Let's Talk Ten

Professional magician and comedian RACHEL WAX – who’s appeared on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” and is a regular at Speakeasy Magick in NYC – joins Dan for a spellbinding discussion about her career change from fashion designer to stage performer, why she won’t do kids’ birthday parties, and – more seriously – what it’s like to be a woman working in such a traditionally male-dominated field.  With...

Emmy-winning actor MATTHEW RHYS (The Americans, The Beast in Me) joins Dan to talk about many of his favorite ACTORS and how they’ve influenced the course of his own career. Their discussion spans eras and covers a vast array of artists and styles: leading men (Burton, O’Toole, Brando, Pacino), leading women (Hepburn, Streep),    character actors, scary actors, comic actors, up-and-comers -- as we...

It’s the return of FIRSTS, with a fresh roster of Let’s Talk Ten All-Stars: Dan Persons, Simone Farber, Moosie Drier, Kathleen Fisher, Danny Peary, Roxanne Kincaid, Laurie Gwen Shapiro, Kerry & Lisa Weeks, Kristen Lopez, Dan Riba, Sarah Schmidt, Andrew Laposha, Lori Cardille, and John Ashton – all here to share some of their first meaningful pop cultural experiences. With fourteen different st...

Since our listeners have been very, very good this year, Let’s Talk Ten is celebrating the season with a wide-ranging, enthusiastic salute to classic RANKIN/BASS holiday specials. Rudolph, Frosty, the Little Drummer Boy, the Miser Brothers – they’re all here, along with the amazing RICK GOLDSCHMIDT, the official historian/biographer for Rankin/Bass Productions, serving as our expert guide. Rick fo...

Legendary film writer and critic DANNY PEARY’s previous episodes (#40 - #41: Movies I Loved When I Was a Kid) were so enormously popular that host Dan Fisher invited him back to talk about whatever he wanted.  Here, then, are fascinating stories of Danny’s student years at Wisconsin and USC -- and his memorable encounters with legendary directors and performers: Liv Ullman, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert...

KRISTEN LOPEZ returns to the show, for a thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining conversation about representation of the physically and mentally disabled in cinema.  As a professional film critic and as a disabled person herself, she brings a perspective that is not only personal but also steeped in her extensive knowledge of film and its history.  Her new book, “Popcorn Disabilities”, exam...

Award-winning screenwriter LARRY KARASZEWSKI (Ed Wood, The People Vs. O.J.: American Crime Story) and Dan happen to share two mutual passions: movies from the 1970’s, and everything to do with the Oscars.    For this episode, they combine these into a historical overview of, arguably, the greatest decade for American cinema, as chronicled by its Academy Award winners and nominees – with plenty of...

For our third annual Halloween celebration, actress Lori Cardille joins the party to talk about her starring role in the cult classic “Day of the Dead”, the legacy of George Romero, and most dear to her heart – memories of her father Bill Cardille, a.k.a. “Chilly Billy Cardille”, host of Pittsburgh’s long-running monster-movie show, “Chiller Theater”.  There will be shrieks of terror and howls of...

We’ve all been asked this question at least a few times in our lives: “If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring only one thing – what would you bring?”  Now -- narrow that selection down to just one movie, one album, or a boxed set of the entire run of a television series.  If that were the case, what would you bring?  Entertainment journalist/interviewer WILL HARRIS (The A.V. Club,...

JOHN ASHTON, former guitarist and songwriter for the legendary PSYCHEDELIC FURS (“Love My Way”, “Pretty in Pink”) is on the show, to talk about his life in music, the people he’s met along the way -- and especially the music that influenced him and made everything possible.  Dan mostly listens, as John talks about The Beatles, Bowie, ACDC, Lou Reed, touring with the Talking Heads and Echo and the...

Ron Friedman passed away on September 15, 2025.  He was 93. I was very fortunate to have had him as a guest on this podcast -- Ron wrote for damn near every show I watched growing up -- The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, All in the Family, The Partridge Family, Chico and the Man, Fantasy Island....  His output was enormous -- over 700 hours of television, in all genres, sitcoms, action dramas, var...

Three-time Emmy-winning animation director Dan Riba (“Batman Beyond”, “Freakazoid!”) joins Dan for a nostalgic, insightful, and just plain flat-out fun conversation about the CARTOONS they both loved when they were each growing up in the 1960’s and ‘70’s -- and would also serve as artistic and creative inspirations throughout Dan Riba’s long and distinguished career.  Their animated discussion cov...

Progressive Radio Host and Podcaster ROXANNE KINCAID (“Head-ON with Roxanne Kincaid”) returns to Let’s Talk Ten for a fun and very informed conversation with Dan, about their all-time favorite movie BIOPICS.    From legends of the battlefield to show biz icons to the lords of Silicon Valley, these films span not just centuries, but cinematic genres and styles as well.  Some are multiple Oscar-winn...

Pop culture essayist, critic, and editor KRISTEN LOPEZ join Dan for a witty and lively discussion of their favorite television and streaming series of the past 25 years. Their choices cover a wide and often surprising array of genres and characters, watched on large, laptop, and phone screens. What a “television show” is exactly continues to be redefined, as the long-time popularity of sitcoms and...

Legs McNeil was not only an integral part of the 1970’s downtown New York City “punk” scene – he gave it a name. As one of the founders of Punk magazine, Legs was a fixture at CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, he hung out with Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, and was in the audience for The Ramones, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Blondie – plus many other bands who never found that level of fame, but were great whil...

They say that truth is stranger than fiction.  Great documentaries have proven that they can be even more compelling and entertaining than anything your average Hollywood screenwriter could dream up.  Acclaimed documentary filmmaker and writer/journalist LAURIE GWEN SHAPIRO – whose already-bestselling book “THE AVIATOR AND THE SHOWMAN” has been released to critical raves – joins Dan for an informe...

Let’s Talk Ten turns TWO, and Dan celebrates the occasion by collecting his favorite moments of the show from the past year – featuring great comments, conversations, and even a few songs with our amazing guests: Jordan Franklin, John DeNicola, Stacy Widelitz, Ted Bergman, Doug & Emily Momary, Burt Kearns, Bob Bergen, Terry Beatty, Kevin Ladson, Catherin Moore, Tripp Whetsell, Heather Thomas,...

Podcasters ELIANA SINGER and SIMONE ELIAS join Dan for a fun and enlightening conversation about their favorite movies of the past 25 years.   Eliana and Simone’s show, “Teenage Golden Age”, chronicles their love of classic cinema of the 1930’s -- 1960’s – but for this episode of “Let’s Talk Ten” the choices are limited strictly to films of the 21st century – though there have been so many genuine...

Musician (the Del Fuegos), NYU professor, and writer WARREN ZANES and Dan have a deep-dive conversation about rock-and-roll legends BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and TOM PETTY. Warren is the author of the best-selling and critically hailed Petty: The Biography, as well as Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska (which has been adapted into an upcoming motion picture, starring Jerem...

Hey there! Hi there! Ho there!  You’re as welcome as can be when ANDREW LAPOSHA returns to the show to hang out with Dan, as they discuss their all-time favorite characters from the House of Mouse. From the pioneer days of Steamboat Willie to the Pixar era and beyond, these boys-who-never-quite-grew-up compare their lists of talking animals, villains, fairies, princesses, dwarves, and robots.  The...

To celebrate the show's FIFTIETH epsiode, Dan wanted to feature his all-time favorite music group -- so, he invited author, blogger, and Fab Four fan extraordinaire SARA SCHMIDT onto the show, to talk about favorite BEATLES SONGS.   With so many classics to choose from, listing just ten apiece sometimes felt like it might be…all too much.  But Dan and Sara did manage to include not only plent...

Film journalist and critic DANIEL PERSONS beams onto Let’s Talk Ten, joining host Dan Fisher for a fun and thoughtful conversation about their all-time favorite SCIENCE FICTION MOVIES.  From rocket ships and robots to time travel and existential quandaries – to infinity and beyond – Dan and Daniel discuss some of the greatest films of all time (regardless of genre) as well as some more far-out tit...

Billboard editor and podcast host ANDREW UNTERBERGER talks with Dan about their favorite MUSICAL ARTISTS of the past 25 years.  It’s the first of what will be three special “Let’s Talk Ten” episodes devoted exclusively to the music, movies, and TV/streaming shows of this millennium.  Even though they come from different generations, both Andrew and Dan are passionate about music in every form – po...

Veteran film/TV workers – and long-time married couple – KERRY & LISA WEEKS join Dan to talk about their favorite “COMFORT FOOD” MOVIES: ones that -- no matter how many times they’ve seen them -- if they come on the television or are suggested by a streamer, they’ll stop whatever they’re doing to watch.  A warm, thoughtful, and very funny conversation about movies, between three friends, just...

Nationally syndicated radio personality ED KALEGI (“America Weekend with Ed Kalegi) joins the show to share moments from ten of the most MEMORABLE CONVERSATIONS he’s had with celebrities and notable public figures including Carol Burnett, Richard Lewis, and Dick Cavett.   Dan loves a good story and little-known tidbits about famous people, and Ed could literally tell them for days.  It was great t...