Talkhouse Podcast

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a pair of old friends who dive right in on some light-hearted topics like death and aging: Amy Millan and Kevin Drew. Both Amy and Kevin are deeply connected to the Canadian indie scene that took shape in the late 1990s around Broken Social Scene. That band was initially Kevin’s baby, but a whole constellation seemed to spring from it, including Metric, Feist, and the band that Amy is most closely associated with, Stars. The impetus for today’s conversation, though, is Millan’s gorgeous new solo album, I Went to Find You. It’s her first in 15 years, and as you’ll hear in this conversation, was inspired by stirred-up feelings about the death of her father when she was just a little kid. Millan created the album with a musician she only met recently, Jay McCarrol, after a chance encounter with him that stirred up some dormant emotions about her childhood. It’s a really beautiful and quietly triumphant record that’s worth some time and attention in your headphones. Check out “Kiss That Summer” right here. Kevin Drew directed that great video for that song, and he’s got bona fides when it comes to writing songs about difficult subjects, too: His latest solo album, Aging, came out in 2023, and you might be able to guess what it’s about from that title. It’s a topic that Kevin and Amy get into here as they get deep and sweet together—they were even a little worried they’d forget they were being recorded since they’re such close friends. They talk about Amy’s record but also, perhaps for the first time on Talkhouse, perimenopause. There’s also memories of Hal Willner, a great name for Amy’s tour that she didn’t end up using, and living in your “who gives a fuck” years. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Amy Millan and Kevin Drew for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform and check out all the great stuff in the Talkhouse Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast’s spin-off series, host Nick Dawson sits down with actors Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody, who have been married for 45 years and in the past few years have become one of the internet’s favorite couples thanks to their delightful TikTok channel. To coincide with the premiere this week of the pilot of their episodic series Seasoned at the Tribeca Film Festival, they opened up in their typically ebullient and charming manner about subjects as diverse as their morning routines (and nocturnal movements!), whether or not to delete someone’s contact info if they’ve died, the role a Joni Mitchell lyric played in their most recent disagreement, their son being unfairly overshadowed by Prince William, and much more. For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a couple of guys who found huge followings—on the internet and elsewhere—in different ways, but with similar outlooks: Adam Met and Julian Shapiro-Barnum. Met is one-third of the brother band AJR, who’ve found massive pop hits over the past decade with cheeky but sometimes deceptively deep songs like “Bang” and “World’s Smallest Violin.” Perhaps those more into the indie-adjacent world have heard their collaborations with Weezer. But for purposes of this conversation, Met is wearing one of his many other hats, which include Columbia professor, non-profit founder, and as of this week, published author. He just released his first book, AMPLIFY: How to Use the Power of Connection to Engage, Take Action, and Build a Better World, As you may have guessed from the title, it’s about action and advocacy, including in the area of the climate crisis, for which Met is an ardent activist. He casually mentions hanging out with Al Gore here, which may be a Talkhouse first. The book aims to provide strategies for folks who want to do their part, which is a noble cause if you ask me. It features pop-culture names like Ben Folds and Jim Gaffigan, in addition to folks more known in the activism world. It’s out now. The other half of today’s conversation is Met’s pal, comedian and internet personality Julian Shapiro-Barnum. An inquisitive guy by nature, Shapiro-Barnum recorded a series of internet videos over the years that were largely conversations with regular people, and during the pandemic he hit on the idea of chatting with children about how they manage to stay positive when everything seems so crazy. That idea became the very popular series Recess Therapy, which is as charming as it sounds—and, it should be noted, launched the “corn kid” into internet fame. These two jump right into a lively conversation about how music and advocacy can go hand in hand, about Julian’s various shows, including Recess Therapy and Celebrity Substitute, and lots more. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Julian Shapiro-Barnum and Adam Met for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and visit Talkhouse.com for lots of good stuff. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

This week's Talkhouse Podcast is kind of a dream episode for me, because I managed to wrangle two of my favorite songwriter/performer/lyricists ever into a conversation, Matt Berninger and Alan Sparhawk. Sparhawk first came to my attention way back in the early ‘90s with his band Low. Over the course of 30-ish years, he and his wife, Mimi Parker, created an almost indescribably stunning body of work. The early days were characterized by slow, spare, minimalist songs, but over the decades, Low blossomed in a hundred beautiful ways, from stark, almost confrontational music made with Steve Albini to some of the sweetest pop songs you’ll ever hear to their final incarnation, in which they organically integrated some harsh electronics. It’s hard to believe they went so long and stayed so true, but they did. It’s a pretty perfect catalog. Then, in 2022, Parker died of cancer. Sparhawk worked through some of his grief by pushing right back into music, first with 2024’s White Roses, My God, a dense, electronics-heavy album that sounds like confusion itself. Now, just months later, he’s set to release another album, this one called With Trampled By Turtles. The title references the Duluth band that backed him on it, and the songs themselves offer a much more clear-eyed, straightforward look at where his head is at. They’re very different but both really powerful. Check out the song “Not Broken,” which features Sparhawk and Parker’s daughter Hollis on vocals. I think Matt Berninger, the other half of today’s conversation, feels as strongly about Low and Alan’s music as I do: He’s been listening since before his band, The National, had even come together. Perhaps you’re aware of their history, but just in case: The National has been making incredible records since 2001, finding pretty huge success with cathartic, arena-sized songs that are still always grounded by Berninger’s intentional, literate words. Just as with Low, it’s impossible for me to pick a favorite record, but today it’s Alligator, from 2005. But Berninger, like Sparhawk, has had plenty of side projects over the years, and his second proper solo album is coming out this week as well. It’s called Get Sunk, and it feels like a sort of deliberate step away from any semblance of gloom, with Berninger writing about childhood summers and more innocent times. Don’t get me wrong, these songs aren’t without their emotional perils, but they do feel different enough from his main gig that you’ll notice. Oh, and in case I didn’t mention it, it’s really great. Check out “Bonnet of Pins” from Get Sunk right here. Sparhawk and Berninger don’t waste much time with idle chit-chat in this episode. They’ve both been through the mental-health wringer over the years, and they explore those low-lows with the benefit, thankfully, of some hindsight. Matt has some really insightful things to say about Alan’s recent solo records, and they dive into their religious backgrounds with perhaps the funniest, potentially deadliest interview question ever asked on Talkhouse: “What are your thoughts on God and religion? Go.” Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Alan Sparhawk and Matt Berninger for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠.

"People are real down on the subway lately but I still like taking it!!" Kareem and Michael continue on the train and talk about Michael's directorial debut, Eric Larue, directing as a way of developing every character in a movie, Kareem and Michael's future buddy comedy where they open an indie Target (and also their buddy drama where they're roommates), male best friend breakup stories as a new genre, Michael's love of R.E.M., doing a cover band, being a loafer, having a fake Chicago accent, Windsor Terrace, how being from the midwest makes you endearing, GoFundMe to pay for a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, not being invited to the Oscars, there are too many screens on the subway, Michael's colonoscopy and other stuff. Host: Kareem Rahma Creators: Kareem Rahma and Andrew Kuo Camera: Maksim Axelrod and Tian Sippel Editor: Tyler Christie Mixer: Dale Eisinger Associate Producer: Ramy Shafi Artwork: Andrew Lawandus Theme Music: Tyler McCauley Subscribe to SubwayTakes. Watch this episode on YouTube or Spotify. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠. Visit ⁠talkhouse.com⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Twitter (X)⁠, ⁠Threads⁠, and ⁠Facebook⁠.

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast’s spin-off series, host Nick Dawson sits down with iconic actress Lili Taylor, who just published her first book, Turning to Birds, a series of thoughtful, beautifully written and deeply human essays about her consuming passion for birdwatching. In an engrossing conversation, the two discuss how recovery and birding intersect, her love of naps, how nature has shifted her relationship to death, Nick getting barked at by a coyote in the Bronx, braving the acting version of the bends after finishing a role, her amazing way of releasing resentment, facing the unknown, how she’s finding resilience and playing the long game as this country plunges into crisis, and much more. For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast.

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got two old friends who’ve contributed more than their fair share to the emo world and beyond and lived to tell the tale: Evan Weiss and Chris Carrabba. Carrabba is of course the main creative force behind Dashboard Confessional, whose early albums—specifically The Swiss Army Romance and The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most—basically invented the genre’s confessional acoustic-based era. He could’ve made those records a dozen times over the past 20 years, but instead Carrabba filled out Dashboard’s sound over the years, stretching out where the muse took him. Now an elder statesman, Carrabba returned to that simpler sound but brought years of wisdom with him for 2022’s All the Truth That I Can Tell, which he talks about in this great chat. Dashboard will head out on a long summer tour with Goo Goo Dolls starting July 13, but not before playing a show with Weiss’s band in Vegas the day before. Weiss’s band would be Pet Symmetry, a trio he’s been part of for the past decade or so, and which just released an excellent new album: Big Symmetry is a big, loveable, tuneful set of songs that all start with the word “big.” It’s a joyful blast of pop-punk that feels like a deliberate antidote to tough times. It may also be a bit of a reaction to what fans would consider Weiss’s main band, Into It. Over It., which flies that emo flag a bit higher. But whatever, those tags are pretty silly when we ought to be talking about songs. Speaking of, check out the song “Big Wish” from the album Big Symmetry right here. In this wide-ranging chat, Carrabba and Weiss talk about the holiness of punk community, the accidental origins of Dashboard Confessional plus that band’s long hiatus and rebirth, and how the financial collapse of 2008 had opposite effects on their careers. It’s true! Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Chris Carrabba and Evan Weiss for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the other great podcasts in our network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠. Visit ⁠talkhouse.com⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Twitter (X)⁠, ⁠Threads⁠, and ⁠Facebook⁠.

On the latest episode of this new Talkhouse Podcast spin-off series, host Nick Dawson sits down with visionary writer-director Michel Gondry, whose delightful new film, Maya, Give Me a Title – a hand-drawn 60-minute feature he originally made just for his young daughter – is currently on the festival circuit. In a wide-ranging conversation, the two talk about childhood, him learning a sense of play from cats, the pivotal moment when he decided to work only on his own terms, taking David Lynch’s advice for his 2015 movie Microbe and Gasoline, watching that same movie alone a plane, why people’s fixation on the Bermuda Triangle is nonsense, and much more. For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast. Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a lively chat between Philly friends Kurt Vile and Francie Medosch. Medosch is the singer and main creative force behind the band Florry, which exists in the same sonic universe as Courtney Barnett and the currently exploding MJ Lenderman—loose, rocking, a little bit jammy, a little bit indie, and frequently catchy as hell. The Lenderman connection makes even more sense when you realize that the upcoming Florry album was recorded with help from Colin Miller, who plays in Lenderman’s band and has recorded music from the band Wednesday. That upcoming Florry album is called Sounds Like… and it’s due out May 23 on Dear Life Records. It’s a corker, kinda rambly and rockin’ in all the right ways. You can pre-save and pre-order at all the usual spots. Check out the song “Hey Baby” right here. The other half of today’s chat is a longtime supporter of Florry’s, fellow Philadelphian Kurt Vile. Vile first came out swinging as part of the War on Drugs way back when, but pretty quickly established himself as a genius of hazy, dazed guitar songs pitched somewhere between the ‘70s squall of Neil Young and more contemporary indie-rock. As you’ll hear in this chat, Vile is working—at his own pace, of course—on the follow-up to 2022’s Watch My Moves. Whenever it’s finished, it’s sure to be intriguing, like all of his work. In this chat, Vile and Medosch talk about their shared hometown as well as the fact that Medosch recently moved to Vermont and is working in both a dispensary and a record store—kind of a perfect combo to describe her music, come to think of it. They also chat about a lot of stuff that they love, including John Prine, the recently departed Michael Hurley, and the deeply lovable Bob Odenkirk, who Vile was very excited to meet recently. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Kurt Vile and Francie Medosch for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and while you’re at it check out all the great podcasts in our ever-growing network, including Subway Takes, Life of the Record, and many more. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

A bonus interview by How Long Gone's Chris Black and Jason Stewart with Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). Watch the companion video version on YouTube. Subscribe to How Long Gone. Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

On this week’s episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a pair of fantastic songwriters and friends who travel in the same musical circles, and who’ve both released disarmingly charming records recently: Clairo and Hannah Cohen. Clairo has been making music since she was a teen, and her songs and sounds have a remarkable depth and breadth of influence, from ‘70s soft-rock to more worldly sounds. Her early viral success pointed to a pop-star trajectory, but Clairo always seems to choose a more interesting sonic path over the more obvious one. Her third album, Charm, came out last year, and it leans into a bit of slinky groove more than she had in the past. Check out the song "Juna" right here. The other half of today’s conversation is Hannah Cohen, who tapped a bunch of cool guests—including Clairo—to help out on her new album. Earthstar Mountain is Cohen’s first in more than five years, and you can hear the care she put into it: It’s an understated but deeply considered ode to her surroundings, the Catskills—and it sounds like that area feels. She made the record with her partner Sam Evian—a Talkhouse alum himself—at their upstate New York studio, Flying Cloud. It doesn’t sound rushed, which is a topic you’ll hear in this chat. In addition to Clairo, it features a guest appearance from Sufjan Stevens. Check out the song “Rag” right here. These two friends get right into a delightful chat that covers Cohen’s record, including the mushroom that inspired its title. They also chat about how working on music with your romantic partner can be its own form of therapy, and they get deep into soundtracks toward the end, tossing around the idea of making one, even without a movie to hang it on. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Hannah Cohen and Clairo for chatting. If you liked what you heard, check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com, and be sure to follow and rate us wherever you listen to podcasts. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by The Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

This episode originally aired on April 8, 2025. Subscribe to That's How I Remember It. Adam Granduciel is my guest on this episode That’s How I Remember It. Adam is the principal behind the amazing band The War on Drugs and also produced my new record Always Been. We’ve been friends since a 2009 THS/TWOD tour which we spoke about here. We also got into rock and roll ephemera, his Live Drugs records, being flattered by bootleg merch, our 2008 joint European tour that never happened, and making my record Always Been together. Grateful to Adam in so many ways including being a guest on this podcast. Great talk. Listen and subscribe.

I hope you’ve been enjoying the last few weeks of the Talkhouse feed as we’ve been throwing some new shows your way. If you haven’t checked out Summer Album/Winter Album yet, please do, and look out for new episodes of Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That, featuring my esteemed colleague Nick Dawson, in the coming months, too. Today’s episode of the Talkhouse Podcast features a pair of incredible songwriters in a lovely chat about about the thing they love to do the most: make music. We’ve got Benmont Tench and Taylor Goldsmith. Tench, in case you don’t recognize the name, is a founding member of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and a guy who helped shape rock music for decades with the distinctive sound and feel of his piano, organ, and much more. Tench made music with Petty from the time they were 11 years old until Petty’s death in 2017, but he’s also contributed to songs and albums by a dizzying array of other artists, too, from Roy Orbison to Fiona Apple to U2. As you’ll hear in this conversation, Tench is always playing music because he loves it so damn much. He recently released his second-ever solo album, The Melancholy Season, and it includes some playing from his friend Taylor Goldsmith. Check out the title track from The Melancholy Season right here. Goldsmith is best known as the singer of the band Dawes, whose Laurel Canyon-inspired folk-rock has been caressing our ears for the past 15 years or so. Dawes has gone through some personnel changes in the past couple of years, paring back to Goldsmith and his brother Griffin and releasing a new album, the fittingly titled Oh Brother just last year. Both Goldsmith brothers were hit hard by the Los Angeles fires, losing their homes and the majority of their beloved instruments. But Goldsmith, as you’ll hear, is taking it in stride. In this conversation, Tench and Goldsmith talk about, again, their love of music: Tench even recalls telling his daughter that he loves her more than he loves music—the highest compliment he can pay. Both of these guys are pretty recent fathers, too, which comes up. And of course they can’t get around talking about the genius of Tom Petty—and the accidental genius of Heartbreakers’ guitarist Mike Campbell’s shirt. Listen and you’ll understand. Enjoy. Chapters: 0:00 – Intro 2:24 – Start of the chat Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Benmont Tench and Taylor Goldsmith for chatting. If you liked what you heard, check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com and in the Talkhouse Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by The Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

On the latest episode of this new Talkhouse Podcast spin-off series, host Nick Dawson sits down with veteran actor, director, producer and writer Griffin Dunne, who is currently starring in the family drama Ex-Husbands. Deviating from the usual, well-trodden interview path, the two talk about uncertainty, mortality, the complex nature of grief, driving cross country at times of great change, that time Griffin scared the living daylights out of Neil Simon, Nick’s idea for a secret eighth day of the week, how Chekhov changed the course of Dunne’s life and career, and much more. For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast. Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

Dylan Tupper Rupert is a music writer, podcast host, and producer in Los Angeles. You might know her as the host of KCRW's Lost Notes: Groupies, or as the producer fka Producer Dylan of Bandsplain. This spring, her new show Music Person is coming to the Talkhouse Podcast Network—where she'll have in-depth conversations with musicians and brilliant people in the greater music ecosystem, and will sometimes maybe even go on an adventure. So here's a sneak peek—Dylan's diary of her week in Austin for South By Southwest.

Tonight on Summer Album/Winter Album: Modern Vampires Of The City. Vampire Weekend. 2013. Our special guest: Amanda Petrusich of The New Yorker. Jody Avirgan is arguing Winter, Craig Finn is arguing Summer. Craig won the coin toss. He is presenting first. This episode was recorded live at the On Air Fest in Brooklyn. Weigh in and find lots more on Instagram, and clips on our YouTube page. Get in touch through our website. Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

In this bonus chat, Talkhouse host Josh Modell speaks with the guys behind the great new Summer Album/Winter Album podcast, Craig Finn and Jody Avirgan. After our conversation, stick around for an episode in which they vociferously debate whether Vampire Weekend’s classic Modern Vampires of the City belongs to warm or chilly weather. Subscribe to Summer Album/Winter Album Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

This week's episode of the Talkhouse Podcast came together by way of my colleague and friend Keenan Kush, who jokingly referred to the music of today’s guests as "Keenan-core." We’ve got a conversation between the duos Kit Sebastian and Pearl & The Oysters. Kit Sebastian came together in London, but their musical (and even geographical) pedigrees are spread much wider. Kit Martin and Merve Erdem, now based in Turkey and France, play music that reflects their locations. Tropicalia and psychedelic pop flirt with an array of other influences to create something that sounds almost out of time. Their latest album New Internationale came out last year on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label, and it adds Azerbaijani and some funk to the mix. Check out the track “Faust” right here. Pearl & The Oysters is also a duo with international roots, having moved from France over a decade ago to Florida, but ending up in Los Angeles. Jazz and Tropicalia also inform their indie pop, and they also ended up on a hip label run by another musician: In this case, Peanut Butter Wolf's Stones Throw. Juliette Pearl Davis and Joachim Polack—sometimes known as Juju and Jojo—put out a great album last year called Planet Pearl. Check out “Side Quest” from that album right here. In this wide-ranging conversation, these two duos talk about their geographic moves and sounds, analog vs. digital recording, favorite filmmakers, and how one cold email kickstarted Kit Sebastian. Enjoy. Chapters: 0:00 – Intro 4:34 – Start of the chat 6:43 – On Influences 13:02 – On Creative Processes 19:27 – On Recording styles 29:09 – Why did Pearl & The Oysters leave France? 31:56 – The DIY scene in Gainsville, FL 36:51 – On Musical Communities 44:22 – The London scene 51:38 – How one cold email kickstarted Kit Sebastian 54:32 – On musical educators 59:21 – Finding your voice 1:03:34 – On cinema and their favorite filmmakers 1:12:28 – How to interact with your audience Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Pearl & The Oysters and Kit Sebastian for chatting. If you like what you heard, check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan and arranged by Keenan Kush, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of songwriters with plenty in common, but who came up on opposite sides of the world: Sharon Van Etten and Nadia Reid. Sharon Van Etten will be very familiar to Talkhouse listeners; we’ve been huge fans of her music from the very beginning, and have followed her—as many of you have—through her early days of more spare guitar songs to the fully fleshed-out music she’s been making in the past few years. Her latest album was Van Etten’s first to be written and recorded with a band, and that band has a name that it shares with her latest album: Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory. Working out songs with her band has resulted in a looser, somewhat more experimental Sharon Van Etten, but it’s still unmistakably her voice and vision, which is to say it’s fantastic. Check out "Idiot Box" from Sharon and the Attachment Theory's new record. Today’s other guest, as you’ll hear, is a friend of Sharon’s from New Zealand, Nadia Reid. Reid has been making music for about a decade, and her latest album, called Enter Now Brightness, came out about a month ago—on the same date as Van Etten’s new record, as a matter of fact. Though Reid is from New Zealand, you might hear bits of what could be described as Americana on her records, which are overarchingly gentle, subdued, and deep. Enter Now Brightness was recorded while Reid was pregnant with her second child, and these two talk a fair bit about motherhood in today’s episode. Check out Nadia Reid’s “Changed/Unchained” from Enter Now Brightness right here. In this chat, Van Etten and Reid talk about parenthood, including bringing your kids on tour—and Van Etten’s son makes a brief appearance as well. They also get into how your band is truly like family and who’s given them great advice over the years. Enjoy. Chapters: 0:00 – Intro 1:59 – Start of the chat 4:07 – "I feel like the cards are stacked against [musicians]" 5:40 – On bonding with your touring band 8:37 – The making of Nadia Reid's 'Enter Now Brightness' 11:00 – Sharon Van Etten on good and bad days in the studio 12:47 – On writing "Seventeen" 14:49 – On parenthood 19:05 – Balancing kids and careers 22:25 – Bringing your kids on tour 25:09 – A special guest 26:28 – Who did you look up to (bands who brought their kids on tour)? 29:10 – "You're one of my heroes" Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Sharon Van Etten and Nadia Reid for chatting. If you liked what you heard, check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com and in the Talkhouse Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

On today's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got one of those episodes pairing an artist you’ve surely heard of, pun intended, with one you likely haven’t, but will. It’s Shirley Manson and Stephen McCall. Manson is of course the singer for the long-running, Grammy-nominated, chart-topping, Bond-theme-performing band Garbage, which hit it big right out of the gate in the mid-1990s. Manson and her bandmates have assembled a varied catalog since, including the biting 2021 album No Gods, No Masters. As you’ll hear in this chat, Garbage is still going strong, working on a new record that goes in kind of a different direction than the last one. Manson has always been a great talker; she even hosted her own podcast for a few years called The Jump, on which she talked with other musicians about the song that provided their breakthrough. She’s a huge fan of music, so it’s no surprise that she was excited to chat with today’s other guest, Stephen McCall. McCall, like Manson, is Scottish—that’s hard to miss—though he hasn’t been making music nearly as long. His debut album under the name Constant Follower came out in 2021 and was met with loads of critical acclaim in Scotland for his quiet, heartfelt, frequently intense songs—think Bon Iver or Low or even McCall’s favorite, Talk Talk. This week sees the release of the second proper Constant Follower album, called The Smile You Send Out Returns To You, another intense set that covers some of McCall’s intense personal journey, including addiction, fatherhood, and the violent attack he suffered that still affects his memory. Check out the song “Almost Time to Go” from The Smile You Send Out right here. In this lively but deep conversation, Manson and McCall talk about that awful attack and how it led, eventually, to Constant Follower. They also talk about longevity in the music business, the creative process—including The Artist’s Way that’s become a frequent topic in Talkhouse chats—and lots more, including the time that Rivers Cuomo laughed in Manson’s face—in a helpful way. Enjoy. Chapters: 0:00 – Intro 2:25 – Start of the chat Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Shirley Manson and Stephen McCall for chatting. If you liked what you heard, check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com and on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by The Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.