Actor, writer, and director Jesse Eisenberg’s latest project, A Real Pain , is perhaps his most personal to date. He joins us today to unpack the journey that shaped the film (9:18), memories from his travels to Poland (15:40), and what he observed about his family growing up in East Brunswick (22:23). Then, Eisenberg reflects on his first jokes written on post-it notes (29:20), his breakthrough acting roles in Roger Dodger (31:35) and The Squid and the Whale (34:37), and formative visits to his...
Nov 24, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Since the turn of the century, actor Josh Brolin has had quite a run. From No Country for Old Men and Hail, Caesar! from the Coen Brothers, to Inherent Vice from Paul Thomas Anderson, to Sicario and the Dune films from Denis Villeneuve. His new memoir, From Under the Truck , contains stories about the life in between. We discuss his upbringing bouncing from Paso Robles to Santa Barbara (8:49), the influence of his mother (10:05), and his entry to writing (19:40). Then, Brolin reflects on his viv...
Nov 17, 2024•1 hr 25 min
It’s been a week. To help us through it, we’ve enlisted The New York Times political reporter Astead Herndon. We start with election night 2024 versus election night 2016 (6:35), what Astead discovered about the electorate reporting across the U.S. on his podcast The Run-Up (9:25), and how insider Democrats arrived at a second Biden run in 2023 (13:30). Then, we discuss politicians’ “lowercase racist” assumptions about Black and Latino voters (16:02), Herndon’s telling one on one interview with ...
Nov 10, 2024•1 hr 9 min
On the heels of his latest book The Message , author Ta-Nehisi Coates joins Sam for a conversation in Los Angeles. At the top, we discuss how his Atlantic piece The Case for Reparations guided these three new essays (6:10), Coates’ early education growing up in West Baltimore (14:57), and his powerful dispatches from South Carolina (22:00) and the Middle East (29:30). On the back-half, Coates unpacks why he believes the mainstream media prioritizes “factual complexity over self-evident morality”...
Nov 03, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Anna Kendrick ( Pitch Perfect , Up in the Air ) has been a fixture in Hollywood for the past fifteen years. She joins us this week to discuss Woman of the Hour , her directorial debut and most revealing project to date. At the top, we dive into the film’s true crime story (7:00), its examination of gender politics in the 1970s (19:29), and the personal Hollywood experiences Anna embedded into this project (22:00). Then, Kendrick reflects on her early years as a child actor: commuting from Portla...
Oct 27, 2024•1 hr 2 min
For the past decade, Jason Reynolds has become an inspiring voice in the literary world. He’s a New York Times bestselling author and as of this month, a 2024 MacArthur fellow. Reynolds sits with us today to share his latest YA novel Twenty-Four Seconds from Now… (7:45), why he was interested in writing a story about boyhood and masculinity (12:05), and an early passage from the book (15:52) that captures the distinct rhythm of his writing (17:59). Then, we talk about the story structure of this...
Oct 20, 2024•1 hr 23 min
Today, culture critic Wesley Morris (The New York Times) returns to Talk Easy for a conversation about The Wonder of Stevie , his new podcast with the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions. At the top, Wesley unpacks Stevie Wonder’s legendary five-album run from 1972-1976, his recent “battleground states” tour in the run up to the election, and how his relationship to Stevie’s music has evolved in the process of making this limited series. To listen to The Wonder of Stevie , stream here or wherever ...
Oct 16, 2024•1 hr 25 min
Since his directorial debut in 2006, Jason Reitman has made the kind of films they say Hollywood doesn’t make anymore. Today, we sit to discuss his latest project Saturday Night (9:09), the influence of 1970s movies like Michael Ritchie’s The Candidate (12:46), and the details Reitman and his co-writer Gil Kenan collected from dozens of interviews leading up to production (17:45). Then, Jason describes the dynamic between Lorne Michaels and his father, the late director Ivan Reitman (21:55), his...
Oct 13, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Director Francis Ford Coppola doesn’t just want to make movies. He wants to change them. This was true in 1969 when he co-founded Zoetrope Studios with George Lucas, and it remains true today at age 85. We begin with the historical context of his modern-day Roman epic fable Megalopolis (9:40), his decades-long process developing the film (12:18), and the inspiration he’s taken from Georges Méliès (22:25) and Jacques Tati (24:59). Then, Coppola reflects on the origin of how he became ‘Francis For...
Oct 06, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Joaquin Phoenix is one of the greatest actors of his generation. For three decades, he’s moved seamlessly between auteur-driven films ( Her, The Master ) and box-office sensations ( Gladiator, Joker ). We sit today for a rare, long-form conversation with Phoenix, starting with his latest film, Joker: Folie à Deux (9:10), his free-wheeling collaborations with director Todd Phillips (11:32), and the nomadic upbringing that marked his early years (15:00). Then, he reflects on his childhood televisi...
Sep 29, 2024•1 hr 5 min
For actor Myha’la, the role of a lifetime arrived less than a year out of college. “Lightning struck,” she says, “and in so many ways I have been preparing my entire life to be here.” In this case ‘here’ is Industry ’s Harper Stern, a fiercely ambitious New Yorker who has come to London to join Pierpont, a prestigious financial investment bank. With the season finale of HBO’s breakout hit approaching, we sat down with Myha'la to discuss all things Industry (4:42): how the evolution of Harper can...
Sep 25, 2024•57 min
For the past couple decades, actor Ken Leung has played scene-stealing characters in films like Rush Hour, Keeping the Faith, and A.I. Or, prestige TV shows like Lost and The Sopranos. Today, he joins us to discuss his spectacular turn in HBO’s Industry (7:30), how he created his character in baseball-bat-wielding manager Eric Tao (9:55), and his Brooklyn upbringing to a family of Chinese immigrants (17:35). Then, he shares how he found his footing as an actor (23:30), a memory of his late young...
Sep 22, 2024•55 min
To commemorate his 30th birthday, Abbi Jacobson interviews Sam! They talk about Sam's early days in journalism (8:00), his Almost Famous -like experience as a teenage film critic (10:30), making Talk Easy and how the show evolved post-pandemic (13:15), and the email from the late Roger Ebert that changed his life (22:30). On the back-end, they discuss Abbi’s annual birthday questions (28:00), why Sam’s episode with filmmaker Werner Herzog has stayed with her (31:57), and how he approaches asking...
Sep 15, 2024•57 min
To start, Sam sits with another week in American life, before returning to our timely conversation with Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL-10). At the top, we discuss the five-year aftermath of the horrific shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida (10:29), his first two months in office as the first Gen-Z Congressman (12:10), and the legislature he’s fighting for to reduce gun violence (17:14). Then, we walk through his impassioned response to the Sandy Hook shooting (19:40), how...
Sep 08, 2024•1 hr
This week, our guest is trailblazing filmmaker Lee Daniels. At the top, we discuss his fifteen-year journey to the new Netflix film The Deliverance (5:00), Daniels’ relationship to spirituality (9:16), and his memories of directing theatre at eight-years-old (14:55). Then, we dive into the therapeutic quality of filmmaking (17:14), his work as a casting director at Warner Brothers in the 80s (19:48), and what it meant for Daniels to manage young performers like Morgan Freeman and Loretta Devine ...
Sep 01, 2024•51 min
Since 1989 ( Sex, Lies, and Videotape ), filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has been a pioneering voice in American cinema. Part free-wheeling iconoclast, part exacting technician. Today, we return to our conversation with the legendary artist. First, Soderbergh describes his process making No Sudden Move amid the pandemic (8:38), his ability to push past creative blocks (14:34), the importance of 1998’s Out of Sight (31:00), the seismic impact of his late mentor, Mike Nichols (27:28), and how a format...
Aug 29, 2024•45 min
We’re so back at the movies… with head of content at The Ringer and co-host of The Big Picture , Sean Fennessey! At the top, Sam and Sean discuss Sean Wang’s Dìdi (8:52), the father-daughter story at the heart of M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap (15:52), and why the documentaries Brats (19:39) and Faye (22:35) make the perfect weekend watch. Then, they talk about the real-life story behind A24’s Sing Sing (27:45), what Borderlands reveals about post-strike Hollywood (29:57), the anticipation building a...
Aug 25, 2024•1 hr 32 min
What’s the difference between an interview and a first date? For the past decade, Amelia Dimoldenberg has been walking that fine line on her hit YouTube series, Chicken Shop Date . The premise is in the title: filmed at various chicken establishments across London, the show features a series of funny (sometimes awkward) ‘dates’ with everyone from Paul Mescal to Billie Eilish. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of her beloved series, Amelia and Sam have a cup of tea to discuss her recent sit-down ...
Aug 18, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Vinson Cunningham has been a staff writer at The New Yorker for the past eight years, covering theater, television, and politics. He joins us this week to unpack his personal debut novel Great Expectations . At the top, we discuss the state of the US election (5:00), the emergence of the new Democratic ticket in Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (10:00), and the fickleness of internet hype (15:00). Then, Cunningham explains how his new book dovetails with his time working on Barack O...
Aug 11, 2024•1 hr 26 min
Last fall, Zadie Smith published her prescient historical novel The Fraud . We return to our conversation with the beloved author this week, on the heels of our latest sit-down with writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner . At the top, Smith details her most recent book (7:48), her instinctive writing process (13:37), and the role of projection in her work (20:08). Then, Zadie reflects on her upbringing in North West London (23:48), the art that influenced her growing up (26:42), and the media circus that ...
Aug 04, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Taffy Brodesser-Akner (“Fleishman Is in Trouble”) is a staff writer at The New York Times , where she covers everything from The Eras Tour to Tom Hanks. She joins us today to unpack her new book Long Island Compromise (7:30), its central questions about wealth, trauma, and inheritance (11:58), and the real-life crime that inspired the story (12:52). Then, we dive into the process of writing a novel (15:17), a formative passage from the book (24:31), and Brodesser-Akner's memories of growing up i...
Jul 28, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Today, we're revisiting our special conversation with actor Tom Hanks. We begin by discussing his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece (5:58), his nomadic upbringing across California (13:28), and the Stanley Kubrick film that made him want to be an artist (19:40). Then, we talk about his early work at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival (24:00) and moving to Los Angeles for his television debut in Bosom Buddies (28:30), before pivoting to dramatic roles in films ...
Jul 24, 2024•58 min
This week, on the heels of our live show with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, we’re presenting a special conversation from her podcast Wiser Than Me. The episode features award-winning author Isabel Allende (The Wind Knows My Name). They discuss motherhood, falling in love again in her seventies, an influential piece of advice by writer Elizabeth Gilbert, and how Allende remains present in her life and work. Find more episodes of Wiser Than Me through Lemonada Media . To hear Julia on Talk Easy, listen her...
Jul 21, 2024•1 hr 17 min
Julia Louis-Dreyfus ( Seinfeld, Veep ) is a national treasure with more primetime Emmys than any performer in the history of television. Then there’s her latest decade in film: two collaborations with Nicole Holofcener ( Enough Said and You Hurt My Feelings ) along with a devastating turn in the heart-rending fairytale from A24, Tuesday . Her range is unparalleled, including in the role of host on her excellent, award-winning podcast, Wiser Than Me from Lemonada. We sat with Julia as part of thi...
Jul 14, 2024•56 min
On the heels of his first Emmy win, actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach joins us on the show to unpack the return of The Bear . At the top, we dive into the making of the hit series (9:22), a powerful scene with co-star Jeremy Allen White (11:20), and how Moss-Bachrach manages to keep adding layers to his portrayal of Cousin Richie (14:26). Then, he describes the mounting pressures around this new season (19:23), the day he knew he wanted to be an actor in Williamstown, Massachusetts (27:35), and the early...
Jul 07, 2024•53 min
“You’re never gonna forget where you were last night at 7:30,” says James Carville. “It has the potential to be that consequential.” Carville is regarded as one the most influential (and animated) operators in the Democratic Party. He came to prominence as the chief architect behind Clinton’s 1992 Presidential campaign, and has remained one of the most incisive political analysts in the country. He joins us this week from the Aspen Ideas Festival , the day after the first presidential debate bet...
Jun 30, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Beloved playwright Annie Baker won the Pulitzer for Drama in 2014 for her play, The Flick. A decade later, she’s releasing her directorial debut, Janet Planet, through A24. We begin by talking about her striking first feature (7:55): the Western Massachusetts origins of the project (11:00), the mother-daughter love story at its center (13:24), how Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain” shaped Baker’s understanding of time (22:55), and why she’s routinely sidestepped the slippery-slope of “confession...
Jun 23, 2024•1 hr 4 min
This Father's Day, we're revisiting our special talk with actor Ethan Hawke. After a phone call with Dad Fragoso (2:00), we dive into the episode. At the top, Hawke unpacks his docuseries The Last Movie Stars (9:24), describing his introduction to Paul Newman through Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (12:13). Then, he reflects on his personal history: growing up with his mother on the east coast (16:43), his on-screen debut at fifteen in Explorers with River Phoenix (20:04), the enduring legacy...
Jun 16, 2024•1 hr 13 min
Director Richard Linklater has made a career out of telling personal stories with universal appeal. Dazed and Confused, Waking Life , the Before trilogy, Boyhood. No matter the genre or form, Linklater's human touch remains. He joins us this week around the release of his latest film, Hit Man (7:36), an action-packed neo-noir (9:15) that also explores the malleability of identity (12:00). Then, Linklater reflects on his athletic career in college (18:20), the health scare that ushered in a perio...
Jun 09, 2024•1 hr 20 min
On the heels of her breakout role in Stranger Things , Maya Hawke has gone her own way as an artist— both as an actor and singer-songwriter. That’s especially true on her striking new record, Chaos Angel . We begin our conversation by diving into this third record of hers (5:37), the ‘emotional pendulum’ that guided her creative process (9:15), and how director Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia inspired the first track (16:12). Then, Maya discusses a piece by novelist Flannery O’Connor (21:20) tha...
Jun 02, 2024•1 hr 2 min
