Episode 1226 - Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh needs to make music. Whether it’s with her bands Throwing Muses and 50FOOTWAVE or in her solo albums, making music is a compulsion. But she only recently figured out that music was her way of managing trauma. Kristin tells Marc about a life changing car accident, her dissociative disorder, PTSD, “switching,” and how processing all of this helped her understand the music she’d been hearing in her head all her life. They also talk about her new book, Seeing Sideways, which deals with Kristin raising four children on a tour bus.

Episode 1225 - Steve Miller

Steve Miller didn’t expect to become a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with hit songs that stand the test of time, like The Joker and Fly Like An Eagle. He was just a kid from Wisconsin who loved the Blues and wound up with teachers like T-Bone Walker and his godfather Les Paul. Steve tells Marc how he got his first breaks in clubs run by the Chicago Mafia, how he learned an important lesson from Paul McCartney, and how he discovered a lost 1977 concert performance which he’s finally releasing. 

Episode 1224 - Mark Normand

Mark Normand is relieved to get back to the comedy clubs after a year of doing outdoor shows and other compromised sets during the pandemic. But Mark never considered stopping because comedy is something he has to do. Maybe it goes back to growing up feeling like an outsider in his own family of overachievers, or maybe it’s how he coped with childhood anxieties like bedwetting, or maybe it has to do with being a victim of crime at several points in his life. He tries to get to the bottom of it with Marc while they also reminisce about the New York comedy scene and the fight-or-flight impulses they have as comedians.

Episode 1223 - Nancy Wilson

Nancy Wilson is one of the world’s great guitarists, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and creator, along with her sister Ann, of one of the great American rock bands, Heart. But after more than 40 years in the business, she’s finally releasing her first solo album. Nancy tells Marc what led up to it, from opening for big rock acts to writing massive radio hits to headlining giant arena rock shows all over the world. Nancy explains how things got messy within Heart when romantic relationships cropped up and she details how they were able to navigate the cocaine-fueled ‘80s to score some of their biggest hits ever.

Episode 1222 - Robert Smigel

Robert Smigel became best known for having a foul-mouthed dog puppet on his hand, but the truth is he’s a defining force in popular comedy for the past 35 years. Robert tells Marc how he was on the path to becoming a dentist until a stand-up comedy competition changed his life. From there it was on to SNL where he forged relationships with people like Conan O’Brien and Adam Sandler, collaborating over the next decade to change the comedy landscape. Robert also explains the origin of Triumph and why he’s gone back to puppets with his new show Let’s Get Real. 

Episode 1221 - Richard Kind

Richard Kind knows his face is memorable, but he still thinks he uses it too much. He knows his characters often exude warmth and joy, even though he is personally powered by dread and anxiety. He wants to be more like George Bailey, but worries he’s closer to Willy Loman. Maybe this is why Richard and Marc connect so easily. They also talk about Richard being a part of the Coen Brothers’ legacy, his friendship with George Clooney, and how he did most of his acting training in front of the camera.

Episode 1220 - John Waters

On the day this episode is released, John Waters is celebrating his 75th birthday. But he’s still doing the same things that brought him cultural notoriety when he started making movies in the ‘60s: Celebrating filth, fighting censorship, and breaking any rule you can think up. John and Marc talk about those early movies like Pink Flamingos, as well as John’s relationship with Divine. John also tells Marc why Hairspray was the most transgressive movie he ever made, why he prays to Pasolini, and what is the only thing he regrets in his life. 

Episode 1219 - Tom Jones

Tom Jones doesn’t feel like resting on his laurels. He tells Marc there’s one main reason he’s going strong, recording new music and performing live at the age of 80: Because he still has a point to prove. Tom and Marc talk about his big hits like It’s Not Unusual, Delilah, and What’s New Pussycat?, how he learned to belt them out by listening to gospel music, and the secret weapon he calls The Push. They also discuss his friendship with Elvis, his musical heroes, and his new album Surrounded by Time.

Episode 1218 - Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma remembers a moment in his childhood where it all began to make sense. As a seven-year-old prodigy, he was playing cello in front of an audience that included two U.S. Presidents. But it was an act of kindness and respect from the actor Danny Kaye that helped Yo-Yo look at the world in a different way. He also tells Marc how he found the meaning of art and culture in the Kalahari, why he developed a friendship with Mr. Rogers, and why he chose the title “Beginner’s Mind” for his new musical narrative project for Audible.

Episode 1217 - Sally Struthers

Sally Struthers is thinking a lot about the passage of time these days. For one, this year is the 50th anniversary of All In The Family premiering on CBS. She’s also thinking that so many people she worked with in movies like Five Easy Pieces and The Getaway are no longer with us. And she’s thinking about how all this downtime from the pandemic is keeping her from doing what she loves: touring the country in stage productions. Sally talks with Marc about how time catches up with all of us, but also how she can look back fondly and with gratitude on what has passed. 

Episode 1216 - Katey Sagal

Katey Sagal is known by the public in ways she doesn't see herself. She's known as an actor, but always thought of herself primarily as a singer. She's known as a seminal comedic TV character, even though she didn't think of herself as funny. She's defined by brash, confrontational roles, but sees herself as reserved, even shy. Katey and Marc talk about these contradictions and how they played out in public - on Married... with Children, Sons of Anarchy, her new show Rebel - and in private - in relationships, career stall-outs and struggles with substance abuse.

Episode 1215 - Hunter Biden

Marc only knew Hunter Biden from what he saw in the news. He never heard him speak, he had no sense of who he really was, and he wasn’t sure he cared much about the troubled son of a President. Then he read Hunter Biden’s book. The sad, tragic, honest, disturbing and concerning story at the heart of the real Hunter Biden made Marc want to talk with him, face to face. Hunter and Marc have a conversation about grief, desperation, tragedy, trouble and deep drug addiction. It ends up in a good place, but that place is fragile. 

Episode 1214 - Daniel Kaluuya

Daniel Kaluuya doesn’t want to stop the journey. Getting nominated for Oscars, winning a Golden Globe, hosting Saturday Night Live. These are moments within the journey, but he doesn’t want any of them to feel bigger than the journey itself. Daniel and Marc talk about this life perspective, how he draws a lot of it from his family in London and Uganda, and how he incorporated it into his portrayal of Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah. They also talk about Sicario, Get Out and his improv days.

Episode 1213 - Azazel Jacobs

Writer-director Azazel Jacobs was born into the world of experimental film. But it was a combination of comic books, old radio shows, Mad Magazine and The Clash that helped him develop the sensibility he would later put on screen. Aza tells Marc how his parents passed along a love of art and a compulsion to create, why he believes the name they chose for him limited his professional options, and how he found out a world existed between Hollywood and the kind of films his father made. They also talk about Aza’s latest film, French Exit.

Episode 1212 - Eddie Huang

Eddie Huang has been fighting for things his whole life. Whether fighting for respect from a culture that is unwelcoming, or fighting for normalcy amidst a chaotic upbringing, or fighting for approval from his immigrant parents, all his achievements came with a cost. Now, with the first movie he wrote and directed under his belt, Eddie tells Marc why the film Boogie represents a collection of everything he’s had to fight for. They also talk about his struggles with having his memoir Fresh Off The Boat adapted for TV and why Lynn Shelton was integral to him becoming a director. 

Episode 1211 - Christopher Lloyd

Christopher Lloyd has a career spanning more than 60 years on stage, TV and film. But Marc was enamored with stories about the first movie Christopher ever made, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Christopher tells Marc about the unique audition process, how they slept overnight in the institution, what it was like working with his idol at the time, Jack Nicholson, and more. They also talk about the first movie Christopher almost made, shooting lots of guns in the new movie Nobody, and what he considers to be the true legacy of Back to the Future. 

Episode 1210 - Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian from System of a Down says he is dedicated to the truth in a very naive way. That basic need to tell the truth and be honest with himself comes through in his art, his activism and his personal life, all of which are depicted in the new documentary Truth to Power. Serj and Marc talk about how so much of Serj’s life has been dedicated to telling the story of the Armenian genocide and how that mission informs his activism around the struggles in present day Armenia, as well as other human rights efforts around the world. 

Episode 1209 - Laraine Newman

Laraine Newman titled her memoir May You Live in Interesting Times, a phrase many people believe to be a curse. Laraine thinks it’s an appropriate framework for her life and career. She tells Marc what it was like to be a part of culture-changing comedy institutions as a founding member of both The Groundlings and Saturday Night Live. They also talk about her prolific career as a voiceover artist for animation which also began on serendipitous terms.