This week on Bullseye, George Takei returns to talk about his new graphic-memoir: It Rhymes with Takei . His memoir focuses on his personal journey through discovering his identity as a gay man, hiding it, and how it felt to finally come out publicly. Takei talks to Bullseye about this, as well as his experience living in incarceration camps, and his roots in Los Angeles. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 08, 2025•40 min
Being able to make light of extremely heavy topics is what makes Atsuko Okatsuka a brilliant comedian. Her new comedy special Father aired on Hulu last month. Atsuko chatted with us about how recording videos on social media with her family brought them closer together, what it was like bringing her grandma on her honeymoon and much more! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 04, 2025•38 min
Actor and comedian Cole Escola has written and starred in some of the funniest TV comedies: Difficult People , Hacks , and At Home with Amy Sedaris . Cole recently took their writing from the small screen to the stage with Oh, Mary! , a one act play that examines the forgotten life and dreams of Mary Todd Lincoln. Cole joins Bullseye to talk about Oh, Mary! , gender, and all things Mary Todd Lincoln. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 01, 2025•51 min
The one and only Mark Hamill joins us this week. He chats with us about his latest role in the epic, life-affirming drama The Life of Chuck . He also tells us about what inspired him to take his acting skills to Broadway after Star Wars . Plus, he shares what got him into voice acting and does his iconic voice as the Joker from the animated Batman series for us. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 24, 2025•54 min
What was it like to work with Paul Reubens? The man behind Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee as Himself is a beautiful, touching documentary about one of the most talented and unique voices of our time. He died in 2023. We're joined by filmmaker Matt Wolf. He talks about what made Paul Reubens a dream subject for a documentary and how he got Paul to open up about difficult topics. Plus, Jesse talks about his own experience working with Paul on the Pee-wee Herman Radio Hour for KCRW. Learn more about spons...
Jun 20, 2025•45 min
This week on Bullseye , we talk to Ego Nwodim! She just wrapped up her seventh season as a cast member on Saturday Night Live . She talks with us about her roundabout path to comedy, including nods to her hometown in sketches, and a whole lot about her incredible SNL character: Lisa from Temecula. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 17, 2025•37 min
Mary Randolph Carter is an expert on all things junk. She's written many books on the topic including her latest called Live With the Things You Love: And You'll Live Happily Ever After . We asked Carter if there was ever one piece of junk she acquired over the years that stuck with her so much and lived inside her head rent free for so long that she wishes she made it. The object that came to mind was a very peculiar clock. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices ...
Jun 13, 2025•14 min
Questlove, drummer and bandleader for The Roots joins us on the latest episode. The legend. Lately, he's been working on music documentaries: Sly Lives! and Summer of Soul were both fantastic. He joins us to talk at length about Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music . Questlove gets into his early memories of Saturday Night Live as a kid and gets into how he's been involved with the show over the years. We also get into the forthcoming album from The Roots. Learn more about sponsor mes...
Jun 10, 2025•49 min
This week on Bullseye, we talk to Carson Lund, director of the new slice-of-life baseball film, Eephus . The movie is about two rec league baseball teams meeting to play their final game on a field, which will be torn down the next day to make way for a middle school. Lund talks to Bullseye about representing downtime in baseball, and rejecting the grand finale you might expect in a movie about a sport. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 06, 2025•33 min
Alexander Skarsgård joins us to talk about the new Apple TV + sci-fi series Murderbot . He also gets into his upbringing and what it was like growing up around different artists and performers. Plus, he'll chat with us about some of his most memorable red carpet outfits. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 03, 2025•33 min
Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey will be forever linked together – thanks to one show: The Office . The sitcom is celebrating its 20th anniversary. They were strangers when the show started, but soon formed a friendship that has lasted long after the show wrapped, including their podcast Office Ladies and their book The Office BFFs . They joined Bullseye to talk about seeing the show through a new lens and becoming geeks for The Office while researching their podcast. Learn more about sponsor mes...
May 27, 2025•51 min
Jane Borden is a writer with bylines in Vanity Fair, the Washington Post, and the New York Times Magazine. Jane is kind of obsessed with cults. She enjoys reading books on them, watching documentaries, and vintage news pieces on the subject. Jane's obsession has become her latest book. She joins us on Bullseye to talk about Cults Like Us . The book is not just a study on the history of cults, but an examination on why they seem to be a uniquely American phenomenon. Learn more about sponsor messa...
May 23, 2025•48 min
Rapper and producer Dezzy Hollow is a master of modern day West Coast funk. Earlier this year he released an album called OCEANSIDE , which he named after his hometown. He chats with us about the record, what he hopes his music can bring to the city and much more. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 20, 2025•36 min
Video game creator Keita Takahashi joins us to talk about how he got into designing video games and how he pitched the idea for his popular game Katamari Damacy to the folks at Namco. He also talks with us about his new game, to a T , which comes out soon. A version of this interview originally ran in April of 2024. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 16, 2025•33 min
Lisa Kudrow's big break was on the massively successful sitcom Friends . She portrayed the street-wise, but kind of clueless Phoebe Buffay. She's one of Friends ' most beloved characters. Before she broke out on that show she envisioned a very different future. Kudrow on her early career in science research, the cruelty of middle-schoolers that set her on the path to acting, and being mentored by Jon Lovitz. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Polic...
May 13, 2025•46 min
Jean Grae is back on the show! The multidisciplinary artist just wrote a collection of personal essays called In My Remaining Years . She joins us to talk about the new book, why she distanced herself from rapping, her upbringing and much more. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
May 09, 2025•46 min
This week, it's Bob Mackie! Mackie has made a career out of dressing big personalities in kinetic, sparkling garb. His life and career were profiled in an incredible documentary late last year. Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion covers the era-defining design work he did and the extraordinary life he's lived. Mackie talks to Bullseye about his early affinity for performance outfits, marrying costumes and comedy, and getting started in the business working with old Hollywood legends. Learn more about spo...
May 06, 2025•41 min
The Craziest Day of My Entire Career is a segment where folks join us to talk about some truly unbelievable stories. Comedian Mike Drucker has had his fair share of crazy days – he's work for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee , Adam Ruins Everything , and Saturday Night Live . But his craziest day? It all happened at a paintball game when he was working for a little company called Nintendo. Good Game, No Rematch by Mike Drucker is out now. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.co...
May 02, 2025•14 min
Writer, director and showrunner Tony Gilroy joins us to talk about the new season of Andor and what makes the show so different than any other Star Wars program. He also shares what his plans are after the series concludes, and tells us about how he almost entered a career in music instead of film. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Apr 29, 2025•53 min
This week on Bullseye, we talk to filmmaker Charles Burnett. His most famous film, Killer of Sheep , was part of his Masters' thesis at UCLA Film School in 1977. Now, it's in the Criterion Collection and the Library of Congress. His 1999 romance film, The Annihilation of Fish , has just been restored and set for its first theatrical release. He talks to Bullseye about representing communities authentically, the tension of studying at UCLA and living in South Central, and his regrets about the ro...
Apr 25, 2025•30 min
Rapper Fat Joe is charming, verbose, and direct. He is a man who radiates confidence. You wanna make a banger for the club? Fat Joe's got em – Lean Back , What's Luv? ft. Ashanti, and All The Way Up. The Bronx legend joins us on the latest episode of Bullseye to talk about collaborating with KRS-One , LL Cool J and his latest record The World Changed On Me . He also gets into his childhood, his family and how he keeps it real after three decades in the game. Learn more about sponsor message choi...
Apr 22, 2025•33 min
The Song That Changed My Life is a segment that gives a chance for musicians and artists to tell us about the song that made them who they are. This week, we talked to Casual – he was a founding member of underground Bay Area rap crew Hieroglyphics. Casual talks about Ride the Rhythm from Chill Rob G's debut album. The track helped Casual visualize his own flow when he was coming up. Casual breaks down the song's lyrics and Chill Rob G's contributions to the genre. Learn more about sponsor messa...
Apr 18, 2025•14 min
Josh Gad joins us to talk about his new memoir In Gad We Trust: A Tell Some. He also gets into what life was like growing up in South Florida, the one time he refuses to use his Olaf voice and winning three national titles in teen oratory competitions. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Apr 15, 2025•39 min
Bruce Vilanch wrote for countless TV variety shows dating back over 50 years. Sometimes, those shows turn out great! Think of Billy Crystal at the Oscars! The stuff that's not so great, you can read about in his new book: It Seemed Like A Bad Idea At The Time: The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote . Vilanch tells Bullseye stories from behind the scenes of the Oscars, The Brady Bunch , and the Star Wars Holiday Special . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.co...
Apr 11, 2025•41 min
Christina Hendricks joins us this week to talk about the new Hulu series Good American Family . She also chats with us about her time as a model and a ballet dancer, and what life's been like for her after starring on one of the biggest shows ever – Mad Men . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Apr 08, 2025•47 min
Jesse talks with one of the greats: Laurie Metcalf. For nine years she played Jackie on the hit TV show Roseanne . These days, she's starring in The Conners , the ABC produced spinoff of the show. The Conners is wrapping its 7th and final season right now. On the latest episode, Laurie talks about her Oscar-nominated role in Lady Bird as well as her role on Roseanne and The Conners . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Apr 04, 2025•34 min
We're taking a moment to remember singer and R&B legend, Angie Stone, who died on March 1, 2025. She was 63 years old. When Stone spoke with Bullseye in 2023, she had just released her newest album: Love Language . She talked about having her heart set on performing from a very young age, the influence of her family on her career, and auditioning for Sugarhill Records with The Sequence. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Apr 01, 2025•35 min
Lucy Dacus is a beloved singer songwriter and one-third of the Grammy-winning supergroup boygenius. She just released her new record Forever is a Feeling , and joins us talk about the project, how she went about writing songs for it and much more. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Mar 28, 2025•50 min
The MaxFunDrive is a great time to look back at the past year here at Bullseye. In this excerpted segment we listen to a bit of our conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld. He showed up early so he could work on his lighting and camera. He also dropped the most unbelievably bonkers Werner Herzog story. Do these kind of moments and conversations mean something to you? They are only possible with support from members of Maximum Fun. Join us at maximumfun.org/join . Learn more about sponsor message choi...
Mar 27, 2025•9 min
The Tom Green Sho w was ahead of its time. Its surreal stunts and pranks influenced a number of TV shows over the past twenty five years in that genre. In recent years, Tom Green kind of took a break. But Tom Green fans can rejoice – he's the star of three new projects. The projects come at a reflective time of his life and he gets real about starting a new chapter in his life. Plus, he brought his dog into the studio. You're going to want to hear about this dog. Learn more about sponsor message...
Mar 25, 2025•48 min
