"Kareem Rahma"
Episode of SmartLess · May 11, 2026 · 1 h 1 min
The SmartLess hosts talk with Kareem Rahma about his path from Vice and The New York Times to Subway Takes and Keep the Meter Running, plus New York hot takes.
Summary
The episode opened with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett bantering about NASA's Artemis II lunar flyby and Hayes's interest in the documentary S4: The Bob Lazar Story, which led into a discussion of government UFO disclosure. Guest Kareem Rahma joked about moon-landing and flat-earth skepticism, described seeing an alien as a child, and suggested that an official disclosure would destroy society and that the CIA has used films to shape public opinion.
Rahma recounted moving from Minneapolis to New York about 15 years earlier, working in content development and marketing at Vice around 2012 (where he said holiday bonuses were paid in cocaine) and helping start Times Video at The New York Times. He described three failed media ventures, including NYC.TV and Nameless Network, before his short-form show Keep the Meter Running, in which cab drivers take him wherever they want, went viral overnight. He explained that the show cost about $2,000 per episode with no revenue, that monetization depends on brand-funded underwriting, and that the show's new YouTube season focuses on learning how to be a better man from cab drivers, partly shaped by losing his father at 20.
The conversation turned to Subway Takes, the two-minute subway talk show on which Bateman had appeared, and the group traded hot takes: Hayes on loud rickshaws, sidewalk lanes and shared desserts, Arnett on deputized citizen ticketing and ending online anonymity, and Rahma on wedding dancing, graffiti and window air conditioners. Rahma also promoted his feature film Or Something on Mubi, his band Tiny Gun, and a Creative Arts Emmy campaign for Subway Takes. After he left, the hosts praised his authenticity and teased Hayes for never riding the subway.
Chapters
- 0:05
Artemis II banter
The hosts joke about the Artemis II lunar flyby, space tourism and spacecraft toilets.
- 4:32
Bob Lazar and UFO disclosure
Hayes describes the Bob Lazar documentary and Bateman references claims of crash-site recovery programs.
- 6:41
Kareem Rahma joins
Rahma is introduced, jokes about conspiracy theories, recounts a childhood alien sighting and speculates on disclosure and the CIA.
- 13:20
From Minneapolis to Vice and the Times
Rahma describes moving to New York, working at Vice and helping start Times Video.
- 17:48
Failed ventures
Rahma describes three failed media startups including NYC.TV and Nameless Network.
- 20:02
Keep the Meter Running
Rahma explains the cab-driver show's concept, its viral debut and its new YouTube season.
- 27:27
Monetization and Subway Takes
The hosts ask how short-form shows make money and Rahma explains Subway Takes and its production.
- 32:51
Trading hot takes
Everyone offers takes on rickshaws, weddings, graffiti, citizen ticketing, online anonymity and shared desserts.
- 49:00
Life after success and other projects
Rahma discusses his window air conditioner, starting at 33, his film Or Something and his band Tiny Gun.
- 54:39
Emmy pitch and greetings
Rahma pitches Subway Takes for a Creative Arts Emmy and Arnett shares advice on greeting other men.
- 57:39
Post-interview debrief
The hosts praise Rahma and learn that Hayes avoids the New York subway.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma argues that an official confirmation of alien visitation would destroy society.
“I think the impact on society, I think it would destroy society”
Listen from 10:55 · Unidentified flying objects and government disclosure
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma suggests the CIA has historically used films to build public support, such as for Middle East wars.
“I think that the CIA has been known to use, like, movies to, like, promote, like, oh, we're going to war in the Middle East”
Listen from 12:54 · Unidentified flying objects and government disclosure
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma recounts that Vice paid holiday bonuses in cocaine when he worked there.
“They actually do. At least holiday bonuses are paid in cocaine. I remember Christmas, it was like, here's a bag of blow”
Linked moment · 17:49Skip to 17:49 using a listen link in the info box.
Kareem RahmaRahma says he helped start Times Video at The New York Times.
“I like helped start Times Video, which now makes film and television and kind of the podcasting and all that stuff”
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma describes his first failed venture, NYC.TV, as an attempt at internet public access television.
“the first swing and a miss was something called NYC.TV. And the idea was to do public access television on the internet”
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma recounts that the first Keep the Meter Running video reached about two million views overnight.
“And I opened my phone, and it has like 2 million views”
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma says the through line of the new season is learning how to be a better man from cab drivers.
“the whole kind of through line of the show is like how to be a better man”
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma explains that short-form shows are monetized by brands underwriting a series the way a network would.
“you'd want someone to underwrite the series in the same way that like a streamer or a production company or a network would underwrite”
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma argues that being mayor of New York is the worst job in America because everyone is angry regardless.
“Well, being the mayor of New York is the worst job in America”
- Will Arnett
Arnett argues that having nothing to say in interviews comes from not engaging with the world outside celebrity bubbles.
“when i realized that i don't have stuff to talk about it's because i haven't been out in the world”
- Sean Hayes
Hayes attributes the success of Rahma's shows to a moment when people want to connect again.
“because we're at an apex of like people wanting to connect again”
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma says he dislikes street art and graffiti and prefers looking at beautiful buildings.
“I don't like street art and graffiti. And I would rather just look at like nice, beautiful buildings”
- Sean Hayes
Hayes supports a reported New York proposal to regulate sidewalk traffic with a fast lane on the left.
“New York is looking into making a law to traffic the sidewalks like they do the streets so that fast people walkers walk on the left”
- Will Arnett
Arnett argues that anyone posting online should be required to disclose their name, address and phone number.
“If you want to post anything on the internet, comment, whatever, anything, We have to know your name, your address, your phone number”
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma notes he started his on-camera career at 33, later than most comedians and social media creators.
“I also started doing this when I was 33, which is later than many people, like many comedians or these social media kids”
- Kareem Rahma
Rahma says he aims to make the smartest possible content within the constraints of vertical phone video.
“let me just be a little bit different and try to be the smartest version of what this thing limits you to, which is a phone, tiny screen, vertical”
- Will Arnett
Arnett argues that Rahma succeeds because he has genuine talent for conversation, not merely confidence.
“the truth was that he did have an actual talent for it and that he is”
People
In the conversation
- Jason BatemanAmerican actor and director, co-host of SmartLess
- Sean HayesAmerican actor and comedian, co-host of SmartLess
- Will ArnettCanadian-American actor and comedian, co-host of SmartLess
- Kareem RahmaEgyptian-born, New York-based comedian, artist and media entrepreneur; host of Subway Takes and Keep the Meter Running
Discussed
- Bob LazarAmerican scientist and businessman who claims to have worked on recovered extraterrestrial craft at a site called S4 near Area 51
- Steven SpielbergAmerican filmmaker whose upcoming film about disclosure was discussed
- Shane SmithCo-founder of Vice Media
- Suroosh AlviCo-founder of Vice Media
- Spike JonzeAmerican director whom Hill calls his biggest mentor
- Woody HarrelsonAmerican actor who took over a train car during a Subway Takes shoot
- Zohran MamdaniNew York Democratic politician described by Pape as a left-wing parallel to Trump's rapid rise
- Anthony BourdainLate chef and travel-show host to whom Keep the Meter Running has been compared
- Jeff BezosFounder of Amazon
Topics
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From the publisher
“How about medallions?” It’s Kareem Rahma. NYC stuff & the stuff of life… like sidewalk traffic, hang-out kids, and rickshaw guys. “Everybody get your own dessert,” on an all-new SmartLess. Hundo-P.
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.