Lifestyle
Inside Kid Cudi’s new podcast, where he offers ‘Big Bro’ advice and good vibes
Kid Cudi is lounging in a colorful attic much like the one in his childhood home in Cleveland.
He’s surrounded by treasures of his childhood: movie posters of “The Last Dragon” and “The Truman Show” (the latter inspired artwork for his latest album, “Free”), a Nintendo 64 game console, a vintage house phone with a long cord, posters of Outkast and Nirvana, a green lava lamp and at least a dozen Pokémon figures. A makeshift window on the back wall opens onto what looks like a portal to outer space.
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Kid Cudi gives a tour of his “Big Bro with Kid Cudi” podcast studio.
“It’s kind of like the world outside of this attic,” the Grammy-winning and multihyphenate artist says, reaching toward the window as if he could leap through and enter another dimension. “It’s like you’re traveling through the cosmos.”
The ’90s-themed attic, which he says is a metaphor for his mind, serves as the backdrop for his latest project: a podcast called “Big Bro With Kid Cudi,” premiering Wednesday via Wave Sports and Entertainment.
The idea to launch a podcast began during the pandemic, when touring — and the world — came to a screeching halt. By then, Cudi, born Scott Mescudi, had already logged 20 years of a successful emo rap career, launched a clothing line, forged an acting career and created an animated film. Still, he was eager to explore a fresh frontier.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
“I was really hyped on the idea of having a weekly show where I’m kind of like shooting the s— with my friends and having real positive conversations,” says Cudi, 42. “I want it to be a light in people’s lives. Something they can just put on, tune out the world and have a good time.”
He named it “Big Bro” because that’s exactly how he’s been seen by fans and peers throughout his career.
“I realized that’s who I am,” says Cudi. “I’m the one that’s meant to show you what not to do in life and how to avoid the same mistakes that I’ve fallen for in my life.” Big Bro is also the name of his mental health foundation for youth that he launched earlier this year.
Inside Kid Cudi’s studio are posters of Wu Tang Clan and Nirvana, an Ohio license plate, a Polaroid camera, a Nintendo 64 and more.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Now in his 40s, married and fully independent from a record label (hence the album title “Free”), Cudi is in a different place in life.
“I’m just so f— happy,” he says, flashing a luminous smile. His outfit, an Off White hoodie and a fleece bucket hat with a tortoise on the front, is just as uplifting and whimsical as his attitude. “People are going to see the joy on my face when they see the episodes. I think my fans really enjoy seeing me happy and that’s the most beautiful thing about my career — it’s that these fans really care about me.”
After years of opening up about his struggles with addiction, loneliness and depression through his music (on tracks like “Soundtrack 2 My Life,” “Trapped in My Mind” and “The Void”), in the press and in his 2025-released memoir. Despite being so vocal, Cudi still retains a mystique quality that fascinates fans. The podcast, he says, is a space for him to open up more than he already has.
“He’s a larger-than-life figure,” says John Fontanelli, director of original content at Wave and the lead producer on “Big Bro.” “He has a lot of different aliases and personas. He’s a very funny and relatable person and I think that comes through with him as a host.”
“I was really hyped on the idea of having a weekly show where I’m kind of like shooting the s— with my friends and having real positive conversations,” says Kid Cudi, 42.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
To bring his vision to life, Cudi teamed up with Wave Sports and Entertainment, which is home to shows like “7pm in Brooklyn” with NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony, “Straight to Cam” with hosts WNBA star Cameron Brink and NBA wife Sydel Curry-Lee and “So True” with comedian Caleb Hearon. Wave was the only company that was “gung-ho” about his show idea and building out the production set of his dreams, he says. Inspired by the set design for Big Tigger’s “Rap City: The Basement” show on BET, Cudi wanted to fill his podcast set with items that reflect his personality and energy.
“I love that set,” he says. “There was this theme where all the guests kind played along like they were really coming to his mom’s house and it was so cool,” he says.
Before filming his first episode, Cudi binged several podcasts and tapped people like writer, producer and actor Lena Waithe, whose guidance helped him navigate hosting and connect authentically with his guests. And of course, he created the catchy jingle for the show himself, which includes the lyrics “Big bro / chillin with big bro” in his signature flow.
Each week, Cudi will sit down with a mix of unexpected guests for wide-ranging, playful conversations that uncover new sides of both his guests and himself. The premiere episode features entrepreneur and reality TV star Kylie Jenner, who rarely does podcasts or sit-down interviews.
“I think it will shed a lot of light on the sides of her life that she doesn’t normally talk about like motherhood, being a businesswoman and juggling both things,” says Cudi. “I was asking her very thoughtful questions and she was being very upfront and transparent, so I felt like this was like a really great episode to start with.”
Each Wednesday, Kid Cudi will sit down with a guest to talk about life, creativity and more.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Though fans may be expecting the show to tackle mental health and other difficult topics, Cudi plans to keep the conversations lighthearted and fun. “I feel like when we get into the mental health stuff, it can get really heavy and at least right now, I don’t want that to be the tone for the show,” he says. “This podcast, for me, needs to be really positive. The conversation needs to be fun, like no stress and not triggering for anyone.”
The podcast is just one piece of a much larger creative surge unfolding in Cudi’s orbit. Later this month, he will kick off the Rebel Ragers tour along with guests including M.I.A., A-Trak, me n ü, Big Boi and Cudi’s longtime producer, collaborator and friend, Dot Da Genius.
Under the artistic alias Scotty Ramon, he also hosted his first solo art exhibit, “Echoes of the Past,” at Ruttkowski;68 gallery in Paris. “I went years not knowing if I could paint and not only could I do it all along, there’s people in the world that are going to f— with it,” he says. He’s already finished with his next art collection, which he plans to showcase in New York next year.
With short films like “Mr. Miracle” and “Neverland” already under his belt, he’s been digging deeper into his director bag as well.
“I’m just so f— happy,” says Kid Cudi. “People are going to see the joy on my face when they see the episodes. I think my fans really enjoy seeing me happy and that’s the most beautiful thing about my career— it’s that these fans really care about me.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m somebody who was raised watching the Wayans,” he says. “Some mother— who came in here and were like ‘We’re gonna do it like this.’ People like Robert Townsend and I just know what’s hot. I know what’s funny. I know what’s cool and I know what stories we haven’t seen.”
With his Mad Solar production and music management company, he is the star of an upcoming film called “God Backwards,” which he says will be released later this year. On top of all of that, he recently began streaming on Twitch (“Someone Cooked Here”), where he showcases his music making process including his four-track EP “Have U Bn 2 Heaven @ Nite?” which released in March.
As he continues to dive into different mediums, Cudi says the mission remains the same: to continue evolving, challenging himself artistically and inspiring people along the way.
“[It] makes me feel so good as an artist that I can take this leap into another realm and I’ll still have support,” he says. “There’s people who are like ‘Cudi painting now? Right now. What else you got, kid?’ I love it.”
“Big Bro With Kid Cudi” will drop new episodes every Wednesday starting April 1 on YouTube and other streaming platforms.
Lifestyle
‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ remembers every Nintendo moment ever : Pop Culture Happy Hour
Mario (Chris Pratt) in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
Universal Pictures
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Universal Pictures
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the ultimate piece of Nintendo fan service. Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) are on an outer space adventure to save Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson). The film features other beloved Nintendo characters like Bowser (Jack Black) and Yoshi (Donald Glover) – and a few surprises. It’s a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which made more than a billion dollars worldwide.
Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture
A satirical statue of President Trump and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein went up in front of the U.S. Capitol in February. The temporary statue drew huge crowds that amplified the image by posting it on social media. The statue is a play on the iconic scene from the film Titanic and is called “King of the World.”
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
WASHINGTON — There’s a propaganda war playing out on the National Mall between the Trump administration and its critics. The administration has hung giant banners bearing President Trump’s face from several federal buildings. His name now adorns both the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the United States Institute of Peace.
Meanwhile, an anonymous group called the Secret Handshake has put up satirical statues of Trump and artworks that emphasize everything from the president’s friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to Trump’s taste for marble and gold leaf.
Another group, the Save America Movement, has plastered posters on fences and walls mocking members of Trump’s Cabinet. One shows a photo of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and says, “Fascism Ain’t Pretty.” Another shows Attorney General Pam Bondi and reads, “Epstein Queen.”
The Save America Movement, a nonprofit, has plastered posters around Washington, D.C. This one mocks Attorney General Pam Bondi for her handling of the Epstein files.
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Save America Movement/Save America Movement
A man poses for a photograph with a gold-painted, faux-marble toilet sculpture titled “A Throne Fit For a King” that was installed March 31 near the Lincoln Memorial. The Secret Handshake, an artist collective, put up the statue, which mocks President Trump’s renovation of the White House bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom, a project that drew criticism for taking place during a government shutdown.
Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images
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Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images
“We think that ridicule is a really important tool in an opposition toolbox to fight authoritarianism,” said Mary Corcoran, who runs the Save America Movement, a nonprofit.
Corcoran adds that she doesn’t see this as a fair fight “because they’re using taxpayer dollars to fund their propaganda, and we’re not.”
The White House rejects criticisms that the president is recasting the National Mall in his own image and using federal buildings for self-aggrandizement.
Workers hung this banner in February from the Department of Justice headquarters. Visitors and scholars liken it to the political iconography seen in authoritarian states such as China and the former Soviet Union.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
“President Trump is focused on saving our country — not garnering recognition,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told NPR by email. “A variety of organizations are free to share their opinions publicly, even when they lack any basis in reality.”
The National Mall is known as America’s front yard, and includes monuments and museums designed to unify the nation and celebrate democracy.
Last month, a gold-painted statue depicting Trump holding Epstein’s outstretched arms on the prow of a ship as though they were Jack and Rose on the Titanic drew a steady stream of people who laughed and posed in front of it for photos.
Not everyone was amused.
“It’s a gross interpretation of our president,” said Andi Lynn Helmy, a high school senior from Jacksonville, Fla. “Even if you don’t agree with his policies … I think it’s just an incredibly disrespectful thing.”
The battle of images playing out on the National Mall has yielded remarkable juxtapositions. They include this giant banner of President Trump, which hangs from the Department of Labor. In the foreground are banners put up by the anonymous group the Secret Handshake, which read “Make America Safe Again” and emphasize the president’s friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Epstein banners are a rebuttal to a Trump banner that hangs from the Department of Justice and also reads “Make America Safe Again.”
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
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Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Other visitors took exception to the president’s face staring down from those banners on the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice. They likened it to the images of personalized rule seen in the People’s Republic of China during the Chairman Mao Tse-Tung era and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.
“I just feel like he’s sort of painting himself as the king of America,” said Luke Price, a freshman at the University of Vermont. “I just don’t think that’s what we’re about. America is a democracy, not a dictatorship.”
Millions of Angelenos flock to the newest, most luxurious and financially-aggressive pseudosciences in the name of health. Wellness is so intrinsic to our identity it raises the question: Have you had a vitamin aloe serenity scrub under a glowing red light contour mask using a triple-hydration oxygenator submerged in a vitamin C longevity mist inside a gently eroding brutal-minimalist high-rise overlooking a Zankou Chicken?
Is all that real? Yes. Is there a lot of bespoke wellness fabrication going on in this city (and maybe even on this page as you keep scrolling)? Also … yes. Today — April 1st — we imagine, with our tongues blithely thrust deep into our cheeks, just how far wellness trends could go in 2026. Whether you’re a true believer or here for a couple laughs (wink, wink), we can all agree that Los Angeles isn’t afraid of grabbing onto the fringes.
Cabbage-core
With more than a dozen varieties grown in and around SoCal, in 2026 alone, heads (of cabbage) will roll if Angelenos can’t get their fix of this vitamin-rich, potassium-laden, calcium-blasted antioxidant VIP in 2026. Used for lactation suppression, nutrition, a cute hat or coleslaw. Who is 2026’s “it” girl? It’s cabbage, babe.
Girl, this is 2026, you don’t need to pay for allll that grilled shrimp! These dainty menus are taking L.A.’s hottest restaurants by storm, offering the 5 to 11 bites of the food you’ll need to look like you didn’t manipulate your pancreas to release insulin signaling your brain that you’re totally full!
FIFA for the Olds
With the World Cup upon us, soccer-loving Gen X and elder millennial Angelenos are desperate to get in on the action. Enter World Cup Camp, a place where aging super fans can step into the lives of a professional footballer without the excruciating, chronic pain (more or less). Think of it like Space Camp … but for “athletic” DINKs who played soccer in high school, just a short couple decades ago! From cleats with orthopedic insoles to scoring a single point donned in the international flag of one’s choice, this weekend is all about geeking out in ill-fitting soccer gear of yore, getting a couple good photo ops, and doing some half-assed yet earnest drills that would make fellow-41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo proud.
Chrononutrition
An ancient nightmare, unpleasant even by L.A. standards, Chrononutrition aligns eating windows with the sun’s movement to optimize metabolism, sleep and body conditioning (so hot among L.A.’s multi-hyphenate multi-hyphenates). This exciting nutrition system may include fun things like nearly blinding your boss with direct sunlight at an open-air business lunch, or shoveling food in your face from 5:10 to 5:11 p.m. If you loved creating a whole personality around intermittent fasting, welcome: You’ve found your people.
Hot Line Dancing
The L.A. line dancing revival is back … and hotter than ever (literally). Creating stronger flexibility, groundedness and rank body odor, shimmying around in 105 degree heat is having a wild, wild wellness moment. Do you know the steps? Of course you don’t! But it doesn’t matter, just grab your best tight denim and thick leatherware and enter Club Bahia’s famed “Summer in Van Nuys Room,” for a night of pure heat, lunges and Nama-staying hydrated.
Optimized Flatulence
Your gut biome is the holy grail of wellness, so it’s only natural us humans would want to find it, conquer it and aggressively exploit it. Enter Optimized Flatulence, the new and disturbing trend of flatulating on your own schedule. No more embarrassing surprises! A simple “Substance”-eque sequence of probiotics triggers a relaxing unconscious state, regenerating a utopian gut biome in a short six to eight weeks. After awakening, the biome’s newly cultivated gut flora will respond to your neurological directive, allowing you to ultimately control when — and where — your wind breaks.
Circadian Overhead Lighting
As most Angelenos know, anti-aging efforts come in many annoying forms. But this time, the call is coming from inside the house — your house. L.A. homes are increasingly being outfitted with lighting technology that mimics the exact hue of the sun. These “Circadian Overhead lights” are designed to protect melatonin production, a new (and expensive) weapon in the war against looking old. The best part: using these lights means you’ll be in bed by 6 p.m, ready for an evening of total darkness and forced rest. Chic!
Amino Acid Trips
This is peptide packing at its hallucinogenic limit, no yurt necessary! Ingest a small but powerful tab of L.A.-grown protein-rich amino acids optimized to enhance their longevity and fat-burning properties, and let the aminos take you away. If you thought injections were effective, wait until the rush of millions of strains of ambiguous compounds hit! They say one amino acid trip is like two lifetimes of therapy, a stint in rehab and a fight with your absentee father, all in one.
As a wise and wellness-conscious Angeleno, you wouldn’t want to be the last one in your too-intense preschool moms text chain or chakra-balancing Zoom class to get in on these trends, would you? After all, spring’s here … and, well, so is my big admission: These trends are completely fake and totally illegitimate, and — like many actual fad-based treatments — meant purely for fun and not for serious consumption.
Happy April Fools!
Leib is a comedian, TV writer, podcaster and cultural journalist who has, to date, never worn cabbage as a hat.
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