At age 74, Emmy award-winning actor Glynn Turman “keeps on keepin’ on.” This week on the show, he tells us how. We discuss his first role in Broadway’s original production of A Raisin in the Sun (5:03), his unwavering commitment to acting, even as he struggled to find work (11:28), an opening night that took a dark turn (14:44), his breakout role in Cooley High (20:21), going to a human place as an actor (25:36), and what it means to live with loss (27:13). Then, finally, a story about his late ...
Feb 28, 2021•40 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast As we find our footing in 2021, activist and educator Brittany Packnett Cunningham is focused on the work ahead. She joins us this week to unpack the aftermath of the Capitol riots (4:11), her entry point into activism (8:39), unlearning perfectionism (14:30), grappling with imperfect allies (24:04), the consequences of using your voice (27:39), the enduring legacy of Toni Morrison (40:39), taking action under a Biden-Harris administration (45:56), rejecting objectification online (52:32), and, ...
Feb 21, 2021•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast For 65 years, Johnny Mathis has been hailed as the voice of romance. In the most unusual of Valentine’s Days, we call up the legendary singer to look back on his early days in San Francisco (8:13), performing on the Ed Sullivan Show (12:03), the close bond he shared with his parents (19:10), the influence of singers like Mabel Mercer (24:18), how he remains joyous at 85 (27:53), and, finally, the nature of loving and letting go (32:07). Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodca...
Feb 14, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast George Saunders (“Tenth of December”, “Lincoln in the Bardo”) is one of the finest American writers working today. With the release of his new book, “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain“, we talk about combating cynicism (5:00), the power of Chekhov and Tobias Wolff (8:52), regarding literature as a fondness for life (12:30), a summer of Steinbeck (15:00), deconstructing the (male) mythology of Hemingway (26:45), and how starting a young family changed his life (35:00). On the back-half, we talk craft ...
Feb 07, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast As we approach a year in the pandemic, Dr. Ashish Jha offers some hope. He returns to the show this week to discuss the potential of new variants (2:48), the residual effects of Trump's isolationist policies (5:16) the myth of herd-immunity (9:21), what the coming months can look like (14:03), best mask practices (16:32), achieving equity through improved vaccine distribution (22:10), and the science-focused approach of the Biden/Harris administration (25:15). Then, before we go, Dr. Jha speaks ...
Feb 03, 2021•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast We're back! To help unpack this political moment, we sit with former Mayor of San Antonio and 2020 Presidential candidate, Julián Castro. We discuss Trump’s impeachment (4:30), the filibuster as an obstacle to action (14:10), the fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans (17:57), what it means to do the right thing in politics (20:35), the complexity of Latinx identity (23:02), connecting to Latino voters (26:10), and the how we keep the American Dream alive (31:52). Finally, Juli...
Jan 31, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast As we say goodbye to 2020, we turn to our guests from this historic year. After some year-end reflections from Sam, we hear from performer Alison Pill (4:35), comedian Hasan Minhaj (9:15), activist Dolores Huerta (29:00), broadcaster Brooke Gladstone (33:28), filmmaker Terence Nance (59:00), documentarians Bill & Turner Ross (1:00:00), and the legendary Holland Taylor (1:02:04). Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...
Dec 27, 2020•2 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our annual holiday special is here! To celebrate, we've released some special Talk Easy-themed mugs, available in navy and cream. Visit www.talkeasypod.com/shop for more info. Today on part 1 of our special, we hear from guests that came on Talk Easy over the past 10 months. Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker (4:35), poet Morgan Parker (6:40), director Cat Solen (25:00), TV titan Norman Lear (27:24), actress Juliette Lewis (39:00), and performer Tituss Burgess (41:12). Learn more about your ad-choice...
Dec 20, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Activist, social-justice educator, and Black Lives Matter co-founder Janaya Future Khan joins us in conversation this week. We discuss the therapeutic value of boxing (10:40), the racial biases embedded into modern technology (15:24), the danger of political nihilism (23:33), how activism is “the work of being alive” (27:45), and why we need to rewrite generational scripts (39:54), especially as Defund the Police receives pushback (54:56). Finally, we end with Janaya’s moving tribute to the late...
Dec 13, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast In collaboration with The AIDS Memorial, we present this special episode of Talk Easy. Five stories of love, loss, and remembrance from those impacted by the AIDS epidemic. We thank Aaron (2:36), James (19:45), Kelly (49:19), Jeff (1:05:39), and Theresa (1:39:13) for having the courage to share parts of their lives with us. (Warning: this episode contains intermittently graphic and severe language.) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/liste...
Dec 06, 2020•2 hr 43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our conversation with Fran Lebowitz is now available on vinyl! Visit www.talkeasypod.com/shop for more info. Fran is the author of books like Metropolitan Life (1978) and Social Studies (1981). She is also a renowned public speaker, performing across the country in auditoriums and lecture halls. That was, until, the pandemic. In the absence of modern technology—she doesn’t have a cellphone, computer, etc.—there were no virtual events for Fran.When we spoke in the summer of 2020, she called in fr...
Nov 29, 2020•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Matthew McConaughey just keeps livin. In his new memoir, Greenlights, you hear how. Through the trials and tribulations, speed-bumps and roadblocks, the Oscar-winning actor has remained unwaveringly optimistic and full-hearted. Today he joins us to share selected scenes from his life, on-screen and off. We start with the whirlwind year of 1992 (3:15) before moving into lessons learned from the late Joel Schumacher (13:02) and his idol, Paul Newman (18:07). He also candidly reflects on his rom-co...
Nov 22, 2020•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Resmaa Menakem is a trauma specialist and New York Times best-selling author. His latest book, “My Grandmother’s Hands”, focuses on the historical and racialized trauma carried in our bodies and souls, from one generation to the next. As we try to heal, Resmaa joins us to talk about the dangers of white comfort (4:15), the “supreme standard” of the white body (10:03), his personal experience with generational trauma (14:33), the communal horror of racial injustice (19:10), his healing work with ...
Nov 15, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast At the end of a historic week, who better to provide perspective than Noam Chomsky? Today, he unpacks the 2020 election (5:25), the virtues of the Green New Deal (9:00), the perceived “radicalism” of Leftist proposals (14:21, 18:03), the need to better educate and organize (20:24), the upside to higher taxes in a democracy (24:56), compassion in the pandemic (35:26), and how Americans can move forward from our failures (40:03). Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork...
Nov 08, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast On today's show: two dispatches from inside the medical community and Silicon valley, respectively. First we're joined by Justin Rosenstein, the man who led the team behind the Facebook like button. Now the co-founder of Asana, he breaks down the influence that social media has had on society in this critical time. Rosenstein serves as the whistleblower against Facebook on Netflix’s recent documentary hit “The Social Dilemma”. Today he talks about how social media platforms have handled the 2020...
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dutch historian and philosopher Rutger Bregman joins us this week to unpack his latest book, “Humankind: A Hopeful History”. We discuss his radical idea that “most people are decent” (4:30), the trickle-down cynicism created by capitalism (7:51), why evil is more powerful than good (15:30), the toxicity of cable news (19:00), the failures of American policing and prisons (23:22), his infamous Davos takedown (29:04), the historic (and scientific) case for human generosity (37:43), his ungenerous ...
Oct 25, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast With the art world in flux, writer and critic Antwaun Sargent (The New Yorker, NY Times) joins us this weeks. We discuss the turbulence inside museums across the country (3:20), the potential (creative) silver-lining of this pandemic (7:44), the impetus for his new book, Young, Gifted and Black (11:00), and how Instagram (sort of) democratized photography (17:30). Plus, Antwaun unpacks our culture’s recurring fetishization of firsts with black excellence (23:04), and why the the art world is in ...
Oct 22, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast As election day approaches, philosopher, public intellectual, and Harvard professor Cornel West joins us for a state of the union. We discuss the challenges of 2020 (06:42), our neofascist gangster President (8:37), his “Robin Hood-like sensibility” (11:30), Dostoevsky’s grim view of civilization (16:25), discovering our purpose from womb-to-tomb (21:22), and the legacy of being a “jazz man” (30:11) who fights for justice, love and freedom (35:14). To close, a reading Giacomo Leopardi’s Wild Bro...
Oct 18, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Writer/director Radha Blank joins us! We talk about taking back control of her voice in her debut film, now available via Netflix, The 40-Year-Old Version (6:04), the catharsis of rapping under the moniker Radhamus Prime (11:11), the experience of coming out as an artist to the world (20:52), the personal family archiving within the film itself (26:56), the importance of portraying a different version of Black life on screen (34:25), and why she needed to make a love-letter to New York City. (41...
Oct 15, 2020•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Growing up Black in this country, Angela Davis taught Rep. Ilhan Omar that you must be “internally liberated to fight for external liberation”. As the first Somali-American elected to Congress, Omar has routinely fought for that external liberation. She joins us today, from Washington, to discuss the passing of George Floyd and her father (5:55), the challenge of making police reform a bi-partisan issue in Congress (11:18), the valuable mistakes made in her first term in the House (15:44), her r...
Oct 11, 2020•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast The illustrious author, poet, and playwright, Claudia Rankine, joins us with the release of her latest book, Just Us: An American Conversation. We discuss the conversations (3:12) and relationships (24:12) that comprise Just Us, the problem with color-blindness, a personal shift in perspective following her cancer diagnosis (16:53), how history remains present for black people (27:29), and why we must repeatedly unpack what privilege looks and sounds like in this country (40:26). To close, Claud...
Oct 04, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a world yearning for connection, Miranda July’s latest film, Kajillionaire, may be just what we need right now. This week, the multi-hyphenate artist processes personal milestones amidst this pandemic (16:00), the complexity of parent-child relationships (19:00), the intended audience for Me and You and Everyone We Know (24:37), how unexpected pockets of human interaction fuel her creativity (31:05), the (im)possibilities of connection (38:43), and her hopes of balancing the work of an artist...
Sep 27, 2020•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the search for radical honestly, Jena Malone is a true, multi-hyphenate artist: actor, musician, writer, dancer. Today she joins us to discuss her need to grow outside of acting (1:50), a relocation to Las Vegas that altered her trajectory, (4:23), creating control in chaos throughout childhood (6:42), the business challenges of being a child actor (16:58), juxtaposed with the agency it gave her (22:50). Then, before we go, Jena reflects on the work she's most proud of to date, while honoring...
Sep 23, 2020•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rest in peace to the estimable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We begin with a moment to reflect on Ginsburg's enduring legacy, and how it must continue in her absence. Then, we turn to Gloria Steinem. A contemporary and friend to RBG, we hope revisiting this discussion (from 2019) may give you some hope in these turbulent times. The trailblazing activist and author discusses a life-altering procedure she had completed at age 22, why she helped create the women's liberation movement alongside Dorothy Pitma...
Sep 20, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast A bonus episode! First up we sit with actor Carrie Coon (Fargo, The Leftovers) to discuss living a double life in her twenties (5:19), how acting serves as an outlet for honesty (7:39), the marital and moral intricacies of her new film, The Nest (13:14), motherhood in a pandemic (19:39), finding value in her work (26:22), and a re-defined sense of purpose as we emerge from this moment (30:24). Later we talk to Cat Solen, director of the Adult Swim series The Shivering Truth. She discusses the al...
Sep 16, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Janelle Monáe believes she's “connected to the future”. And I believe her. But right now she (like all of us) is forced to confront the present. This week we sit with the visionary artist to discuss the painful timeliness of her latest film, Antebellum (5:40), and how it aims to humanize black women (8:40). We also dive into her love of sci-fi growing up in the midwest (12:22), the gift of being fired from OfficeDepot (17:57), the Wondaland collective (26:12), and, finall...
Sep 13, 2020•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Growing up in the Athens, Alabama, singer-songwriter Brittany Howard acutely understands this moment in America. We talk about how Trump preys on the low-income communities she grew up in (6:48), the crisis in Kenosha (11:06), her ever-evolving spiritual relationship with her sister, Jaime (12:46), her departure from the Alabama Shakes (19:11), looking for a challenge in everything she does (22:08), the stories behind three of her love songs, and, finally, the miracle of of her journey, from the...
Sep 06, 2020•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Legendary actress, comedian, singer, and writer Carol Burnett joins us this week! After seven decades in the industry, she sits down to discuss her upbringing in the Hollywood Arms Apartments (3:30), a mysterious envelope of money that allowed her to study at UCLA (7:15), a generous loan that catapulted her to New York City (12:33), her “big break” in 1957 (23:25), how Julie & Carol at Carnegie Hall came to be (30:13), finding her place in “a man’s game” on network television (43:20), her fo...
Aug 30, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tyler Mitchell is a photographer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn. His anticipated debut book, I Can Make You Feel Good, is a timely and unabashedly optimistic celebration of Black life. His photos (available on www.talkeasypod.com) depict young Black men and women living, thriving, and relaxing, in repose and in sunshine. Today, on the show, he reflects on the significance of skateboarding as a teenager; the formative years of working at a cake bakery in Marietta, Georgia; his great escape to Ne...
Aug 26, 2020•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emmy-nominated actor/singer Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) joins us this week! We start with a recent afternoon in his gazebo (4:16), where he reminded himself that the pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint (7:50). In that same memory he also reflects on why his art is especially of value in 2020 (12:10); his mere existence on screen a political act (16:23). Later, we unpack his run on 30 Rock, and the spiritual experience that followed (20:50). In the aftermath of finding purpose, he...
Aug 23, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
