Olivia Wilde, Charli XCX and average NYers reveal controversial opinions while riding subway
They’re railing against what irks them.
On his popular Instagram and TikTok series “Subway Takes,” comedian Kareem Rahma has notable New Yorkers, friends and acquaintances sound off on various random topics while riding the subway.
“I love New York, and the setting makes the show uniquely New York,” Rahma, a 37-year-old Bedford-Stuyvesant resident, told The Post. “I think the atmosphere of the subway makes people more aggressive in their beliefs.”
Rahma, who previously worked as a producer at Vice and The New York Times, started the series in March of 2023, and it quickly left the station.
“It literally took off immediately,” he said. “Everyone is on their phones while riding — and this show is a way to engage again.”
He’s released more than 100 episodes, which are typically just a minute or two long, and @SubwayTakes has garnered 144,000 followers on Instagram and 307,000 followers on TikTok.
Individual installments regularly rake in millions of views.
Big name guests have included pop star Charli XCX (whose hot take was that “music is not important”), Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale (who demanded angel hair pasta be banned, citing its mushy flavorlessness), players from the Brooklyn Nets (one of whom bafflingly insisted that “the subway does not exist”) and actress Olivia Wilde (who told Rahma that good singers shouldn’t do karaoke).
Sometimes agents and talent managers reach out to him to book their clients on the show, but other times celebrities themselves request to be featured.
“Olivia Wilde actually asked me to do it,” he said. “I didn’t even pitch her. She just said, ‘It’s my favorite show, and I want to be on it.’”
Some of the most popular episodes have featured up-and-coming comedians who are far from well known.
But the opinions they express — “America has gotten soft ever since we stopped drinking whole milk”, “If I have to go up to order, I’m not tipping” and “guys in New York want to date a ‘candid girlfriend,’ not a cool girl” — hit upon widely held but rarely voiced beliefs.
Rahma holds an MTA card like a microphone while he conducts his interviews. Two cameramen capture the fun on handheld Sony cameras.
He thinks of fellow passengers who happen upon his show during their commute as “a live studio audience.”
“Everyone around us is always reacting or laughing,” he said. “And I think that forces people to be funny and authentic and pointed about what they say.”
The host, who also has a popular series with taxi drivers called “Keep the Meter Running,” often nods vehemently in agreement with his guests.
He was recently strongly in favor of a take that “All businesses in New York City should be required to have a public restroom.”
But, he can’t get behind every opinion.
When a guest said, “Taylor Swift is one of the greatest lyricists of all time,” he responded with “100% disagree.”
Rahma, who also runs a podcast production company, hasn’t pocketed a penny from the venture yet, dubbing it “a labor of love.”
But, he’s currently in production, with creative agency Recess Studios, on a long form version of the show called “The Last Stop.” Thirty-minute episodes would see hot takes scrutinized on the subway by a panel of experts riding along.
“The subway is such a communal space and a great people-watching place,” Rahma said. “When you’re sitting there, so often you’re thinking, ‘What is that person thinking, or where is that person going, or what is that person coming home from?’”
