Nick Hornby is the author of High Fidelity, About a Boy and most recently Slam.

Simon Rich is the author of the humor book Ant Farm and Other Desperate Situations.  He's also a former editor of the Harvard Lampoon and a writer for Saturday Night Live.

Sarah Lamm is director of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox, a new documentary about the legendary Dr. Bronner and his peppermint soap, which has become a counter-cultural icon.

Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim are the creators of two Cartoon Network [adult swim] shows -- Tom Goes to the Mayor and Tim and Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job!

Comedy from Bryan Coffee's stage show The Weekly Armenian.

Ira Glass is the host of This American Life.  He recently edited the book The New Kings of Nonfiction.

An interview with Matt Besser of the Upright Citizens Brigade, and improvisation from the UCB Theater.

Colin Hay is a Scotland-born, Australia-raised, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter.  He was also the frontman of the 1980s rock group Men at Work.

Dan Deacon is an electronic pop musician with a background in electronic art music.  His latest album of frenzied ecstatic tunes is Spiderman of the Rings.

Rocker Kenna was born in Ethiopia and raised in Cincinatti and Virginia.  His dramatic, new-wavey records are co-produced by Chad Hugo of the super-producing duo The Neptunes.

The Sklar Brothers, standup comics and television and radio hosts, return to The Sound of Young America.  They have a new standup comedy CD called Sklar Maps, as well as a new series on Superdeluxe.com.

Brian Posehn and Steve Agee are co-stars of The Sarah Silverman Program.  They play Brian and Steve, Sarah's gay, nerdy neighbords.

An audio adaptation of a piece from George Saunders' most recent book, The Braindead Megaphone.  Features Dan Klein of Kasper Hauser, Andy Daly (The Office, Mad TV), John Hodgman, Xeni Jardin, Jonathan Katz and more.

George Saunders is a MacArthur grant-winning satirist.  His newest book is The Brain-Dead Megaphone.

Comedy from Los Angeles sketch group Ten West.

Austin Grossman's new novel is called Soon I Will Be Invincible.  Before he started writing superhero literature, he was a writer for video games.

When she's not fronting the band Gloria Deluxe, Cynthia Hopkins creates acclaimed multi-media theater performances.

Standup comedy from Jarrett Grode.

Comedian Paul F. Tompkins is a regular on VH1 talking head series, was a castmember of HBO's Mr. Show and Real Time with Bill Maher, and is really really funny.

John Sellers is the author of Perfect From Now On How Indie Rock Saved My Life.

Brian Coleman is the author of the book Check the Technique Liner Notes for Hip Hop Junkies.  The book is an oral history of the hip hop canon.

Comedy sketch from LA's Oh You and Your Bone Spurs.

Mick Brown was the last journalist to speak with Phil Spector before the legendary music producer murdered a young woman.  He is the author of Tearing Down the Wall of Sound.

The Lifesavas are the leading light in the Portland, Oregon hip-hop scene.  Their new record is conceived as the soundtrack to a lost blacksploitation film.

The Lifesavas talk about their Portland roots, their introduction to the Native Tongues, and more.

Live performance from standup comic Dan Mintz

Miranda July is an artist, author and filmmaker.  Her latest book is No One Belongs Here More Than You.

Guests Brent Weinbach, Rob Thomas and Eleni Mandell.  Recorded live at the Westside Eclectic in Santa Monica, California.

Rock band They Might Be Giants are in their 25th year.  Their newest record is "The Else."

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt stops by.  He has a new comedy CD on Sub Pop, and he's also the star of the new Pixar film Ratatouille.

Elmore Leonard is the author of 41 novels, including "Get Shorty," among many other best-sellers.  He's perhaps the most critically-acclaimed popular fiction writer in the country.  His most recent is "Up in Honey's Room."

Comedian Dave Hill is the host of the popular New York stage show The Dave Hill Explosion, as well as the star of the television program King of Miami.

Betty Davis is a funk and soul legend.  This is her first radio interview since the 1970s.

Oliver Wang is a popular blogger and DJ, and a professor at CSU Long Beach.  His new CD compilation of classic soul music is Soul Sides Volume Two: The Covers.

Michael Cera starred as George Michael on Arrested Development.  He currently stars in the web series Clark and Michael, and will soon star in the film Superbad.

Comedy from Greg Proops, Jen Kirkman, Jonathan Coulton, Kasper Hauser, Coyle and Sharpe, The 3rd Floor, The Farce Side, Two Girls for Five Bucks and Drop Six.

Greg Saunier is a drummer and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Deerhoof.  The band is one of the most critically acclaimed in rock, and has toured with Radiohead, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth and The Roots, among others.

Sa-Ra are a group of three hip-hop producer/performers whose first album The Hollywood Recordings is now available.  They've worked with artists ranging from Dr. Dre and Ice T to Bilal and Pharoahe Monch.

With his brother Sid Krofft, Marty Krofft produced many of the 1970s best remembered childrens shows, including HR Puffnstuff and Land of the Lost, as well as a number of variety shows.  The latter included Donnie and Marie Osmond, the Brady Kids, and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters.

Bob Odenkirk is the co-creator of Mr. Show with Bob and David, and a feature film director.  His newest project is the web series Derek and Simon.

Guests Amelie Gillette of The AV Club and Alex Blagg of BestWeekEver.TV discuss the proliferation of celebrity snark.

Jack El-Hai is the author of The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and his Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness.

Sarah Thyre is the author of the memoir Dark at the Roots.  As an actress, she's been seen on Strangers with Candy and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, among other venues.

Anne Beatts was an original writer on Saturday Night Live as well as the first female editor of the National Lampoon.  She also created the cult sitcom Square Pegs.

Louis Theroux is the author of The Call of The Weird: Travels in American Subcultures.  He has been the host of several television series, including Weird Weekends, which aired in the US on Bravo.

Dave Willis is the co-creator of The Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a cult comedy series on Cartoon Network.  He and his partner Matt Maiellaro also made the new film adaptation Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Moviefilm for Theatres.

Steven Wright is a legendary standup comedian.  He's also an Academy Award winner, and has been featured in films including Reservoir Dogs and Half Baked.

Ted Leo is the lead singer and songwriter of the rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.  Their newest album is Living with the Living.

Live on The Sound of Young America.

Live on The Sound of Young America

Live on The Sound of Young America.

Brian P. Stack is a writer and performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.  Among his beloved characters are Frankenstein and The Ghost Crooner, and he created Peirre Bernard's Recliner of Rage.

Jack McBrayer portrays the lovable NBC page Kenneth on the sitcom 30 Rock.  He's also a veteran of the New York and Chicago improv scenes.

Yuval Taylor is the author of Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music.

The Human Giant are a comedy group formed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater.  Their eponymous series premiers this week on MTV.

Comedy from Clifford and Kidd and from Jonathan Katz.  Also a sample of the new maximumfun.org podcast, Coyle and Sharpe: The Imposters.

Scott Dikkers is editor-in-chief of The Onion, and is overseeing their new ventures in video.

Former con-man Simon Lovell is the author of How to Cheat at Everything.

Guest Dan Harmon is the Executive Producer of Acceptable TV, and was the co-creator of Channel 101 and the cult TV pilot Heat Vision and Jack.

Zach Galifianakis is a standup comedian who has been seen on Comedy Central's The Comedians of Comedy, and in his own VH1 series, "Late World with Zach."

Chicago rapper Rhymefest won a Grammy award before releasing his first LP.  His debut record was "Blue Collar," and he's preparing his follow-up, called "El Che."

Guest Rhymefest talks about tour with legends like A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan, and about his upcoming album.

Comedian Maria Bamford talks about impersonating Star Trek characters, collective living and how much comedians actually make.

Neal Pollack is the author of "Alternadad."

Jackson Publick is the co-creator of The Venture Brothers, a series on Cartoon Network's [adult swim].

Philadelphia rapper Peedi Crakk is a member of the group State Property.  His solo album, "Prince of the Roc" is due later this year.

Vendela Vida is the author of "Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name" and the co-editor of The Believer magazine.

Comedy from Jonathan Coulton, Maria Bamford and Clifford & Kidd.

Julie Snyder is senior producer of the public radio program This American Life.

Rock star Andrew W.K.'s most recent album is "Close Calls with Brick Walls."

Brandon Bird's paintings place minor celebrities into bizarre situations, which often combine ridiculousness with banality.

Guest Tim Hornyak is the author of Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots.

Guest Woodrow Phoenix discusses his book "Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World."

Sketch comedy from Los Angeles' "Clifford & Kidd"

Jeff Chang won the American Book Award for his book, "Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation."  We talk about Jay-Z.

Jeff Chang talks about the "crack rap" phenomenon.

Soul singer Omar started the new classic soul movement in the late 1980s in the UK.  It's taken fifteen years and the professed admiration
of US stars like Erykah Badu and D'Angelo to bring him to US audiences.

David Koechner (Anchorman, SNL) and Dave (Gruber) Allen (Freaks & Geeks) talk about their new Comedy Central series, "The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show."

Jamie Hewlett is co-creator of The Gorillaz, as well as an award-winning designer and the creator of Tank Girl.

Brendan Canty is the creator of the film series Burn to Shine, and a member of the band Fugazi.

Guests Rob Beckerman and Rob Burnett.  Beckerman and Burnett are the creators of the new series "The Knights of Prosperity," as well as the cult favorite dramedy "Ed." 

Guests John Waters, Christopher Moore, Davy Rothbart & Moustaches for Kids.

Guests Paul Feig, Mike Birbiglia & Kasper Hauser.  Paul Feig is the director of the new film Unnacompanied Minors, as well as the creator of Freaks & Geeks.

Guests Kurt Andersen, Andres du Bouchet, Elephant Larry and Jonathan Coulton.  Kurt Andersen is the host of PRI's "Studio 360" and was the co-founder of Spy Magazine.  Andrew du Bouchet is a New York comedian.  Elephant Larry are a sketch comedy group, also from New York.  Jonathan Coulton sings songs, and I believe lives in Connecticut.

Guests David Wain, Heather Lawless, Mike Daisey and Tanya Morgan.  Our first live-on-stage program, recorded at The People's Improv Theater in New York City.

Recorded live on The Sound of Young America.

Recorded Live on The Sound of Young America