Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Will Smith is the creator and showrunner of the hit Apple TV spy thriller Slow Horses. Smith talks with Jesse about the show's unique blend of drama, action and comedy. He also shares how he learned from Armando Iannucci, the best in the biz, while working on Veep and The Thick of It. Also discussed: farts! And how star Gary Oldman's character Jackson Lamb uses them as a plot device.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week, it’s Gwendoline Christie! She’s best known for her part as Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones launched Christie’s career. Before it wrapped, she was cast in two Star Wars movies. She recently earned an Emmy nomination for her part in Severance as the lady who was in charge of all the goats. She talks to Bullseye about art, resilience, and getting ready to wrangle all those goats.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Canonball is a segment that takes a closer look at albums that should be considered classics. This time around, Diallo Riddle and LUXXURY of the One Song podcast discuss the game changing album Blowout Comb by Digable Planets.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're joined today by Ghostface Killah, a founding member of the hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. In 1996, Ghost put out Supreme Clientele – that record cemented his legacy. If you pull up one of those 100 best rap albums of all times list, you're bound to see it show up. Ghostface joins us on the latest episode of Bullseye to talk about Supreme Clientele 2, the follow-up nearly 25 years in the making. He also opens up about being responsible for two of his younger brothers with muscular dystrophy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For nearly 5 decades, Sonia Manzano played the part of Maria on Sesame Street. She was the first Latina on the show – it was a big step forward for Latinas on TV! In 2021, she launched her own show called Alma’s Way. It’s an animated kids series about Alma Rivera, a 6-year-old Puerto Rican girl living in the Bronx.  This conversation was originally published in October of 2021.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Christopher Lloyd has performed in a number of iconic roles over the years and at the age of 86 he has no plans to stop anytime soon. When Jesse last spoke with the Hollywood veteran, they chatted about his remarkable career in acting and what’s been keeping him in the biz. They also talked about his most memorable roles including his part as Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. This interview originally ran in March of 2021.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you know Elizabeth Gilbert's name, it might be for her book Eat, Pray, Love. Earlier this month, Gilbert published a very different memoir: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation. It centers around her relationship with her partner, the writer Rayya Elias and the aftermath of her cancer diagnosis. Elizabeth Gilbert joins us to talk about the intense, very harrowing book. Content Warning: This episode dives into some very intense topics including: addiction, cancer, sex, suicide, death and violence.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jinkx Monsoon is a legend in the world of drag. For fans of RuPaul's Drag Race she is often referred to as "Queen of All Queens" – she's the only performer to win that competition show twice. More recently she's been performing on stage like Little Shop of Horrors and Chicago. Currently, you can catch her on Broadway in Cole Escola's Tony award-winning play Oh Mary. We discuss Jinkx's latest gigs on the stage and how she found herself through drag performances. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jason Segel starred in Freaks and Geeks, How I Met Your Mother, Knocked Up. But he's also an accomplished writer and creator. He wrote the classic romcom Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and revived The Muppets for a new generation.When Jesse talked to Segel in 2020, Jason had just created the weird and wonderful TV drama Dispatches from Elsewhere - a show he says put him "out of his comfort zone." He'll talk about that, and what makes the Dracula song in Forgetting Sarah Marshall... unforgettable. You can catch him on the Apple TV+ show Shrinking, where he stars opposite Harrison Ford.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bob Odenkirk is an alt-comedy legend. He wrote for Saturday Night Live in the 90s. Then he got the part in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul as Saul Goodman. He’s also a writer. With the help of his children, he released a collection of poems called Zilot & Other Important Rhymes. Bob joins us to talk about writing poetry and how he turned his worn notebook into a book of poetry with the help of his children.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There aren't many animators more beloved than Genndy Tartakovsky. He created two golden era Cartoon Network shows: Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack. He has worked on countless other animated projects including Star Wars: Clone Wars, Batman: The Animated Series, Hotel Transylvania and many more. Genndy joins us to talk about his latest animated project: Fixed – a raunchy comedy about dogs, their private parts and friendship. He also takes us back to the early days of Cartoon Network.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Alex Edelman plays Adam Cooper on The Paper, the new show from NBC set in the universe of The Office. Edelman is also an award winning standup and writer. His solo show, Just For Us, offers a very funny, very personal examination of white supremacy and Jewish identity. He talks to Bullseye about his unlikely position as the least impressive member of his family, the difference in audience reactions to his standup in the US and the UK, and how he hopes The Paper will make audiences feel good.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Filmmaker Victor Kosskovsky has been thinking quite a lot about rocks these days. Things like big granite boulders, crushed up gravel and stunning slabs of marble. He formed those thoughts, and some opinions, into his most recent documentary: Architecton. It’s a movie entirely about stone. Victor joined us to talk about Architecton, what drew him to choosing rocks as a film subject and much more. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're joined by the principal members of the band HAIM: Alana, Danielle and Este Haim. In 2013, they released their critically acclaimed debut album Days Are Gone and the rest is history. HAIM joins us in the studio to talk about making the latest record: I Quit. They also get into growing up in the San Fernando Valley and the shocking lyrics in the new album are about a true story from their time in high school. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Our guest this week is Al Jardine, one of the founding members of The Beach Boys alongside Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Mike Love. Jardine left the Beach Boys in 1998 and has toured solo ever since. He just released an EP called Islands In The Sun, and he’s touring it with Brian Wilson’s band. Al Jardine talked with Bullseye about Brian’s recent passing, growing up making music with the Beach Boys, and rediscovering the magic of The Beach Boys compositions in his later experiences with their music.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy