The Great Big Beautiful Podcast

Today, we chat Muppet Babies with executive producer Tom Warburton (aka Mr. Warburton to fans of Codename: Kids Next Door, which he created). We discuss anxiety about returning to such a beloved property, getting Renee Elise Goldsberry to sing the theme song, finding a cast that could nail the familiar Muppet voices, collaborating with Mo Willems, and whether we'll see his infamous illustrated lunch bags make a cameo on the show.

Today, we put on our party hats and embrace the great big beautiful party known as life with Andrew W.K. On this episode, we chat with Andrew about the support he got as a young artist, how he has changed during his career, that epic cover art for You're Not Alone, the motivational speech segments of the new album, using positivity to fight the encroaching darkness (especially now), and - of course - partying.

Today, it's a geekout love fest with Orlando Jones! For Valentine's Day this year, Jones teamed up with Syfy to marry a bunch of geeks (to each other) and celebrate their mutual passions and love. We chat with Jones about what appeals to him about that endeavor and why it's so necessary now. We also talk about his direct, candid, and unfiltered connection to fans; how Billy Dee Williams shaped his young fandom; the future of Lando with Donald Glover; and the fanboy/fangirl divide.

Today, we're honored to be joined by the 10th Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero. Ferriero was confirmed to the position on November 6, 2009, and - surprisingly - he's the first librarian (by training) to hold the position. If you recall, we previously had on the show the Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden. Talking to Hayden and Ferriero so close together is incredibly revealing in how those two institutions differ. On this episode, we talk to Mr. Ferriero about his mission to further the principles of Open Government, how the National Archives is free from the swinging pendulum of partisan politics, collaboration with the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution, the value of a liberal arts education, and the merits of Wikipedia!

Extra episode this week! Hot on the heels of our deluge of bonus episodes last week from the first DC in DC event, we've got one more surprise. That event kicked off with a premiere screening of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight. Before the screening, a big chunk of the cast and creative team behind the film did some roundtable interviews, and then we all had a chance to watch the film on the big screen at the Newseum. On this episode, we're bringing you the roundtable interviews from Bruce Greenwood (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Scott Patterson (James Gordon), Yuri Lowenthal (Harvey Dent), Bruce Timm (executive producer), and Jim Krieg (screenwriter). We've had Timm and Krieg on the show before when we brought you the media interviews from last year's New York Comic-Con (that episode also features director Sam Liu). For a full blast of Gotham by Gaslight, I highly recommend listening to both episodes and then immediately watching the film. But I'm biased.

Today, we're talking magic. Lev Grossman is the author of - among other things - The Magicians trilogy, which recently made the jump to the small screen with The Magicians on Syfy (Seasons 1-2 on Netflix and Season 3 on the air now)! In a nutshell, The Magicians imagines what someplace like Hogwarts might be like if it were a real place in the real world and filled with hormonal teens. Intrigued? You know you are. On this episode, we talk to Lev about his struggle to find his voice as a writer, the laborious process he had to go through to turn out his first couple books (which took a combined 11 years to write), the commercial and critical success he's found with The Magicians, and the pressure to move forward and produce something new and different. We also hear what kind of candy he'd be, which is a good answer even though he trashes one of my favorite candy bars in the process. (Sorry Mounds, you'll always be #1 to me.)

Today, we're looking to the stars...and back to Earth. Commander Terry Virts joins us to talk about his career, his 210+ days in space, and his new book View From Above: An Astronaut Photographs the World. Col. Virts was pilot on one of the final space shuttle missions - 2010's STS-130 aboard the Endeavor - where he helped assemble the International Space Station. In 2014, he returned to the ISS aboard the Soyuz as part of Expedition 42 and stayed through Expedition 43, when we assumed command of the space station. On this episode, we chat about his new book, how he managed his time aboard the ISS with all of the competing demands, his preparation for space, the surprises that waited for him up there, sleeping in zero G, why he doesn't have enough faith to be an atheist, and the biggest mistake he made in space.

Our third of three episodes from the 1st DC in D.C. event features roundtable interviews with Russell Tovey, Marguerite Bennett, Vita Ayala, Steve Orlando, and Mark Russell. This episode focuses on the panel The Pride of DC: The Art of LGBTQ Inclusion.

Our second of three episodes from the 1st DC in D.C. event features roundtable interviews with Candice Patton, Caity Lotz, Danielle Panabaker, Mariko Tamaki, Shea Fontana, Agnes Garbowska, Julie Benson, and Shawna Benson. This episode focuses on the panel Wonder Women.

Our first of three episodes from the 1st DC in D.C. event features roundtable interviews with John Ridley, Denys Cowan, and Alice Randall. This episode focuses on the panel The Many Shades of Heroism: DC Heroes Through the African American Lens.