Podcast
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
Hosted by NPR · EN
Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture. Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney's, which called it "the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world."
91episodes
Episodes
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Kelsey Grammer
Feb 18, 2025Tap to summarizeDr. Frasier Crane! Beast from X-Men! Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons! Our guest needs no introduction: it's Kelsey Grammer. He's an incredibly talented actor and a fascinating, complicated person. He gets into his time working on Cheers while struggling with substance abuse – and how he learned to forgive himself. Don't worry there's plenty of time for some laughs, too. He talks about the inspiration for the voice of Sideshow Bob and embraces the viral clip of him falling from a few years back.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Jan 3, 2025Tap to summarizeMarianne Jean-Baptiste is a classically trained actor who has over 50 credits to her name, including Secrets & Lies and the FBI show Without a Trace. She currently stars in the film Hard Truths, directed by Mike Leigh, and has received critical acclaim for her performance. When we talked in 2020, she'd just starred in the new thriller In Fabric. We're revisiting our conversation with the actor, talking about the film and the time she read a newspaper for 45-minutes as part of an audition.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
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Tyrese Gibson
Sep 3, 2024Tap to summarizeTyrese Gibson is a renaissance man. He's a Grammy-nominated singer, blockbuster actor, an accomplished author, and model. His latest project is a crime drama–1992. It's set in Los Angeles, the day four police officers charged with beating Rodney King were acquitted. We talk about the film and the commercial that jump started his career. Plus, Tyrese presses pause mid-interview to take an important call from a rap legend.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Jazz and soul vocalist Bilal
Aug 2, 2024Tap to summarizeBilal is a vocalist with a foot in two worlds. He's a rap fan's favorite jazz singer, or a jazz fan's favorite hip hop singer. He joins to talk about his new project Live at Glasshaus (Glasshaus Presents), which came out earlier this summer. He also shares how he and his longtime collaborator and friend Robert Glasper first met. Plus, Bilal also talks about how he got together with a big band in Germany to perform a Curtis Mayfield tribute concert. 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
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Tanya Tucker
Jul 5, 2024Tap to summarizeTanya Tucker is a country music legend! She's been singing since she was nine years old and has released about two dozen records in her time. When Tanya was last on Bullseye, she had just released her Grammy award-winning album While I'm Living. She talks about the album, turning down Elvis Presley, and so much more.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
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Boots Riley
Jul 25, 2023Tap to summarizeBoots Riley is known nowadays for his work as a writer, but he's been making waves as an artist for years. In his early 20s, he was the frontman and founder of the Coup, a fiercely political hip-hop group from the Bay Area. But in recent years, Boots has made his way over to film-making. In 2018, he wrote and directed his first ever feature film: Sorry To Bother You. If you saw it, you know it is hilarious and scary and insightful and generally very bonkers. And then Boots had another idea. His new show I'm A Virgo takes the word bonkers to new heights, literally. It's a story about a 13-ft-tall giant, a Black teenager living in the Bay Area. But the show's not about his super powers. It's about how he sees himself, and the little personal things about him — like his star sign. I'm a Virgo is a great show, but this isn't an interview about I'm a Virgo. Boots Riley is a writer. And his union, the Writers Guild of America, has been on strike since May. On Bullseye, we'll talk about what is at stake in the dispute between the WGA and the studio heads - represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Plus, we'll get into his early career as a rapper and his roots in activism. 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
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Kool & the Gang's Robert "Kool" Bell
Jul 11, 2023Tap to summarizeKool & the Gang have made some of the biggest hits of all time. We're talking about some of the greatest party songs ever: "Get Down On It," "Celebration," "Ladies Night." But, we're also talking about a lot more than just dance floor fillers. Kool & the Gang hit the music scene in the mid-60s and took off running. By the time they started recording in 1968, they were one of the baddest bands in the country. Now, it's been a half-century since Kool & the Gang started making music, and they're still at it. They have a new album dropping on July 14th called People Just Wanna Have Fun. On Bullseye, Robert "Kool" Bell stops by to chat about the new album and his long career with Kool & the Gang. Plus, the stories behind the group's hit songs and what motivates them to keep recording after more than 50 years.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Marc Maron
Mar 28, 2023Tap to summarizeMarc Maron has been performing stand-up comedy for decades. He always figured that would be his legacy. Until he started the mother of all podcasts: WTF with Marc Maron. The podcast came out of a very uncertain time in Marc's life as a comedian: he'd work the road, get a TV gig now and then. But as he got closer to middle age, he realized that lifestyle wasn't sustainable. So, he started making WTF. The success came shortly after, but Maron didn't leave stand-up behind. Earlier this year, he released a new comedy special on HBO called From Bleak to Dark where he talks about the loss of his partner, Lynn Shelton. It's some of his best work yet. This week on Bullseye, Marc Maron reminisces on his life as a struggling comic and talks about his tremendous success as a podcast host. Plus, what it was like to get behind a mic after losing one of the most important people in 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
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Apr 26, 2022Tap to summarizeWe welcome a true "Superstar" on the latest episode, the one and only Molly Shannon! She's one of the greatest comic actors ever. Shannon just wrote a book. It's called Hello, Molly: A Memoir. In the book, Molly Shannon shares her life story. She writes about her time on Saturday Night Live, but also her childhood. Shannon's mother, younger sister and cousin died in a car accident when Molly was four years old. Her father, who survived the crash and raised Molly, was driving under the influence. The book is harrowing and hilarious, heartbreaking and heartwarming. Shannon talks with Jesse Thorn about the new book. Plus, what it took to bring Mary Katherine Gallagher to SNL – she explains why it was anything but easy. 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
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Winston Duke
Jan 7, 2022Tap to summarizeWinston Duke was born in Trinidad and Tobago and moved to Brooklyn when he was nine. He studied acting at Yale and went on to work mainly in TV during his early twenties. He did not break into movies until he was thirty. That first movie role was M'Baku in 2018's Black Panther. He followed that up with an appearance in Avengers Infinity War, then with a starring role in Jordan Peele's Us. Last year, he starred in a very different movie. It was the Edson Oda film Nine Days. It is a sci-fi drama where Duke stars as an otherworldly entity who interviews souls for the chance to inhabit a body on earth. We are thrilled to have Winston Duke on the show, and just as excited to have our friend and correspondent Jarrett Hill interviewing him. 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
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