Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Roman Mars hosts the radio show and podcast 99% Invisible . It's a show about the little known stories behind everyday design and architecture. Prefabricated homes. Trash can design. Even those little ramps you see on sidewalk corners: how and why did stuff like that come to be? He just released a new book based on the podcast – it's called the 99 Percent Invisible City . The book is an illustrate...

This week we're revisiting our 2017 conversation with musician Phil Elverum. Phil is a singer-songwriter best known for the music he records as the bands the Microphones and Mount Eerie. Earlier this year he released a new album titled Microphones in 2020 . He joined Jesse to talk about grieving the loss of his first wife, cartoonist Geneviève Castrée, and how a trip British Columbia with his daug...

Singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco has been making music since she was a teenager. For decades now, she's recorded and released her music on her own label, Righteous Babe Records. Her music is both autobiographical and political, with influences from funk, rock, jazz and punk. She's released over 20 albums so far and her latest, "Revolutionary Love," will be available in January. Ani joins Jesse to ta...

Carrie Coon is an actor best known for her roles on TV. You've seen her as Nora on HBO's The Leftovers . No one was as fearless and bold as Nora. She was angry and kind of tightly wound, traumatized by the loss of her entire family. In Season 3 of Fargo , Carrie played Police Chief Gloria Burgle: brave in the face of danger, but also baffled at humanity's capacity to be so violent and cruel. In he...

Actor and comedian David Cross is our guest! While you may know him best for his stand-up comedy and roles on shows like Arrested Development and Mr. Show, David joins Jesse to talk about his newest endeavor - a dramatic role in the new film The Dark Divide. He talks about the mental and physical challenges of playing that role, growing up in Georgia, and his enduring relationship with Mr. Show co...

This week, our guest is David Letterman. The one and only. He and Jesse talk about the Late Show, about his triumphs and failures, and latest TV show: My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, on Netflix. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

We're joined by rapper A$AP Ferg of the A$AP Mob. Born Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr., he grew up in Harlem in an area dubbed "Hungry Ham." His music is hard to define but if you had to you'd need to include hip hop, trap, dubstep, house and soul. He's helped to redefine the term "New York rapper." His latest album is called Floor Seats 2. Ferg joined Bullseye in 2017 to talk about growing up in...

Rob Halford is a legend in the world of metal music. He is the lead vocalist of heavy metal group Judas Priest. He recently released an autobiography called Confess . In it, he shares some truly incredible stories: like the time he handcuffed himself to Andy Warhol or when he explained heavy-metal to Queen Elizabeth. We're revisiting our interview with Rob from 2009. In this conversation Rob Halfo...

Musician Laura Jane Grace joins Bullseye this week! She talks with Max Fun's Jordan, Jesse, GO! co-host, Jordan Morris about her new album, Stay Alive . Laura fronts the punk band Against Me! and super-fan Jordan chats with her about her early days playing shows in a laundromat, her love of Guns N' Roses, and what it's like to record and album while in quarantine! See pcm.adswizz.com for informati...

These days it might seem like we're in a bit of a time-loop. Days feel like months. Months feel like an eternity. That's probably what makes Hulu's Palm Springs the perfect movie for this time. It's a romantic comedy about two people who are forced to repeat the same day. The film stars Andy Samberg as Nyles, and Cristin Milioti, as Sarah. It's a funny and unique movie about relationships and depr...

It's a very special Halloween Spooktacular edition of Bullseye! We revisit our 2017 conversation with Cassandra Peterson, the woman behind Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She'll talk with Jesse about The Groundlings and creating the aesthetic behind her iconic character, her childhood growing up in the midwest and what it's like inhabiting such a sexual role. Next up, a very special visit from comed...

This week we are revisiting our conversation with musician Tom Fec, better known by his stage name, Tobacco. His latest album, Hot Wet & Sassy comes out at the end of October. Tom joined Jesse last year to talk about his musical influences, his creative process, and why he rejects the label of psychedelic rock. Plus he tells us why you'll occasionally find him and his bandmates in Black Moth Super...

Padma Lakshmi is a model, actress and the host of Top Chef on Bravo. She's the person telling everyone to pack their knives and go home. Her latest television series is Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi on Hulu. Each episode, Padma travels to a different part of the United States to highlight an immigrant community. The show celebrates different cultures and their place in American cuisine. The...

We're joined by Kyle Kinane who chats with Jesse about his latest comedy special Trampoline in a Ditch . It was recorded in 2019. His voice is probably most well-known from his work on Comedy Central but did you know he was also in a punk band? Kyle joins Bullseye to chat about challenging himself and his audience with new topics, being the voice of Comedy Central and how the mid-90s punk scene pr...

Actor Richard Jenkins joins guest host Jordan Morris on Bullseye this week. Among his many roles, Richard is perhaps best known for his supporting actor roles on critically acclaimed TV shows like Six Feet Under and movies like The Shape of Water . He joins us to talk about his new films, Kajillionaire and The Last Shift , the show he saw as a kid that sparked his interest in theatre, and what it'...

Hari Kunzru is a novelist and journalist. He is the author of several novels including: My Revolutions , Gods Without Men , and White Tears . His latest novel is called Red Pill . The book's protagonist is an unnamed narrator. He's a writer in Brooklyn, married with kids. In the back of his mind, he can't shake this feeling: something bad is about to happen in the world. He gets a job in Berlin, a...

Veteran comedian Eddie Pepitone loves turning our expectations on their head. He's a working man's comedian with a set that perfectly melds the impassioned righteous rage of Lewis Black with the more understated observations of a comedian like Steven Wright. These days, due to the global pandemic, he's taken his act digital: live streams, video conferences, etc. His latest special, taped before th...

Writer Roger Angell is our guest his week. Roger is best known for his writing and editing for The New Yorker and most notably wrote about his love of baseball. This week, in celebration of his 100th birthday, we revisit our 2016 interview with him. He shares stories about being a young kid in New York watching Babe Ruth play, which baseball players are the best talkers, editing fiction at The New...

Catherine O'Hara is a comedy legend. Her work embodies a particularly special brand of comic absurdity. She helped launch SCTV alongside other burgeoning comedy greats like John Candy and Eugene Levy. She went on to star in some huge blockbuster comedies: Beetlejuice . Home Alone. Best in Show . At the Emmy awards a few weeks ago Schitt's Creek swept the comedy category. Catherine won a much-deser...

Guest host Julie Klausner is joined by Noah Hawley. Noah's the creator and showrunner behind the hit television series Fargo . Season 4 of the series kicks off next week and we've got all of your pressing questions about the season up for discussion. We chat about about the challenges of storytelling during a shutdown, setting adequate intentions going into season 4 and working with Chris Rock— th...

Frank Turner talks with guest host Jordan Morris about his new album, a split LP with punk legends NOFX. They'll also talk about the communal experience of singing around an acoustic guitar, and how The Clash inspired him to make a big life decision as a young man. Plus, Frank tells us about the coolest thing an 11-year old can order from a catalog! See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our co...

Simon Rich is a novelist and screenwriter who has worked on Saturday Night Live . He created and wrote for the show Man Seeking Woman and Miracle Workers , a very funny anthology series starring Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi. His latest work can be seen in An American Pickle from HBO Max. The movie is based on a short story Simon wrote in 2013. A while back, Simon was able to swing by and rea...

The Song That Changed My Life is a segment that gives us the chance to talk with some of our favorite artists about the music that made them who they are today. This time around, we're joined by Stephen Malkmus, the former frontman of Pavement. The band's been called one of the best acts from the '90s. The band broke up in 1999, and Malkmus has kept on, as prolific as ever, dropping 9 records sinc...

Ahead of their second season we'll revisit our interview with PEN15 's Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle. They are the stars and creators of the very funny Hulu show. It's about two middle school girls coming of age in the early 2000s. The show deals with sensitive topics like getting your first period or being bullied, but also has tons of heart and humor. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our...

We're looking back on Jesse's 2015 interview with musician Ernie Isley of legendary The Isley Brothers. Ernie talks to Jesse about the evolving sound of The Isley Brothers, a life-changing gig playing drums for Martha and The Vandellas, and what it was like to grow up with Jimi Hendrix occasionally living at your house. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal d...