Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

For nearly 5 decades, Sonia Manzano played the part of Maria on  Sesame Street . She was the first Latina on the show – it was a big step forward for Latinas on TV! In 2021, she launched her own show called  Alma’s Way . It’s an animated kids series about Alma Rivera, a 6-year-old Puerto Rican girl living in the Bronx.  This conversation was originally published in October of 2021. See pcm.adswizz...

Christopher Lloyd has performed in a number of iconic roles over the years and at the age of 86 he has no plans to stop anytime soon. When Jesse last spoke with the Hollywood veteran, they chatted about his remarkable career in acting and what’s been keeping him in the biz. They also talked about his most memorable roles including his part as Judge Doom in  Who Framed Roger Rabbit . This interview...

If you know Elizabeth Gilbert's name, it might be for her book Eat, Pray, Love . Earlier this month, Gilbert published a very different memoir: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation . It centers around her relationship with her partner, the writer Rayya Elias and the aftermath of her cancer diagnosis. Elizabeth Gilbert joins us to talk about the intense, very harrowing book. Content...

Jinkx Monsoon is a legend in the world of drag. For fans of RuPaul's Drag Race she is often referred to as "Queen of All Queens" – she's the only performer to win that competition show twice. More recently she's been performing on stage like Little Shop of Horrors and Chicago . Currently, you can catch her on Broadway in Cole Escola's Tony award-winning play Oh Mary . We discuss Jinkx's latest gig...

Jason Segel starred in Freaks and Geeks, How I Met Your Mother, Knocked Up. But he's also an accomplished writer and creator. He wrote the classic romcom Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and revived The Muppets for a new generation. When Jesse talked to Segel in 2020, Jason had just created the weird and wonderful TV drama Dispatches from Elsewhere - a show he says put him "out of his comfort zone." He'...

Bob Odenkirk is an alt-comedy legend. He wrote for  Saturday Night Live  in the 90s. Then he got the part in  Breaking Bad  and  Better Call Saul  as Saul Goodman. He’s also a writer. With the help of his children, he released a collection of poems called  Zilot & Other Important Rhymes . Bob joins us to talk about writing poetry and how he turned his worn notebook into a book of poetry with the h...

There aren't many animators more beloved than Genndy Tartakovsky. He created two golden era Cartoon Network shows: Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack. He has worked on countless other animated projects including Star Wars: Clone Wars, Batman: The Animated Series, Hotel Transylvania and many more. Genndy joins us to talk about his latest animated project: Fixed – a raunchy comedy about dogs, thei...

Alex Edelman plays Adam Cooper on The Paper, the new show from NBC set in the universe of The Office. Edelman is also an award winning standup and writer. His solo show, Just For Us, offers a very funny, very personal examination of white supremacy and Jewish identity. He talks to Bullseye about his unlikely position as the least impressive member of his family, the difference in audience reaction...

Filmmaker Victor Kosskovsky has been thinking quite a lot about rocks these days. Things like big granite boulders, crushed up gravel and stunning slabs of marble. He formed those thoughts, and some opinions, into his most recent documentary: Architecton . It’s a movie entirely about stone. Victor joined us to talk about Architecton , what drew him to choosing rocks as a film subject and much more...

We're joined by the principal members of the band HAIM: Alana, Danielle and Este Haim. In 2013, they released their critically acclaimed debut album Days Are Gone and the rest is history. HAIM joins us in the studio to talk about making the latest record: I Quit . They also get into growing up in the San Fernando Valley and the shocking lyrics in the new album are about a true story from their tim...

Our guest this week is Al Jardine, one of the founding members of The Beach Boys alongside Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Mike Love. Jardine left the Beach Boys in 1998 and has toured solo ever since. He just released an EP called  Islands In The Sun , and he’s touring it with Brian Wilson’s band. Al Jardine talked with Bullseye about Brian’s recent passing, growing up making music...

Earlier this year, Marlee Matlin was the subject of the documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore . The film chronicles her life and career as a performer and her efforts to make movies and TV more inclusive for deaf performers. Marlee and her longtime interpreter Jack joined us to talk about the documentary, Marlee’s career in showbusiness and much more. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abo...

In the world of ska and punk music Fishbone are legends. We're joined by Angelo Moore and Chris Dowd, founding members of the band. Earlier this summer the band released their 8th full-length LP, Stockholm Syndrome . They talk about why the latest record is something they always dreamed of making. They also get into the bands that helped them visualize a career in music and so much more. See pcm.a...

Paul Walter Hauser has a great list of big movie appearances. He’s in Fantastic Four and The Naked Gun, and he’ll be appearing in movies like Americana and the Bruce Springsteen biopic. Hauser talks to Bullseye about his unique path to his current acting career, as well as his other labor of love: professional wrestling. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal...

Punk rock band PUP released their fifth studio album Who Will Look After the Dogs? back in May. We’re joined by the band’s lead singer Stefan Babcock and guitarist Steve Sladkowski to talk about the new record. They also chatted with us about their live shows and how the mosh pits at their shows and more! See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsor...

There’s probably nobody better to direct and write a movie like  The Naked Gun  reboot than Akiva Schaffer. He has a resume full of brilliant, dumb, joke-a-minute work. Together with Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone he is a member of the comedy trio The Lonely Island. Akiva wasn’t sure he wanted to direct  The Naked Gun  at first, he gets into why. Plus, why  Popstar: Never Stop Never Stoppin’  didn...

In 2021, Arooj Aftab became the first Pakistani to win a Grammy. It was a Best Global Music Performance for her single "Mohabbat" off of her 2021 album Vulture Prince . Her latest album is called Night Reign . Like Vulture Prince , It's ethereal and beautiful and kind of haunting. In this conversation, Aftab talks about the influence of Meshell Ndegeocello on her work, being a recording gear nerd...

Eugenio Derbez has arguably earned the title of most successful comedy actor in Latin America. And in 2013, his film Instructions Not Included helped make him a star here in the United States. These days you can catch Eugenio in the show Acapulco , which is entering its fourth and final season on Apple TV +. Eugenio joins us to talk about the new season of the show, making the jump from being a mo...

Megan Stalter is an actor and comedian. She plays Kayla Schaefer on the hit show Hacks . She's the wildly inappropriate, yet charming assistant to Paul W. Downs' manager character. When we talked last year, Stalter had just starred in the movie Cora Bora . She played the title character, a singer/songwriter in a long distance relationship that she senses is in trouble. Megan joins us to talk about...

Tramell Tillman plays Mr. Milchick on Severance , the bizarre, fascinating sci-fi workplace show on Apple TV +. Tramell Tillman is great as Mr Milchick. He shares how he collaborated with Ben Stiller to create the character. He also talks with us about his upbringing in Baltimore, his experience being raised in the Baptist church, and his early appearance on The Wire. See pcm.adswizz.com for infor...

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Hayden Pedigo writes sprawling, beautiful songs around the acoustic guitar. Hayden just put out a new record called I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away . He stopped by the studio to talk about his songwriting process and even brought his guitar by the studio for a live performance. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your pod...

This week's guest is Richard Kind. He is not a star. He does not want to be a star. He is perfectly fine with that. Richard loves to be the kind of character actor that shows up, lays down four pages of unforgettable dialogue... and goes on with his day. We share some laughs with Richard Kind. He gets into working with John Mulaney on Everybody's Live and the career he almost had instead of acting...

We're joined by music historian and professor Rickey Vincent to talk about the legacy of Sly Stone. He talks to us about what made the funk icon so special and why there'll never be another like Sly again. 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

This week on Bullseye, George Takei returns to talk about his new graphic-memoir: It Rhymes with Takei . His memoir focuses on his personal journey through discovering his identity as a gay man, hiding it, and how it felt to finally come out publicly. Takei talks to Bullseye about this, as well as his experience living in incarceration camps, and his roots in Los Angeles. See pcm.adswizz.com for i...