Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Welcome back! We're excited to return with the multi-hyphenate talent Minhal Baig. She’s a story editor on “BoJack Horseman”, a writer on the forthcoming A24 show “Ramy”, and, above all, a director. Her sophomore film, called “Hala”, premiered this past week at the Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews. (Apple promptly acquired the project.) For our season 3(ish) premiere, we sat down in Park Cit...

Jeremy O. Harris has managed to be a playwright, actor, and screenwriter all while still being a student at the Yale School of Drama. His latest piece, “Slave Play”, is currently at the New York Theater Workshop. On our final episode of the year, Jeremy and Sam sort through how Jeremy arrived at this rare moment, the kind of conversations on race he hopes to have in his work, and why he’s feeling...

Jacqueline Bisset ladies and gentleman. Bullitt, Casino Royale, Murder on the Orient Express, Day for Night. The list is endless. And then there are her collaborators: John Huston, Sidney Lumet, François Truffaut, Roman Polanski. The legendary actress has done it all and this, somehow, is her first podcast.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.co...

Chris Elliott has made a living out of making us laugh. Whether that be through writing and performing on  Late Night with David Letterman, support parts in Groundhog Day and There's Something About Mary, or his cult-classic "sitcom" Get A Life, he's done it all. Most recently, he's in Bridey Elliott's directorial debut Clara's Ghost. Over the next hour Sam and Chris dive into how he juggled fathe...

Filmmaker Patrick Wang joined Sam today to discuss how drawing on his experiences growing up in Houston, TX, being an exchange student in Argentina, studying at MIT, and how he perceives other people influence the films he creates. They also talked about why he self-distributes his films, the rejection he has to deal with constantly, and how he overcomes it.  Learn more about your ad-choices at ht...

This week’s episode was a first for the show, as Sam has on sex educator and visual artist Zoë Ligon. They dive into what it's like to write about sex on the Internet in 2018, carnal desires in the “Me Too” era, how parents should talk to their children about sex, and more.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

This week, Sam sits down with artist Viggo Mortensen ahead of the release of his new film, Green Book. They talk about his (very supportive) cinephile mother, his on-screen debut (Witness), how he chose love and family over Hollywood throughout the 1990’s, and why he pivoted after the massively successful "Lord of the Rings" franchise. Oh, and a brief monologue about happiness.  Learn more about y...

Jonny Sun is a writer known, primarily, for his words on Twitter.com. His quick wit and life-affirming tweets has garnered the attention of many online, including former Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda. Together they have a new book out by Random House called "Gmorning, Gnight!", illustrated by Sun. (Oh, right, he's also an excellent illustrator.) He was also recently brought on as a staff writer...

Adam Bhala Lough is a documentarian best known for his films “The Carter” and “The New Radical”. His most recent project, Alt-Right: Age of Rage, is a look inside the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency, tracking the rise of alt-right coalitions and the groups (mainly, ANTIFA) combating them. On that note...please go vote on November 6th.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheart...

The death of Michael Brown changed DeRay Mckesson's life (9:21). It changed all of our lives. But it was the unjust murder of the 18-year-old Brown that propelled Mckesson into protest. With the release of his new book, On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope, the activist and author discusses early memories of the BLM movement (16:08), supporting Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election (20:2...

For 20 years Paul Dano has been a revelation in front of the camera. He began in L.I.E., evolved in Little Miss Sunshine, emerged in There Will be Blood, and transmuted in 12 Years a Slave. (There are others, but the list is too long for a podcast description.) Most recently, he's moved behind the camera with "Wildlife", a searing portrait of a fractured family set in 1960s' America. He talks to S...

Nathaniel Rich is a writer-at-large for the New York Times Magazine whose latest piece, "Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change", is a landmark investigation into our current climate crisis. We discuss the 18 month process of writing this story, the moral obligation we have to preserve the world around us, what the planet may look like in 30-40 years, and how he believes we can...

Multi-talented jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington stopped by this week to discuss growing up as a "closeted nerd" in South Central Los Angeles, playing gigs at bars and clubs as a teenager, touring with Snoop Dogg at 18, his new record, Heaven and Earth, and the pressure he feels once he steps into the studio.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio...

Judy Greer! You’ve seen her in...everything? Her directorial debut, “A happening of monumental proportions”, is out in theaters now.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https:...

Amma Asante stopped by this week to discuss her latest film Where Hands Touch, her immersive life as a young actress, writing and selling her first script, how she dealt with "looking different" than everyone else in Hollywood, and what she hopes to be doing (and making) in the years to come.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Today is my birthday friends. To celebrate I've put together a collection of excerpts from some of my favorite episodes of the show. Each of these tidbits contain some piece of advice or wisdom that I try to keep near. In order of appearance: Alan Alda (5:13), Lena Waithe (9:43), Dad (15:50), Norman Lear (18:07), Chloe Zhao (24:30), Sherman Alexie (28:08), Mom (35:11), Philip Baker Hall (41:10), J...

This week Sam talks to multi-hyphenate talent Colman Domingo about his family values growing up, his entry point into acting, his experience coming out to his family, his early acting days in San Francisco, pivoting from theater to film, collaborating with Spike Lee, and how he envisions his career unfolding.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio....

Ione Skye needs no introduction. She's Ione Skye. You've seen her in plenty of film and television. Like many, I first saw her as Valedictorian Diane Court in Cameron Crowe's iconic Say Anything . We talk about her winding career, unorthodox family, falling in and out of love, and how she's managed to stay positive in a city and system that often feels bleak.  Learn more about your ad-choices at h...

This week, Jerrika Hinton stopped by to talk about growing up in Texas, actors supporting themselves through "parallel careers", when she felt she had made it as an actor, her experience on Grey's Anatomy, and the next steps in both her career and her life.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio....

Sheila Vand joined us this week to talk about her California childhood(1:57), how she got her start as a performer(6:46), her continued growth as a person in the world (15:59), her relationship with "acting" in Hollywood (25:27), her experience working with Robin Williams on Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (47:10), and the current state of contemporary film (51:50). For more episodes visit www.tal...

For the past 15 years Lauren Miller Rogen has had one dream: to write and direct a movie. With Like Father out this Friday (August 5th) on Netflix, she's done it. We run through her journey from Lakeland, Florida to Los Angeles, and her many creative pitstops along the way. The show is produced by Dylan Peck. Illustrations by Krishna Shenoi. Our show-notes can be found at www.talkeasypod.com  Lear...

Alan Alda ladies and gentleman. We talk M*A*S*H, joke thievery, his childhood in Burlesque, his ongoing battle with face blindness (that's not a joke), and how a brush with death gave him a new lease on life. His latest project is a podcast of his own, Clear+Vivid, and you can find out more at www.alanalda.com. For more info about Alan visit our show notes: www.talkeasypod/alan-alda  Learn more ab...

Legendary writer/director/actor Rob Reiner joins us on the show this week. You remember his American staples: This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men. Then there's his performance as "Meathead" from Norman Lear's landmark show, All in the Family. And then there's...we could do this forever. Reiner has been an integral part of the American c...

For our special 100th episode, Sam’s Dad reluctantly comes on the show.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

John Cho's career has undergone several transformations in the past two decades, each of them more interesting and impressive than the last. John appeared in several roles in smaller films before breaking through in the 2004 stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Since then, he's made waves in blockbuster movies like the Star Trek reboot and Harold and Kumar sequels, underrated TV sh...