Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

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...

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 (...

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 childh...

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 inspirat...

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...

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...

 “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 m...

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.

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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...

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 presen...

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, coll...

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 convers...

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 med...

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, Ear...

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.

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We sit today to discuss his latest novel, Vigil (6:25), why he felt drawn to this story circlin...

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-...

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.

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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 ...

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 six...

Gwyneth Paltrow, now and forever, reigns supreme.

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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, a...

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 spe...