The Great Creators with Guy Raz

Ben Platt is an actor, singer, and songwriter who’s quickly become one of the most decorated performers of his generation. He sits down with Guy to talk about his first professional acting role at age 9, breaking out in “Pitch Perfect” and the runaway success of “Dear Evan Hansen,” finding his voice as an “authentically” queer artist, and the secret ingredient behind his success: “sacrifice”. 

Buy Ben’s new album, “Honeymind”, here: https://interscope.com/collections/ben-platt/products/honeymind-cd

Ben’s current residency at the Palace Theatre on Broadway: https://www.broadway.org/shows/details/ben-platt-live-at-the-palace,842

Links from the Show: 

• Ben performing “I’ve Got the Magic in Me” in Pitch Perfect

• Ben singing “You Will Be Found” (from “Dear Evan Hansen”) on America’s Got Talent

• “The Politician” on Netflix

• Ben’s duet with Lin-Manuel Miranda

• “Cherry on Top” Official Music video (from “Honeymind”)

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Audra McDonald to David Duchovny, Jason Sudeikis, and Tom Hanks – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Seth Meyers was a key player in creating some of the best seasons of Saturday Night Live. Now he's hosting Late Night in the very same building. In this classic episode from 2023, you’ll hear how his two-person comedy show in Chicago randomly landed him in front of just the right person to get him an audition at SNL. 

Seth also opens up about the anxiety he felt competing with his extremely funny co-stars. And he explains some of the ways he has managed to lead Late Night to new heights. 

Links from the show:

• Seth in Northwestern's improv troupe in 1992
• Seth and his brother Josh on Late Night
• Seth at the 2011 White House Correspondent's Dinner
• Seth as David Zinger
• Compilation of Seth and Stefon
• A Closer Look from Late Night
• Seth doing standup
• Seth's Instagram
• Seth's Twitter

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michael McDonald brought his legendary singing voice and songwriting talent to not one but two legendary bands: Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, the latter of which earned him a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Michael sits down with Guy to talk about writing classic songs on envelopes and forgetting about them for years; feeling self-conscious on stage as a frontman; his solo career; what he thinks of the term “yacht rock”; and how getting sober saved his life.

Michael’s memoir is called “What a Fool Believes”. You can buy it here.

Links from the show: 

• I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near) music video
• Warren G: Regulate music video
• What a Fool Believes music video
• Sweet Freedom (1986)
• Michael talking about singing on Steely Dan’s “Peg” 
• Rick Moranis SCTV sketch about Michael
• Three Michael McDonalds Sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (w/ Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake): Tonight Show
• Family Guy having fun with Michael’s famous backing vocals
• Michael’s Instagram
• Michael’s Facebook page
• Michael’s memoir, “What a Fool Believes”

See all our episodes – including conversations with Tom Hanks, Jason Sudeikis, Bjork, and many more – at TheGreatCreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

T Bone Burnett is one of the most accomplished music producers of the past 50 years. He sits down with Guy to talk about buying a recording studio at age 17; being pushed out of his creative comfort zone by Bob Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour; building soundtracks for the Coen Brothers and True Detective; and why, at age 76, he’s the happiest and most creative he’s ever been.

T Bone’s new album, The Other Side, is available here: https://shop.tboneburnett.com/

Links from the Show: 

• Rolling Thunder Revue documentary on Netflix
• True Detective Season 1 soundtrack
• Big Lebowski soundtrack
• Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack
• George Clooney performing I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow in O Brother Where Art Thou? 
• Los Lobos: How Will the Wolf Survive? Album
• T Bone’s Instagram

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Diplo to Jewel to Andy Garcia to Tom Hanks – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Duchovny sits down with Guy to talk about his wide-ranging creative life. He describes the “gut instinct” that led him to drop out of a Yale literature program and pursue acting; his iconic roles as Agent Mulder in The X-Files and Hank Moody in Californication; why he writes novels and makes music; and embracing failure as a critical learning experience in life and work.

David’s new podcast is called “Fail Better”, and his film Bucky F*cking Dent comes out in June 2024.

Links from the Show: 

• David’s new podcast, “Fail Better”
• IMDb: Bucky F*cking Dent
• David’s books
• Live performance of his song Layin’ on the Tracks
• David’s music on Spotify
• David Duchovny Breaks Down His Career, from 'The X-Files' to 'Californication' | Vanity Fair
• Malice, the show David was shooting in London at the time of this recording:

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Hilary Swank to Diplo – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lainey Wilson burst onto the country music scene in 2022 with her album Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’. But for seven years before that, she struggled to make it in the high-pressure Nashville music scene. And before that, she was a kid from a tiny town in rural Louisiana with a dream of being a country star.

In this encore episode from 2023, Lainey joins Guy to talk about how she handled the hard times, what she’s learned about the art of collaboration during the making of two acclaimed albums, and what defines her unique style – which she calls “Bell Bottom Country”.

Links from the Show: 

• Lainey Wins the 2023 CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year 
• Tougher Music Video
• Things A Man Oughta Know Music Video
• Lainey’s French Bulldog Hippie Mae’s Instagram 
• Hillbilly Hippie Official Lyrics Video
• Lainey’s Female Vocalist of the Year (2022) Acceptance Speech
• Lainey’s New Artist of the Year (2022) Acceptance Speech 
• Tougher album (2016)
• Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ (2021) 
• Bell Bottom Country (2022)

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One of the first – and biggest – stars of the MTV era, Billy Idol is nothing short of a rock icon. He sits down with Guy Raz to share how the Sex Pistols inspired him to start a band instead of working for his dad; the stories behind the songs “Dancing with Myself” and “Rebel Yell”; his famously edgy image and lifestyle; and the workout routine that allows him to tour internationally into his late 60s.

Buy the 40th anniversary expanded edition of Billy’s album “Rebel Yell” here: https://billyidol.lnk.to/RebelYellExpanded

Links from the Show: 

• Sex Pistols swearing on TV with Bill Grundy
• Generation X: Kiss Me Deadly
• Dancing with Myself music video
• Rebel Yell
• White Wedding
• Eyes Without a Face
• Hot in the City
• Billy’s Instagram
• His YouTube channel

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oskar Eustis is the Artistic Director at the Public Theater in New York City. He sits down with Guy to talk about “falling into the avant-garde rat hole” early in his career; convincing Lin-Manuel Miranda that Hamilton was more than a concept album; bringing theater to senior centers, women’s shelters, and prisons; and why he believes performing arts are essential to democracy.

See what the Public theater has playing here: https://publictheater.org/

Links from the Show: 

• Lin-Manuel Miranda debuts Hamilton at the White House in 2009
• Oskar’s TED Talk
• Brief profile of the Public Theater’s Public Works program
• Shakespeare in the Park

For more conversations like this – including interviews with theater legends like Audra McDonald and Nathan Lane – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sam Harris is the frontman for X Ambassadors, a multi-platinum pop rock trio from Ithaca, New York. Sam sits down with Guy to talk about his bond with his brother and bandmate Casey, who was born blind; how X Ambassadors felt “so not cool” and faced lots of rejection while trying to make it in the Brooklyn indie rock scene of the late 2000s; and how getting tricked into writing the song “Renegades” for a Jeep commercial turned into a big break.

Sam also shares the story behind getting discovered by Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds; his daily routine and habits; the two recent, emotional events that inspired the band’s new Ithaca-focused album; and much more.

You can buy X Ambassadors’ latest album, Townie, here: https://shop.xambassadors.com/

Links from the Show: 

• Litost
• Jungle music video
• Renegades
• Unsteady
• Your Town (Todd Peterson tribute from Townie)
• No Strings (from Townie)
• Blinding Lights (The Weeknd Cover)
• Sam Nelson - when love has gone (Sam solo)

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant shot to fame as the lead vocalist for the indie-folk band 10,000 Maniacs, then left the band at the height of their popularity to build a successful solo career. She sits down with Guy to talk about the political concerns that animate her work; what a dinner with Allen Ginsberg and Philip Glass taught her about creativity; how a degenerative spinal disease almost ended her artistic career; and her newest project honoring a late Italian poet who’s been nearly erased from history. 

Natalie’s ninth studio album is called Keep Your Courage.

Links from the Show: 

• These Are Days by 10,000 Maniacs
• Carnival by Natalie Merchant
• It’s A-Coming, the song Natalie sings in this episode
• Buy Keep Your Courage

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.