Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Five years ago, Jenny and Sam sat for a special conversation. They promised to reconvene in 2020 (which they did). To celebrate the release of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Jenny returns for round three!

We unpack the decade-long journey to making Marcel (8:00), what the character embodied for her (11:19), creating with director Dean Fleischer-Camp (13:39), combating misogyny in Hollywood (15:16), and the painful timeliness of her 2014 film, Obvious Child (17:54)...

This week we’re joined by author and body healer, Resmaa Menakem. With the release of his new book, The Quaking of America, we discuss Black liberation (5:09), the ‘white-body supremacy’ of January 6th (7:41), the implications of America’s conservatism (20:08), why there’s a failure to communicate across the aisle (25:03), the pernicious paradigm that ‘white guilt’ creates (32:44), and what it will take for us to have an embodied, anti-racist culture (39:25)...

Today, we’re joined by comedian John Early! We begin with his excellent new special, Would It Kill You to Laugh? (6:51) and its surprising tenderness (10:03), before revisiting a satirical book club sketch written with collaborator Kate Berlant (13:41). Then, John reflects on growing up in Nashville to minister parents (19:05), discovering Toni Collette at Blockbuster (22:37), and creating a fan-site dedicated to her work (25:31)...

Ethan Hawke has spent three decades telling stories. His latest project, The Last Movie Stars, honors two legends that inspired him to do so: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.

Today, he joins us to unpack the new docuseries (9:24), starting with his introduction to Paul Newman through Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (12:13)...

Today we’re joined by Lena Dunham! We start by discussing her new film, Sharp Stick (6:20), the 1970s cinema that inspired it (9:50), and how it offers a “three-way mirror” to the female experience (12:41)...

Musician Joey Bada$$ joins us today! With the release of his new album, “2000”, we discuss the evolution of his songwriting (5:07), the direction of the new record (8:59), and how Grand Puba influenced the opening track, The Baddest (10:28)...

Today we’re joined by Abbi Jacobson! We begin with her new series, A League of Their Own (5:35), the legacy of the 1992 film (10:35), her earliest comedic influences (15:05), moving to New York City post-college (21:04), falling in love with improv at UCB (25:08), the night she met Ilana Glazer (32:40), and a handful of memories creating Broad City (37:20)...

Today, we head to Princeton, New Jersey to sit with legendary writer Joyce Carol Oates. We begin with her daily routine, from writing to revision (6:34), the real-life events that inspired her new novel, Babysitter (9:09), and why she’s fascinated with examining violence in her work (14:06). Then, we walk through Oates’ early years: growing up on a farm (17:45), her literary influences (22:22), and the lasting relationship she formed with libraries (27:01)...

This Labor Day weekend we’re joined by flight attendant and AFA President Sara Nelson! To begin, we discuss the challenge of summer air travel (6:14), the union’s fight against stock buybacks (9:45), and the history of harassment and sexism in the industry (18:33). Then, we walk through Sara’s early years at United (22:35), the physical toll of being a flight attendant (26:44), and how she found her way into the labor movement (30:37)...

Last fall, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, we turned to the work of photographer Joel Meyerowitz. In the aftermath of that fateful day, Joel spent nine months at Ground Zero, capturing images of the recovery effort and first responders—the firefighters, police officers, EMS, construction workers—who put their lives on the line and families on hold to show up for a nation in repair...