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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

01:26:37

Are We Witnessing Podcaster Chris Ryan’s Apex Mountain?

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/04/12

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. On the heels of CR month coming to a close on The Rewatchables, we’re joined this week by The Ringer’s beloved editorial director, Chris Ryan.He’s been hailed as the Shohei Ohtani of podcasting, the basketball bard of Bob & Barbara's bar, the face of The Ringer, the Joe Rogan of the left, and perhaps most aptly, by Bill Simmons himself, “the Prince of Philadelphia.” We begin with a roundup of today’s television, featuring The Pitt

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01:46:20

Talk Easy Turns 10 (with Terry Gross)

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/04/05

To mark the beginning of Talk Easy’s 10-year anniversary, Sam called up Terry Gross.Then, we turn to their conversation from Philadelphia last fall. They discuss Terry’s half decade hosting Fresh Air (8:00), early memories of writing (13:00), and her improbable road to public radio (29:38). Terry walks us through the formative years of Fresh Air (33:37) and its seminal conversations with Kurt Vonnegut (40:21), John Updike (46:30), Monica Lewinsky (49:30), Joan Didion (1:00:55), and more. On the

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01:24:09

The AI Conversation We Need to Have (with Tristan...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/03/29

“I got calls from people inside of some of the AI labs,” says technology ethicist Tristan Harris. “And it felt like getting a call from Robert Oppenheimer before the atomic bomb.” Harris (a former Google insider and AI expert) has spent more than a decade sounding the alarm about the effects of technology on our wellbeing. He’s currently the co-founder of Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to align technology with humanity’s best interests. He joins us this

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01:27:41

Is Governor Josh Shapiro the Future of America?

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/03/22

A year after the attack on the Governor’s residence, Josh Shapiro says he and his family are “not afraid.” Their spirit, not broken but strengthened by the firebombing.Watch this conversation on YouTube We begin with the anniversary of the arson attack, his Pennsylvania upbringing as depicted in Where We Keep the Light, his childhood dream to become an NBA player, and how he pulled a Lloyd Dobler to win back his high school sweetheart and future wife, Lori. Then, we unpack the evolution of his

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01:04:32

Oscar Sunday with Filmmaker Joachim Trier...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/03/15

To celebrate Oscar Sunday, we return to our talk with writer-director Joachim Trier!We begin with guiding words from writer Philip Roth (7:20), how Trier arrived at his intimate new film Sentimental Value (8:40), and why he was drawn to father-daughter dynamics (his own, and others) in making this new project (10:00). Then, we talk about Joachim’s early observations growing up in Norway (25:00), why he prefers to be present with performers on set, rather than watching from a far-off monitor

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00:50:37

Play It Again: Actor Rose Byrne is a Woman on the Verge

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/03/08

Rose Byrne has taken many forms on-screen. In Mary Bronstein’s film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, she delivers a career-defining performance as a Long Island therapist and mother slowly unraveling under the weight of her child’s mysterious illness.Watch our conversation on YouTube. In the lead-up to Oscar Sunday, we return to our talk with Byrne, discussing the maternal madness at the heart of this film (6:30), the long, collaborative road to shaping the character (10:00), and what it was like to

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00:54:01

Ryan Coogler Made the Movie of the Year. Now He’s...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/03/01

When it comes to the theatrical experience, director Ryan Coogler is in rarified air these days. From Creed to Black Panther to Wakanda Forever, his movies arrive as seismic commercial and cultural events. His latest, Sinners, was no exception when it came out in IMAX last spring. And with 16 Oscar nominations, Coogler’s blues-steeped vampire epic has now become the most-nominated film in Academy history. Watch this conversation on YouTube. Together, we trace how the seeds of Sinners were planted

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01:16:49

State of the Union with Journalist Jacob Soboroff

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/02/22

Journalist and author Jacob Soboroff (MS Now) has spent the better part of a decade reporting from inside America’s fractured immigration system. He joins us this week, fresh off the plane from Minneapolis, where he’s been on the ground covering the ICE raids that continue to sweep across the city (and the nation).We discuss the evolving operations (3:00) and protests on the ground (6:00), the gulf between conservative media’s portrayals of unrest and the reality he’s witnessed (14:00), and the

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01:24:22

The Makings of Musician Anderson .Paak

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/02/15

Musician Anderson .Paak has always marched to the beat of his own drum. Whether he’s on the church circuit in Oxnard, center stage at the Grammys, or as one half of groups like NxWorries and Silk Sonic, Anderson is joyfully, defiantly, himself.Watch this conversation on YouTube. The versatile singer-songwriter joins us this week to discuss his directorial debut, K-Pops! (3:31), the music—Frankie Beverly & Maze, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder—that shaped his upbringing in Oxnard, CA

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01:22:43

This Is America with George Saunders

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/02/08

George Saunders has long been hailed as one of the great short story writers of our time. Of his 1996 debut CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, Zadie Smith called Saunders “a prophecy and the voice of the American berserk.” Thirty years later, Saunders is still turning to the page in search of answers.Watch this conversation on YouTube. We sit today to discuss his latest novel, Vigil (6:25), why he felt drawn to this story circling the afterlife (9:55), and his own brush with death in the early 2000s

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00:49:19

Play It Again: Ramy Youssef Tells a Muslim American...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/02/01

Today, we revisit our 2023 conversation with performer and director Ramy Youssef, one of the singular voices of the past decade. We begin with his reflections on Ramadan, before diving into the third season of his Hulu show Ramy and the questions that shaped it. Then, we walk through his coming of age as a first-generation Egyptian-American Muslim in New Jersey, his early forays into film, and the sketch inspired by a life-altering Bell’s palsy diagnosis. On the back-half, we discuss Youssef's

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01:06:07

Is Will Arnett Nailing This Interview?

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/01/25

From BoJack to Batman, Will Arnett has made a name for himself with his signature baritone voice. This week the beloved ‘SmartLess’ co-host joins us to talk easy.Watch this conversation on YouTube. We begin with his latest role in Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On? (6:35), the real-life story that inspired the personal project (10:53), and how making it reconnected Arnett to his early years as a young, jobbing actor in New York City (13:24). Then, we discuss Arnett’s first voiceover gigs (18:16),

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01:20:20

This is Patti Smith

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/01/18

Patti Smith has been hailed as the Godmother of Punk, the people’s poet, a defining voice of her generation. She’s been inducted into the Rock-N-Hall of Fame. She won a National Book Award for her memoir, Just Kids. Last fall, she published her most intimate book yet: Bread of Angels.Act I: In Sickness and In Health We discuss Patti’s early creative awakenings in South Jersey (7:50), discovering Bob Dylan at sixteen (18:00), and the summer job that inspired her infamous poem, Piss Factory

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01:08:21

The Return of Gwyneth Paltrow (‘Marty Supreme’)

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/01/11

Gwyneth Paltrow, now and forever, reigns supreme. Watch this conversation on YouTube. We discuss her return to acting in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme (7:45), the personal parallels that shaped her portrayal of 1930s movie star Kay Stone (8:00), and memories of her early years at the Williamstown Theatre Festival (12:14). Then, Paltrow reflects on the “fast-moving train” that followed her breakout roles in Se7en, Hard Eight, and Emma (30:05), the sexism she encountered in Hollywood (32:35), and how

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01:10:04

Viola Davis: What If We’re Enough?

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2026/01/04

Before Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder) became an EGOT-winning actor, she was an observer. Her work takes the human experience and transmutes it, offering a mirror and a window into ourselves.You can watch this conversation on YouTube. As we (gradually) move into 2026, we revisit our sit-down with Davis. We unpack her liberating projects in The Woman King (4:24) and G20 (4:50), the formative years she spent growing up in Rhode Island (13:52), and how she captured those familial memories

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01:15:19

Is Comedian Robby Hoffman the Last American Dream?

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2025/12/28

We’re closing out 2025 with the person who made us laugh the most this year: comedian Robby Hoffman.[You can watch this conversation on YouTube.] At the top, we unpack the joys of her new Netflix special Wake Up (4:00), her views on Sunday football (9:00), and the state of masculinity (15:00). Then, Robby walks us through her Orthodox upbringing (19:00), leaving America for Canada (21:00), and how she started to find herself in high school (32:00). On the back-half, we talk her first night doing

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01:18:11

Kate Winslet Is Home for the Holidays

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2025/12/21

For over thirty years, Kate Winslet has been one of the most beloved performers on screen.We discuss her directorial debut in Goodbye June (5:00), the loss that inspired this personal screenplay (10:00), and how her experiences in Hollywood shaped her approach to directing (20:00). Then, Winslet reflects on her vivid upbringing in Reading, England (23:00), landing her breakout role in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures (30:00), and the encouragement of her artistic father (33:00). On the

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98:22

The New Yorker at 100 (with David Remnick)

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2025/12/14

In the first 100 years of The New Yorker, only five have edited the magazine. Since 1998, it’s been David Remnick at the helm, shepherding the publication into the 21st century. We discuss Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win in New York City (3:24), the new documentary, The New Yorker at 100, chronicling the magazine’s evolution (11:00), how comedian Jon Stewart understands the rising influence of the podcast Manosphere (26:20), and the future of media (47:00). Then, we turn to our first

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55:24

Renate Reinsve Delivers the Performance of the Year...

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2025/12/07

What happens when a house is not a home? It's the question pulsating at the heart of the new film,Sentimental Value,and one that actor Renate Reinsve reckons with in the lead role of Nora. We discuss her process connecting the ‘puzzle’ of each character (7:00), how she balances dark and light themes in this new film (8:20), and her creative childhood in Norway (12:00). Then, Renate describes how David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive impacted her as a young performer (20:20), her

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63:23

Filmmaker Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental’ Family Affair

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso ·

2025/11/30

Following the success of The Worst Person in the World, writer-director Joachim Trier returns this fall with a candid family story inSentimental Value. We begin with the guiding words from writer Philip Roth (7:20), how Trier arrived at this intimate new film (8:40), and why he was drawn to father-daughter dynamics (his own, and others) in making this new project (10:00). Then, we talk about Joachim’s early observations growing up in Norway (25:00), why he prefers to be present with performers

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