Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

The one and only Mark Hamill joins us this week. He chats with us about his latest role in the epic, life-affirming drama The Life of Chuck. He also chats with us about what inspired him to take his acting skills to Broadway after Star Wars. Plus, he shares what got him into voice acting and does his iconic voice as the Joker from the animated Batman series for us. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

What was it like to work with Paul Reubens? The man behind Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee as Himself is a beautiful, touching documentary about one of the most talented and unique voices of our time. He died in 2023. We're joined by filmmaker Matt Wolf. He talks about what made Paul Reubens a dream subject for a documentary and how he got Paul to open up about difficult topics. Plus, Jesse talks about his own experience working with Paul on the Pee-wee Herman Radio Hour for KCRW. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

This week on Bullseye, we talk to Ego Nwodim! She just wrapped up her seventh season as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. She talks with us about her roundabout path to comedy, including nods to her hometown in sketches, and a whole lot about her incredible SNL character: Lisa from Temecula. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Mary Randolph Carter is an expert on all things junk. She's written many books on the topic including her latest called Live With the Things You Love: And You'll Live Happily Ever After. We asked Carter if there was ever one piece of junk she acquired over the years that stuck with her so much and lived inside her head rent free for so long that she wishes she made it. The object that came to mind was a very peculiar clock. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Questlove, drummer and bandleader for The Roots joins us on the latest episode. The legend. Lately, he's been working on music documentaries: Sly Lives! and Summer of Soul were both fantastic. He joins us to talk at length about Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music. Questlove gets into his early memories of Saturday Night Live as a kid and gets into how he's been involved with the show over the years. We also get into the forthcoming album from The Roots. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

This week on Bullseye, we talk to Carson Lund, director of the new slice-of-life baseball film, Eephus. The movie is about two rec league baseball teams meeting to play their final game on a field, which will be torn down the next day to make way for a middle school. Lund talks to Bullseye about representing downtime in baseball, and rejecting the grand finale you might expect in a movie about a sport. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Alexander Skarsgård joins us to talk about the new Apple TV + sci-fi series Murderbot. He also gets into his upbringing and what it was like growing up around different artists and performers. Plus, he'll chat with us about some of his most memorable red carpet outfits. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey will be forever linked together – thanks to one show: The Office. The sitcom is celebrating its 20th anniversary. They were strangers when the show started, but soon formed a friendship that has lasted long after the show wrapped, including their podcast Office Ladies and their book The Office BFFs. They joined Bullseye to talk about seeing the show through a new lens and becoming geeks for The Office while researching their podcast. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Jane Borden is a writer with bylines in Vanity Fair, the Washington Post, and the New York Times Magazine. Jane is kind of obsessed with cults. She enjoys reading books on them, watching documentaries, and vintage news pieces on the subject. Jane's obsession has become her latest book. She joins us on Bullseye to talk about Cults Like Us. The book is not just a study on the history of cults, but an examination on why they seem to be a uniquely American phenomenon. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Rapper and producer Dezzy Hollow is a master of modern day West Coast funk. Earlier this year he released an album called OCEANSIDE, which he named after his hometown. He chats with us about the record, what he hopes his music can bring to the city and much more. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Video game creator Keita Takahashi joins us to talk about how he got into designing video games and how he pitched the idea for his popular game Katamari Damacy to the folks at Namco. He also talks with us about his new game, to a T, which comes out soon. A version of this interview originally ran in April of 2024. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Lisa Kudrow's big break was on the massively successful sitcom Friends. She portrayed the street-wise, but kind of clueless Phoebe Buffay. She's one of Friends' most beloved characters. Before she broke out on that show she envisioned a very different future. Kudrow on her early career in science research, the cruelty of middle-schoolers that set her on the path to acting, and being mentored by Jon Lovitz. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Jean Grae is back on the show! The interdisciplinary artist just wrote a collection of personal essays called In My Remaining Years. She joins us to talk about the new book, why she distanced herself from rapping, her upbringing and much more. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

This week, it's Bob Mackie! Mackie has made a career out of dressing big personalities in kinetic, sparkling garb. His life and career were profiled in an incredible documentary late last year. Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion covers the era-defining design work he did and the extraordinary life he's lived. Mackie talks to Bullseye about his early affinity for performance outfits, marrying costumes and comedy, and getting started in the business working with old Hollywood legends. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The Craziest Day of My Entire Career is a segment where folks join us to talk about some truly unbelievable stories. Comedian Mike Drucker has had his fair share of crazy days – he's work for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Adam Ruins Everything, and Saturday Night Live. But his craziest day? It all happened at a paintball game when he was working for a little company called Nintendo. Good Game, No Rematch by Mike Drucker is out now. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Writer, director and showrunner Tony Gilroy joins us to talk about the new season of Andor and what makes the show so different than any other Star Wars program. He also shares what his plans are after the series concludes, and tells us about how he almost entered a career in music instead of film. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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