W. Kamau Bell has the most practical ‘most indispensable tool’

Emmy-winning comedian and documentarian W. Kamau Bell, known for projects like United Shades of America and We Need to Talk About Cosby, shared his go-to everyday tool with The Verge — and the pick is surprisingly down-to-earth, reflecting his no-frills, practical sensibility.

W. Kamau Bell, the multi-hyphenate comedian, filmmaker, and social commentator behind acclaimed projects like United Shades of America and the documentary series We Need to Talk About Cosby, sat down with The Verge to reveal the one tool he considers truly indispensable in his daily life. The answer, apparently, is refreshingly unglamorous — a contrast to the high-tech gadgetry typically celebrated in this kind of feature.

Bell is currently juggling several projects simultaneously, including his podcast Who's With Me, an active stand-up comedy tour, and a Substack newsletter. Despite his packed schedule and decorated career — which includes four Emmy Awards, a Peabody, and a Celebrity Jeopardy! championship — his essential tool of choice appears rooted in simplicity and function over flash.

W. Kamau Bell has built a career on being both prolific and purposeful. From his early comedy series Totally Biased to the CNN documentary United Shades of America, in which he traveled the country exploring marginalized communities, Bell has consistently used humor as a lens for serious social inquiry. His four-part Netflix documentary We Need to Talk About Cosby further cemented his reputation as someone willing to tackle difficult cultural conversations head-on.

So when The Verge approached Bell as part of its ongoing series asking notable figures about their most indispensable tools, readers might have expected a sophisticated answer — perhaps a cutting-edge app, a high-end audio setup for his podcast, or some productivity software. Instead, Bell's pick was notably grounded, emphasizing practicality over prestige.

This kind of reveal matters because the 'what's in your toolkit' genre of tech journalism often skews toward expensive or niche gear, creating a feedback loop that can feel disconnected from how most people actually work. When someone with Bell's creative output points to something humble and functional, it reframes the conversation around what productivity and creativity actually require — which isn't always the latest device.

Why it matters: Bell's answer serves as a quiet corrective to tech-world hype culture. In an era when productivity discourse is dominated by AI tools, premium hardware, and subscription software stacks, a high-achiever championing an unglamorous everyday item is a useful reminder that output quality is rarely about equipment sophistication. It's a point especially relevant as content creators face mounting pressure to invest in elaborate tech setups.

Currently, Bell is keeping busy across multiple formats — podcasting, touring stand-up comedy, and writing a Substack newsletter, all under the Who's With Me banner. His ability to sustain creative momentum across so many platforms, apparently aided by unpretentious tools, makes his perspective on working efficiently both credible and worth paying attention to.