.”
Rahma then reminded Halkias that he too once hosted a podcast, “C[]metown.”
Halkias didn’t dodge the hypocrisy, joking about his own career trajectory instead:Â “I did. I did. And what did I do? What did I do? Stopped doing it and get a better career. Maybe something you should think about.”
The comment fits into a running bit throughout the episode in which Halkias repeatedly urged Rahma to abandon “SubwayTakes” altogether, insisting his friend’s career had outgrown the interview format.
Halkias previously went viral for his take on Joe Rogan and his close circle of friends.
Halkias made it clear that the growing perception of standup as a right leaning pursuit bothers him deeply, even as many of the comics pushing that perception remain his friends.
“I don’t like that the thought process of a lot of people is that this is a right-wing art form. That does piss me off, right?” Halkias said.
“Even if that was true, like, you can’t think of a different word? Like, that’s another thing that pisses me off,” he said of comedians using certain derogatory terms.
