Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Tom Hanks is one of the defining actors of the last half-century. Today, we return to one of our favorite conversations with the beloved performer and writer.

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 Philadelphia and Forrest Gump (32:44).<...

Alanis Morissette’s 1995 chart-topping album “Jagged Little Pill” didn’t just describe a generation; it defined it. “I will take angry as the first note in the music,” she tells us. “I just think every woman I knew was pissed because they were paying attention. How do you not get pissed?”

On the heels of the record’s 30th anniversary, the seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter joins us this week to discuss her new LA residency, Butterfly with a Machete (4:42), growing up in Ottawa (10:20), and her turbulent years as a teenage Canadian pop star (11:27). Then, Morissette reflects on the nuances of...

In celebration of the Tony Awards, Sam’s conversation on ‘Fresh Air’ with the legendary Nathan Lane.

At the time of recording, Lane had just received a nomination for his starring role as Willy Loman in ‘Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.’ He’s a veteran of the stage – often in comedic and musical roles. But in the role of Loman, which he does eight times a week, he’s noticed something different in the audience. “There’s an old joke – my job is just to keep 1600 people from coughing. It's kind of true, but when you hear what we hear du...

Christopher Abbott is one of the finest actors of his generation. He joins us this week from the Winter Garden Theatre, where he plays Biff Loman in the latest Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman opposite Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf. 

Fresh off nine Tony nominations, we sit with Abbott to unpack is volatile and vulnerable portrayal of Biff (3:00), the renewed relevance of Arthur Miller’s critique of the American dream (6:00), and how he produces his intense performance, eight shows a week (8:30). Then, we walk through his upbringing in Greenwich, Connecticut (16:00), the working-class roots that shaped his...

Emmy-nominated writer and stand-up Josh Johnson is making comedy that’s timely and timeless.

On the heels of his new HBO special Symphony, we begin with his creative process of shaping new material week after week, balancing life on the road with writing and hosting duties at The Daily Show (0:46). Then, we talk to Josh about the issues of today: Trump’s 1.8 Billion Slush Fund (4:26), pandemic fears (8:18), AI in commencement speeches (9:34), and “nonviolence as a psyop” (16:27).

On the back-half, Josh describes how he transitions between writing topical and evergreen jokes (23:12), the comedic inspiration that came from his...

Michelle Obama is the former First Lady of the United States, a bestselling author of books like Becoming and The Look, the co-founder of Higher Ground, and now, a host alongside her older brother Craig Robinson on their hit podcast, IMO.

We start today’s episode in the present: her pivot to podcasting, her version of doomscrolling, and why she believes these times are “janky.” Then, she shares vivid memories of growing up on the South Side of Chicago, the work ethic modeled by her father, the ambition that propelled her from Whitney Young High School to Prince...

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.

This Mother’s Day, we revisit our conversation live from the Aspen Ideas Festival, where we discussed her early performances in the basement of her childhood home (15:45), a form...

For the better part of two decades, Emmy and Oscar-winning actor Riz Ahmed has moved seamlessly between worlds: indies, blockbusters, prestige TV, writing, rapping.

We discuss the long road to his new TV series Bait (3:45), what the character of James Bond symbolizes (6:00), and how the show connects to his own 80s upbringing in Wembley, England (18:40). Then, Riz describes how code-switching (inadvertently) led to acting (22:00), the childhood films he first made in his mind (26:25), the piece of advice from Idris Elba that changed his course (38:30), and how he broke out in Hollywood starring opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler (40:50).<...

Since the arrival of Beef in 2023, showrunner and creator Lee Sung Jin has been hailed as “the preeminent social satirist” working in television.

The Emmy-winning writer/director joins us around the anthology’s return (3:10) to discuss the source material behind this latest season (4:30), the rise of scammers (12:00), and the distinctions between Korean and American elites (18:00). Then, we move through Lee’s nomadic childhood (28:45), his years as an NBC page (38:28), and a decade of working inside writers’ rooms for shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Silicon Valley (43:45).

On the back-half, he speaks candidly about his ba...

On the heels of Beef S2, we're revisiting a favorite of ours with actor Oscar Isaac.

We begin with his 2023 Broadway debut in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (5:10), the play's timeless writing (6:55), and the legacy of the great Lorraine Hansberry (11:27). Then, Isaac reflects on growing up in the early ‘80s (12:47), his punk-rock salad days in high school (18:05) and then Juilliard (27:45), and the inspiration behind his breakout role in Inside Llewyn Davis (30:54).

On the back-half, we discuss grieving through Hamlet (36:54), a guiding piece of poetry from Jeremy Strong (39:49), the pre-show ritual he continues today (41:09), a formativ...

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 (6:38), DTF St. Louis (9:45), The Madison (11:25), and more (12:30...

To mark the beginning of Talk Easy’s 10-year anniversary, Sam called up Terry Gross.

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Then, we turn to their conversation from Philadelphia last fall. They discuss Terry’s half century 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 back-half, Gross reflects on forty-seven years of partnership with her late husband, jazz writer Francis Davis (1:03:24), thei...

 “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 week to discuss his new film, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apo...

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 views on Israel-Palestine, why the Governor opposed calls to def...

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 (32:00), and how he parlayed skating into his early work as a filmmaker (35:00).

On the back-half, Trier reflects on...

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 have Conan O’Brien as a scene partner (13:30). Then, Byrne reflects...

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 during the making of Wakanda Forever (5:36), the family history interwoven throughout the movie (9:00), and a fo...

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 potential for accountability in the shootings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti (23:00).

Soborof...

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 (14:05), and the life-changing afternoon that eventually inspired the track “Battlefield” (16:00). Then, Anderson reflects on discovering the drums in middle s...

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 (12:40). Then, Saunders reflects on a life-changing moment in Singapore (20:45), his inst...

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 television debut in the sitcom See Dad Run, how he found his “essence” as a p...

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), finding his way in his early 30s (22:50), and the thrill of collaborating with creator...

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 & Roll 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 (21:20). 

Ac...

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 her sense of self shifted after winning the Academy Award for Shakespeare in Love at just twenty-six (35:00).

On the ba...

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 in her 2022 memoir Finding Me (17:12). Then, we talk about Viola’s start as a performer (23:40), what...

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 stand-up (39:00), some candid thoughts on her community (47:00), how she landed her break writing fo...

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 back-half, we walk through how she crafted her performance in Sense and Sensibility (35:00), her Titanic audition (38:00), the scrutiny she endured in the film’s afte...

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 talk with Remnick from 2023, reflecting on the art that influenced him growing up in New Jersey (54:00) to his pathway to jour...

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 liberating teen years in Edinburgh (22:00), and how her longtime collaboration with writer-director Joachim Trier came to be—beginning with her s...

Following the success of The Worst Person in the World, writer-director Joachim Trier returns this fall with a candid family story in Sentimental 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 on set, rather than watching from a far-off monitor (32:00), and how he parlayed skating into his early work as...

Filmmaker Noah Baumbach has spent the past three decades transmuting his experiences into cinema, culminating in his latest film, Jay Kelly, his love letter to movies (and the memories they evoke).

We begin with the “quiet crisis” Baumbach found himself in on the heels of releasing White Noise (5:30), finding his way back to the page, with co-writer Emily Mortimer, to create Jay Kelly for George Clooney (10:20), the films that defined his early years (15:00), and the week that Mike Nichols’ production of Heartburn took over his Park Slope childhood home (22:45). Then, we walk through his early, funny work in Kic...

For your Thanksgiving inspiration: a favorite episode from Wiser Than Me, where Julia sits down with legendary cook and author Ina Garten.

Over the course of her 76 years, Ina has lived a few lives: she worked on nuclear policy at the White House, ran the beloved food store Barefoot Contessa, and went on to write best-selling cookbooks and host her own hit TV shows. But what’s always defined her isn’t just the food—it’s the way she brings people together around it. In this conversation, Ina reflects on how aging has reshaped her taste, the art...

This week, cook and writer Alison Roman published her fourth cookbook, Something from Nothing—a collection of over one hundred simple, timeless recipes inspired by the items you may already have in your pantry.

On the heels of its release, we return to our conversation with the culinary force. We discuss her dessert cookbook Sweet Enough (4:55), her early years as a restaurant pastry chef (12:24), and the chaotic conditions of working in the service industry (14:50). Then, Roman describes working at the experimental bakery Milk Bar in New York City (18:09), hosting cooking videos at Bon Appétit (22:40), and eventually work...

Today, we’re sharing an episode from Fail Better with David Duchovny, featuring filmmaker and writer Judd Apatow. Together, they trace the arc of Judd’s career, from Anchorman and Bridesmaids to Superbad and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, before diving into his new visual memoir, Comedy Nerd: A Lifelong Obsession in Stories and Pictures.

Throughout their conversation, Judd reflects on what’s driven him all these years—not the need to prove he’s funny, but the desire to understand if he has anything to say in the first place. It’s something David relates to as a writer...

Director Edgar Wright hit the ground running. For most filmmakers it takes many years (and many films) to find their voice, but Wright’s seemed to be fully formed upon arrival, with 2004’s Shaun of the Dead.

The beloved British filmmaker joins us this week to discuss his new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man (5:38), the inspiration he took from director Sam Raimi’s career path (17:30), and Wright’s moviegoing childhood in Somerset, England (20:24). Then, we dive into Wright’s own movies: the start of his collaboration with Simon Pegg (25:42), their breakout with Shaun of the D...

For more than three decades, author Salman Rushdie has lived under threat. In 1989, a fatwa forced him into hiding. In 2022, he was stabbed more than a dozen times while speaking on stage—and nearly killed.

Less than two years later, he recounted the attack (and remarkable recovery) in his memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder. Now, at seventy-eight, Rushdie returns to fiction with The Eleventh Hour, a collection of five interlinked stories that explore anger, peace, mortality, and legacy.

We begin with the inspirations behind the new quintet (5:52), Rushdie’s formati...

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.

To mark the arrival of his latest films, Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague, we return to our talk last summer with Linklater. We begin with Hit Man (6:36), his action-packed neo-noir (8:15) that also explores the malleability of identity (11:00). Then, Linklater reflects on his athletic career in college (17:20), the health scare that ushered in a period of creative exploration (18:48), and the renegade spiri...

Is it possible the rumors of the death of print magazines (and masculinity) have been greatly exaggerated?

 We sit this week with GQ's Global Editorial Director Will Welch to discuss the magazine’s 2025 Special Issue on American Masculinity (3:53), its revealing survey of nearly two thousand men across the US (5:00), the absence of “low-stakes mischief” in today’s surveillance age (9:40), the widespread obsession with Gen Z (12:00), and the “125 Rules for Modern Gentlemen” featured in the issue (17:30).

 In Act II, we turn to Welch’s own story: his Atlanta upbringing (21:00), the music of OutKast and D’Angelo that shaped him (2...

Gabriela Hearst is one of the rare figures in fashion with an unwavering commitment to sustainability.

 At the top, we discuss her luminous Spring Summer 2026 collection at Paris Fashion Week (4:08), her childhood herding cattle on a 17,000-acre ranch in Uruguay (6:55), and the gaucho traditions that shaped her philosophy around art-making (10:35). Then, Gabriela reflects on the manifestation practice that’s guided her since adolescence (17:15), how love and heartbreak fueled her creatively (21:18), and what she took from a detour into acting (21:50).

 On the back-half, Hearst talks about motherhood (24:30), founding her first label, Candela (31:00), and breaking free from the...

Rose Byrne has taken many forms on-screen. In Mary Bronstein’s new 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.

We begin by discussing the maternal madness at the heart of this new film from A24 (6:30), the long, collaborative road to shaping the character (10:00), and what it was like to have Conan O’Brien as a scene partner (13:30). Then, Byrne reflects on her debut performance in Dallas Doll (19:45), the plays and poems that inspired...