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PODCAST

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso is a weekly series of intimate conversations with artists, activists, and politicians. Where people sound like people. Hosted by Sam Fragoso. New episodes every Sunday.

society & culture film interviews

All Episodes

85:27

Author Vinson Cunningham on our ‘Great Expectations’...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/08/11

Vinson Cunningham has been a staff writer at The New Yorker for the past eight years, covering theater, television, and politics. He joins us this week to unpack his personal debut novel Great Expectations. At the top, we discuss the state of the US election (5:00), the emergence of the new Democratic ticket in Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (10:00), and the fickleness of internet hype (15:00). Then, Cunningham explains how his new book dovetails with his time working on Barack

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68:23

The Vision of Novelist Zadie Smith (‘The Fraud’)

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/08/04

Last fall, Zadie Smith published her prescient historical novel The Fraud. We return to our conversation with the beloved author this week, on the heels of our latest sit-down with writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner. At the top, Smith details her most recent book (7:48), her instinctive writing process (13:37), and the role of projection in her work (20:08). Then, Zadie reflects on her upbringing in North West London (23:48), the art that influenced her growing up (26:42), and the media circus that

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71:19

Writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner on Her ‘Long Island...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/07/28

Taffy Brodesser-Akner (“Fleishman Is in Trouble”) is a staff writer at The New York Times, where she covers everything from The Eras Tour to Tom Hanks. She joins us today to unpack her new book Long Island Compromise (7:30), its central questions about wealth, trauma, and inheritance (11:58), and the real-life crime that inspired the story (12:52). Then, we dive into the process of writing a novel (15:17), a formative passage from the book (24:31), and Brodesser-Akner's memories of growing up in

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57:51

Tom Hanks: A Retrospective

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/07/24

Today, we're revisiting our special conversation with actor Tom Hanks. We begin by discussing his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece (5:58), his nomadic upbringing across California (13:28), and the Stanley Kubrick film that made him want to be an artist (19:40). Then, we talk about his early work at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival (24:00) and moving to Los Angeles for his television debut in Bosom Buddies (28:30), before pivoting to dramatic roles in films like

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76:52

Talk Easy Presents Author Isabel Allende on ‘Wiser...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/07/21

This week, on the heels of our live show with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, we’re presenting a special conversation from her podcast Wiser Than Me. The episode features award-winning author Isabel Allende (The Wind Knows My Name). They discuss motherhood, falling in love again in her seventies, an influential piece of advice by writer Elizabeth Gilbert, and how Allende remains present in her life and work. Find more episodes of Wiser Than Me through Lemonada Media. To hear Julia on Talk Easy, listen here

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55:26

Live from Aspen with Performer Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/07/14

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld, Veep) is a national treasure with more primetime Emmys than any performer in the history of television. Then there’s her latest decade in film: two collaborations with Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said and You Hurt My Feelings) along with a devastating turn in the heart-rending fairytale from A24, Tuesday. Her range is unparalleled, including in the role of host on her excellent, award-winning podcast, Wiser Than Me from Lemonada. We sat with Julia as part of this year’s

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53:10

Actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach (‘The Bear’) Returns to the...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/07/07

On the heels of his first Emmy win, actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach joins us on the show to unpack the return of The Bear. At the top, we dive into the making of the hit series (9:22), a powerful scene with co-star Jeremy Allen White (11:20), and how Moss-Bachrach manages to keep adding layers to his portrayal of Cousin Richie (14:26). Then, he describes the mounting pressures around this new season (19:23), the day he knew he wanted to be an actor in Williamstown, Massachusetts (27:35), and the early days

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71:47

A Post-Debate Talk with Democratic Strategist James...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/06/30

“You’re never gonna forget where you were last night at 7:30,” says James Carville. “It has the potential to be that consequential.” Carville is regarded as one the most influential (and animated) operators in the Democratic Party. He came to prominence as the chief architect behind Clinton’s 1992 Presidential campaign, and has remained one of the most incisive political analysts in the country. He joins us this week from the Aspen Ideas Festival, the day after the first presidential debate

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63:32

How Playwright Annie Baker Made the Movie of the Summer

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/06/23

Beloved playwright Annie Baker won the Pulitzer for Drama in 2014 for her play, The Flick. A decade later, she’s releasing her directorial debut, Janet Planet, through A24. We begin by talking about her striking first feature (7:55): the Western Massachusetts origins of the project (11:00), the mother-daughter love story at its center (13:24), how Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain” shaped Baker’s understanding of time (22:55), and why she’s routinely sidestepped the slippery-slope of “confessional”

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73:01

A Father’s Day Special (with Ethan Hawke)

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/06/16

This Father's Day, we're revisiting our special talk with actor Ethan Hawke.After a phone call with Dad Fragoso (2:00), we dive into the episode. At the top, Hawke unpacks his docuseries The Last Movie Stars (9:24), describing his introduction to Paul Newman through Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (12:13). Then, he reflects on his personal history: growing up with his mother on the east coast (16:43), his on-screen debut at fifteen in Explorers with River Phoenix (20:04), the enduring legacy of

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80:06

Director Richard Linklater’s Moments in Time

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/06/09

Director Richard Linklater has made a career out of telling personal stories with universal appeal. Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, the Before trilogy, Boyhood. No matter the genre or form, Linklater's human touch remains. He joins us this week around the release of his latest film, Hit Man (7:36), an action-packed neo-noir (9:15) that also explores the malleability of identity (12:00). Then, Linklater reflects on his athletic career in college (18:20), the health scare that ushered in a period of

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61:35

Maya Hawke (‘Stranger Things’) Writes through Chaos

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/06/02

On the heels of her breakout role in Stranger Things, Maya Hawke has gone her own way as an artist— both as an actor and singer-songwriter. That’s especially true on her striking new record, Chaos Angel. We begin our conversation by diving into this third record of hers (5:37), the ‘emotional pendulum’ that guided her creative process (9:15), and how director Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia inspired the first track (16:12). Then, Maya discusses a piece by novelist Flannery O’Connor (21:20) that

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60:23

Comedian Ilana Glazer (‘Broad City’) is Mothering

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/05/26

This week we’re joined by comedian and actor Ilana Glazer. At the top, Glazer reflects on her recent tour across the country (4:55), portraying a new mother in Babes while having her first child (8:30), and the film’s timely politics around reproductive rights (10:28). Then, we dive into the creation of Broad City with collaborator Abbi Jacobson (16:06), how the show ascended to five seasons on Comedy Central with the support of Amy Poehler (22:40), and their maternal approach to creating the

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75:51

A Love Letter to Comedy with Paul W. Downs and Lucia...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/05/19

Hacks co-creators Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello, who are also husband and wife, have been performing and writing together for over a decade. Today, we discuss the road to season three of their hit HBO series. At the top, they unpack the makings of their creative partnership (8:20), how they chronicled the evolving state of comedy in Hacks (14:38), and Jerry Seinfeld’s recent comments about the medium (20:05). Then, we walk through Paul and Lucia’s origin stories (33:45), their meeting in an improv

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65:29

A Mother’s Day Special with Pamela Adlon (‘Better...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/05/12

This Mother’s Day, our very special episode with actor, writer, and director Pamela Adlon. We discuss her new movie Babes (7:27), directing a comedy about reproductive rights in 2024 (12:38), and her creative upbringing between New York City and Los Angeles (17:55). Then, we dive into her early roles as a child actor, including appearances on The Facts of Life and The Redd Foxx Show (19:06), her foray into voice acting (23:15), and the MTV Madonna music video contest that made her want to become a

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85:00

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s Self-Portrait

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/05/05

In just under a decade, comedian, writer, and actor Jerrod Carmichael has had a remarkably varied career. On the heels of his Emmy-winning HBO special Rothaniel, he embarked on a personal new project: Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show.Carmichael joins us today to discuss the origin of the program (6:30), his early days making his NBC sitcom (10:57), and why he decided to broadcast a deeply intimate conversation on the reality show (13:00). Then, he unpacks his view of the camera as a vessel for

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76:09

Nick Offerman (‘Civil War’) Brings a Message of Hope

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/04/28

Today, actor and author Nick Offerman returns to the show! We call him up to unpack his latest role as a fictional president in Alex Garland’s Civil War (2:30), the function of the film’s politics (9:30), and a powerful poem by Wendell Berry (26:15). Then, we turn to Offerman’s personal journey, beginning with his recent book Where the Deer and the Antelope Play (32:48), which was inspired by growing up in rural Minooka, Illinois (33:30) and his experiences with the late Sam Shepard at Steppenwolf

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62:10

Poet Rupi Kaur: 10 Years of 'Milk and Honey'

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/04/21

Today, in honor of National Poetry Month, we’re returning to our conversation with Rupi Kaur. Her debut collection, milk and honey, turns 10 this year.At the top of our conversation, Kaur reflects on her international tour (4:44), her childhood in Canada (13:05), how she processes trauma through writing (22:13), her college photo series on menstruation that went viral (23:33), and the self-published poetry collection (milk and honey) that followed (29:20). In the aftermath of this unexpected

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74:58

The Stories of Actor Jeff Daniels

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/04/14

Actor Jeff Daniels is always writing. Plays, songs, a script or two. Even in interviews you get the sense the Michigan native is trying to relay the stories of his life in a way he’d find compelling as a reader, or listener. Bystander — as a viewer. He joins us this week around the latest chapter of his crime series American Rust (12:30), reprising his role as Police Chief Del Harris. It’s a performance inspired by his midwestern upbringing in Chelsea, Michigan (16:06) and the formative teachings

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62:04

Actor and Director Dev Patel is a Leading Man

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2024/04/07

Actor Dev Patel has pursued interesting, complex roles in Hollywood since his arrival in Slumdog Millionaire fifteen years ago. He joins us today to discuss Monkey Man, his directorial debut and most personal project to date. At the top, we walk through the Hindu mythology that inspired the film (12:30), his decade-long fight to get the project greenlit (16:17), and the conditions of filming on an island during the pandemic (18:08). Then, Dev describes his intense creative process (27:02), how he

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