Live Wire with Luke Burbank

Luke and Elena discuss young fatherhood, robot care, a prescription Parks Pass, and Erin Jackson — who became the first Black woman to win gold in Olympic speedskating.

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello reveal the tiny unethical things our listeners admit to doing; television writer and producer Michael Schur ( Parks and Recreation, The Good Place)  discusses his new book  How to Be Perfect , which attempts to break down moral philosophy into a conversation-starter; comedian Demi Adejuyigbe explains why he won't stop making fake credits for Will Sm...

Luke and Elena discuss work robes and bed desks, a Harvard thesis-turned-TikTok musical, and a 5-year-old offering his own quirky pearls of wisdom. 

In celebration of Black History Month, host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello share conversations with some of Live Wire's most remarkable guests: MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow Hanif Abdurraqib discusses his highly acclaimed collection of essays,  A Little Devil in America , which poetically praises the cultural and historical significance of Black performance of all kinds; writer Clin...

Luke and Elena discuss "healthy" potato chips, John Prine tattoos, a pug "bark" mitzvah, and the USA Mullet Championships.

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello talk birds of all kinds this week; writer Matthew Gavin Frank discusses the controversial world of diamond-smuggling pigeons; filmmaker Davy Rothbart and his subject Cheryl Sanford unpack 20 years of filming her family in their documentary  17 Blocks ; and musicians Andrew Bird & Jimbo Mathus, former bandmates of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, perfor...

Luke and Elena discuss Star Trek retractions, college blackboards, cow hoof trimming, cat hijackers, and the importance of tipping.

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello reveal what our listeners have “gotten wrong” in the world of pop culture; comedian Paul F. Tompkins unpacks "weekend water" and passive-aggressive carolers; social critic Sarah Marshall, host of the podcast You're Wrong About , discusses why our misperceptions of the past are largely influenced by the news cycle; and Austin blues artist Buffalo Nic...

Luke and Elena discuss Wordle scores, mom feedback, laughing animals, and driving goldfish.

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello share some feedback that's made the biggest impact on our listeners; actor Connor Ratliff explains how being fired by Tom Hanks inspired his hit podcast  Dead Eyes , through which he unpacks showbiz rejection; Mikki Kendall, author of  Hood Feminism , explains how to right the historical wrongs of the mainstream feminist movement; and indie folk art...

Luke and Elena discuss Dry January, breakthrough COVID, kangaroo rescues, and the legacy of Allen Toussaint.

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello discuss the things our audience is resolving *not* to do this year; celebrated poet Kaveh Akbar explains how learning Farsi as his first language shaped his poetic sense of the English language; writer Danielle Henderson ( Feminist Ryan Gosling ) unpacks her memoir  The Ugly Cry  and how her iconoclastic grandmother helped forge her own fiercely ind...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello unveil some hidden talents of our listeners; actor and best-selling author David Duchovny explains how his latest novel  Truly Like Lightning  is an attempt to have a larger conversation about America; jump rope world champions Nick and Kaylee Woodard test Luke's skills with a virtual lesson; and alt-folk artist Jensen McRae performs her harrowing s...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello put a spin on some of our listeners’ favorite words and phrases; hip hop performer and activist Talib Kweli recounts stepping away from big-budget rap culture to become an independent artist; bestselling author George Saunders revisits his love of teaching through unpacking 19th century Russian literature; and singer-songwriter Jillette Johnson perf...

In this "Best of Books" special, Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello share conversations with two of Live Wire's favorite guests from 2021: writer Ashely C. Ford discusses her celebrated debut book  Somebody's Daughter , which follows her experience growing up in Indiana with an incarcerated father; and bestselling author and vlogger John Green ( The Fault in our Stars ) discusses his new...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello share the strange things listeners love that remain otherwise unpopular; filmmaker Penny Lane discusses her new HBO documentary about instrumentalist Kenny G and what makes his music so polarizing; writer Omar El Akkad unpacks his award-winning novel  What Strange Paradise  and how writing fiction freed him after a decade-long career in journalism; ...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello discuss some mysteries we can never seem to solve;  99% Invisible  podcasters Roman Mars & Kurt Kohlstedt unveil the hidden world of everyday design in their companion book  The 99% Invisible City ; writer Shayla Lawson takes the lead role in her new collection of essays  This Is Major , in which she celebrates Black womanhood; and Colin Hay, fo...

Host Luke Burbank and Elena Passarello discuss the kindest things our friends have done; author Gary Shteyngart takes us into the world of fictionalized friendship in his latest book  Our Country Friends , already lauded as the Great American Pandemic Novel; comedian Atsuko Okatska explains why getting married is more childlike than staying single; and indie folk duo The Lowest Pair perform their...

Host Luke Burbank and Elena Passarello make some small wishes for the future; Jill Lepore, historian and staffer at  The New Yorker, tells us about the first American company to predict voter behavior through the use of computers; writer Ijeoma Oluo envisions a future free from racism and sexism in her book  Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America ; and indie folk duo The Bengsons spr...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello reminisce about the best moments of the last 18 months; writer and radio host Tom Scharpling ( The Best Show)  explains how his dislike for Billy Joel began as a teenage misadventure to Madison Square Garden; comedian Mohanad Elshieky describes why navigating checkpoints is better than talking to his Uber driver; and indie rock group MAITA perform "...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello discuss unresolved (minor) childhood grievances; Emmy Award-winning entertainer Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) makes the case against inside jokes in her new collection of essays I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are ; Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natalie Diaz explores the connection between poetry and basketball; and singer-songwriter Kevin M...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello reveal their go-to karaoke songs; Mötley Crüe co-founder and bassist Nikki Sixx describes how his love of storytelling propelled him from a small town kid to a heavy metal icon; Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Todd Haynes ( Far from Heaven, Carol ) unpacks his first documentary feature  The Velvet Underground,  which looks at the lasting legacy of...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello get into the spooky season and share some memorable Halloween costumes; filmmakers Cristina Costantini & Kareem Tabsch reveal the man behind the cape in their Netflix documentary  Mucho Mucho Amor  about famed Puerto Rican astrologer Walter Mercado; and singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell takes us to the underworld of Greek mythology to discuss her...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello chat about household rules we struggle to enforce; actor and humorist Nick Offerman discusses his newest book  Where the Deer and the Antelope Play  and how he squares his life in Los Angeles with his agrarian sensibilities; comedian and "Dope Queen" Phoebe Robinson explains why no one is allowed to sit on her bed in their outdoor clothes; and singe...

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello discover what topics listeners would discuss on their hypothetical podcasts; comedian Jamie Loftus unpacks her  Lolita Podcast , which reexamines the controversial literary classic through a feminist lens; comedian and television writer Demi Adejuyigbe ( The Good Place ,  The Amber Ruffin Show)  explains why he feels the creative pressure every Sept...