How the ‘Subway Takes’ Guy Became His Own Nepo Baby

Death, Sex & Money

Slate Podcasts

Business, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Careers, Relationships, Sexuality

4.6 • 7.6K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kareem Rahma, host of the viral web series Subway Takes, says he’s been working since he was 14 and hasn’t really taken a break. In high school, he worked service jobs. In college, he bought and re-sold motorcycles, jeans, and whatever else he thought he could flip. This week on the show, Kareem explains why he’s had so many jobs, including posts at Vice and the New York Times, and he discusses the financial maneuvering that allowed him to pivot to comedy in his 30s. You can check out his podcast, Subway Takes Uncut, here. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	We live in a world that's full of arguments, bad ones, good ones, outlandish ones,
0:06.9	unnecessary ones, and some necessary ones. For some people, it can feel like too much. For others,
0:13.8	arguing is thrilling. It's kind of a sport, and at its best, it's a way to understand and connect
0:20.7	with other people.
0:22.6	Our episode today is with a master of that sort of sparring, Karim Rama. I'm sure a lot of you
0:29.3	have seen him before. If you ever scroll through TikTok or Instagram or really any social
0:34.1	media, you've probably encountered a clip of Kareem interviewing someone on the
0:38.4	subway. He's the host of Subway Takes, a web series where he invites people, sometimes famous
0:44.4	and sometimes not, to offer up some kind of strong opinion. And his response is usually 100%
0:51.3	agree or 100% disagree. So what's your take?
0:55.0	We need to abolish Wi-Fi on airplanes.
0:57.0	100% disagree, bro.
0:58.0	Are you kidding?
0:59.0	So what's your take?
1:00.0	Every straight guy should try butt stuff twice.
1:02.0	100% agree. I think it should be more than twice, though.
1:06.0	So what's your take?
1:07.0	Disney World is for adults too.
1:09.0	Oh, 100% disagree. And I knew you would. Disney World is for adults, too. Oh, 100% disagree.
1:12.2	And I knew you would. Disney World is for children.
1:14.2	Oh, did children have $10,000 to go?
1:17.0	I don't think they do.
	...

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