Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
Bullseye from NPR is your curated guide to culture. Jesse Thorn hosts in-depth interviews with brilliant creators, culture picks from our favorite critics and irreverent original comedy. Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney's, which called it "the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world." (Formerly known as The Sound of Young America.)

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Syndication

Alice Waters is a chef, an activist and a best-selling author. She is the founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, a restaurant that sources ingredients from local farmers and producers and is widely credited with being the genesis of today’s sustainable food movement. She cares deeply about the way that we eat and has dedicated much of her life to ensuring children receive nutritious and flavorful school lunches. She also works to educate kids on how food is made. Alice stops by Bullseye to talk to us about when it first occurred to her that she would like to cook for a living, receiving her first French cookbook and the most challenging meal she’s ever tried to cook. Plus, she’ll tell us about the one food she’s not too crazy about.


On the latest episode, the one and only Lin-Manuel Miranda! He’s probably best known as the star and creator of the biggest musical in the last 20 years – “Hamilton.” The award-winning, massively influential musical about the founding father Alexander Hamilton. These days, he’s got another show on Broadway: “Freestyle Love Supreme.” It’s an improvised hip-hop performance where the performers get their prompts from the audience. He’s also starring in the new HBO show “His Dark Materials.” It’s a fantasy series based on the book by the same name. Lin-Manuel Miranda talks about how his career has changed since “Hamilton.” We’ll also talk about the time he turned down a part in a Marvel movie.


The Craziest F**king Day of my Entire Career is a segment where we let some of our favorite people tell us the wildest stories from their long and storied time in showbiz. This time it’s Tim Heidecker, a comedian, actor and creator of intricate worlds in which he often plays a fictionalized version of himself. One of these alter-Tim’s is Special Agent Jack Decker, a spy that could easily be the illegitimate spawn of Trump and Chuck Norris. He’ll tell us about a time when this character for his show Decker was just a little too on the nose, just a little too close for comfort.


Rosie Perez is one of the most fascinating people we've had on Bullseye! A native of Bushwick, Brooklyn, she's performed on stage and screen. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in 1993's Fearless, had iconic parts in "White Men Can't Jump" and "Do The Right Thing." She's been a host on ABC's "The View," served as Grand Marshal for the International Boxing Hall of Fame and as if all of that weren't enough, she was a powerhouse choreographer for "In Living Color" and is responsible for helping to bring hip hop to the living rooms of middle america. We talked to Rosie about her difficult childhood, surviving past trauma and why she'll always have a soft spot for the suburbs. Plus, she'll tell us why she prefers the New York hustle and bustle over sunny Los Angeles. Rosie speaks with us from the heart and we're so happy to have her on the show. Don't miss!


Megan Mullally is a comedy legend known for playing eccentric characters. She got her big break playing perhaps her most over-the-top persona, the martini-toting socialite Karen Walker on the groundbreaking show Will and Grace. Mullally won an Emmy for this role in 2006. On Bullseye she talks to us about how she developed her character Karen, her not-so usual upbringing, and oddly enough, how it was to win an Emmy Idol with Donald Trump.


Forest Whitaker has got this knack for taking huge figures from history and portraying them as complex, fascinating, sometimes really fragile people. You've seen him as the star of countless great movies for over thirty years now. He has won plenty of awards including an Academy Award for best actor for his role as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. When we spoke last year, he portrayed Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the film The Forgiven. Forest chats with Jesse about getting to know Archbishop Tutu as a character and a friend over the years. Plus, hot takes on box-office flop Battlefield Earth!

This interview originally aired in March of 2018


Antonio Banderas joins us to talk about his latest project with Pedro Almodóvar — Pain and Glory, a touching and beautiful confessional about living with chronic pain. Banderas plays a director who much like Almodóvar is crippled by his maladies. The film debuted at Cannes Film Festival where Banderas won the award for Best Actor. Banderas talks to Bullseye about his childhood in Spain, connecting with people through pain and reuniting with Almodóvar. Plus, we find out how he learned the lines to Mambo Kings, before he became fluent in English.


Robert Eggers is a filmmaker who's made a name for himself making beautiful horror films that linger with you. Long after you've left the theater. His 2015 film "The Witch" premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival to near universal acclaim. His latest film, "The Lighthouse" stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as 19th century sailors. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and has since received rave reviews. Robert talks to Bullseye about the joys of research down to the finest historical detail, about the uniqueness of the New England landscape and provoking questions in his films. Plus, we find out what scares him the most.


Known as "America's Diva," Renée Fleming has performed in venues all over the world, singing in acclaimed productions of operas composed by Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Dvorak and more. She's tackled the world of opera, jazz, country and just about every other music genre. Lately, she's been working on stage in musicals. Her latest, "The Light in the Piazza" just wrapped up in Los Angeles, with productions in Chicago and Sydney on the horizon. Renée talks to Bullseye about managing acoustics, growing up in a musical home and not only cultivating her talent but her image, too. We talk to her about the mental preparation that goes into singing the National Anthem while 50 million people watch from home as Black Hawk helicopters fly overhead. Plus, Renee gives Jesse some pretty solid music advice. Even if you're never been to the opera, you're going to love this episode!