Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso is a weekly series of intimate conversations with artists, authors, and politicians. Where people sound like people. Hosted by Sam Fragoso. New episodes every Sunday.
Subscribe:.rss.atom.json.md.m3u.pls
Live Last read · last published · next check
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
Novelist Colson Whitehead is one of only a handful of writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice—first for The Underground Railroad in 2017, and again for The Nickel Boys in 2020. He joins us on the heels of his latest novel, Cool Machine , the final installment of his acclaimed Harlem trilogy. We begin with his decision to close out the world of furniture dealer Ray Carney (3:00), why…
What if it’s true that good things come to those who wait? For Greta Lee, the success of Past Lives came after twenty years of working and finding her way as an actor. Her latest, leading turns come in The Last House and Late Fame . We begin with Late Fame (4:12) and her larger-than-life character, inspired in part by artists like Isabella Rossellini, Marlene Dietrich, and Liza Minnelli (6:37).…
Nine years ago, cook and writer Samin Nosrat created a kitchen staple with Salt Fat Acid Heat : a New York Times bestseller that later became a hit Netflix series. Last fall, Nosrat returned with Good Things , a collection of personal recipes straight from her dining table. Today, we revisit that candid conversation, where we discussed the influences that shaped the book (8:30), the ephemerality…
Two years ago Mary Beth Barone considered quitting stand-up comedy. Thankfully (for us) these were always “empty threats.” The kinds you make when you’re working and waiting for your break, or, in her case, a Netflix special. She joins us this week on the precipice of her (excellent) streaming debut, “Galaxy Brain”, to talk about her intended audience in 2026 (5:32), the concept behind the…
Timothy Olyphant has made a career out of masking the effort behind his effortless performances. He joins us on the heels of his recent turns in Lucky and The Five-Star Weekend . We talk about performing opposite Anya Taylor-Joy (3:53), his upbringing in Modesto, California (7:00), and the years he spent swimming competitively at USC before trading in the fine arts for acting (14:30). Then,…
All that glitters is not gold. Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent for The New York Times who’s been covering Donald Trump for nearly three decades. Her extraordinary level of access in and around the Oval Office has resulted in two best-sellers, including the book of the summer, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump . The new book, co-written with her Times…
From Kenny Powers (“Eastbound & Down”) to Jesse Gemstone (“The Righteous Gemstones”), Danny McBride has created some of the most vain, quintessentially American portraits of male dysfunction in recent memory. His debut short-story collection, Thrilling Tales of Modern Men , is an ode to the overconfident yet woefully insecure characters that have defined his work for the past two decades. We begin…
Councilmember Nithya Raman says she’s running for mayor “to make LA affordable for everyone.” She joins us this week in her first extended sit-down since edging out Spencer Pratt in the recent mayoral primary. We begin with Raman’s decision to challenge an incumbent mayor she once endorsed in Karen Bass (2:47), the state of Los Angeles after years of overlapping crises (6:50), and why she believes…
Tom Hanks is one of the defining actors of the last half-century. Today, we return to one of our favorite conversations with the beloved performer and writer. We begin by discussing his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece (5:58), his nomadic upbringing across California (13:28), and the Stanley Kubrick film that made him want to be an artist (19:40). Then, we talk…
Alanis Morissette’s 1995 chart-topping album “Jagged Little Pill” didn’t just describe a generation; it defined it. “I will take angry as the first note in the music,” she tells us. “I just think every woman I knew was pissed because they were paying attention. How do you not get pissed?” On the heels of the record’s 30th anniversary, the seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter joins us…