Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

This week on Bullseye, we talk to filmmaker Charles Burnett. His most famous film, Killer of Sheep, was part of his Masters' thesis at UCLA Film School in 1977. Now, it's in the Criterion Collection and the Library of Congress. His 1999 romance film, The Annihilation of Fish, has just been restored and set for its first theatrical release. He talks to Bullseye about representing communities authentically, the tension of studying at UCLA and living in South Central, and his regrets about the roof-jumping scene in Killer of Sheep. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Rapper Fat Joe is charming, verbose, and direct. He is a man who radiates confidence. You wanna make a banger for the club? Fat Joe's got em – Lean Back, What's Luv? ft. Ashanti, and All The Way Up. The Bronx legend joins us on the latest episode of Bullseye to talk about collaborating with KRS-One , LL Cool J and his latest record The World Changed On Me. He also gets into his childhood, his family and how he keeps it real after three decades in the game. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The Song That Changed My Life is a segment that gives a chance for musicians and artists to tell us about the song that made them who they are. This week, we talked to Casual – he was a founding member of underground Bay Area rap crew Hieroglyphics. Casual talks about Ride the Rhythm from Chill Rob G's debut album. The track helped Casual visualize his own flow when he was coming up. Casual breaks down the song's lyrics and Chill Rob G's contributions to the genre. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Josh Gad joins us to talk about his new memoir In Gad We Trust: A Tell Some. He also gets into what life was like growing up in South Florida, the one time he refuses to use his Olaf voice and winning three national titles in teen oratory competitions. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Bruce Vilanch wrote for countless TV variety shows dating back over 50 years. Sometimes, those shows turn out great! Think of Billy Crystal at the Oscars! The stuff that's not so great, you can read about in his new book: It Seemed Like A Bad Idea At The Time: The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote. Vilanch tells Bullseye stories from behind the scenes of the Oscars, The Brady Bunch, and the Star Wars Holiday Special. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Christina Hendricks joins us this week to talk about the new Hulu series Good American Family. She also chats with us about her time as a model and a ballet dancer, and what life's been like for her after starring on one of the biggest shows ever – Mad Men. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Jesse talks with one of the greats: Laurie Metcalf. For nine years she played Jackie on the hit TV show Roseanne. These days, she's starring in The Conners, the ABC produced spinoff of the show. The Conners is wrapping its 7th and final season right now. On the latest episode, Laurie talks about her Oscar-nominated role in Lady Bird as well as her role on Roseanne and The Conners. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

We're taking a moment to remember singer and R&B legend, Angie Stone, who died on March 1, 2025. She was 63 years old. When Stone spoke with Bullseye in 2023, she had just released her newest album: Love Language . She talked about having her heart set on performing from a very young age, the influence of her family on her career, and auditioning for Sugarhill Records with The Sequence. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Lucy Dacus is a beloved singer songwriter and one-third of the Grammy-winning supergroup boygenius. She just released her new record Forever is a Feeling, and joins us talk about the project, how she went about writing songs for it and much more. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The MaxFunDrive is a great time to look back at the past year here at Bullseye. In this excerpted segment we listen to a bit of our conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld. He showed up early so he could work on his lighting and camera. He also dropped the most unbelievably bonkers Werner Herzog story. Do these kind of moments and conversations mean something to you? They are only possible with support from members of Maximum Fun. Join us at maximumfun.org/join. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The Tom Green Show was ahead of its time. Its surreal stunts and pranks influenced a number of TV shows over the past twenty five years in that genre. In recent years, Tom Green kind of took a break. But Tom Green fans can rejoice – he's the star of three new projects. The projects come at a reflective time of his life and he gets real about starting a new chapter in his life. Plus, he brought his dog into the studio. You're going to want to hear about this dog. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

This week on Bullseye, it's Vincent D'Onofrio. He talks about his many memorable roles in Full Metal Jacket, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Men in Black, and Daredevil. He also talks about how an actor accesses these grand characters through physical and emotional inspirations, as well as the Kingpin costume made of material developed by NASA. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

In this excerpted segment we listen to a bit of our conversation with Tyrese Gibson. Perhaps one of the most memorable moments in recent memory. Mid-interview Tyrese stopped us to take an important call from a Bay Area rap legend. Who was it? Only one way to find out! Surprising moments like these are what gets us excited about putting out a show – and conversations like these are made possible with support from members of Maximum Fun. Join us at maximumfun.org/join. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

This week we're talking with the one and only George Lopez. He joins us to talk about how he and his daughter Mayan approached creating their sitcom Lopez vs Lopez. He also opens up about his upbringing and the relationship he had with his grandparents who raised him. He also gets into how his comedy style has changed over the years since he first performed on The Tonight Show in the nineties. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

We're presenting a sneak peek of a bonus episode for Bullseye's annual MaxFunDrive. Jesse is asking guests like Denzel Curry and Meg Stalter about the worst jobs they've ever had. If you like what you hear, we've got even more of it at maximumfun.org/join. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Charlotte Nicdao stars as Poppy on the Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest. She joins Bullseye to talk about that very funny show. We talk about her upbringing in Australia, and the first time she visited the United States when she was a teenager for music camp. She also takes us back to the time she auditioned for the part of a mob boss in her school's production of Guys and Dolls. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

George Wallace has been doing stand-up for fifty years. Known for his evergreen humor, he's practically royalty in Las Vegas, where he's done so many residencies he's lost count. Wallace talks to Bullseye about his love of the 70s, welcoming everyone in the room as a performer, and the influence of preaching on his comedy style. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Music writer Andrew "Noz" Nosnitsky gets into why bay area rapper Saafir's debut record Boxcar Sessions, deserves to be inducted into the canon of great pop culture albums. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Linda Holmes knows what goes into a good romantic comedy. Linda has written about pop culture for more than 20 years and is a huge fan of the genre. She's also written romantic comedy novels herself. Linda joins us on Bullseye to discuss her latest novel Back After This. She breaks down the clichés that make rom-coms great and the tropes that make them stink. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

You may know him as Zorro, or as a very Zorro-like cat from the Shrek universe: Puss in Boots. It's Antonio Banderas! He talks with us about reconnecting with, and then portraying his friend and collaborator Pedro Almodóvar. Plus, he talks about how his acting experience in Hollywood did not, for the lack of a better term, translate to acting in Spanish films. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy