Bullseye With Jesse Thorn

Corb Lund is a country and western musician from Alberta, Canada. He's been recording music since the nineties and just released a new record called El Viejo. Like his earlier work, it's clever, plain spoken and beautifully produced.When Jesse first talked to Lund, back in 2010, it was at a folk festival up in Calgary – his hometown. Now, he joins us in the studio with his guitar to talk about the new album and play a few songs.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Catherine Opie's photographs have been shown in museums all over the world. Her career spans nearly four decades. Breathtaking photographs of queer and fetish communities, street photography in Los Angeles, portraits of surfers, her friends and families. She joins us to talk about her latest exhibit — a retrospective at Regen Projects. Plus, she tells us about the time she made her own dark room in her childhood bathroom, and also some of the incredible historical items she collects.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sacha Jenkins has chronicled hip-hop culture for decades now. He is one of the founders of the legendary magazine Ego Trip and has produced documentaries on Wu-Tang Clan and Cypress Hill. His new documentary, All Up In The Biz, highlights the life and rhymes of the late rapper Biz Markie, known for his 1989 hit "Just A Friend." Sacha Jenkins sits down with us to talk about Markie's legacy and unconventional approach to life and music.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ten years ago Seth Meyers hosted the NBC show Late Night for the first time. Taking on a gig like that might seem a bit daunting, but Seth was up for the challenge. He's since gone on to interview hundreds of guests, create thousands of regular segments and navigate a pandemic-induced lockdown. Seth Meyers joins us on the show to talk about all things Late Night. He shares what ideas he had when first starting the show, what he loves about hosting it, how it's evolved over the years and much more.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Chloë Sevigny is known for a lot of things in showbiz – but she is perhaps best known for being cool. She has an impeccable fashion sense and makes waves in that world. She's an Oscar nominated actor for her role in Boys Don't Cry. An indie darling in films like The Last Days of Disco and Broken Flowers. Chloë talks with Jesse about how she kept it cool after all these years. We'll also geek out with Chloë about her making own clothes.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Meshell Ndegeocello has made a career as a bassist, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. She's been performing professionally for over thirty years now and has recorded albums spanning folk, rap, rock, blues, you name it. Just a few weeks ago she earned a Grammy for her album The Omnichord Real Book. When we had Meshell on the show back in 2009, she'd recently released her album The World Has Made Me The Man of My Dreams. She talked with us about the album, coming up in DC's go-go scene, imagining the sound of the bass and more.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Nancy comic strip is one of the most iconic and influential strips out there. It's a comic snob's favorite, but you also don't have to be a super fan to love it. Cartoonist Bill Griffith is a comic nerd who loves Nancy. Last year he released a graphic biography about the creator of Nancy. It's called Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller. It's a beautiful appreciation of Bushmiller's work. Bill Griffith joins the show to talk about the book and the long-lasting impact that Nancy has had on comics.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We must break him! Dolph Lundgren's performance in Rocky IV features two of the most memorable pieces of dialogue in the storied franchise. Dolph stops by to chat about his time dating Grace Jones, the Rocky audition that almost never happened and his new movie: Wanted Man.

Bob Mortimer is a comic and author, renowned for his work in the British comedy double act Vic and Bob. These days, Mortimer is also a novelist. We talk with Mortimer about his mystery novel The Clementine Complex, his debut in the U.S., loosely based on Mortimer's time as a lawyer.

Trace Lysette is an actor, rapper and former drag performer. Last year, she had her first lead role in a film called Monica. It is a wonderful, quiet, haunting drama about a trans woman caring for her estranged mother who is terminally ill. We talk with Trace about her work in the film and about how her years as a drag performer helped her find her gender identity. Plus, we also take a listen to a few of her rap tracks.

Jo Firestone's comedy special Good Timing is the culmination of months of work from her and a group of senior citizens who wanted to learn stand-up comedy. Jo joins us to talk about the special, and what she learned from her students. She also talks about researching her role as a doomsday prepper on one of our favorite TV shows: Joe Pera Talks With You. A version of this interview originally aired in October of 2021.

Prodigy formed Mobb Deep alongside his partner Havoc when they were teens. Together the duo basically started gangster rap for the East Coast. When he joined the show back in 2011, Prodigy had just written a biography called My Infamous Life. He talked with us about the book and also his lifelong battle with sickle cell anemia. In 2017, he was hospitalized for his anemia and died while in care. Late last year, the FDA approved a new therapy to treat and almost eliminate symptoms of sickle cell disease. Had it been available to Prodigy when he was alive, there's a good chance he'd still be here today.

Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (now X) aren't what they used to be. Some of those social media platforms have changed beyond recognition, many others have just become harder to use. In 2022, Cory Doctorow put a word to it: ens**tification. Cory joins us to talk about his book The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation, and what we can do when platforms change. Plus, how the internet can become a better, more rewarding place.

Craig Robinson is likely in some of your favorite shows. The Office. Pineapple Express. And of course, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. These days, he's got a series of his own. It's called Killing It. On Bullseye, Robinson stops by to chat about the show's second season. We ask him about his character Craig and whether or not he's a fool for chasing the American Dream. Plus, Robinson gets real about his own career and whether or not he thinks he's made it.

Benny Safdie has done work on both sides of the camera. He's starred in movies like Oppenheimer and co-written and directed films like Uncut Gems. Recently, he co-created and starred in a new series called The Curse. It's a very intense show that runs from stomach-flipping cringe to stomach-flipping actual genuine terror. Benny joins us to talk about The Curse and how it all came together. Plus, we get into his time as a stand-up comedian.

Paul Dooley is a legend of showbiz. He's played some iconic dads in films like Sixteen Candles, Runaway Bride and Breaking Away. His book Movie Dad: Finding Myself and My Family, On-Screen and Off is about his seven decades in the business. Paul joins us to talk about his memoir and dives into his lengthy career including some more unusual gigs. He also gets into what it was like to portray dads on the big screen while his own family was falling apart.

Sonia Manzano is a legend of kids TV. She played Maria on Sesame Street for four decades and changed what children's media looked like. In 2021, she premiered a children's cartoon of her own called Alma's Way. On Bullseye, we're looking back at our conversation with Sonia: she talked with us about the show's first season and her childhood in the Bronx. Plus, what it's like when she meets fans in real life. Turns out: lots of tears!

Norman Lear died last month. He was 101. He was a writer and showrunner for some of the biggest, most influential sitcoms of all time. He's responsible for shows like Sanford and Son, All in the Family, The Jeffersons and many more. When Lear was on Bullseye back in 2016, he was the subject of a PBS American Masters film — Norman Lear: Another Version of You. He talked with us about his childhood, working on so many sitcoms, and writing for an all Black cast.

Each year, Bullseye looks back on the year in stand-up comedy by presenting listeners with an annual end of year stand-up comedy showcase! The Bullseye team combed through dozens and dozens of albums to bring you some of the best comedy of 2023. That includes stand-up from: Maria Bamford, Marc Maron, Hari Kondabolu, John Mulaney, Sasheer Zamata and more!

It's the Bullseye Holiday Special! We've got Lil Rel Howery on what it was like to play Santa Claus in Dashing Through the Snow. Plus: Gregg Turkington, of Neil Hamburger fame on the "holiday" song that changed his life. By the Bee Gees, of all bands. Plus, director Henry Selick on the legacy of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Is it a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie? Listen to find out!