Bullseye With Jesse Thorn

David Byrne! The one and only. The founder of the Talking Heads talks with Jesse about his latest project American Utopia, and his return to playing live music. He also shares some of the music he's been listening to lately and tells us about where he learned his iconic dance moves. Plus, he'll tell us why his very different brain powers his art.

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have been working together for 40 years, producing some of the biggest R&B records of all time. In their four decades of working together, the fedora-wearing giants of R&B music have written and produced over 40 top-ten hits. They've worked with Prince, Babyface, Usher, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and more — the list goes on and on. All that producing hadn't left them a lot of time to write songs of their own, but lucky for us, that's changed. This past July they released their first ever album as recording artists. It's called "Jam & Lewis, Volume 1," and it sure was worth the wait. It features vocals from a bunch of their collaborators: Mary J. Blige, Boys II Men, Morris Day and more. The music legends join Bullseye to talk about the new album, the hits they contributed vocals to, and the jaw-dropping synthesizer work they do on the Janet Jackson single "Love Will Never Do."

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 singer songwriter Rostam. He got his start as a member of Vampire Weekend. He produced the band's first three records, including some of their biggest hits. He's since left the band but keeps busy producing. He collaborated on a record with Hamilton Leithauser of the Walkmen in 2016, followed that up with his solo debut, and produced the acclaimed Haim record Women in Music Pt. III. Rostam joins us to talk about The Coast by Paul Simon. Rostam explains how the song helped him visualize and produce the first Vampire Weekend album. Plus, he'll shares a story about the time he met Paul Simon when the band performed on SNL. Rostam's second solo album Changephobia is out now.

Hannah Waddingham stars alongsie Jason Sudekis in Ted Lasso. She plays team owner Rebecca Welton in the series. Hannah joins guest host Linda Holmes of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour to chat about her role in Ted Lasso. Plus, she talks about her years of performing in theater, her iconic part on Game of Thrones, *and* what it's like to perform in an award-winning musical when a mouse is stuck in your dress.

Uzo Aduba first rose to fame playing a character known as Crazy Eyes. It was on Orange Is the New Black, a part of the first class of original TV shows on Netflix. Crazy Eyes, whose real name is Suzanne, was one of the many prisoners in the women's correctional facility the show focused on. Aduba won two Emmys for her portrayal of Suzanne, one for comedy and the other for drama. Since Orange is the New Black, Aduba has gone on to even bigger and better things. She played Shirley Chisolm in the Hulu miniseries Mrs. America. She's performed on Broadway. And, recently, she's starred in the HBO series In Treatment. So we're thrilled to have Uzo Aduba on the show, and just as excited to Tre'vell Anderson, the writer and host of FANTI, interviewing her.

Zumbi, born Steve Gaines, made up half of the Oakland duo Zion I, who were stalwarts of the Bay Area hip-hop scene for decades. Zumbi died at 49 and what follows is an appreciation of his art and music. Jesse shares some words about Zumbi and we play a clip from Zion I's 2009 live performance at SF Sketchfest.

On the latest episode we welcome back Sam Richardson! His breakthrough role came in HBO's Veep. The political satire starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus where everyone is terrible, mean, incompetent, and they all hate each other. Everyone, except Sam's character, the cheerful, incorruptible Richard Splett. Sam is also a writer. With the help of Saturday NIght Live alum Tim Robinson, they co-created and starred in Detroiters, a show about two buddies working for an advertising firm in Detroit. Sam Richardson has a brand. He typically plays cheerful, friendly characters who are usually so nice they end up getting in their own way. Recently, he's been trying different kinds of roles. He has the lead role in horror comedy Werewolves Within, and he starred alongside Chris Pratt in the sci-fi action film The Tomorrow War. He joins Jesse Thorn to talk about branching out, Detroiters, and what it was like growing up between the United States and Ghana. Plus, they'll discuss some of his funniest bits from Tim Robinson's sket

Odds are, you probably know Aidy Bryant from Saturday Night Live. She's been on the cast now for almost a decade. She's been on the cast now for almost a decade. On the show she's done killer impressions, sang on a handful of memorable SNL songs, and starred in numerous skits. For the last few years, Bryant has also starred in and written for her own show: Shrill. The show follows her character Annie, a struggling young journalist who is determined to change her life without changing her body. It just wrapped up its third and final season on Hulu, and it has earned Bryant an Emmy nomination for best lead actress in a comedy series. She's also up for best supporting actress in a comedy series for her work on Saturday Night Live. Guest host Tre'vell Anderson chats with the Emmy-nominated actor about Shrill and her personal connection to her character in the show. She also shares the fun way she found out about her Emmy nominations. Plus, she looks back on some of her favorite moments from both Shrill and Satu

Jonathan Majors has been acting professionally for just under five years now. He's done theater, TV, and starred in movies. In that short amount of time, he's become one of the most captivating performers in Hollywood. He was in two of our recent favorites: Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods and Joe Talbot's The Last Black Man In San Francisco. On screen, he's charismatic and charming when the role calls for it, and he can turn to vulnerable and broken almost instantly. He's the kind of actor that just helps take the story to the next level – he has a sort of magnetic quality. Watching him, you can easily lose yourself and forget about other performers. Recently, Majors earned an Emmy nomination for his work on HBO's Lovecraft Country. Jonathan Majors joins us to talk about Lovecraft Country, and reflects on being the child in a family of veterans. Plus, he'll dive into acting theory and craft – and he gets into it, really into it.

50 years ago, in Berkeley, Calif., a restaurant called Chez Panisse opened its doors. It wasn't super buzzy at the time. The chef, Alice Waters, hadn't opened a restaurant before. The night they opened, they had a lot of friends helping out, but were short on silverware. They served a four-course menu that cost just under $4. Chez Panisse eventually became known as one of the finest restaurants in the country, if not the world. But what made the place important is that Chez Panisse was one of the first restaurants to champion local, seasonal, sustainable food. If you read up on the history of today's sustainable food movement, Alice Waters' name is all over it. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Chez Panisse's opening, we're replaying our interview with Waters from 2019.

We're revisiting our conversation with Kamasi Washington, one of the greatest living saxophone players. In the studio, he's played saxophone and arranged for hitmakers like Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, Run The Jewels, Snoop Dogg – and that's just naming a handful. On his own, he's a visionary bandleader with over half a dozen solo records to his name. He broke through in 2015, with his three hour long instant classic The Epic – a record that found its way to a bunch of top ten lists. These days, he's getting back to playing live music. With a handful of shows on the horizon all over North America this fall. Kamasi Washington talks about his time playing sax in bands, as a composer and bandleader. Plus, he'll reflect on one of his first major gigs with Snoop Dogg and collaborating with Kendrick Lamar on To Pimp A Butterfly. Of course, we also dive into his nearly unbeatable Street Fighter II skills. This interview originally aired in November of 2018.

Busy Phillipps has well amassed over 60 credits on the big and small screen. Her first big break came when she was just 20 years old on the acclaimed and influential TV show Freaks & Geeks. She followed that up with an appearance on Dawson's Creek and went on to star in several more TV shows and films. Her latest project is Girls5Eva, which was created by Meredith Scardino and is executively produced by Tina Fey. It's a comedy series about a fictional girl group that had a handful of smash hits right at the turn of the millennium. Think equal parts Spice Girls and N'Sync. Busy Philipps joins guest host Jordan Morris to talk about Girls5Eva, the resurgence of Freaks and Geeks in the age of streaming, and the moment she realized she wanted to make a career out of acting. Plus, she takes a Spice Girls quiz to see what group member she is.

For over 20 years, Tom Scharpling has hosted The Best Show. It aired on the New York public radio station WFMU until around 2013, and now it's a podcast. Tom's also a comedy writer who's worked on shows like Monk, What We Do in the Shadows and HBO's Divorce. As a voice actor, he's appeared on the Cartoon Network shows Steven Universe and Adventure Time. On the latest episode, we talk with Tom about his new book It Never Ends: A Memoir with Nice Memories, and hosting The Best Show for more than two decades. Plus, Tom tells us why C3PO, the fussy golden Star Wars robot, is one of the worst fictional characters of all time. Heads up: There is going to be some very serious talk about mental illness, including Tom's experience with electroconvulsive therapy. We thought we'd let you know.

The Brat Pack, as you might know, is a term for a group of 8 or so actors who starred in about a dozen movies in the 1980s. There's Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, a bunch of others — and Andrew McCarthy. But McCarthy always kind of pushed back on the label of being a Brat Pack actor — he wasn't really into the whole nostalgia thing. Eventually, though, something changed. He even wrote a book about it. Brat: An 80s Story is a memoir that looks back on an era that changed his life forever. Andrew stopped by the show for an interview with guest host Julie Klausner, the writer and actor. He talks about coming to terms with the Brat Pack label, what his kids think of Weekend at Bernie's — and how he feels about being labeled a dreamboat. We'd like to hear your thoughts on Bullseye! To take a short, anonymous survey, go to npr.org/podcastsurvey.

Look at just about any "greatest albums of all time" list and you'll usually see Liz Phair's 1993 record Exile in Guyville. The album put her on the map as a singer-songwriter. The production was no frills, and the songwriting was personal at times and tongue-in-cheek at others. It inspired a bunch of bands and artists such as Courtney Barnett, Foo Fighters, and even Olivia Rodrigo. She followed that up with a number of great records including her self-titled album in 2003, which was her first ever major label record. On the album she collaborated with writers and producers that had previously worked with Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne. The album polarized writers at the time. While some thought it was a fun Summer pop album, others dismissed it as trivial. With her fans, though, it confirmed something they'd known for a long time. That Liz Phair won't be boxed in. She just released her first new album in over a decade. It's called Soberish. It's great and she continues to push boundaries on the project. Sh

We're remembering the life of rapper Gift of Gab, who died last month at just 50 years old. Gab was the co-founder and MC for the legendary Northern California hip-hop group Blackalicious. If you're a serious hip-hop head, you know them; If you're not, you might recognize him for the tongue-twisting track Alphabet Aerobics. He could go toe-to-toe with anyone, and he knew it. Sometimes you wonder how he managed to breathe, never mind think. He was a battle rapper and a philosopher — a virtuoso. In this episode, we'll revisit a 2005 interview with Gab and DJ Chief Xcel, from back when this show was called The Sound of Young America. Then, the return of the Outshot: Jesse talks about what Gift of Gab meant to him, and what it's like to lose a hero. Lastly: We'd like to hear your thoughts on Bullseye and other NPR podcasts! To take a short, anonymous survey, go to npr.org/podcastsurvey.

Melissa McCarthy has played some unforgettable parts, like in Bridesmaids, The Heat and Spy. She met her husband, Ben Falcone, when they were members of the Groundlings theater in Los Angeles and have been performing together on stage and screen for almost 20 years now. Together the two have made five movies now. Their latest collaboration is the Netflix film Thunder Force, a superhero comedy which was released earlier this year. We're taking a moment to revisit Melissa and Ben's conversation from 2014. They'll talk about their high school days, including Melissa's goth phase, their fateful meeting in the Groundlings, and what it was like getting Kathy Bates to play a role that was literally written for her.

Content Warning: this segment contains some graphic descriptions of torture, sex and violence. It's an interview with John Waters for a segment we do called I Wish I'd Made That. In this episode, the director behind Hairspray, Crybaby, and Pink Flamingos. He stops by the show to talk about the 1975 film Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom which is directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. The release of Salò was controversial and some might say it is one of the most upsetting movies ever made. John Waters, whose films have earned him the title of "The Pope of Trash," has been a longtime fan of Pasolini's work. So, it is no surprise that he chose to talk about this film.

Patton Oswalt and Meredith Salenger keep busy with various projects in show business. They're parents, too. The celebrity couple don't get much one-on-one time together. In their podcast Did You Get My Text with Meredith and Patton they take a break from their busy lives as actors to talk about all the text messages, memes and random stuff they sent each other each day. Along the way, they get into serious stuff: relationship issues, friendships and loss. On the latest episode of Bullseye – Patton and Meredith discuss parenting, the joys of being nerdy and their new podcast. Plus, we get into their virtual meet cute – they texted for months before they heard each other's voices. Heads up: This interview has plenty of jokes, but we also get into some more serious topics like dealing with grief. In 2016, Patton lost his first wife, true crime writer and journalist Michelle McNamara suddenly. We thought we'd give you a heads up.

We're dedicating this week's show to music duo Wendy and Lisa. Together they recorded some stone cold classics with Prince's band The Revolution: Purple Rain, Raspberry Beret, Kiss, When Doves Cry and more. These days, they're known for their work composing scores for TV and movies: Heroes, Dangerous Minds, Crossing Jordan, and Nurse Jackie. Their latest composing credits can be heard on Cruel Summer, the new teen thriller from Freeform. Wendy and Lisa talk with us about their 40-plus year partnership, and their Emmy award-winning work as composers. They'll reflect on their childhood friendship, and the work their fathers contributed as members of The Wrecking Crew. And of course, what it was like to collaborate with Prince, and work on some of his most iconic records.