Working

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to makeup artist Leslie Ann Sebert about her long career in film and her latest project, the Netflix movie Nightbooks , starring Krysten Ritter. Leslie talks about how she fits into the collaborative process of creating the visuals that shape a film and it’s characters … and just how hard it is to find the exact right formula for candy vomit.  After the interview...

This week, host June Thomas talks to Rebecca Lavoie, who oversees podcasts at New Hampshire Public Radio and who has a “side” hustle as host and producer of Crime Writers On.. ., These Are Their Stories , and several other podcasts. Rebecca explains why her supposed side-gig has expanded into a much bigger enterprise, and how she makes that work.  After the interview, June and co-host Isaac Butler...

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to actor Alessandro Nivola, who recently starred in the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark . In the interview, Alessandro discusses his early career as a theater actor and shares a piece of wisdom he got from Robert De Niro about memorizing lines. Then he digs into the process of becoming a believable 1970’s tough guy in Many Saints .  After the interview...

This episode of The Relentless features a conversation about how we can go above and beyond the expected to create truly unique customer experiences. Host Kristen Meinzer talks with Tina Roth Eisenberg, a successful entrepreneur who epitomizes an imaginative and intuitive approach to business . Her diverse collection of enterprises include a co-working space, the temporary tattoo company Tattly, a...

This week, host June Thomas talks to actor Tom Mison, who discusses some of his favorite roles, from Ichabod Crane in  Sleepy Hollow  to Mr. Phillips in  Watchmen . Tom also discusses various approaches to acting and his process for learning how to convincingly portray a blind character in the Apple TV+ series,  SEE . After the interview, June and co-host Isaac Butler discuss Tom’s description of...

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to Dana Covarrubias, costume designer for the popular Hulu series Only Murders in the Building , starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. In the interview, Dana explains how her early work as an actor influences her decision-making as a costume designer. She also breaks down some of the creative thinking that went into the wardrobes for each of the...

This week, host June Thomas talks to writer and podcaster Nichole Perkins, whose new book of personal essays is Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be . In the interview, Nichole describes the techniques she used to get in touch with early memories for the book. She also discusses the importance of clarity and her mission to avoid being misunderstood.  After the interview, June and co-host Isaa...

This week, in his final hosting appearance on the show, Rumaan Alam talks to graphic designer Rodrigo Corral, who specializes in book cover art. In the interview, Rodrigo explains how his designs attempt to capture the tone and themes of the books they adorn. He also talks about avoiding a signature style and finding inspiration at the hardware store.  After the interview, Rumaan and co-host Isaac...

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to music supervisor Morgan Rhodes.  In the interview, Morgan explains what a music supervisor is, how she researches music for film and TV projects, and the challenges she deals with in securing the rights to that music.  After the interview, Isaac and co-host June Thomas talk about specific examples of music in film and TV that have stood out to them—for better...

This week, host June Thomas talks to Shayne Bushfield, aka Thorsten A. Integrity, founder of the online trivia competition LearnedLeague. In the interview, Shayne explains how LearnedLeague works and discusses his efforts to make trivia more inclusive by expanding the “trivia canon.” He also reveals how he’s been able to write thousands of unique trivia questions over the years.  After the intervi...

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer, who wrote the spooky, absolutely unmistakable score for the HBO series The White Lotus . In the interview, Cristobal discusses his career journey and explains why he switched from writing classical and pop music to scoring TV shows. Then he gets into the details of how he came up with the sound for The White Lotus and what it...

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to playwright Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu about her play Pass Over , which is the first show to premiere on Broadway after a long shutdown due to COVID-19. In the interview, Antoinette discusses the process of writing the play and describes how Samuel Beckett’s influence “came charging in.” She also talks about the many different versions of the play, current revi...

This week, host June Thomas talks to Charlie Jane Anders, author of many novels and a new book of writing advice, Never Say You Can't Survive . In the interview, Charlie Jane offers tons of detailed writing tips and explains how escaping into fictional worlds can help people endure hard times.  After the interview, June and co-host Rumaan Alam discuss some of Charlie Jane’s writing tips, and then...

This week, host Rumaan Alam talks to artist Shahzia Sikander about her decades-long career as a painter and multimedia artist. In the interview, Shahzia discusses the process behind her painting “The Scroll,” which she created as an undergraduate student in Pakistan. She also talks about her relationship to the concept of “tradition” and her unwillingness to either break or conform to it.  After t...

This week, host June Thomas talks to composer Jake Heggie, who the Wall Street Journal described as “arguably the world’s most popular 21st-century opera and art song composer.” In the interview, Jake talks about how he fell in love with opera and why he composes all his work on manuscript paper by hand. He also discusses his recent work, Songs for Murdered Sisters , which he created with the help...

We’re kicking off Season 2 with a conversation about how we can go above and beyond the expected to create truly unique customer experiences. Host Kristen Meinzer talks with Tina Roth Eisenberg, a successful entrepreneur who epitomizes an imaginative and intuitive approach to business. Her diverse collection of enterprises include a co-working space, the temporary tattoo company Tattly, a to-do li...

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to J. Robert Lennon, author of numerous short stories and novels. In the interview, Lennon discusses his daily writing practices, the importance of revision, and the creation of his new novel, Subdivision , which features a supernatural world with its own unique makeup and logic. Lennon also talks about his recently published short story collection, Let Me Think...

This week, host Rumaan Alam talks to photographers James and Karla Murray, who are on a mission to capture the unique charm of New York City’s storefronts and advocate for small businesses. In the interview, James and Karla explain what it was like to teach themselves the basics of photography while juggling multiple jobs. They also discuss the process of landing their first book deal and starting...

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to the multitalented singer/songwriter Yola. In the interview Yola breaks down her songwriting process from the first seed of an idea to the final product. She also discusses her forthcoming album, Stand for Myself , and the collaborative work that went into it.  After the interview Isaac and co-host June Thomas marvel at Yola’s intuitive songwriting style.  In t...

This week, host June Thomas talks to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. In the interview, Jose discusses the origins of a piece he wrote for the New York Times Magazine titled “ My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant .” He also talks about his organization, Define American , which aims to influence how immigrants are depicted on TV, in movies, and on the national stage broadly. ...

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to intimacy coordinator and director Marcus Watson, who oversees the performance of intimate scenes for film, TV, and theater. In the interview, Marcus discusses the increasing prevalence of his role in recent years, especially since the beginning of the #metoo movement. He also details the conversations he has with performers and directors in order to establish...

This week, host June Thomas talks to Spanish-language journalist and broadcaster León Krauze, who works primarily as a local news anchor in Los Angeles but also hosts a radio show and writes for outlets like Slate and the Washington Post. In the interview, León discusses the process of figuring out which topics and stories matter most to his community. He also describes what it’s like to have a hy...

This week, Isaac Butler talks with Joi McMillon, an award-winning film editor and longtime collaborator with filmmaker Barry Jenkins. Her latest project, The Underground Railroad , tells the story of a woman’s escape from a Georgia plantation in the 1800s. They talk about how McMillon came to be an editor, her approach to her work, what it’s like to edit the same scene over and over again, and how...

This week host Rumaan Alam talks to literary magazine editor Brigid Hughes, who started her career as an intern with the Paris Review and went on to be its executive editor before leaving and starting her own magazine, A Public Space. In the interview, Brigid explains what the editor of a literary magazine does and how she works with authors to unearth the story “underneath” the story. She also di...

On this week’s show, Working producer Cameron Drews talks to Erin Tomasello, casting director for the Netflix reality show The Circle . In the interview, Erin explains what it’s like to work on the casting team for shows like The Bachelor , Fear Factor , America’s Got Talent , and more. Then she discusses the casting process for The Circle and lays out what she and the casting producers are lookin...