Actor Julia Garner ( Ozark ) has built a career out of shapeshifting. This summer, the Emmy-winning performer lands on the silver (surfer) screen with two major projects— The Fantastic Four: First Steps and the highly-anticipated horror film, Weapons . At the top, we walk through the spine-tingling world of Zach Cregger’s new film (6:45), the Moleskine character journals she keeps for each role (9:22), and some lessons from her time in clown school (14:01). Then, she reflects on her ‘Noah Baumba...
Aug 10, 2025•50 min
David Mamet is one of the most celebrated American playwrights of the last century: Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Speed-the-Plow, American Buffalo, and Glengarry Glen Ross— which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1983 and remains timely today. Our conversation unfolds, fittingly, in three acts. Act I: the inspiration behind his new novel about education, Some Recollections of St. Ives (5:38), weathering the ‘emotional hurricane’ of his childhood in Chicago (18:22), and how the drama of those e...
Aug 03, 2025•1 hr 19 min
Long before Celine Song was nominated for an Academy Award for her feature directorial debut, Past Lives , she was a struggling playwright in New York City with an unusual side hustle: matchmaking. In this special episode presented by Death, Sex & Money , host Anna Sale sits with Celine to unpack how this personal experience inspired the plot of her new A24 movie, Materialists , starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. Follow and listen to Death, Sex & Money wherever you g...
Jul 30, 2025•43 min
After nearly four decades of working in Hollywood, actor Patricia Clarkson ( The Station Agent, Pieces of April ) says her portrayal of women’s rights activist Lilly Ledbetter is “the greatest privilege” in her storied career. We sat with the legendary actress as part of this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival to discuss her powerful turn in Lilly (4:10), her colorful New Orleans upbringing (10:17), and the educator who first recognized Patricia’s talent (13:25). Then, she reflects on her life-changing...
Jul 27, 2025•56 min
“I wanted to be good, but I completely burned up the morning,” said Joaquin Phoenix on day 1 of Eddington . “Ari and I stayed on set when everyone left for lunch—and, slowly, something emerged. I don’t know if it’s any good, but it didn’t make me want to end everything.” With the film’s arrival in theaters, we return to our candid, long-form talk with Phoenix. At the top, we unpack his transformation in Joker: Folie à Deux (7:10), his free-wheeling collaborations with director Todd Phillips (9:3...
Jul 23, 2025•1 hr 4 min
“ Eddington is a film about a bunch of people who know that something is wrong,” says writer-director Ari Aster. “It’s just that nobody can agree on what that thing is.” Aster joins us this week to unpack his controversial, COVID-era western: his time back home in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he wrote through lockdown (9:30), the works of Robert Altman (18:00) and Oliver Stone (19:15) that served as sources of inspiration, and how Beau Is Afraid (5:54) cleared the path for Eddington. Aster also...
Jul 20, 2025•56 min
Writer/director Lena Dunham is the voice of my generation. Or at the very least, a voice of a generation. Her new show, Too Much , is now available to stream on Netflix. We start by discussing her 2022 film Sharp Stick (6:20), the 1970s cinema that inspired it (9:50), and how it offers a “three-way mirror” to the female experience (12:41). Then, Lena reflects on meeting Judd Apatow on the heels of Tiny Furniture (15:39), her rapid ascension following Girls (17:39), the pain and power of grapplin...
Jul 16, 2025•1 hr 15 min
From the opinion pages of The New York Times to his popular TikTok feed, Jamelle Bouie is a leading voice in American politics. This week, Bouie helps us sift through the inner workings of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” (4:38): its promise of prosperity for the middle class (8:44), the “moral economy” guiding the legislation (13:00), the projected losses in healthcare coverage across the country (18:07), particularly in right-leaning, rural communities (23:50), the GOP’s vision for the future (33:...
Jul 13, 2025•1 hr 29 min
To celebrate the fourth season of The Bear , we return to our conversation with Emmy-winning actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach. At the top, we dive into the making of the hit series (9:22), his unforgettable collaboration with 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 (27:35), and his work through the years with...
Jul 06, 2025•52 min
In just under a decade, Jerrod Carmichael has had a remarkably varied career. On the heels of his latest HBO special , we return to our conversation with Emmy-winning comedian. At the top, we unpack the origin of his deeply personal series Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (6:30), his early days making his NBC sitcom (10:57), and why he decided to broadcast a deeply intimate conversation on the reality show (13:00). Then, he unpacks his view of the camera as a vessel for honesty (17:10), the respon...
Jun 29, 2025•1 hr 26 min
Oscar winner Sam Rockwell has established himself as one of the most versatile actors of his generation. In our recent sit-down, recorded at the Tribeca Audio Festival , we trace the arc of that career culminating in his season-stealing turn in The White Lotus . We begin with his bifurcated childhood, split between San Francisco and New York City (10:00), falling in love with the movies of the ‘70s and ‘80s (15:30), the cathartic release of performance (18:05), advice from the late Gene Hackman ...
Jun 22, 2025•58 min
For the past twenty-four years, Seth Meyers has built a comedy career inside the walls of 30 Rock. We join him there today for our Father’s Day special, reflecting on the past decade of Late Night . At the top, we talk about making the show four nights a week (3:35), his approach to parenting as seen in his HBO special Dad Man Walking (10:38), and the formative lessons that shaped his comedic voice (14:25). Then, we unpack the characters he brought to his SNL audition (18:45), what it takes to g...
Jun 15, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast) has long turned to music to make sense of the past. Today, she joins us to unpack all of the emotional terrain covered in her latest album, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) . We discuss the literary (6:08) and musical (7:32) influences that shaped the new record, her transformative year spent living and writing in Korea (13:12), and the daily diary she kept while abroad (15:44). We then celebrate her late mother (18:56), her exploration of identity ...
Jun 08, 2025•1 hr
Since his bestselling novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous debuted in 2019, Ocean Vuong has become one of the most beloved writers of his generation. He first sat with Sam in 2021 amid the pandemic. Today, Vuong returns to discuss the personal history within his latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness —a piece of fiction that draws from the contours of his own coming-of-age in East Hartford, Connecticut (5:43). We begin with the class dynamics at the heart of the book (9:27), the surrogate family...
Jun 01, 2025•1 hr 28 min
Even before Jelani Cobb became Dean of the Columbia Journalism School, he was an educator. His reportage at The New Yorker (where he’s been writing about race and politics since 2012) , steeped in history. And yet not even Cobb could’ve been prepared for what he’s described as a “harrowing” year in academia . On the heels of graduation week at Columbia, Cobb joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about the climate on campuses across the country (5:17), the Trump administration’s sustained attack...
May 25, 2025•1 hr 15 min
To commemorate the release of her new, deeply personal Netflix special ‘ PostMortem ,’ we revisit our conversation with Sarah Silverman. At the top, we reflect on loss (7:16), her HBO special Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love (12:35), and coming of age in the ‘80s (18:42). Then, Silverman 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...
May 21, 2025•1 hr
Earlier this month, writer Percival Everett was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for James , his subversive and singular reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . At the top, we discuss the philosophical problem that led to James (5:50), what repeated readings of Twain’s classic unlocked in Percival (7:56), the influence of his father’s sense of humor (16:20), how he arrived at writing growing up in South Carolina (19:40), and his relationship to the publishing industry, as depict...
May 18, 2025•50 min
Thirty years. Over 850 episodes . Nine Peabodys . One Pulitzer . And yet somehow, three decades in, This American Life (and its creator, Ira Glass) remains as innovative and timely as ever. We begin with a week in the life of Ira: a typical Monday at This American Life (4:52), the rigorous notes process (6:05), and how the team selects the stories it wants to tell that Sunday (8:23). Then, we unpack Trump’s ongoing threats to slash government funding for public media (14:14), Glass’ formative da...
May 11, 2025•1 hr 26 min
Television, perhaps more than movies, has a way of etching its stars in stone. And few actors seem to be able to break the mold more than once. Which is what makes Penn Badgley’s career—first on Gossip Girl then You —special. We sit this week around the fifth and final season of You (7:00) to unpack its shocking series finale [spoiler] (9:13) and the political climate in which the show is coming to a close (12:10). Then, Penn opens up about the solitude of his west coast upbringing (19:50), his ...
May 04, 2025•1 hr 8 min
Before Viola Davis ( How to Get Away with Murder ) became an EGOT-winning actor, she was an observer. Her work takes the human experience and transmutes it, offering a mirror and a window into ourselves. Today, we sit to unpack her recent, liberating projects in The Woman King (4:24) and G20 (4:50), the formative years she spent growing up in Rhode Island (13:52), and how she captured those familial memories in her 2022 memoir Finding Me (17:12). Then, we talk about Viola’s start as a performer ...
Apr 27, 2025•1 hr 10 min
An outspoken advocate for working families, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) has made a career out of taking on Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and the Beltway. And while she may be tired of Washington, she’s not too tired to make it better. At the top, we discuss the constitutional crisis (5:00) surrounding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia (9:00), this administration’s attack on public education (12:00), and the GOP’s fealty to Donald Trump (13:25). Then, we dive into Senator Warr...
Apr 20, 2025•1 hr 18 min
“Everything’s changed,” says author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “I’ve changed, and every book is a different person.” It’s true: in the 12 years since the release of her best-seller, Americanah , Adichie has oscillated between beloved novelist, public intellectual, and feminist icon. This spring, however, she’s returned to her true love: fiction. We sat recently to discuss her excellent new book, Dream Count (5:20), the decade-long writer’s block she pushed through to publish again (7:00), the pro...
Apr 13, 2025•1 hr 26 min
Jenny Slate returns today for her fourth appearance on the program. We discuss how this role in the new FX series Dying for Sex offered her ‘full wingspan’ as a performer (5:45), embodying best friend and caretaker of Molly, played by Michelle Williams (9:25), and what she extracted from herself to play a confrontational character (12:30). Then, Jenny describes her relationship to motherhood (17:30), her breaking point while making her 2019 film The Sunlit Night (22:32), and how some timeless wo...
Apr 06, 2025•57 min
Actor, writer, director, and producer Seth Rogen came up in an age of abundance — a Hollywood that made big-budget comedies with box office success: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Pineapple Express. That era recently inspired his new Apple TV+ show The Studio . On the heels of the series’ premiere, Rogen joins us to discuss its key influences (6:15), from Robert Altman’s The Player to The Larry Sanders Show (13:25), the evolving state of “show business” (15:36), and a life-changin...
Mar 30, 2025•1 hr 10 min
In their new book, Abundance , journalists Ezra Klein (The New York Times) and Derek Thompson offer a hopeful vision for what the future of the U.S. can look like. Ezra returns to the show to discuss how his ‘agenda of abundance’ (6:15) is a response to the hollowing out of the middle class (11:26) and the dwindling housing market (16:30). Then, Klein explains how these regulatory inefficiencies have impacted California’s high-speed rail project (27:56), what we can learn from international cons...
Mar 23, 2025•1 hr 21 min
From Mean Girls to Mamma Mia! to First Reformed , Amanda Seyfried has repeatedly displayed her versatility as a performer. Today, we return to one of our favorite conversations with the illustrious actor. At the top, we discuss her Oscar-nominated portrayal of 1920s and '30s screen star Marion Davies in David Fincher's Mank (6:53), her early years working in the industry (13:13), and the joy of making Mean Girls (15:26). Then, she reflects on the parallels between 1930s Hollywood and today (36:0...
Mar 16, 2025•48 min
What does photography need to do now? Artist Tyler Mitchell has been asking (and attempting to answer) that question since making history as the first Black photographer to shoot a Vogue cover back in 2018. Since then (he was only 23-years-old at the time) his work has been celebrated in museums around the world, featured in publications like Vanity Fair and W , and, ultimately, published in his debut monograph, I Can Make You Feel Good . He joins us this week around the opening of his revelator...
Mar 09, 2025•1 hr 23 min
In celebration of Oscar Sunday, our conversation with actor Monica Barbaro. Her portrayal of Joan Baez in the Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown , earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. At the top, we discuss how director James Mangold drew inspiration from Miloš Forman’s Amadeus (7:00), the vocal lessons Monica received in preparation for the role of Baez (10:15), and her affecting rendition of House of the Rising Sun (16:00). Then, we dive into Monica’s Californi...
Mar 02, 2025•59 min
In the lead-up to Oscar Sunday, our conversation with actor, writer, and director Jesse Eisenberg. At the top, we unpack the journey that shaped his film A Real Pain (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 aunt Dor...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr
One week from Oscar Sunday, we’re joined by Nickel Boys director RaMell Ross. At the top, RaMell describes the formal innovations of the new film (6:44), the naivete that allowed him to make this singular project (8:02), and how photography is shaped by race in ways we don’t consider (12:00). Then, we dive into RaMell’s Virginia upbringing (29:28), the hoop dreams that brought him to Georgetown (29:35), and the “question everything” mindset that took flight in his college years (30:30). On the b...
Feb 23, 2025•1 hr 4 min
