Writer and comedian Ziwe has made a career out of conducting charged and satirical interviews. She joins us this week to discuss her debut essay collection, Black Friend (5:45), the backstory behind her essay WikiFeet (10:19), her early affinity for broadcast news (13:06), the influence of satirists Jonathan Swift and Stephen Colbert (15:10), and her early, formative experiences working in comedy (35:05). On the back-half, Ziwe reflects on the making of her YouTube series Baited (38:06), a memor...
Nov 12, 2023•59 min
Marina Abramović is a pioneer in the field of performance art, using her body as both the subject and the medium. Today, we return to our special conversation with the legendary performer from her New York City apartment. To follow along with the works discussed, visit our guided, virtual exhibit at talkeasypod.com/marina-abramovic. We start with her healing installation in Ukraine (7:45), creating art out of hardship (12:24), a Rainer Rilke poem that shaped her childhood (15:23), and the curios...
Nov 05, 2023•54 min
Upon taking a walk with crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, writer Michael Lewis had a sense that there might be a story here. In the intervening two years, that story has taken a series of twists and turns, resulting in Lewis’ new book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon . At the top, we walk through the latest events in Bankman-Fried’s Manhattan trial (7:27), the subject at the center of this winding story (12:06), and why Lewis was first interested in observing him (17:50). Th...
Oct 29, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Singer-songwriter Weyes Blood is one of the most inventive musicians working today. One year ago, she released her prescient album And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow . On the heels of her whirlwind tour (4:00), she joins us this week to talk about her post-pandemic anthem “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody” (10:04), her religious upbringing (13:22), the formative punk shows she attended as a teenager (20:17), and the influence of artists like Nico and Sonic Youth (25:18). On the back-half, Natalie...
Oct 22, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Last fall, George Saunders published Liberation Day , his first short-story collection in nine years. This week, we return to our conversation with the beloved author. At the top, we discuss his process creating the book (3:40), the influence of Chekhov and Gogol (4:56), and a timely passage on democracy from “Love Letter” (8:35). Then, we unpack how he builds stories (13:30), a guiding philosophy from our first talk (14:58), and an excerpt from the titular story, “Liberation Day” (21:30). On th...
Oct 15, 2023•56 min
One year ago, The New Yorker staff writer and critic Hua Hsu published his singular memoir entitled Stay True . Earlier this May, the autobiography won a Pulitzer Prize. Upon its paperback release, Hsu joins us to discuss the epigraph that frames the book (5:30) and his nomadic upbringing (9:45) scored by mixtapes (12:23) created by his Taiwanese father (15:14). Hsu then reflects on his arrival at UC Berkeley in the mid-90s (23:09) and how he formed an unexpected bond with a schoolmate named Ken...
Oct 08, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Novelist Zadie Smith is one of the most acclaimed and beloved writers of her generation. Editor David Remnick has called her “a blessing not merely to The New Yorker but to language itself.” Author George Saunders has praised Smith’s work for its “heart and moral ambition.” I, too, think she’s quite good. And so today we’re joined by Smith to discuss her prescient historical novel The Fraud (8:20), her instinctive writing process (14:06), and the role of projection in her work (20:30). Then, Zad...
Oct 01, 2023•1 hr 9 min
Writer Sandra Cisneros has been making sense of the world on the page since 1984’s The House on Mango Street . In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to replay our 2022 conversation with the beloved poet. We discuss her first poetry collection in 28 years, Woman Without Shame (4:40), why she chooses to write ‘dangerous’ pieces (6:18), and the significance of her poem, “My Mother and Sex” (8:38). Then, we walk through Sandra’s coming of age between Mexico and Chicago (15:16), the sixth-gr...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr 9 min
For the better part of a decade, David Byrne was the front-man of Talking Heads. To celebrate the revival of Jonathan Demme’s concert film, Stop Making Sense , we’re revisiting our special talk with the legendary musician himself. At the top, we discuss how Byrne processed the pandemic in New York City (6:45), finding creativity in unlikely places (9:50), the evolution of his Broadway show ‘American Utopia’ (10:47), the influence of poet William Blake (13:00), his gift for collaboration (16:36),...
Sep 24, 2023•51 min
For nearly two decades, Matt Belloni ( The Town ) has been observing and writing about Hollywood. He joins us today to unpack the latest on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. After a review of TIFF 2023 (6:50), Belloni dives into Drew Barrymore and Bill Maher’s decisions to return to their talk shows without WGA writers (10:45), the vital issues the guild is fighting for (19:20), and how their negotiations have progressed over the past twenty weeks (23:10). Then, we discuss the history of the Netfli...
Sep 17, 2023•1 hr 12 min
Jazz singer Laufey wants to bridge the gap between the past and the present. Today, she joins us upon the debut of her latest album, Bewitched . We discuss her songwriting process (5:20), her bossa nova-inspired piece “From The Start” (8:12), and her guiding light as a musician (12:30). Then, we walk through Laufey’s Icelandic upbringing (14:07), how fate led her to the Berklee College of Music (20:10), and the coming of age she experienced in that period (26:15). On the back-half, Laufey reflec...
Sep 10, 2023•57 min
Sam Sanders is the host of Into It , a twice-weekly podcast surveying all things pop culture. Today: he joins us for a review of summer 2023! At the top, we discuss Barbenheimer (7:20) , the dual Hollywood strikes (14:12), Trump’s mug shot (19:00), the RNC debate (21:50), and the Montgomery Riverfront brawl (26:05). On the back-half, Sanders reflects on growing up in Texas (36:30), his childhood of churchgoing (42:48), and how he found his voice on the microphone (46:45). To close, we talk about...
Sep 03, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Today, we return to our conversation with musician and actor Alana Haim! We first sat with Alana around her on-screen debut in the film Licorice Pizza , directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Making her acting debut, Alana shares the serendipitous backstory that led to the project (6:00), the “7th grade forever theory” that helped her get inside the character of Alana Kane (13:17), a high school house party where she baked cake and fell in love (17:30), and the fortuitous afternoon she met future co-...
Aug 30, 2023•44 min
Musician and composer Este Haim has had quite the year. Today, she reflects on HAIM’s eventful summer as part of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour (5:45), her pivot into scoring feature films (8:40), including Netflix’s You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (13:12), growing up in a family band called Rockenhaim (17:46) and the formative musicians that inspired her and her sisters as teenagers in Los Angeles (21:41). On the back-half, Este describes the early years of HAIM (29:30), the band’s colla...
Aug 27, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Today, our conversation with actor and writer Abbi Jacobson! We sat with Abbi last summer around the release of her latest series, A League of Their Own (5:35), to discuss the legacy of the 1992 film (10:35), her earliest comedic influences (15:05), moving to New York City post-college (21:04), falling in love with improv at UCB (25:08), the night she met Ilana Glazer (32:40), and a handful of memories creating Broad City (37:20). On the back-half, Abbi tells the story behind her book I Might Re...
Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 7 min
For over a decade, composer and record producer Ludwig Göransson has created some of the defining music of our time. This week, he sits with Sam to discuss his latest work in Oppenheimer. At the top, Göransson describes the collaborative process with director Christopher Nolan (6:48), the instrument at the heart of the film (9:30) and its hauntingly beautiful theme (11:06). Then, we walk through Ludwig’s instinctive approach to making music (13:07), his coming of age in Sweden (15:20), and the i...
Aug 20, 2023•59 min
As a fourth generation border resident in El Paso, politician Beto O’Rourke has long been making the case for immigration reform. He’s continued to do so this summer, as the humanitarian crisis at the Texas-Mexico border has accelerated under Gov. Greg Abbott. After a check-in with Dad Fragoso (4:08) we sit with O’Rourke to unpack the severe anti-migrant tactics carried out under Operation Lone Star (15:50), the dangerous rhetoric that delivered this crisis (28:00), and the checkered history of ...
Aug 13, 2023•1 hr 25 min
For over three decades, legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter has created the looks of our most era-defining films. Today, we're celebrating those pieces chronicled in her new book, The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture . At the top, we discuss the current labor movement in Hollywood (5:03), Carter’s upbringing in Massachusetts (8:50), and a formative Langston Hughes poem (12:56). Then, she reflects on her early years in Los Angeles (19:45), the night she met ...
Aug 06, 2023•1 hr 11 min
In a moment of historic upheaval in Hollywood, screenwriter and labor activist Alex O’Keefe ( The Bear ) believes he can turn the tide. The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2nd. Actors represented by SAG-AFTRA joined the fight earlier this month. We begin by discussing the WGA’s key demands (7:30), O’Keefe’s experience inside writers’ rooms (13:12), the pushback from the studios thus far (17:01), how the divisive ‘interim agreements’ recently issued by SAG-AFTRA (27:40) stem...
Jul 30, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Legendary photographer Joel Meyerowitz has been capturing life itself since 1962. Whether on the streets of New York City, the sand dunes of Cape Cod, or in transit across Europe, Meyerowitz has documented what he calls “visions in passing.” Today, we return to this special, virtual retrospective, spanning six decades of his life in photographs. Follow the virtual gallery here: https://talkeasypod.com/joel-meyerowitz-replay/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com...
Jul 23, 2023•1 hr 35 min
Last summer, we traveled to Princeton, New Jersey to sit with legendary writer Joyce Carol Oates. The talk begins with her daily routine, from writing to revision (6:34), the real-life events that inspired her recent novel, Babysitter (9:09), and why she’s fascinated with examining violence in her work (14:06). Then, we walk through Oates’ early years: growing up on a farm (17:45), her literary influences (22:22), and the lasting relationship she formed with libraries (27:01). On the back-half, ...
Jul 19, 2023•53 min
With the closing of the latest season of The Run-Up , political reporter Astead Herndon (The New York Times) returns to the show. At the top, we discuss the recent impactful decisions issued by the Supreme Court (6:36), what to expect from the GOP primaries (8:54), and the potential of a third-party ticket (17:32). Then, we dive into the kitchen table issues guiding the electorate (22:55), Herndon’s early years at The Times (24:40), and why he believes in the power of grassroots journalism (25:3...
Jul 16, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Today, on his 67th birthday, we’re joined by actor Tom Hanks! We begin by discussing his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece (6:45), his nomadic upbringing across California (13:56), and the Stanley Kubrick film that made him want to be an artist (19:50). Then, we talk about his early work at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival (23:38) and moving to Los Angeles for his television debut in Bosom Buddies (28:42), before pivoting to dramatic roles in films like Phil...
Jul 09, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Over the long holiday weekend, we’re returning to our conversation with actor Jon Bernthal! To begin, we discuss his performance on HBO’s We Own This Cit y (6:00), policing and gun culture in America (9:15), growing up grappling with toxic masculinity (14:47), his pivot to acting in college (23:30), and the powerful history of theater in Moscow (27:25). On the back-half, he reflects on his first year in Los Angeles (32:45), the night that changed his life (37:44), and the magic behind the making...
Jul 02, 2023•59 min
Today, we’re joined by actor Michael Shannon! We begin by discussing his recent turn as notorious country singer George Jones in George & Tammy (6:16) and his longstanding creative partnership with co-star Jessica Chastain (8:57). Then, we dive into his childhood in Lexington, Kentucky (10:30), his early theater work in Chicago working with playwright Tracy Letts (20:20), moving out west under the guidance of his (then) manager Lee Daniels (26:10), and the aftermath of his role in Pearl Harb...
Jun 25, 2023•56 min
Today, we sit with model, writer, and activist Geena Rocero! At the top, we discuss transgender visibility in the US (3:40), her ‘magical’ upbringing in the Philippines (5:52), and a ceremony that helped her find her true self (9:28). Then, she describes the influence of her trans mother Tigerlily (14:50), her rapid ascent in the pageant circuit (20:40), and memories of the fabled transgender bar Divas (21:52). On the back-half, Rocero walks through her pivot to modeling in New York City (30:24)...
Jun 21, 2023•53 min
Today, we’re joined by comedian Sarah Silverman! At the top, we reflect on loss (7:16), her new special, Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love (12:35), and coming of age in the ‘80s (18:42). Then, she talks about her early comedic influences (25:35), her path from SNL to Los Angeles (32:30), and the mentorship of Garry Shandling (35:10). On the back-half, we walk through the evolution of her provocative work, from The Sarah Silverman Program (38:42) to I Love You, America (46:052), the connecting qu...
Jun 18, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Today, we're joined by Oscar Isaac in New York City! At the top, we discuss the past six months of his performance in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (5:10), the play's timeless writing (6:55), and the legacy of the great Lorraine Hansberry (11:27). Then, Isaac reflects on growing up in the early ‘80s (12:47), his punk-rock salad days in high school (18:05) and then Juilliard (27:45), and the inspiration behind his breakout role in Inside Llewyn Davis (30:54). On the back-half, we talk abou...
Jun 11, 2023•53 min
Today, we sit with comedian, actor, and director Ramy Youssef! At the top, he reflects on his experience during Ramadan (5:36) before diving into the third season of his Hulu show Ramy (7:49), a timely scene about the Israel-Palestine conflict (10:24), and the questions that shaped it (14:34). Then, we walk through his coming of age as a first-generation Egyptian-American Muslim in New Jersey (17:16), his early forays into film (22:07), and the sketch inspired by a life-altering Bell’s palsy dia...
Jun 04, 2023•1 hr
Today, we sit with singer-songwriter Arlo Parks! At the top, we discuss the arrival of her new record My Soft Machine (4:26), how performing with Harry Styles and Billie Eilish transformed her work in the studio (7:08), and the vivid memory behind her new song “Devotion” (9:50). Then, we talk about her intuitive writing process (11:26), fueled by an affinity for poetry (13:39), and the influences behind her earliest pieces of music (20:05). On the back-half, Parks describes the winding path to h...
May 31, 2023•48 min
