For over 20 years, Tom Scharpling has hosted The Best Show. It aired on the New York public radio station WFMU until around 2013, and now it's a podcast. Tom's also a comedy writer who's worked on shows like Monk, What We Do in the Shadows and HBO's Divorce. As a voice actor, he's appeared on the Cartoon Network shows Steven Universe and Adventure Time. On the latest episode, we talk with Tom about his new book It Never Ends: A Memoir with Nice Memories, and hosting The Best Show for more than two decades. Plus, Tom tells us why C3PO, the fussy golden Star Wars robot, is one of the worst fictional characters of all time. Heads up: There is going to be some very serious talk about mental illness, including Tom's experience with electroconvulsive therapy. We thought we'd let you know.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Tom Scharpling

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture. Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney's, which called it "the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world."

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

DJ Quik is one of the most prolific figures in West Coast hip-hop. He's a great rapper, but he's always considered himself a producer first, crafting some of the most inventive samples and beats of the genre. This summer, DJ Quik joins fellow legends Warren G and Snoop Dogg for a tour across that great nation to the North on the Cali to Canada Tour. When Quik joined Bullseye in 2014, he talked about the method behind his sampling and his awesome, awesome hairstyles over the years.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

DJ Quik

Keita Takahashi is a video game creator and designer. He's responsible for the classic genre defining puzzle game Katamari Damacy. Keita Takahashi has a new game coming out soon. It's called to a T and it's about a child whose arms stick straight out like a "T". We talked with Keita Takahashi about how he got into designing video games and how he pitched the idea for Katamari Damacy to the folks at Namco. He also talks with us about his new game, to a T.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Video game creator Keita Takahashi

Alison Brie is the star of beloved television shows Community, Mad Men and BoJack Horseman. She joins us on the latest episode of Bullseye to talk about her latest: Apples Never Fall. We get into her time growing up in South Pasadena and what she learned about herself while working on the physically demanding wrestling tv series GLOW. Does she think the long-awaited Community movie is actually happening? Only one way to find out!

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Alison Brie

Paula Pell spent 18 years behind the scenes as a writer on Saturday Night Live. These days, you can see her on Girls5Eva–a sitcom about a 90s girl group that reunites today. She plays Gloria, the queer elder of the group making the most of their second wind. When she joined the show back in 2019, Pell starred in Wine Country alongside a few SNL legends. She also gave us an insider's view on some of her more controversial work on the late-night comedy staple.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Paula Pell

Shabaka Hutchings makes brilliant, beautiful genre blending songs. His music is vivid, complex and hypnotic. He recently hung up his saxophone and is playing the flute these days. When Shabaka joined the show back in 2021, his band Sons of Kemet had just put out a record called Black to the Future. He talked with us about making the new record during quarantine. He also discussed being an only child, the first instrument he learned to play and his love of old school gangster rap.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Tom Scharpling

Download our free app to listen on your phone