Bullseye with Jesse Thorn Folgen

Kaitlin Olson plays Sweet Dee on the long-running sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Dee is the only female member of "The Gang", a bunch of depraved, self-centered pals who run a bar. The Gang is constantly looking for ways to get rich quick, humiliate their enemies, get out of work, and prove once and for all the talent, charisma and brilliance they hold to be self-evident. In an unusual move for a solo female character, Dee doesn't serve to counterbalance the guys' bad behavior — she absolutely matches their pace. Olson talks to us about creating a more fully-fleshed character for Dee, how she came to comedy, and how she ended up dating (and marrying) her showrunner. Jeff Chang talks to us about what diversity means to us today, the struggle for artists to defy racial categorization, and how and why corporations embraced multiculturalism. Chang's newest book- We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation- is an exploration of the current unrest abound in the United States through a series of essays. Jesse also tells us about the life and legend of Andre the Giant.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Danny Fields is a music manager and publicist who was instrumental in signing and promoting some of the biggest names in Punk Rock history. This week, he and Jesse discuss his decision to leave the ivy league tract, his time in Andy Warhol's Factory, and what it was like managing The Ramones. Judith Light has had an almost 40 year acting career in which she's played strong female characters on shows like One LIfe To Live and Who's The Boss?. She is now continuing in this motif with her tenure on Broadway, winning two Tony Awards for her performances in the last 5 years, starring in a one woman show, and of course her groundbreaking performance in Transparent. Judith sits down with guest correspondent Keith Powell to discuss her work on Transparent, the cast's relationship with Jill Soloway, and the famous courtroom scene on One Life to LIve that launched her career. Jesse talks about Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some as a reflection of the necessity for people to fall into spells of nostalgia, even if just for 90 minutes.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

This week, Jesse sits down with Hasan Minhaj, comedian and Senior Correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. They discuss stand up comedy in other countries, the current political climate in the United States, and his one man show Homecoming King. He also talks to Margaret Wappler, a journalist, columnist, pop culture critic, short story writer, podcast host , teacher, and now novelist. Margaret and Jesse talk about her new novel Neon Green, how she took care of her ill father as a teenager, the writing process, and the 1990's. And Jesse talks about the look on former NFL star and current analyst Randy Moss' face while his colleague Trent Dilfer gave his thoughts on the player protests going on in the NFL right now.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy