The show that asks what nobody asks.
Thirty years from a Manhattan bullpen to Miami. Now David Sugarman sits down with one guest at a time and asks the question every guest answers: what makes you sad?
Two minutes to apply.
Apply to sit downCameron Jehl, the producer, reads every application himself and replies within three business days, yes or no.
What the hour asks
See the applicationMeet David.
The man asking the question.
The hostDavid “Sugar” SugarmanAsk David about his schedule and he will tell you his life is one big day. Monday to Monday, no weekends, because when you love what you do, the line between working and living disappears.
The Wall Street years
A kid from New York who taught himself the markets and talked his way onto Wall Street with no degree and nothing but nerve. At nineteen he was making five hundred cold calls a day from a Manhattan bullpen.
Starting over
He arrived in Miami with a thousand dollars and rebuilt from nothing. Somewhere along the way the kid from New York became the man Miami knew simply as Sugar. Today he splits his time between Miami and New York to be close to his daughter.
The chair across from yours
Trading floors, locker rooms, boardrooms. What carried him through all of them was the conviction that one conversation can change everything. Sugar in the Raw is where he has that conversation out loud, one guest at a time.
Who sits down
Everyday people and names you know, in the same seat.
- The local business owner
- The restaurant owner
- The jewelry shop owner
- The cigar shop owner
- The nine to five worker who can barely make ends meet
- A name you know
- The neighbor two streets down
Not what the business is. What it cost: the family, the worst day, the people at home.
The question is waiting. So is the seat.
Applications are open.
Two minutes. Nothing is charged to apply.
What happens when you sit down
The hour
A conversation with David. No script, nowhere else to be.
The question
Every guest is asked what makes them sad. There is no wrong answer.
The agreement
Every guest signs the Guest Appearance Agreement before anything is recorded.
Partner with the show.
Put your name behind a show built on one question, asked of everyone who sits down.
PartnershipStay close to the show.
New guests and the questions they answered. One email now and then, nothing else.
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Frequently asked questions
The show
Who is David Sugarman?
The host. A New Yorker who talked his way onto Wall Street, rebuilt in Miami, and now asks every guest the same question.
Where is the show filmed?
In Miami, on cinema cameras.
Is every episode about sadness?
Every episode asks the question. The rest of the hour follows the story.
Applying
Who can apply?
Anyone 18 or older with a story they have carried long enough. The seat does not check your title at the door.
What happens after I apply?
Cameron reads every application himself and replies within three business days, yes or no. If it is a fit, the next step is a 20 minute Zoom with Cameron.
Do I need to be famous?
No. The seat does not change depending on who walks in. The story matters, not the status.