Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Jason Sudeikis became a household name during his decade-long run on Saturday Night Live. Then, came his Emmy-winning turn in Ted Lasso.

On the heels of the beloved series’ Season 4 finale, we discuss this latest chapter (3:30), writing new characters (6:37), and what shaped Sudeikis’ sense of humor growing up in Kansas (9:50). Then, we talk about his years on the basketball court (12:30), lessons in show business from h...

“The Trump administration was betting that if they broke the law fast enough,” writes Michael Lewis, “the law would never catch up to them.”

On the heels of his new book, Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State, the bestselling author of Moneyball and The Big Short returns to the show. We discuss how watching Trump’s 2017 inauguration inspired The Fifth Risk, (4:30), the rise of DOGE (9:30), and Elon Musk&rs...

Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits, Paula) is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, alternating gracefully between the political and personal on the page for over forty years. 

We sat with Allende in Los Angeles for a special evening presented by How To Academy, beginning with her upbringing in Chile (4:45), the roots of her feminism (8:45), and her early pieces as a journalist at Paula magazine (13:15). Then,...

Christiane Amanpour is the host of CNN's award-winning flagship global program “Amanpour,” where she’s been one of the network's most trusted voices on foreign affairs since 1983. She joins us this week from New York City amid the UN General Assembly and President Trump’s continued attacks on the press.

We begin with the White House ban (3:00), the President's challenges to the First Amendment (4:18), and the...

For eight years, Ben Rhodes worked as a speechwriter and Deputy National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama. A decade after leaving the White House, Rhodes has become increasingly critical of the foreign policy establishment he once worked within.

We begin with his recent essayLet the Illusions Die(2:48), Trump’s war in Iran (6:35), and what Rhodes took away from the Obama administration’s wars and interventions ...

 “I get calls from people inside of some of the AI labs,” says technology ethicist Tristan Harris. “And it feels 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 nonprofi...

These days Nick Offerman appears to be one of the few remaining men who enjoys “making things rather than destroying things.” Career-best performances, best-selling books, a wooden, cedar-strip canoe built out of his Los Angeles Offerman Woodshop. Nick does what he can (and then some).

He joins us this week on the heels of his double Emmy nominations to talk through his emotionally complex performance in Margo’s Go...

Rest in peace to writer and activist Gloria Steinem.

The trajectory of Steinem’s life and work was unparalleled. Her cultural and political impact, incalculable. We sat to discuss the life-altering procedure she had completed at age 22, why she helped create the women's liberation movement alongside Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Flo Kennedy, and how she learned to become angry—on her own behalf—about race and gender bi...

With the fall movie season upon us, who better to sit with than The Big Picture co-hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins?

We begin with a post-vacation check-in (2:38), the god-given gifts of Ben Affleck and Jacob Elordi (6:19), and the latest film from “influencer” Ridley Scott (7:05).

Then we move on to our fall movie preview/draft, highlighting Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid (19:25), Julianne Moore in The Debut (21...

From “The Good Place” and “Barry” to “A League of Their Own” and “The Five-Star Weekend,” D’Arcy Carden has become one of the most recognizable and beloved performers on television.

We sit to discuss her Bay Area upbringing (6:33), moving to New York to pursue acting (16:05), and finding her community in long-form improv at UCB (21:08). Then, she reflects on the day jobs that kep...

Novelist Colson Whitehead is one of only a handful of writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice—first for The Underground Railroad in 2017, and again for The Nickel Boys in 2020. He joins us on the heels of his latest novel, Cool Machine, the final installment of his acclaimed Harlem trilogy.

We begin with his decision to close out the world of furniture dealer Ray Carney (3:00), why Whitehead felt compelled to keep ...

What if it’s true that good things come to those who wait?

For Greta Lee, the success of Past Lives came after twenty years of working and finding her way as an actor. Her latest, leading turns come in The Last House and Late Fame.

We begin with Late Fame (4:12) and her larger-than-life character, inspired in part by artists like Isabella Rossellini, Marlene Dietrich, and Liza Minnelli (6:37). Then, Lee reflects on her upbringi...

Nine years ago, cook and writer Samin Nosrat created a kitchen staple with Salt Fat Acid Heat: a New York Times bestseller that later became a hit Netflix series. Last fall, Nosrat returned with Good Things, a collection of personal recipes straight from her dining table.

Today, we revisit that candid conversation, where we discussed the influences that shaped the book (8:30), the ephemerality (and pleasure) of produce (9:30), her c...

Two years ago Mary Beth Barone considered quitting stand-up comedy. Thankfully (for us) these were always “empty threats.” The kinds you make when you’re working and waiting for your break, or, in her case, a Netflix special. 

She joins us this week on the precipice of her (excellent) streaming debut, “Galaxy Brain”, to talk about her intended audience in 2026 (5:32), the concept behind the special...

Timothy Olyphant has made a career out of masking the effort behind his effortless performances.

He joins us on the heels of his recent turns in Lucky and The Five-Star Weekend. We talk about performing opposite Anya Taylor-Joy (3:53), his upbringing in Modesto, California (7:00), and the years he spent swimming competitively at USC before trading in the fine arts for acting (14:30). Then, Timothy reflects on moving to New York to s...

All that glitters is not gold. 

Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent for The New York Times who’s been covering Donald Trump for nearly three decades. Her extraordinary level of access in and around the Oval Office has resulted in two best-sellers, including the book of the summer, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump.

The new book, co-written with her Times colleague Jonathan Swan, chron...

From Kenny Powers (“Eastbound & Down”) to Jesse Gemstone (“The Righteous Gemstones”), Danny McBride has created some of the most vain, quintessentially American portraits of male dysfunction in recent memory. His debut short-story collection, Thrilling Tales of Modern Men, is an ode to the overconfident yet woefully insecure characters that have defined his work for the past two decades. 

We begin wi...

Councilmember Nithya Raman says she’s running for mayor “to make LA affordable for everyone.” She joins us this week in her first extended sit-down since edging out Spencer Pratt in the recent mayoral primary.

We begin with Raman’s decision to challenge an incumbent mayor she once endorsed in Karen Bass (2:47), the state of Los Angeles after years of overlapping crises (6:50), and why she believes the city ne...

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 Lak...