Bullseye With Jesse Thorn

A special treat from the Bullseye archives: Paul Reubens! The man behind Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee is, of course, a beloved character among kids who grew up in the 1980s and 90s. He's the star of Pee-wee's Playhouse, Pee-wee's Big Adventure and so many others. Pee-wee's Playhouse remains a singular achievement in kid's TV. It's a kitschy pastiche of a thousand TV shows that went before it, but it's also much more than that: it's a kaleidoscope of difference, a tribute to the big dreams and big feelings of being a kid. And it's so, so funny. In this interview, Paul tells us about growing up in a circus town, working hard to make Pee-wee Herman seem real, and why Pee-wee is a little bit of a jerk — and why that makes him work as a character.

The Song That Changed My Life is a segment that gives us the chance to talk with some of our favorite artists about the music that made them who they are today. This time around, we're joined by Aimee Mann. Aimee is a singer-songwriter whose career dates back to the 80s when she sang in the new wave band Til Tuesday. But odds are you know Aimee for her solo career. She recently released a record called Queens of the Summer Hotel. The songs on the record started when Aimee was working on a stage version of the book Girl, Interrupted. The stage show hasn't happened, but the record is out now. It's somber, delicate and beautiful. When we asked Aimee about the song that changed her life, she took us back to 1972, to the first time she ever listened – really listened – to lyrics in a pop song. The song was Gilbert O'Sullivan's Alone Again (Naturally).

Drew Magary is a writer and novelist. He was a longtime columnist at Deadspin. He's written features for GQ, The Atlantic and more. His latest work is a memoir. In December of 2018, Drew collapsed after an award show in New York. In the days and weeks that followed, his life changed profoundly. In The Night The Lights Went Out, Drew recounts his accident and his road to recovery. He chronicles his experience with brain damage and hearing loss, interviews the people who cared for him while he recuperated. The book is harrowing, like you'd expect in a book about traumatic brain injury. Drew talks about his renewed appreciation for life. The book is unexpectedly grounded and funny, too. Jesse Thorn talks with Drew about why after recovering from a catastrophic brain injury, he decided to quit his stable writing job. Plus, what it was like to relearn things he used to do on a regular basis. They get more into the particulars in the interview – as a heads up, things get a little graphic.

At the heart of They Might Be Giants, there are two Johns: John Flansburgh and John Linnell. The two singer/songwriters have been writing and recording together since 1982 — nearly 40 years. In that time, the band's released 22 albums, won two Grammys, and have cultivated a fanbase that is passionate, fun-loving... maybe a little nerdy. Their newest project, BOOK, is a record, but it's also... a book. It's a hardcover collection of photos of the band's longtime home of New York City, by street photographer Brian Karlsson. The photos are set alongside lyrics from the band. The Johns sat down with our correspondent Jordan Morris to talk about their early years, their songwriting process, and their "lost album" — plus, have they heard the crust punk version of Ana Ng? We'll play it for them!

The documentary Little Girl is a profile of an 8 year old transgender girl named Sasha living in France. The film talks about the resistance Sasha meets from her school, the help she gets from medical caregivers, and the support she receives from her family. Throughout the film, you see how everywhere Sasha goes, she must explain who she is, answer questions, and fight to clarify something so simple and concise. Little Girl shows in very real and plain terms what it's like to be a trans child, to be a part of that child's family, and to raise and love that child. We talk with director Sébastien Lifshitz about the film and what it was like documenting Sasha's everyday life and the unique challenges she's faced with. He tells us what inspired him to make the film and how he got connected with Sasha and her family. He also shares how Little Girl has impacted the people who see it, and what they tell him.

The Song That Changed My Life is a segment that gives us the chance to talk with some of our favorite artists about the music that made them who they are today. This time around we're joined by DāM-FunK. He's a modern day champion of funk music. DāM-FunK's recorded dozens of albums. His army of analog synths captures the funk sound of the late '70s and early '80s. He's perhaps the world's biggest obsessive of the dazzling late-period funk called Boogie. Dam Funk joins us to talk about Chase by Giorgio Moroder. He explains why he felt the song transcended genres, and how it helped him approach his music craft when started making his own tunes. DāM-FunK's latest record is out now, it's called Above the Fray. He's also the host of the Apple Music show Glydezone Radio, where he spins a mix of hits and obscure finds from his collection.

Susan Orlean has been writing for decades. She's the author of the Orchid Thief, The Library Book and is also a staff writer for the New Yorker. This week we welcome her back to the show to talk about her latest book, On Animals. It's a collection of essays about animals and how we live with them. The animals we eat, the animals we call companions, pets, movie stars, and co-workers. She writes about donkeys, dogs, tigers, whales, and so many others. Susan joins us to talk about her new book and humanity's complicated, fascinating history with animals. She also talks about animal actors, and why they are almost always more likeable than human actors. Plus she shares the one animal she wants to pet that she has not had a chance to yet.

Tamron Hall is a TV veteran: She's host of Emmy Award-winning talk show Tamron Hall. Before that, Tamron worked in news. She had her own show on MSNBC and, for a time, was a host on the Today show. Recently, though, Tamron has taken on an entirely new endeavor: fiction writing. She just published her debut novel called As the Wicked Watch. Tamron Hall joins Bullseye correspondent Jarrett Hill for a conversation not just about the new novel, but on hosting for TV and the unique challenges Black journalists face, even super famous hosts like Tamron Hall.

Jo Firestone's new comedy special Good Timing is the culmination of months of work from her and a group of senior citizens she taught how to do standup comedy. It also features interviews between Jo and the students and behind the scenes footage from the classes. Jo joins us to talk about the new special, and what she learned when teaching stand-up comedy to senior citizens. She also talks about researching her role as a doomsday prepper on one of our favorite TV shows: Joe Pera Talks With You.

This week: a very spooky Bullseye Halloween spectacular! We've got Jamie Lee Curtis, Harvey Guillén and the one and only Elvira, Mistress of the Dark! Jamie Lee Curtis has had unforgettable roles in a bunch of the Halloween movies, as well as memorable roles in True Lies, A Fish Called Wanda, Freaky Friday and Knives Out. Lately, Curtis has been reprising her first ever acting role: that of Laurie Strode, from the Halloween films. She played Laurie in the 2018 movie Halloween, and she's returning in this year's Halloween Kills. She reflects on her legacy in the Halloween franchise. Then, the iconic horror hostess Elvira, real name Cassandra Peterson, is nearly synonymous with Halloween. She joins us for the latest installment of The Craziest Day of my Entire Career. Finally, Harvey Guillén! He stars in one of our favorite TV shows right now: What We Do in the Shadows. Happy Halloween!

John Carpenter has made an impact on film in two different disciplines. As a director , there's so many memorable movies in his filmography: Halloween, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Thing, and They Live – to name a few. His work as a composer is just as iconic. Carpenter scored many of his early films – including Halloween. The music he wrote has influenced an entire generation of horror soundtracks. His latest work can be heard in Halloween Kills, the latest installment in the Halloween franchise. It's out now in theaters and the streaming platform Peacock. When Bullseye got the opportunity to talk with Carpenter, we knew just the person for the job: April Wolfe. She was previously a film critic, and former host of the Maximum Fun genre film podcast Switchblade Sisters. These days she's a screenwriter. April takes a deep dive with John Carpenter on various number of his movie projects and film scores including his Apocalypse Trilogy and Assault on Precinct 13. He also breaks down how

For nearly 5 decades, Sonia Manzano played the part of Maria on Sesame Street. The role came to be during her college years while she was studying acting. She had just gone back home to New York for her first gig, which was a role in an off-Broadway musical called Godspell. While she was there, she auditioned for a part on Sesame Street, and her life changed forever. Now, Sonia has a show of her own called Alma's Way. It is an animated kids series that centers around the show's title character, Alma Rivera. She's a 6 year old Puerto Rican girl living in the Bronx alongside her family, friends and community members. Sonia joins the show to talk about her new PBS Kids series Alma's Way and her many years on Sesame Street. She'll also share what it's like when she meets fans in real life. Plus, she talks about her time performing in Godspell.

In 1989, Mac McCaughan co-founded the band Superchunk. The band was abrasive and vulnerable; Guitars dominated their sound, with Mac's voice sitting low in the mix. The band caught on and became huge. So big, they helped coin the Gen X term "Slacker" with their 1990 hit "Slack Motherf--ker." To release Superchunk's albums, Mac and his bandmates started their own label: Merge Records. Mac is also a solo artist. He's released a handful of albums and EPs under his own name, in a broad range of genres. He's made everything from folk rock to ambient music. His latest record is called The Sound of Yourself. It's a fun pop record that caught the ear of our friend Jordan Morris. They talk about recording an album during lockdown, using samples in songwriting, and what makes a good sax solo on a pop record.

The photography book Street Writers: A Guided Tour Of Chicano Graffiti was first published in 1975. To the extent that a photography book can be a cult classic, Street Writers is one. The book featured black and white photographs, mostly portraits, all shot in and around Los Angeles' East side. In Street Writers, you see a lot of young people – teenagers, children, young adults. They're sitting on bleachers, playing in the storm drain, jogging past a liquor store. It was all shot by this young Italian photographer – Gusmano Cesaretti. And pretty much all of Gusmano's photos have one thing in common: graffiti. Street Writers was re-published earlier this year for the first time in decades. Jesse Thorn talked with Gusmano, and Chaz Bojórquez , a veteran street artist and one of the book's original subjects. They'll talk about how the Los Angeles neighborhoods Gusmano photographed have changed. Plus, Chaz on his decades long career as a graffiti artist, and the thrill he gets knowing he's never been caught doing

Mark Mothersbaugh doesn't need much of an introduction. He's a composer who's worked in TV and film for almost 40 years now. And, of course, he's also the co-founder and frontman of Devo, the beloved new wave/post-punk band. The band got its start in Ohio in the early 1970s, and had hits like 1980's Whip It. And they're touring again! So we figured we'd reach out to Mothersbaugh for a segment we call The Craziest Day of my Entire Career, and boy oh boy, did he deliver! This story has it all: celebrities, disco, wild miscommunication, Andy Warhol. You should also know that there's some drug use and descriptions of violence in this segment. Mark is still scoring movies and TV shows — you can hear his music in the upcoming movie Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, which also stars former Bullseye guests Kathryn Hahn and Steve Buscemi.

G Perico is a gangster rapper from Los Angeles. That puts him firmly in a tradition stretching from Ice T and the DOC in the 80s through Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg in the 90s and on to hitmakers like The Game and YG in the 21st century. Listen to one of his tracks, and it's hard not to hear the echoes of thirty-some years of records about cruising, barbecuing and throwing gang signs in the streets of LA. He talks about his lived experiences in his music. He raps about the LA he grew up in from cookouts and car shows. And where there is always danger around the corner. G Perico broke through in 2016 with his project **** Don't Stop. That record established him at the vanguard of LA street rap. In the five years since, he has recorded nine albums. This includes four he has released this year, with the latest being called Play 2 Win. He joins Bullseye and reflects on his upbringing, the music he listens to, and embracing his imperfections. He also talks about his creative process and his love for writing. Plus, he

The Song That Changed My Life is a segment that gives us the chance to talk with some of our favorite artists about the music that made them who they are today. This time around, we're joined by guitarist Buddy Guy. Buddy is one of the greatest blues guitarists alive today. From his home studio in Chicago, Buddy took us back to his childhood in Louisiana. He explains how John Lee Hooker's song Boogie Chillen' encouraged him to learn the guitar in his early teens. Plus, he shares a story about getting to meet his hero, John Lee Hooker; and becoming friends with him, too. Check out Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away on your local PBS station or on PBS.org.

Jessica St. Clair is a comedy writer and actor. Alongside Lennon Parham, she created and starred in the comedy series Playing House, which aired for three seasons on USA. Dan O'Brien is her husband of 15 years and works as a poet and playwright. He is also a former Guggenheim fellow whose work has shown off-Broadway and in London. Jessica and Dan have experienced and survived cancer together. They both had separate diagnoses and different treatments. A few years back, Jessica was diagnosed with breast cancer, and shortly after Dan was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. It was an intense and freighting time for both of them and as they have recovered, it has inspired their work. They join Bullseye to talk about Dan's new book Our Cancers and the year and half of being treated for cancer that inspired it. Jessica and Dan also talk about how their battles with cancer affected their child, their relationship, and their careers.

Artists, musicians, and filmmakers are often inspired by what they see or hear. Sometimes that thing is so great, they tell us they wish they made it themselves. It happens so often we made a segment about it called I Wish I'd Made That. The one and only Nick Offerman joins us this time around. Nick is probably best known as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation. When we asked him if there was any TV show, movie or album he wishes he made, Nick said he leaves that to the professionals. Usually, our guests pick a movie or a TV show they love. But, Nick decided to channel his love of woodworking and tell us about the greatest guitar he ever held in his hands: The Gibson J-200.

Actor Michael K. Williams died earlier this month. He was 54 years old. He was best known for playing Omar Little on The Wire. Michael began his career in entertainment first as a dancer in New York, then an actor with a handful of walk-on credits. By the time he auditioned for The Wire he was in his mid-30s. When Jesse Thorn talked with him in 2016, he was starring in a show called Hap and Leonard. When we heard the news about Williams' passing, we went into the archives to listen back to our conversation. There's some stuff you might've heard in the past, a lot of stuff you haven't.