Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Isabel Allende ( The House of the Spirits , Paula ) is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, alternating gracefully between the political and personal on the page for over forty years.  We sat with Allende in Los Angeles for a special evening presented by How To Academy , beginning with her upbringing in Chile (4:45), the roots of her feminism (8:45), and her early pieces as a jou...

Christiane Amanpour is the host of CNN's award-winning flagship global program “Amanpour,” where she’s been one of the network's most trusted voices on foreign affairs since 1983. She joins us this week from New York City amid the UN General Assembly and President Trump’s continued attacks on the press. We begin with the White House ban (3:00), the President's challenges to the First Amendment (4:...

For eight years, Ben Rhodes worked as a speechwriter and Deputy National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama. A decade after leaving the White House, Rhodes has become increasingly critical of the foreign policy establishment he once worked within. We begin with his recent essay Let the Illusions Die (2:48), Trump’s war in Iran (6:35), and what Rhodes took away from the Obama administration...

 “I get calls from people inside of some of the AI labs,” says technology ethicist Tristan Harris. “And it feels like getting a call from Robert Oppenheimer before the atomic bomb.”  Harris (a former Google insider and AI expert) has spent more than a decade sounding the alarm about the effects of technology on our wellbeing. He’s currently the co-founder of Center for Humane Technology , a n...

These days Nick Offerman appears to be one of the few remaining men who enjoys “making things rather than destroying things.” Career-best performances, best-selling books, a wooden, cedar-strip canoe built out of his Los Angeles Offerman Woodshop . Nick does what he can (and then some). He joins us this week on the heels of his double Emmy nominations to talk through his emotionally complex perfor...

Rest in peace to writer and activist Gloria Steinem. The trajectory of Steinem’s life and work was unparalleled. Her cultural and political impact, incalculable. We sat to discuss the life-altering procedure she had completed at age 22, why she helped create the women's liberation movement alongside Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Flo Kennedy, and how she learned to become angry—on her own behalf—about...

With the fall movie season upon us, who better to sit with than ⁠ The Big Picture ⁠ co-hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins? We begin with a post-vacation check-in (2:38), the god-given gifts of Ben Affleck and Jacob Elordi (6:19), and the latest film from “influencer” Ridley Scott (7:05). Then we move on to our fall movie preview/draft, highlighting Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid (19:25), Julianne...

From “The Good Place” and “Barry” to “A League of Their Own” and “The Five-Star Weekend,” D’Arcy Carden has become one of the most recognizable and beloved performers on television. We sit to discuss her Bay Area upbringing (6:33), moving to New York to pursue acting (16:05), and finding her community in long-form improv at UCB (21:08). Then, she reflects on the day jobs that kept her afloat—inclu...

Novelist Colson Whitehead is one of only a handful of writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice—first for The Underground Railroad in 2017, and again for The Nickel Boys in 2020. He joins us on the heels of his latest novel, Cool Machine , the final installment of his acclaimed Harlem trilogy. We begin with his decision to close out the world of furniture dealer Ray Carney (3:00), why Wh...

What if it’s true that good things come to those who wait? For Greta Lee, the success of Past Lives came after twenty years of working and finding her way as an actor. Her latest, leading turns come in The Last House and Late Fame . We begin with Late Fame (4:12) and her larger-than-life character, inspired in part by artists like Isabella Rossellini, Marlene Dietrich, and Liza Minnelli (6:37). Th...

Nine years ago, cook and writer Samin Nosrat created a kitchen staple with Salt Fat Acid Heat : a New York Times bestseller that later became a hit Netflix series. Last fall, Nosrat returned with Good Things , a collection of personal recipes straight from her dining table. Today, we revisit that candid conversation, where we discussed the influences that shaped the book (8:30), the ephemerality (...

Two years ago Mary Beth Barone considered quitting stand-up comedy. Thankfully (for us) these were always “empty threats.” The kinds you make when you’re working and waiting for your break, or, in her case, a Netflix special.  She joins us this week on the precipice of her (excellent) streaming debut, “Galaxy Brain”, to talk about her intended audience in 2026 (5:32), the concept behind the s...

Timothy Olyphant has made a career out of masking the effort behind his effortless performances. He joins us on the heels of his recent turns in Lucky and The Five-Star Weekend . We talk about performing opposite Anya Taylor-Joy (3:53), his upbringing in Modesto, California (7:00), and the years he spent swimming competitively at USC before trading in the fine arts for acting (14:30). Then, Timoth...

All that glitters is not gold.  Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent for The New York Times who’s been covering Donald Trump for nearly three decades. Her extraordinary level of access in and around the Oval Office has resulted in two best-sellers, including the book of the summer, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump . The new book, co-written with her Time...

From Kenny Powers (“Eastbound & Down”) to Jesse Gemstone (“The Righteous Gemstones”), Danny McBride has created some of the most vain, quintessentially American portraits of male dysfunction in recent memory. His debut short-story collection, Thrilling Tales of Modern Men , is an ode to the overconfident yet woefully insecure characters that have defined his work for the past two decades.&nbsp...

Councilmember Nithya Raman says she’s running for mayor “to make LA affordable for everyone.” She joins us this week in her first extended sit-down since edging out Spencer Pratt in the recent mayoral primary. We begin with Raman’s decision to challenge an incumbent mayor she once endorsed in Karen Bass (2:47), the state of Los Angeles after years of overlapping crises (6:50), and why she believes...

Tom Hanks is one of the defining actors of the last half-century. Today, we return to one of our favorite conversations with the beloved performer and writer. 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 a...

Alanis Morissette’s 1995 chart-topping album “Jagged Little Pill” didn’t just describe a generation; it defined it. “I will take angry as the first note in the music,” she tells us. “I just think every woman I knew was pissed because they were paying attention. How do you not get pissed?” On the heels of the record’s 30th anniversary, the seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter joins us...

In celebration of the Tony Awards, Sam’s conversation on ‘Fresh Air’ with the legendary Nathan Lane. At the time of recording, Lane had just received a nomination for his starring role as Willy Loman in ‘Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.’ He’s a veteran of the stage – often in comedic and musical roles. But in the role of Loman, which he does eight times a week, he’s noticed something different...

Christopher Abbott is one of the finest actors of his generation. He joins us this week from the Winter Garden Theatre, where he plays Biff Loman in the latest Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman opposite Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf.  Fresh off nine Tony nominations, we sit with Abbott to unpack is volatile and vulnerable portrayal of Biff (3:00), the renewed relevance of Arthur Miller...

Emmy-nominated writer and stand-up Josh Johnson is making comedy that’s timely and timeless. On the heels of his new HBO special Symphony , we begin with his creative process of shaping new material week after week, balancing life on the road with writing and hosting duties at The Daily Show (0:46). Then, we talk to Josh about the issues of today: Trump’s 1.8 Billion Slush Fund (4:26), pandemic fe...

Michelle Obama is the former First Lady of the United States, a bestselling author of books like Becoming and The Look, the co-founder of Higher Ground , and now, a host alongside her older brother Craig Robinson on their hit podcast, IMO . We start today’s episode in the present: her pivot to podcasting , her version of doomscrolling, and why she believes these times are “janky.” Then, she shares...

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 ro...

For the better part of two decades, Emmy and Oscar-winning actor Riz Ahmed has moved seamlessly between worlds: indies, blockbusters, prestige TV, writing, rapping. We discuss the long road to his new TV series Bait (3:45), what the character of James Bond symbolizes (6:00), and how the show connects to his own 80s upbringing in Wembley, England (18:40). Then, Riz describes how code-switching (ina...

Since the arrival of Beef in 2023, showrunner and creator Lee Sung Jin has been hailed as “the preeminent social satirist” working in television. The Emmy-winning writer/director joins us around the anthology’s return (3:10) to discuss the source material behind this latest season (4:30), the rise of scammers (12:00), and the distinctions between Korean and American elites (18:00). Then, we move t...