Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

With the return of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jeff Garlin is back on the show! Our talk with the Chicago-born comedian opens with a song (4:16) and a spirited exchange over cancel culture (8:10). Then, Garlin shares his excitement around returning to comedy clubs (19:53), his philosophy on dreams (24:30), the night he lost his virginity to a heckler (29:16), how he found love in the pandemic (32:10), and why he’s seeing his work on “Curb” in a new light (35:40)...

As we mark the one-year anniversary of the 2020 election, activist and educator Janaya Future Khan returns for a state of the union (3:00). We begin with the trillion dollar infrastructure bill (4:08), the looming threat of big tech in Congress (4:58), division in the Democratic party (5:28), and how we can move away from “instant coffee politics” by turning to activism (9:55)...

This week we present a double feature with actors Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) and Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets)! To begin, Krieps shares the story behind making Bergman Island (6:00), what it meant to work with director Mia Hansen-Løve (7:30), how she separates herself from her characters (10:30), the epiphany in Mozambique that changed her course (12:59), and a reunion with director Paul Thomas Anderson (17:10)...

This week, we’re joined by legendary singer-songwriter, Indigenous activist, and educator Buffy Sainte-Marie. She reflects on growing up to adoptive parents in Massachusetts (4:00), the value of encouraging creativity in childhood (7:12), reuniting with her Cree family at eighteen (10:37), singing for peers in college (14:36), and the alternative conflict resolution messaging behind her early 1960s protest songs (16:46)...

On this holiday weekend we're revisiting a special episode with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri (“Interpreter of Maladies”, “The Namesake”)...

At age 26, Michael Tubbs became the youngest mayor of a major city in American history. He joins us this week around the release of his breathtaking new memoir, The Deeper the Roots...

As we near the end of 2021, we turn to Noam Chomsky...

On our annual holiday special, we hear from the people that came on Talk Easy in 2021. To start: performer Ts Madison (4:20), CNN anchor Jake Tapper (7:25), actor Vicky Krieps (8:25), and a phone call with actor and director Julie Delpy (9:55). 

We also play some voicemails from visual artist Toyin Ojih Odutola (25:30), host of Death, Sex & Money Anna Sale (28:13), and actor Glynn Turman (30:20), before calling up writer George Saunders (33:20)...