Artists Agnès Varda and JR were born 55 years apart but have so much in common, and made a lovely film, “Faces Places.” Have horror movies jump scares, like when the axe-wielding maniac lurches out of the bushes, gone from a reliable technique to a hackneyed cliché? When he was an adolescent, his male friends’ favorite movies were reliable dude-fare like “Rocky” and “Jurassic Park,” but Hari Kondabolu fell in love with the romantic weepie, “Untamed Heart.” Why you should prescribe to the slow ar...
Oct 19, 2017•52 min
This is the story of America’s fight against authority. Ken Kesey had worked in a mental hospital, but his first novel was really a parable of what happens when you stand up to the Man—a counterculture fable that doesn’t end well. Despite his far-reaching influence, Kesey was shut out by filmmakers who turned the story into an Oscar-sweeping phenomenon. “ Cuckoo’s Nest” changed how many people thought about mental illness and institutions. Sherman Alexie debunks the myth of the silent Indian; we...
Oct 12, 2017•50 min
Danny Strong joins Kurt to talk about how he began his career as an actor, evolved into as a writer of movies like “Game Change,” and just made his directorial debut with “Rebel in the Rye,” which is about the circumstances under which J.D. Salinger wrote “The Catcher in the Rye.” The stunning new animated film, “Loving Vincent,” is a biopic of Van Gogh meticulously painted to appear as if Van Gogh paintings had come to life. Michael Chabon recalls his college years in Pittsburgh, when a post-pu...
Oct 06, 2017•51 min
Is the old cliché true — is laughter the best medicine? Kurt Andersen and Mary Harris, a health reporter at WNYC, go to a laughter yoga class to find out. Also, we hear from a neuroscientist who studies laughter and moonlights as a standup comedian. Comic Chris Gethard explains why he resisted getting help for his depression out of fear of losing his humorous edge — and how getting treatment transformed his career. And we find out when medical humor is — and is not — just what the doctor ordered...
Sep 28, 2017•51 min
Steven Spielberg doesn’t like to talk about filmmaking much, but he talked (and talked, and talked) to documentary filmmakerSusan Lacy, who sits down with Kurt Andersen to discuss her definitive portrait of the master. Any classical musician will tell you the worst place to hear a concert is not from the nosebleed seats – it’s from the stage. And BoJack Horseman” creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg tell Kurt about how cartoon characters can get away with saying particularly despicable things, and why H...
Sep 21, 2017•51 min
John McPhee is the godfather of a certain kind of long-form creative non-fiction, and over the past half-century, he’s written over 100 articles for The New Yorker. He sits down with Kurt to talk about his new book, which is part memoir, part tutorial for writers. Then B.J. Novak, the writer and actor who starred on the critically acclaimed “The Office,” makes a rousing defense of a show that has been widely panned: “Fuller House.” A Swedish photorealist painter dupes his government, which doesn...
Sep 14, 2017•51 min
School is back in session, so Studio 360 is hitting the books. Kurt calls up his favorite teacher from high school to compare notes. The novelist Nicholson Baker signs up to be a substitute teacher. And comedian Aparna Nancherla reveals the shocking secret that destroyed her career in science before it started. (Originally aired September 1, 2016) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 07, 2017•50 min
Some of our favorite recent stories about movies. Kurt talks with Jenny Slate about how her movie career blossomed long after her inglorious stint on Saturday Night Live . Yesi Ramirez breaks down how she cast the Best Picture winner, Moonlight . A film critic defends – and praises! – the movie film nerds love to hate: The Godfather: Part III. And the film composer who’s scored nearly all of the Coen Brothers’ films, Carter Burwell, fills Kurt in on some terms of his trade. Learn more about your...
Aug 31, 2017•51 min
Our favorite recent segments about the stage. Kurt talks with Frank Langella about his screen and stage career since his breakout role as Dracula in the 1970s. A budding soprano describes her unusual day job: determining exactly when subtitles should appear during opera performances. And Jack Viertel, a Broadway legend, breaks down the components of a Broadway musical. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 24, 2017•50 min
Some of our favorite recent stories about books and the people who make them. Kurt talks with Claudia Rankine about capturing what racism really feels like in “Citizen: An American Lyric,” and to Helen Oyeyemi about her very un-Disney re-imagining of Snow White. The writer Sadie Stein defends the word “moist” against all those who get the heebie-jeebies saying it. And the novelists Richard Russo and Jenny Boylan talk about the big plot turns in their books – and in their friendship. Learn more a...
Aug 17, 2017•50 min
Some of our favorite recent stories about music.What drove Carrie Brownstein to actually punch herself in the face when she was on tour with Sleater-Kinney, the haunting beauty and artistry of the “Twin Peaks” score, and Shamir plays insanely catchy music live in our studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 10, 2017•50 min
Herman Melville's white whale survived his battle with Captain Ahab only to surface in the works of contemporary filmmakers, painters, playwrights and musicians. Kurt Andersen explores the influence of this American Icon with the help of Ray Bradbury, Tony Kushner, Laurie Anderson and Frank Stella. Actor Edward Herrmann is our voice of Ishmael and Mark Price narrates David Ives's short play Moby-Dude . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Aug 03, 2017•50 min
The astounding mad scientist life of Nikola Tesla. Just who was this pioneer of radio, radar, and wireless communication? We discover his legacy in the work of today’s scientists and artists. Samantha Hunt’s novel The Invention of Everything Else is a fictional portrait of Tesla. Monologist Mike Daisey tells us how Tesla X-rayed Mark Twain’s head. And across the country, garage inventors toil in obscurity at the next breakthrough that will change the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...
Aug 01, 2017•49 min
How many f-bombs and gun shots determine a movie’s rating? Howard Fridkin reveals the process of rating movies. Plus, how Native Americans shaped rock and roll history, and a live performance by NPR Tiny Desk Contest winners Tank and the Bangas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 27, 2017•50 min
This is the novel about racism that America couldn't ignore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 20, 2017•50 min
This week, Kurt goes through the looking glass into the world of conspiracy thrillers. Plus, Matt Walsh breaks down how he improvises comedy on the set of “Veep.” And Jimmy Iovine explains how he sold music in the ever-shifting music industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 13, 2017•50 min
Episodes of false identity, living large, and murder in the suburbs add up to the great American novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 06, 2017•50 min
Should arts organizations accept money from the Koch brothers? Art critic Philip Kennicott weighs in. Plus, Oscar-winning director Errol Morris talks about interviewing Elsa Dorfman and Donald Trump. And Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein share music that inspired their new album. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 29, 2017•50 min
This week, an episode about groundbreaking pop music: The music that preceded and followed Radiohead’s landmark album, “OK Computer.” Plus, an exploration of how the life of Tupac Shakur was mythologized — even by Tupac himself. And gospel punk band Algiers plays live in the studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 22, 2017•51 min
Universe not big enough for you? There’s always the multiverse — many universes, scattered through time and space. In one world, you might drive a bus; in another, you might be a Formula One racer. If the idea sounds familiar, that could be because it has obsessed science-fiction and comic-book writers for decades. But artists and writers aren't the only ones fascinated by multiples — some physicists think the multiverse could be very real. (Originally aired December 10, 2015) Learn more about y...
Jun 15, 2017•49 min
This week, Kurt talks with “Daily Show” Correspondent Hasan Minhaj about surviving the Trump Administration. Plus, the story behind one of the great literary hoaxes of the century: “Naked Came the Stranger.” And statistician Ben Blatt uses data analysis on classic novels and discovers some surprising patterns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 08, 2017•49 min
This is where television invented itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 01, 2017•49 min
This week, a conversation with music journalist Eve Barlow about the terror attack in Manchester and the city’s rich musical history. Plus, “Master of None” co-creator Alan Yang reveals behind-the-scenes stories from the Netflix series, and an expert on con artists dissects America’s fascination with flim-flam men. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 25, 2017•50 min
This week, as President Trump threatens Canada, we salute our neighbors to the north. Kurt gets his Canadian knowledge tested, k.d. lang talks about her Canuck roots, and Mac DeMarco plays live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 18, 2017•50 min
This week, we head back to “Twin Peaks.” “Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley talks about the impact of David Lynch’s cult TV show. Plus, what it was like growing up where the show was filmed, and the composers behind “X-Files” and “Breaking Bad” discuss the brilliance -- and influence -- of the show’s soundtrack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 11, 2017•49 min
This was the American spectacle that colonized our dreams. He was the most famous American in the world — a showman and spin artist who parlayed a buffalo-hunting gig into an entertainment empire. William F. Cody’s stage show presented a new creation myth for America, bringing cowboys, Indians, settlers, and sharpshooters to audiences who had only read about the West in dime novels. He offered Indians a life off the reservation — reenacting their own defeats. “Deadwood” producer David Milch expl...
May 04, 2017•49 min
This week, why Margaret Atwood dedicated “The Handmaid’s Tale” to a woman known as Half-Hanged Mary. Plus, the Kinks’ Ray Davies shares his playlist of his favorite American songs, and the story behind that album with George Carlin’s classic bit, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 27, 2017•50 min
This week, Studio 360 gets obsessed about fandom: a look inside the world of black cosplayers at ComicCon, Kurt visits a Japanese pop culture paradise, and an atheist proselytizes “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 20, 2017•49 min
How a church hymn became an American anthem: the surprising and complicated story behind “Amazing Grace.” Plus, a conversation with novelist Yewande Omotoso about her book, “The Woman Next Door.” And Aimee Mann reveals her biggest influences and performs live in the studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 13, 2017•49 min
Disguised as a mild-mannered reporter, Kurt Andersen explores the history of Superman with cartoonists Jules Feiffer and Art Spiegelman, director Bryan Singer, novelists Michael Chabon and Howard Jacobson, and the 1978 Lois Lane, Margot Kidder. Is this strange visitor from the planet Krypton derivative of Jewish mythology? Can one superhero wield ultimate power for a moral good? And what’s up with the blue tights? (Originally aired July 6, 2006) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....
Apr 06, 2017•49 min
