Bullseye with Jesse Thorn Folgen

Jesse talks to Huey Lewis about his pub rock beginnings, his multi-platinum success with the album Sports, and how he wrote songs for movies like Back to the Future and Pineapple Express. He also talks about the time he snuck onto an airplane bound for London. Then, from free flights to free phone calls. Find out how "phreakers" were able to use computerized tones to unlock an entire phone network. Heck, one guy did it just by whistling the right way. Phil Lapsley will talk about his book "Exploding The Phone: The Untold Story of The Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma Bell". 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

We revisit Jesse's interview with the delightful stand-up comic Simon Amstell. On TV, he prods at the powers that be and has even caused a few walk-offs. But despite the escapades, Amstell spends much of his time on stage and off looking inward, at himself. The self-doubt got so deep that he went on a shamanic quest to South America for answers. Then Brian K Vaughn talks about his comic book series SAGA. It's a space fantasy about parenting with a deep, engaging mythology. Plus, AV Club contributors Erik Adams and Claire Zulkey talk about some all-time TV favorites: the serial drama Twin Peaks and the British sitcom Spaced. [Portions of this episode previously aired in December 2012.] 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

We're talking Veep this week with the HBO comedy's showrunner, Armando Iannucci, and its star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Iannucci talks about geeking out on American and British politics and recreating them on-screen. Then, Louis-Dreyfus talks about her days on Seinfeld and her favorite dirty phrase from Veep. Plus, British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg talks about the song that changed his life. 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