How ‘The Basement Yard’ Host Joe Santagato Got Into the World of ‘Hot Ones’

Joe Santagato, host of the popular podcast *The Basement Yard*, is fronting and executive producing *Hot Ones: Game Night*, a new spin-off from First We Feast. The show pairs celebrity interviews with a board game and hot sauce, giving Santagato a new role as an interviewer while drawing on his experience as a podcaster and games enthusiast.

Santagato says the format is intended to feel more conversational and relaxed than Sean Evans’s *Hot Ones*. Guests play a game while answering researched questions, with the aim of prompting spontaneous conversations and showing different sides of their personalities. Santagato says he has limited interviewing experience, but is learning from First We Feast’s professional production team.