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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Blogroll:

Syndication

The podcast Think Twice examines one of the toughest subjects in American pop culture: Michael Jackson. Not just his biography or his art, but what he means. The greatest pop music icon ever. An avatar of the complexity of race in America. And of course, an accused child molester. How do we deal with all these things? How should we? What do we remember? What have we forgotten? Think Twice asks these questions. The show is hosted by journalist Leon Neyfakh and writer Jay Smooth. Leon and Jay join us to talk about Think Twice and the complicated legacy of Michael Jackson. Content Warning: This interview discusses the allegations that Michael Jackson abused children. If you or someone you’re listening with might be sensitive to that, we wanted to give you a heads up.


Ann-Margret is your classic triple threat: she can sing, she can dance and she can act. Oh yeah, and you can’t forget the fact that she’s legendarily beautiful. But perhaps what’s most remarkable about Ann-Margret is the fact that she’s been a star for 60 years. Ann-Margret was discovered by George Burns when she was still a teenager. He put her in his Vegas act. That got her a record deal. Then a movie deal. And the rest is history. She’s since appeared in over 50 films and released over a dozen albums. And the accolades continue. She’s won five Golden Globe awards, a screen actors guild award and six Emmys! Back in April, she released a new album called Born To Be Wild. It’s her first project in over a decade. On Bullseye, we stopped by Ann-Margret’s beautiful home to chat about her album Born To Be Wild. We also get into a very vulnerable moment in her life: the loss of her husband Roger Smith and their 50 years of marriage.


These days, the look is everywhere, but the next time you see someone in a designer logo, head-to-toe: know that Dapper Dan brought you that. If you can picture LL Cool J or Rakim in 1987, you’re probably picturing something Dapper Dan made. Anyone who was anyone on the streets of Harlem knew Dapper Dan’s was the place for the most outrageous, extravagant styles. Dapper Dan joins us on the latest episode of Bullseye. He gets into his time as a street hustler and when he first started making his own clothes. Plus, what it was like when he finally became part of the fashion world after years of being sued and raided by giants in the fashion industry.


Jon Hamm is an actor with a lot of range. He can do serious, and he can definitely do funny. The Missouri-born actor is hilarious in the movie Bridesmaids. And on a dime, he can be breathtaking like his role Don Draper in Mad Men. His latest work can be seen in a comic noir called Maggie Moore(s). On Bullseye, Jon Hamm chatted with us about his role in the film Maggie Moore(s) and how he landed the role on Mad Men. Plus, he gets into his move to Missouri to LA and his (almost) failed attempt at becoming an actor.


Ana Fabrega is a comedian, actor and writer. She’s probably best known as a star and co-creator of HBO’s Los Espookys. The show is about four friends who love horror. They run a company where they go around town and they’re often hired for gigs to fool and scare other people. But it’s not really a horror show, it’s very funny. It’s also a very sweet, goofy, kind of surreal show about friendship, identity and carving a place in the world for yourself. Los Espookys just nabbed a Peabody award for its second season. To celebrate, we are revisiting our conversation with Ana from last year. When Ana joined us she talked about growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona and finding her people when she moved to New York. Plus, most of the dialogue on Los Espookys is in Spanish, Ana talks about what it was like to write jokes in Spanish – something she had never done before.


Tony Shalhoub is a veteran of both the big and small screens. Recently, you might know Shalhoub from his role in the Amazon show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. It’s a dramedy set in the late 50s. Tony Shalhoub plays Abe Weissman. He’s the father of the show’s title character — Midge Maisel. It’s a role that’s gotten Shaloub a handful of awards – Emmy included. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel concluded its fifth and final season last month. But when we spoke to Tony Shalhoub back in 2019, the show’s second season had just premiered. He stopped by Bullseye to talk about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Plus, he got into his iconic character on Monk and why he almost didn’t take the job.


Tre’vell Anderson is non-binary and black, and they often focus their work on identity, especially the places where queerness intersects with blackness. They’re the co-host of the podcast FANTI, and they’ve covered entertainment for EssenceTime and Out, among many other outlets. Tre’vell has also guest hosted Bullseye in the past and interviewed folks like Katori Hall and Aidy Bryant. This time around Tre’vell returns to Bullseye as a guest. They just published a book called We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film. On the latest episode, Tre’vell talks about their new book, opens up about their childhood, and so much more!


Michaela Watkins is a talented comic and actor. But when she first started acting, she thought she was going to be an actor actor. The Shakespeare and Ibsen-performing type. But it wasn’t A Doll’s House or King Lear that made her career. It was the Groundlings. She was almost thirty when she joined the comedy theater that changed the course of her life. Watkins was cast on Saturday Night Live during her time with the group. She thought she’d made it. Nine months later, she was fired after one season. But, she’s only kept growing. Now, twenty-five years into her career, Watkins is still finding new highs. This year, she’s starring in three movies. The latest is an A24 film called You Hurt My Feelings. On Bullseye this week, Michaela Watkins joins us to talk about You Hurt My Feelings. She reminisces on her time in the Groundlings and chats about an awkward encounter with Seth Myers after being fired from SNL. Plus, she answers the question we’ve all been asking: what does Michaela Watkins ask her pet psychic?


At this point in his career, Eric Andre is almost a household name. The Eric Andre Show was his first big project. The show kicked off in 2012, and is entering its sixth season. Usually the point of a talk show is to make guests comfortable. Andre’s greatest pleasure seems to be to make his guests squirm. Great talk show hosts are always in control. Andre always seems to be veering off a cliff. To celebrate the latest season of The Eric Andre Show we dug deep into the archives from when the show first premiered more than a decade ago. In this extended cut we dive even deeper into the madness of the show with Andre. Plus, he told us what it was like to collaborate with comedian Hannibal Buress, and how he initially came up with the idea for the show.