Club Random with Bill Maher is a celebrity talk show podcast. Host Bill Maher has frequently platformed anti-trans guests. Maher has also expressed anti-trans views with other guests.
Background
The show was launched in March 2022.
In 2024, Maher launched Club Random Studios. Via Deadline:
“Studio71 will also work with Club Random Studios, the network that Maher launched earlier this year with Chris Case and Chuck LaBella. It will help launch podcasts from the likes of Sage Steele, Matt Friend, Shane Smith, Jillian Michaels, Bill Rancic, Billy Corgan, and Fred Durst under the Club Random Studios banner. The deal was brokered by Eric Spiegelman on behalf of Club Random Studios and Joseph Marchese and Jenny Barish on behalf of Studio71.”
Announced hosts included:
- Sage Steele: The Sage Steele Show (60+ episodes)
- Matt Friend: Friend in High Places (14 episodes)
- Billy Corgan: The Magnificent Others (26 episodes)
- Rikki Schlott: We Never Had This Conversation (7 episodes)
- Guests were Vinod Khosla, Andrew Yang, Evan Mandery, Batya Ungar-Sargon, George Santos, Coleman Hughes, and Buck Angel.
- Bill Rancic: Dollar Bill (4 episodes)
- Guests were Howie Mandel, Sam Bakhshandehpour, Eric Trump, and Josie Cox
- Jillian Michaels: Keeping It Real (video format)
- Fred Durst: [untitled UFO project] (no known released episodes)
- Shane Smith: VICE News: The Truth? (released, unknown number of episodes)
The podcast studio shut down in May 2025. Sage Steele and Jillian Michaels continued their programs under their own banners.
Guests
Notable anti-trans guests include Roseanne Barr, Adam Carolla, John Cleese, Richard Dawkins, Richard Dreyfuss, Sam Harris, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kid Rock, Matt Gaetz, Riley Gaines, Greg Gutfield, Charlie Kirk, Jillian Michaels, Piers Morgan, Candace Owens, Jordan Peterson, Tim Pool, Vivek Ramaswamy, Dave Rubin, Rob Schneider, Ben Shapiro, Gene Simmons, Sage Steele, and Andrew Sullivan.
Trans topics frequently come up, with some notable adversarial moments with trans-supportive guests including Jon Cryer and Kara Swisher.
Guests have included:
- Trace Adkins
- Judd Apatow
- Lance Armstrong
- Nicole Avant
- Roseanne Barr
- Odell Beckham Jr.
- Sandra Bernhard
- Patrick BetâDavid
- Mayim Bialik
- Rachel Bilson
- Shan Boodram
- Lauryn Evarts Bosstick
- Boy George
- Russell Brand
- James Brolin
- Luke Bryan
- Bill Burr
- Adam Carolla
- Carrot Top
- Gina Carano
- Dana Carvey
- James Carville
- Cedic the Entertainer
- Chevy Chase
- Cheech and Chong
- Margaret Cho
- Deepak Chopra
- John Cleese
- Brian Tyler Cohen
- Bob Costas
- Katie Couric
- Bryan Cranston
- Terry Crews
- Sheryl Crow
- Cameron Crowe
- Jon Cryer
- Mark Cuban
- Olivia Culpo
- Whitney Cummings
- Denzel Curry
- Chris Cuomo
- Richard Dawkins
- Chris Distefano
- Maureen Dowd
- Richard Dreyfuss
- Fred Durst
- John Fogerty
- Jane Fonda
- Michael Franzese
- Matt Friend
- Kenny G
- Matt Gaetz
- Jim Gaffigan
- Riley Gaines
- Freddie Gibbs
- Nikki Glaser
- Tom Green
- Kathy Griffin
- Greg Gutfield
- Guys We F****D
- Sammy Hagar
- Daryl Hall
- Jon Hamm
- Woody Harrelson
- Sam Harris
- Tony Hawk
- Tony Hinchcliffe
- Terrence Howard
- Lewis Howes
- Arianna Huffington
- Ice Cube
- Kris Jenner
- Penn Jillette
- Bryan Johnson
- Billy Joel
- Leslie Jones
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Wiz Khalifa
- Kid Rock
- Killer Mike
- Jimmy Kimmel
- Charlie Kirk
- Lisa Kudrow
- Fran LebowitzJohn Leguizamo
- Tommy Lee
- Don Lemon
- Jay Leno
- Zachary Levi
- Harvey Levin
- Chuck Liddell
- Seth MacFarlane
- David Mamet
- Howie Mandel
- Sebastian Maniscalco
- Winston Marshall
- Malcolm McDowell
- John McEnroe
- Phil McGraw
- John Mellencamp
- Jillian Michaels
- Esai Morales
- Piers Morgan
- Kevin Nealon
- Jack Osbourne
- Sharon Osbourne
- Candace Owens
- Brad Paisley
- Sean Penn
- Ron Perlman
- Jordan Peterson
- Jay Pharoah
- Drew Pinsky
- Tim Pool
- Vivek Ramaswamy
- Paul Reiser
- Alan Ritchson
- Chris Robinson
- Aaron Rodgers
- Aida Rodriguez
- Ray Romano
- Jeff Ross
- Gavin Rossdale
- Dave Rubin
- Rob Schneider
- Andrew Schulz
- Jerry Seinfeld
- Nicole Shanahan
- Ben Shapiro
- William Shatner
- Jay Shetty
- Martin Short
- Gene Simmons
- Shane Smith
- Stephen A. Smith
- David Spade
- Rick Springfield
- Sage Steele
- Hannah Stocking
- Oliver Stone
- Kara Swisher
- Andrew Sullivan
- Quentin Tarantino
- Bella Thorne
- Kat Timpf
- Stanley Tucci
- Mike Tyson
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Lars Ulrich
- Steven Van Zandt
- Adam Waheed
- John Waters
- Reggie Watts
- Haliey Welch
- Dana White
- Billy Dee Williams
- Marianne Williamson
- Henry Winkler
- Rainn Wilson
- Xzibit
- âWeird Alâ Yankovic
- Robert Zemeckis
References
Staff report (May 18, 2025). Bill Maherâs heterodox podcast studio shuts down. Semafor https://www.semafor.com/article/05/18/2025/bill-mahers-club-random-studios-shuts-down
Smith, Bryan (January 7, 2025). Bill Maher, Jon Cryer Clash During Awkward Podcast Moment. Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/bill-maher-jon-cryer-club-random-transgender-debatea-2010873
White, Peter (July 25, 2024). Bill Maherâs âClub Randomâ Podcast Joins Studio71 Network. Deadline https://deadline.com/2024/07/bill-mahers-club-random-podcast-studio71-1236020738/
Press release (June 5, 2024). VICE Media launches video podcast featuring Shane Smith produced with Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios Network. https://www.vicemediagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Vice-News-and-Club-Random-FINAL.pdf
Weprin, Alex (March 27, 2024). Bill Maher to Launch Podcast Network, Hires Ex-ESPN Anchor Sage Steele as First Host. Hollywood Reporter https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/bill-maher-podcast-sage-steele-host-1235860156/
Connor, Michael (December 1, 2023). Bill Maher Slammed Neil deGrasse Tyson During A Heated Interview On His Podcast. TheThings https://www.thethings.com/bill-maher-slammed-neil-degrasse-tyson-during-interview-on-club-random-podcast/
Ortiz, Candice (August 7, 2023). Bill Maher Peppers Swimmer Riley Gaines With Uncomfortable Questions About Lia Thomasâ Genitals. Mediaite https://www.mediaite.com/media/podcasts/bill-maher-peppers-swimmer-riley-gaines-with-uncomfortable-questions-about-lia-thomas-genitals/
Kaplan, Stephanie (August 7 2023). ‘Complete Creep’: Bill Maher Gets Backlash for Asking Riley Gaines to Describe Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas’ Private Parts. OK! https://okmagazine.com/p/creep-bill-maher-backlash-asking-riley-gaines-describe-lia-thomas/
White, Abbey (August 2, 2022). Jay Leno Says Former âTonight Showâ Staffer Is Why He Stopped Telling Jokes About Transgender People. Hollywood Reporter https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jay-leno-stopped-trans-jokes-over-tonight-show-staffer-1235191394/
Coverage in anti-trans press
Cohen, Jason (April 21, 2025). âItâs So Ridiculousâ: Bill Maher And Charlie Kirk Torch Dems Over Wildly Unpopular Stance On Trans Athletes. Daily Caller https://dailycaller.com/2025/04/21/its-so-ridiculous-bill-maher-and-charlie-kirk-torch-dems-over-wildly-unpopular-stance-on-trans-athletes/
Neog, Anupal Sraban (April 21, 2025). Bill Maher disagrees with Charlie Kirk after latter calls “transgenderism” a “mental disorder” on Club Random podcast. Sportskeedia https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/podcasts/news-bill-maher-disagrees-charlie-kirk-latter-calls-transgenderism-mental-disorder-club-random-podcast
Robby Soave and Niall Stanage (November 25, 2024). Bill Maher EVISCERATES Neil deGrasse Tyson On Transgender Athletes CONTROVERSY. The Hill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNePuvC3R4I
Parks, Kristine (November 6, 2023). Bill Maher and Neil deGrasse Tyson clash over woke college campuses: ‘You should be calling them out.’ Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/bill-maher-and-neil-degrasse-tyson-clash-over-woke-college-campuses-you-should-calling-out
Hookstead, David (August 6, 2023). Bill Maher Claims Transgender Movement Is About Taking Rights Away; Riley Gaines Slams Weak Men. Outkick https://www.outkick.com/culture/bill-maher-claims-transgender-movement-is-about-taking-rights-away-riley-gaines-slams-weak-men
Silverio, Nicole (August 7, 2023). âHow Big Is It?â: Bill Maher Asks Riley Gaines To âDescribeâ Trans Swimmerâs Genitals. Daily Caller https://dailycaller.com/2023/08/07/bill-maher-riley-gaines-lia-thomas-genitals/
Gentile, Luke (August 7, 2023 ). Bill Maher tells Riley Gaines transgender people ought to be protected and respected. Washington Examiner https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2458778/bill-maher-tells-riley-gaines-transgender-people-ought-to-be-protected-and-respected/
Reinl, James (August 4, 2023). EXCLUSIVE: Swimmer Riley Gaines reveals her trans competitor Lia Thomas is so well-endowed that she had to ‘refrain from looking’ at her crotch in the locker room of fateful Atlanta race meet. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12374265/Swimmer-Riley-Gaines-reveals-trans-competitor-Lia-Thomas-endowed-refrain-looking-crotch-locker-room-fateful-Atlanta-race-meet.html
Media
Agreements on trans topics
Club Random Podcast (September 15, 2024). Jordan Peterson Part 1 | Club Random with Bill Maher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJcYde3GQLs
Club Random Podcast (July 23, 2023). Jordan Peterson | Club Random with Bill Maher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EOkC44ZIfo
Club Random Podcast (April 20, 2025). Charlie Kirk | Club Random. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OblCcO7-Alg
Club Random Podcast (October 22, 2023). Candace Owens | Club Random with Bill Maher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-YePCJoQqc
Club Random Podcast (August 5, 2023). Riley Gaines | Club Random with Bill Maher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw0BtFnrW6g
- Clip (August 10, 2023). Men and Female Athletes are NOT Peers w/ Riley Gaines
Club Random Podcast (December 3, 2022). Gene Simmons Views on Trans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV7X1-mKK_I
Disagreements on trans topics
Club Random Podcast (June 2, 2024). Kara Swisher | Club Random with Bill Maher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbcRSxWvIJM
- Clip (Jun 13, 2024). Bill Maher Debates Kara Swisher on Transgender issues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07pvs85SwN4
Club Random Podcast (January 5, 2025). Jon Cryer | Club Random with Bill Maher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exq4OcyA_MU
- Clip (January 11, 2025). Bill Maher and John Cryer debate transgenderism in America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmIEVaz4BEE
Club Random Podcast (May 9, 2022). Mike Tyson | Club Random With Bill Maher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKKmjs340s8
Club Random Podcast (Nov 5, 2023). Neil deGrasse Tyson | Club Random with Bill Maher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EopP1iD6N3w
- Clip (November 16, 2023). Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Gender Spectrum. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNePuvC3R4I
Resources
Club Random (clubrandom.com)
Club Random Studios (clubrandomstudios.com) [archive]
YouTube (youtube.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
TikTok (tiktok.com)