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

The Craziest Day of My Entire Career is a segment that gives us the chance to talk with some of our favorite people about the weirdest workday they have experienced so far. This time around, we’re joined by Marc Summers. He has built a remarkable career as a television host. Rarely will you find a person who has hosted as many TV shows as Marc Summers. When we asked Marc to tell us about the craziest day of his entire career he told us about the day he finally got the call to go on The Tonight Show. The other guest was Burt Reynolds. Things didn’t go as planned. You can find his new show Marc Summers Unwraps wherever you get your podcasts.


Marc Maron has been performing stand-up comedy for decades. He always figured that would be his legacy. Until he started the mother of all podcasts: WTF with Marc Maron. The podcast came out of a very uncertain time in Marc’s life as a comedian: he’d work the road, get a TV gig now and then. But as he got closer to middle age, he realized that lifestyle wasn’t sustainable. So, he started making WTF. The success came shortly after, but Maron didn’t leave stand-up behind. Earlier this year, he released a new comedy special on HBO called From Bleak to Dark where he talks about the loss of his partner, Lynn Shelton. It’s some of his best work yet. This week on Bullseye, Marc Maron reminisces on his life as a struggling comic and talks about his tremendous success as a podcast host. Plus, what it was like to get behind a mic after losing one of the most important people in his life.


The Craziest Day of My Entire Career is a segment where we invite guests from the entertainment industry to tell us about a single day where things went wildly off the rails. Sharing their story with us this week is Margaret Cho. She’s an actress, an activist, and a musician. She’s had multiple Grammy and Emmy nominations for her comedy and acting, and has been touring to sold-out crowds since 1999. Her one-woman show I’m the One That I Want was turned into a best-selling book and feature film. But back in the early stages of her career? She had to take whatever gigs she could get. When we asked Margaret about the craziest day of her career, she took us back to the start of her standup career. The time she did three shows, in three states, in one day.


This week, comedy legend Cheech Marin! He’s one-half of the comedy duo Cheech and Chong. But Cheech is more than just a stoner icon. He was in the Lion King. He’s starred in more than 100 episodes of Nash Bridges. And if you’re a Spy Kids fan, you know him as “Uncle” Felix. Cheech is also well known in the art world. He has a huge collection of Chicano art that he’s been steadily building since the ’80s. This week on Bullseye, we get into Cheech’s long and eventful career as an actor. He throws us back to when he moved to Canada when he first met Tommy Chong. Plus, he talks about his new museum The Cheech in Riverside, California.


Christina Ricci got her first paid acting gig when she was ten. Within a couple of years, Christina was everywhere: CasperNow and Then, and of course, The Addams Family. She was one of the biggest child stars of the 90s. Then, an indie film legend in films like Fear and Loathing in Las VegasThe Ice Storm, and Buffalo 66. These days, Christina Ricci is the Emmy-nominated star of the Showtime drama Yellowjackets. Correspondent Jordan Crucciola—host of the Maximum Fun podcast Feeling Seen—geeks out with Christina about all things Yellowjackets. Plus, they talk about why taking on comedic roles makes her deeply uncomfortable – even though she’s played plenty of great comedic roles. A version of this interview originally aired in in August of 2022.


Eugene Levy is a legend in the comedy world. Hailing from Toronto, he first got his start in improv comedy and was a founding member of SCTV – the pioneering sketch comedy show that helped launch the careers of Rick Moranis, Catherine O’Hara, John Candy and more. He became a household name after appearing as Noah Levenstein in the popular American Pie franchise. In 2015, he reunited with frequent co-star Catherine O’Hara in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek. Eugene is back on the small screen, most recently hosting the documentary-style travel series The Reluctant Traveler. This week, we’re revisiting our conversation with Eugene. When Eugene joined us he talked about what it was like working with his son on their hit show Schitt’s Creek, his involvement of the American Pie movies and so much more.


Little Brother is a rap group from North Carolina. The three original members – Phonte, Big Pooh and 9th Wonder – were living in their college dorms when they decided to make music together. They hit open mics and played local shows, but they never expected a rags-to-riches story. After uploading a few songs to a hip-hop message board called Okayplayer, they released their debut LP, The Listening. By indie-label standards, it was a hit. They signed to a major label, but their second album didn’t perform as well as they would’ve liked. After being dropped by their label, 9th Wonder left the group and Little Brother disbanded shortly after. In 2019, Phonte and Big Pooh reunited as Little Brother and dropped their album May the Lord Watch. Now, they’re on tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album. They also have a documentary in the works. This week on Bullseye, Phonte and Big Pooh join us to reflect on their long and eventful career as Little Brother.


Party Down is a show with a simple premise. It’s about a group of actors, writers and creative types who work at a catering company called Party Down. Most of the catering employees have big dreams, but to pay the bills they’re sort of stuck at the company. To make matters worse, the employees often get involved into some truly absurd and wacky situations. The first two seasons of the show ran more than 10 years ago, but the show is back for a third season. On the latest episode of Bullseye, we’re joined by two of the co-creators of Party Down, Rob Thomas and John Enbom. They join us to talk about the latest season of the show, and what it was like to revisit the characters after all these years. Plus, they get into why they believed so deeply in the show even when several network executives told them it would never work.


Bonnie Raitt is a legend. Early in her career, she decided she’d only create songs she loved, on her own terms, and her career longevity is proof of that gifted precision. Last year, Bonnie released her 18th full-length studio album, Just Like That. Now in her 70’s, Bonnie has won over a dozen Grammys – most recently she earned a Grammy for the title track off her latest album. To celebrate her recent Grammy win we’re revisiting our conversation with Bonnie. Correspondent Ray Suarez talked with Bonnie about the album, coming into her own as an artist and so much more.