Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

He goes by many names: Forty Fonzarelli, Charlie Hustle, 40-Water or maybe you know him as the Ambassador of the Bay Area. When it comes to Bay Area hip-hop, E-40 quite possibly the greatest of all time. His distinctiveness has kept him relevant for three decades now, from mob music in the 1990's to hyphy slaps in the aughts to new music today. A couple months ago E-40 put out a brand new record w...

It Was Kathryn Hahn All Along! Kathryn Hahn shows up just when you need her most in some of our favorite television series and movies of the past 15 years! She's appeared in Step Brothers and Anchorman , in Parks and Recreation as political whiz Jennifer Barkley, as Rabbi Raquel Fein in Transparent and she stole the show in the recent Marvel hit WandaVision on Disney+ as nosy neighbor Agnes. She c...

The Craziest Day of my Entire Career is a segment that gives us the chance to talk with some of our favorite people about some truly unbelievable stories. This time around, we're joined by the comedian Kate Willett. Her debut, Glass Gutter , was one of our favorite albums from the last few years. She's followed that album up with an Audible Original series called Dirtbag Anthropology . It's a deep...

We're joined by film directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart—creators of the new animated film Wolfwalkers . The film is the third installment in their Irish folklore trilogy that includes 2009's The Secret of Kells and 2014's Song of the Sea . Their latest follows the story of a young apprentice hunter named Robin as she bridges the world between an emerging 17th century colonized Ireland and the m...

Born in Los Angeles' Crenshaw District, Terrace Martin found a love for hip-hop early on. The kids growing up around him were freestyling and playing in backyard shows. He grew up in a jazz household, and got his start as a saxophonist, too. With those two backgrounds, Terrace kicked off a career that would make him a trailblazing polymath in pop music. He's worked with rappers like Snoop Dogg, YG...

Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris has a very unique style of storytelling. Part of his creative process includes the use of a device he invented called a "Interrotron." It allows the subjects of his films to look at him, the interviewer, while also looking straight into the camera, creating the sense that his subjects are addressing the viewer directly. He's been lauded among the film community a...

We're joined by Christian Jacobs, aka MC Bat Commander. He's the frontman for the SoCal band The Aquabats. The band got their start in the ska scene in the mid 1990s. Today, they perform as a genre-bending, family-friendly band with a lot of theatrics, costumes and pageantry. Christian is also the co-creator of the The Aquabats! Super Show! and the beloved children's program Yo Gabba Gabba . Their...

Holly Hunter's had unforgettable roles in some of the best movies of the last 30 years. She's been nominated for several Academy Awards for her roles in films like Thirteen , The Firm , and Broadcast News . Her role in 1993's The Piano earned her an Academy Award. She starred in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Raising Arizona – two Coen Brothers classics! Her latest role is as Arpi Meskimen on Mr....

Buckle up folks, it's about to get weird and maybe even a little bit icky! Dr. Sydnee McElroy and Justin McElroy are here to share all the weird and fascinating stories most of us have never heard about medicine through the ages. They're the hosts of the Maximum Fun podcast, Sawbones and they joined Jesse in 2018 to talk about why they started the podcast, how medicine evolved from balancing humou...

Actor Steven Yeun played fan-favorite Glenn Rhee for 6 years on AMC's wildly popular series The Walking Dead. He's also appeared in critically-acclaimed films Okja , Sorry to Bother You and 2020's Minari . He joined Bullseye in 2018 to talk about his work in Burning, a film that earned him a Best Supporting Actor award from the National Society of Film Critics. Steven chats with Jesse about Walkin...

All Creatures Great and Small tells the story of a Scottish veterinarian who moves out to the English countryside. It started as a book series written under the pen name James Herriot. In each chapter, Herriot drives around the Yorkshire Dales in an old car, from farm to farm, appointment to appointment. He treats horses, cows and dogs in neighboring villages. In the '70s and '80s, the books becam...

From his role as the lovable Sam Malone on the classic sitcom Cheers to his role as the goofy demon Michael on The Good Place, Ted Danson has made an indelible mark on our hearts playing the mischievous cad you can't help but love. He talks with Jesse about his new show, Mr. Mayor, growing up in Tucson, and what he hopes happens when he dies. Plus, Ted tells us why you never let comedy writers kno...

John Wilson created the series "How To with John Wilson," one of our favorite new shows, a totally unique look at New York City, social anxiety, the pandemic and risotto. John joins Bullseye to chat about finishing a season of television during a pandemic, the nuance he found in his personal life from the edit process and making real life seem "less fake." Plus, we'll find out just how much of his...

Fran Lebowitz has lived in New York City pretty much her entire life. Her written work often provided American social commentary through her unique lens as a New Yorker. While her work is now iconic, it's been decades since she last published written works. These days she makes a living talking. She talks about politics, about New York and how it's changed. Fran also, kind of personifies New York...

Comedian Natalie Palamides joins Bullseye this week to talk with guest host Carrie Poppy! Natalie and Carrie talk about Natalie's new Netflix special Nate: A One Man Show, what her parents think of her raunchy stand-up, and choosing to commit to your art over commercial projects. Plus, Natalie tells us about the occupational hazards of wrestling random audience members on stage. See pcm.adswizz.co...

This week, we're joined by actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. He played Clay Davis in the iconic television series The Wire. He's also appeared in some of our favorite films including Goodfellas , Gremlins 2: The New Batch , 25th Hour and last year's Da 5 Bloods . His latest project teams him up with Bryan Cranston in the new Showtime series Your Honor . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collect...

Robert Glasper is a Grammy award-winning pianist, producer and songwriter. He's worked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop from Kanye West to Common. Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly features some of his outstanding keyboard work. To date, he's earned three Grammy awards and is up for another two this year – best R&B song for "Better Than I Imagined" and best R&B Album for, F–k Yo Feelin...

This week we're revisiting our 2019 conversation with rapper Freddie Gibbs. Freddie joined us to talk about his childhood growing up in Gary, Indiana, carving out space for himself as a rapper from the Midwest, and how he always knew that one day he'd be famous. Plus, he tells us about how he met his MadGibbs collaborator, producer Madlib. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...

We're joined by comedian and actor Michael Ian Black on an all-new Bullseye! He's a founding member of the comedy groups The State and Stella as well as a regular on the kind of talking head pop culture shows that were all the rage in the late aughts. When he's not busy making us laugh on stage and screen, Michael is a prolific author. His first book, a children's book, was titled Chicken Cheeks a...

We're back with our first new episode of the year! It's already one of our favorites in recent memory. Actor Glynn Turman talks with us about his extraordinary life. You might know him as Clarence Royce on The Wire , or Doctor Senator on the most recent season of Fargo . And he's had a number of iconic roles in films like in Gremlins and Cooley High, too. His latest role is in Netflix's Ma Rainey'...

It's the most hilarious time of the year again! That's right, we're back for another End of Year Comedy special. This holiday season the staff at MaxFun HQ listened to countless hours of stand-up, considered thousands of punchlines, and subjected our funny bones to innumerable tickles so that we could deliver only the very best stand-up comedy of 2020 to you! See pcm.adswizz.com for information ab...

"Canonball" is a segment on Bullseye that gives us a chance to take a closer look at albums that should be considered classics, to find out what makes them great. This time, Margaret Wappler makes the case for why Bjork's 1995 record "Post" deserves to be added to the canon of classic albums. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to m...

Dick Van Dyke has been entertaining the public for over 70 years. He's a legend of stage and screen – The Dick Van Dyke Show , Mary Poppins , Bye Bye Birdie and so many more... and he's still performing today. He turned 95 this month. We're taking a moment to celebrate his career by revisiting our interview with him from 2015. Dick Van Dyke talked about being a comedy legend and of course, we dove...

It's here! Bullseye's Holiday Spectacular has finally arrived and it's a jam packed episode! This year features interviews with guests like musician and actor Andrew Bird, actor and musician, Anika Noni Rose, and hosts of the new MaxFun podcast Tiny Victories, Laura House and Annabelle Gurwitch. Plus, the McElroy brothers join Jesse to offer up some holiday advice in true My Brother, My Brother an...

Adrian Tomine is a cartoonist. Along with graphic novels like Killing and Drying and Shortcomings , he created the series Optic Nerve, which began publication in 1991. He's also made several classic covers for The New Yorker. His latest book is an illustrated memoir called The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist . Adrian joins Bullseye guest host Brian Heater to talk about how making comics...