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

We’re dedicating this week’s show to music duo Wendy and Lisa. Together they recorded some stone cold classics with Prince’s band The Revolution: Purple RainRaspberry BeretKissWhen Doves Cry and more. These days, they’re known for their work composing scores for TV and movies: HeroesDangerous MindsCrossing Jordan, and Nurse Jackie. Their latest composing credits can be heard on Cruel Summer, the new teen thriller from Freeform. Wendy and Lisa talk with us about their 40-plus year partnership, and their Emmy award-winning work as composers. They’ll reflect on their childhood friendship and the work their fathers contributed as members of The Wrecking Crew. And of course, what it was like to collaborate with Prince, and work on some of his most iconic records.


Canonball is a segment on Bullseye that gives us a chance to take a closer look at albums that should be considered classics, to find out what makes them great. This time, the writer Aaron Carnes tells us why Crab Rangoon by MU330 deserves to join the canon of great pop records. Aaron is a music journalist who just wrote In Defense of Ska, which, well, does what it says on the tin: It champions not just the critically acclaimed, punk-adjacent two-tone bands of the late 70s and 80s, or the pioneering Jamaican bands from the ’60s, but ska’s third wave as well. That means Reel Big Fish, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and more. Aaron tells Bullseye about Crab Rangoon by MU330, putting the album in the context of the entire third-wave movement, and explains why the album shows that ska music can be more complex and serious than you might think.


Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. A NBA Hall of Famer, six-time MVP, nineteen-time All-Star, and of course, the master of the skyhook shot. He excelled at basketball in high school, went on to play college ball at UCLA, and was drafted first overall in the NBA where he played for twenty-one seasons. Since retiring from basketball he’s written books, columns, and even worked as a writer for Veronica Mars. He’s also an outspoken advocate for social justice and his most recent project is the documentary film Fight the Power: The Movements That Changed America. We talk with the NBA legend about this new documentary, playing alongside Magic Johnson, and his roller disco days. Plus, he’ll also share why he was never able to play a game of Double Dutch as a kid.


Award-winning actor Antonio Banderas is probably one of the most versatile, charming and handsome actors out there today. You’ve probably seen him in “Zorro,” “Philadelphia,” “Desperado,” or maybe heard him in “Shrek” – he played the voice of Puss in Boots. His latest project is “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,” which comes out in theaters this week. When we last spoke with him, he had just starred in the Pedro Almodóvar directed film “Pain and Glory.” We revisit our 2019 conversation with the extraordinary actor to discuss “Pain and Glory.” Plus Banderas talks to Bullseye about his childhood in Spain, connecting with people through pain, and reuniting with director Pedro Almodóvar. He’ll also talk about how he learned the lines to “Mambo Kings,” before he became fluent in English.


Ryan O’Connell is the creator and star of the Netflix show Special. It’s a semi-autobiographical sitcom about Ryan’s own life – his experience as a gay man, and coming to terms with his identity as a disabled person. Ryan has cerebral palsy. It’s a congenital disorder that can affect someone’s movement, muscle tone, or posture. For Ryan, that means it manifests mainly as a limp. Season one of the show tackles Ryan coming to terms with his disability. In the latest season Ryan learns to become more accepting of himself. The show’s depiction of disability on screen is groundbreaking. It shows the intersection of disability and sexuality in a way that is rarely ever seen on screen. And it does it in a way that is funny, lighthearted and relatable. Public radio veteran Ray Suarez interviews Ryan on the latest episode of Bullseye. During this delightful conversation they talk about the making of Special and the dialogue the show has about sex and disability. Plus, Ryan chides Ray for just about everything – including Ray’s close reading of the show. This podcast interview contains frank conversations about sex that were not included in the radio version.


Writer and animator Elizabeth Ito on her new show “City of Ghosts” City of Ghosts, the Netflix show, is a bit hard to explain. For starters, it’s a children’s show. It’s animated in 3-D, and the characters — mostly children — look kind of like Wii avatars. It’s set in Los Angeles, and the backgrounds […]


“The Craziest Day of my Entire Career” is a segment that gives us the chance to talk with some of our favorite people about some truly unbelievable stories. Stepping up to the plate this time around is longtime standup comedian Chris Gethard. When we asked Chris about the craziest day of his entire career, he shared with us the jaw-dropping, completely true story of the time he got Diddy to come play at the UCB theater.


Rick Steves is probably best known as a public media travel expert. He’s mastered the art of travel in his public television programs: Rick Steves’ Europe and Travels in Europe with Rick Steves. Rick always finds ways to travel around Europe that are fun and practical. He’s got a cheerful, and charming presence on TV. Since around March last year… Rick hasn’t been able to travel like he used to. He’s instead taken to finding ways to bring Europe home to the US on his new show Rick Steves’ Monday Night Travel. In it, Rick hosts a weekly virtual happy hour on Zoom from his living room. Sometimes he cooks – other times he’ll read up on history or reflect back on fond memories of travels past. On the latest episode of Bullseye – a public media bonanza! Public radio’s Ray Suarez talks with public television’s Rick Steves. They’ll dive into Rick’s new show and his long time work on public TV. Rick Steves’ new special Europe Awaits premieres on public television stations across the country on June 7.