Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Jeff Hiller is an actor and comedian. Alongside Bridget Everett he stars in the HBO comedy Somebody Somewhere . The series just wrapped its third and final season. Hiller joins us on Bullseye to talk about the show. We also get into Hiller's time as a teacher and performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in New York. He talks about what he learned there, what he loved about it and what fru...

Our first guest of the year is the one and only Jude Law. He joins us to talk about his work on the new Star Wars series Skeleton Crew and his new film The Order . He also shares insight into what it takes to pull off a good accent. 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 Polic...

Marianne Jean-Baptiste is a classically trained actor who has over 50 credits to her name, including Secrets & Lies and the FBI show Without a Trace . She currently stars in the film Hard Truths , directed by Mike Leigh, and has received critical acclaim for her performance. When we talked in 2020, she'd just starred in the new thriller In Fabric . We're revisiting our conversation with the actor,...

John Larroquette is an actor with almost 50 years of experience. His big break was on the NBC sitcom Night Court . The show aired its last episode in 1992. But after nearly 30 years, it's made its way back on air. When John joined us he talked about the experience returning to set after so many of his former co-stars had passed. He also spoke candidly about his struggles with substance abuse. This...

Nikki Giovanni died earlier this month at the age 81. We were fortunate enough to get to talk with her in 2021 and wanted to revisit our conversation with the late poet. She spoke with us about the first poem she remembered writing, overcoming teenage angst and why she was not afraid—excited even—to find life on Mars. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...

With a little help from the smash hit Cannonball , The Breeders became one of the biggest names in early '90s alternative rock. In 2018, we chatted with the band's lead guitarist and singer Kim Deal. The band just released their first new record in 10 years. Just this past month, Deal recorded her first ever solo album: Nobody Loves You More. She talked about the music scene in her hometown of Day...

In this bonus episode, we're taking a moment to remember the life of Rickey Henderson. The legendary baseball player died on December 20. He was 65. First, we'll revisit an essay written by Jesse Thorn in 2017 about what made Rickey one of the best to ever play the game. Then, an interview from 2022 with writer Howard Bryant, author of Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original . See pcm....

Each year, Bullseye looks back on the year in stand-up comedy by presenting listeners with an annual end of year stand-up comedy showcase! The Bullseye team combed through dozens and dozens of albums to bring you some of the best comedy of 2024. That includes stand-up from: Kyle Kinane, Kimberly Clark, Rory Scovel, Tig Notaro and more! See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and u...

We're celebrating the holidays this week in a big, exciting way. It's the Bullseye Holiday Special! We've got Jennifer Hudson, Judy Greer, Zach Cherry, Tower of Power and Jesse's mom! So much holiday cheer it'll make you flip out. 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

Rachel Bloom is a comedian and songwriter. She created and starred in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The spring of 2020 was a tough time for a lot of us. It took Bloom a few years to process all that, and now we have the result: Death, Let Me Do My Special on Netflix. Bloom joins us to talk about her special. We get into what it was like to see the world grieve the loss of his writing partner, Adam Schlesin...

Ken Burns is one of the greatest documentary filmmakers of all time. He's dedicated much of his life to covering the story of America through his works: The Civil War, Country Music, Jackie Robinson, just to name a few. His recent work ventures outside of The United States to record one of the greatest minds in history: Leonardo da Vinci. Ken Burns comes to Bullseye to discuss the renaissance man,...

Come to the table and join us, as we celebrate "Hanksgiving." That's right, our guest this week is Tom Hanks! He joins the show to talk about the limits of charm, shares driving etiquette tips and his shift from comedy acting to working in drama. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR...

Canonball is a segment that takes a closer look at albums that should be considered classics. This time, MC Skiz Fernando joins Bullseye to discuss the game changing album Operation: Doomsday by MF DOOM. Skiz just released a book that records the life and death of the hip-hop legend. It's called The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap's Masked Iconoclast . Skiz stops by to key us into the classic a...

Paul Williams has lived an extraordinary life. He's a songwriter who's written songs performed by Three Dog Night, Tiny Tim, The Carpenters, and David Bowie. On the latest episode of Bullseye we get into it all: Falling out of airplanes. Dressing as an Orangutan from Planet of the Apes on Carson. The simple genius of Kermit the Frog's Rainbow Connection, which was surprisingly complicated to write...

Tavi Gevinson is a very talented actor and writer. She was just fifteen years old when she founded the fashion magazine Rookie , a smash success that is still beloved today. She returns to the show to talk about some of her new projects, what impacts social media has had on her career and how she dealt with the pressure of being called a wunderkind. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our co...

Connie Chung is a TV legend. She is an Emmy-winning newscaster and interviewer, and the first Asian American to host a major network news show. She chronicles her life and career in her new book Connie: A Memoir . Connie joins Bullseye to talk all about her memoir, what she misses the most about reporting the news, and the wonder of the modern standing desk. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abo...

J. Kenji López-Alt is a food writer and chef. He wrote the books The Food Lab and The Wok: Recipes and Techniques . The holidays are coming up – if you're looking for some new recipes to try, some of our favorites at Bullseye include López-Alt's roasted potatoes , chocolate chip cookies and standing prime rib . Making your own mayonnaise the López-Alt way only takes two minutes! A version of this...

"Weird Al" Yankovic is the undisputed king of parody music. He's been recording music for over four decades and sold millions of records. Al just turned sixty-five, and we're celebrating with a look back at our conversation with the music icon! See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR P...

James Adomian is a comedian with a foot in two worlds. He's a stand-up comedian and impressionist who's performed on the Late Late Show, Conan , Jimmy Kimmel Live and many more. He's got a brand new stand-up special out now called James Adomian: Path of Most Resistance . He joins us to talk about the new special and even does a few impressions. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collect...

DeMar DeRozan is a basketball player for the Sacramento Kings. He's a six time NBA All-Star and an Olympic gold medalist. DeRozan just released a memoir: Above the Noise: My Story of Chasing Calm . He joins us to talk about some tough subjects covered in the book like his struggle with depression. He also gets into what it was like to be named dropped in one of the hottest songs of summer – Not Li...

Good gourd! It's a very special Halloween Spooktacular edition of Bullseye, where we're revisiting some of our best Halloween interviews. First up: R.L. Stine, creator of the Goosebumps series. Then, a very special visit from comedian Andy Daly with the song that changed his life: The Monster Mash! Finally, the "damned" finale: Cassandra Peterson, the woman behind Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. See...

Nicolay of the Foreign Exchange joins us to talk about the song that changed his life. A Prince track that, honestly, we were very surprised hadn't been picked yet. 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

MAVI is a rapper from Charlotte, North Carolina. In recent years, he's become one to watch. On his latest album Shadowbox his flow teems with self doubt and anxiety. The melodies and samples linger long after the record's finished. MAVI joins us on the latest episode of Bullseye to discuss the record. The themes in his albums are often filled with pain and loneliness, so get into how he's been doi...

Jordan Morris is a comedy writer, podcast host, and author. His new graphic novel Youth Group follows a teen who apprehensively joins a Christian youth group and comes to find that demons are real! Fear not, as the youth group is intent on exorcising the demons from whence they came. We get into Jordan's graphic novel and so much more on Bullseye. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our coll...

What do the films Men in Black , The Addams Family and Raising Arizona all have in common? They were all shot by cinematographer and director Barry Sonnenfeld. He's responsible for filming and directing some of the biggest movies from the 20th century. He joins us to talk about his new memoir and reflect on his many years in show business. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...