As we begin the new year, we turn to writer George Saunders. He first joined us upon the release of his latest book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. He’s recently launched a new newsletter called "Story Club", available on Substack. 

This week we’re revisiting our talk with Saunders, discussing the power of Chekhov and Tobias Wolff (8:52), regarding literature as a “fondness for life” (12:30), his summer with Steinbeck (15:00), deconstructing the (male) mythology of Hemingway (26:45), and how starting a young family changed his course (35:00).

On the back-half, we talk craft and process (39:00), his conversations with the late David Foster Wallace (42:15), and his aim to entertain any kind of reader (44:39). To close: George reads an excerpt from his New Yorker short story, “Love Letter” (49:02).

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On our annual holiday special, we hear from the people that came on Talk Easy in 2021. To start: performer Ts Madison (4:20), CNN anchor Jake Tapper (7:25), actor Vicky Krieps (8:25), and a phone call with actor and director Julie Delpy (9:55). 

We also play some voicemails from visual artist Toyin Ojih Odutola (25:30), host of Death, Sex & Money Anna Sale (28:13), and actor Glynn Turman (30:20), before calling up writer George Saunders (33:20). 

To close the year, we hear from actor Nick Offerman (52:30), Zola editor Joi McMillon (54:51), writer/director Janicza Bravo (56:30), and Ugandan activist and UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima (1:00:25).

This year’s special is in partnership with Covenant House. 100% of the proceeds from our mugs and vinyl records go to them through 2021. To support, visit: talkeasypod.com/shop

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As we near the end of 2021, we turn to Noam Chomsky. The renowned linguist, historian, and social critic helps us unpack President Biden’s response to the Omicron variant (2:17), our distorted view of personal freedom (6:43), what the new infrastructure bill actually means for communities of color (14:32), the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict (18:01), the state of the GOP (21:23), how Critical Race Theory is a “cover-term” for Christian nationalists (24:28), and what we can actually learn from the 1930s America (28:34).

Before we go, he reflects on recently turning 93 (29:55), the night he played in a band (32:23), and how the “bicycle theory” is, perhaps, our only hope in the years ahead (33:31).

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At age 26, Michael Tubbs became the youngest mayor of a major city in American history. He joins us this week around the release of his breathtaking new memoir, The Deeper the Roots. 

Born and raised in Stockton, California, Michael offers the historical context of his city (9:42), the politics around his birth (11:15), his early experiences of homelessness (12:40), the day he met his father in prison (14:45), how he discovered just how ordinary lawmakers were (18:54), and the familial tragedy (23:30) that brought him back home to run for city council (28:00). 

As the first Black mayor of Stockton, we discuss the misinformation that enshrouded his term in office (33:10), the city’s “culture of mediocrity” (39:33), the upcoming midterm elections (49:15), and his earliest encounter with President Obama (54:36). To close Michael reads one of his favorite poems by Tupac, The Rose That Grew From Concrete (58:46).

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On this holiday weekend we're revisiting a special episode with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri (“Interpreter of Maladies”, “The Namesake”). In vivid, writerly detail Lahiri describes being raised in a family “spread out in various places” (5:05), her late mother’s recurring presence in her writing (10:20), the comfort (and pain) of being an observer (17:45), and the vibrancy she found in Rome (26:32), which inspired her new novel (written in Italian, translated in English) “Whereabouts” (29:45). On the back-half, Jhumpa reflects on the metamorphosis that occurred in her mother’s final days (35:00), how her familial ties (from Kolkata to Rhode Island) informed her early work (42:20), and, finally, why she writes (46:47).

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This week, we’re joined by legendary singer-songwriter, Indigenous activist, and educator Buffy Sainte-Marie. She reflects on growing up to adoptive parents in Massachusetts (4:00), the value of encouraging creativity in childhood (7:12), reuniting with her Cree family at eighteen (10:37), singing for peers in college (14:36), and the alternative conflict resolution messaging behind her early 1960s protest songs (16:46).

On the back-half, she discusses the performance that got her blacklisted by Presidents Johnson and Nixon (30:45), some of the issues facing Native American people in North America (36:50), her inventive core curriculum for students (40:50), and what it meant to be the first Indigenous person to win an Oscar in 1983, and recognized in the Academy Museum today (45:40).

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This week we present a double feature with actors Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) and Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets)! To begin, Krieps shares the story behind making Bergman Island (6:00), what it meant to work with director Mia Hansen-Løve (7:30), how she separates herself from her characters (10:30), the epiphany in Mozambique that changed her course (12:59), and a reunion with director Paul Thomas Anderson (17:10). To close, she plays an original song inspired by her character in Old (28:10).

On the back half, Melanie Lynskey rejoins us since her first appearance in 2016! We discuss how motherhood enters her work on-screen (33:00), her role in the new Showtime series, Yellowjackets (34:50), embracing unapologetic characters (38:28), memories of her first role alongside Kate Winslet in the 1994 film Heavenly Creatures (41:00), the trajectory of her career while growing up in New Zealand (43:20), her support of the IATSE movement (44:00), and the evolving conversation around working conditions in film and television (47:55). Before we go, Lynskey reflects on our first talk on the show and how she hopes to remember this moment, as an artist and parent, in the years to come (57:57).

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As we mark the one-year anniversary of the 2020 election, activist and educator Janaya Future Khan returns for a state of the union (3:00). We begin with the trillion dollar infrastructure bill (4:08), the looming threat of big tech in Congress (4:58), division in the Democratic party (5:28), and how we can move away from “instant coffee politics” by turning to activism (9:55).

Then, we have a wide-ranging discussion around Dave Chappelle’s stand-up special (13:46), transgender representation (24:31), and what it means to learn (and fail) in public (29:35). In combating the malaise of the moment, Janaya talks about new models of organizing (37:10), the medicinal power of laughter (40:19), and the lessons learned from their decade in Black Lives Matter (44:26). To close, we revisit a passage from our 2020 sit-down (51:16) and why they must (and will) continue to fight in the years ahead (57:00).

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With the return of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jeff Garlin is back on the show! Our talk with the Chicago-born comedian opens with a song (4:16) and a spirited exchange over cancel culture (8:10). Then, Garlin shares his excitement around returning to comedy clubs (19:53), his philosophy on dreams (24:30), the night he lost his virginity to a heckler (29:16), how he found love in the pandemic (32:10), and why he’s seeing his work on “Curb” in a new light (35:40). 

Before we go, Jeff walks us through the weekend that changed his life (38:54), a piece of wisdom from Kurt Vonnegut (45:22), and the importance of being kind to yourself, however old or young (47:20).

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Actor, author, and woodworker Nick Offerman joins us in the studio! We begin with his new book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play (5:05), which was inspired by Nick’s upbringing in rural Minooka, Illinois (6:12), the writings of poet Wendell Berry (7:30), and his experiences with the late Sam Shepard at Steppenwolf Theatre (8:08). Shortly after working with Shepard, Offerman began to find his footing—on and off the stage—as a performer, carpenter, and fight choreographer (9:35). He reflects on his galvanizing role in the film Going All the Way (15:14), the guiding principles of George Saunders (20:00), lessons from his sensei Shōzō Satō (25:26), the start of his nearly two-decade marriage with actress Megan Mullally (26:30), the phone call that changed his life (35:50), and the complicated legacy of Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation (41:45). Then, before we go, we return to the timely (and urgent) message of his new book (46:47), a song by Jeff Tweedy (49:50), and a poem by Wendell Berry (51:58). 

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