StraightioLab: Jeremy O. Harris Returns
Podcast: StraightioLab – Big Money Players Network & iHeartPodcasts
Hosts: George Civeris & Sam Taggart
Guest: Jeremy O. Harris
Release Date: March 24, 2026
Overview
In this intellectually riotous episode, playwright and iconoclast Jeremy O. Harris returns to StraightioLab for a career-spanning, hyper-current, and deeply candid conversation with hosts George Civeris and Sam Taggart. Mixing high-art insight, Hollywood gossip, trauma and redemption, and incisive cultural critique (all laced with irreverent humor), the trio tackle topics ranging from the nature of fame and creative risk-taking to the realities of being jailed abroad, the state of independent film, queer friendship, reading lists, and taking a stand (often literally) at industry parties.
Episode Structure & Key Themes
- Reminiscing on Jeremy’s First Visit & Legacy (05:04 – 07:58)
- Fame, the D-List, and Modern Celebrity (07:16 – 09:02)
- Hollywood Gossip, Theater Kids in Cinema, Sarah Pidgeon & the Kennedys Curse (09:03 – 11:37)
- Long Engagements & Nontraditional Relationships (12:10 – 14:03)
- Jeremy’s Imprisonment in Japan: The Surreal Memoir (14:34 – 23:56)
- Moral Responsibility, Bullying the (Rich, Often Queer) Powerful (34:05 – 39:43)
- Art, Activism & Protesting at Parties (Sam Altman/AI Discourse) (36:14 – 41:39)
- Collaborative Art-Making & Mutual Aid Cinema (53:19 – 61:31)
- Multilingual, Multicultural Art & Empathy (65:41 – 70:30)
- New York vs LA: Outsider Romance and Value Systems (74:18 – 75:52)
- Cultural Curiosity, The Case for Classical Music, and Risking in Art (79:16 – 85:10)
Detailed Breakdown & Timestamps
Reunion, Fame, and The D-List
[05:04 – 09:02]
- Reminiscing on Jeremy’s pandemic-era debut on the podcast—the importance of that era and personal apologies. Jeremy jokes about apologizing for being Sam's high school bully.
- “[previous episode] was a defining podcast that put us on the map.” – George (05:43)
- Discussion on the elusive A-list in the TikTok era, the democratization (and dilution) of fame:
- “There's no A list unless you were famous in 1995.” – George (07:48)
- Queer solidarity, close agent ties (with Ariana DeBose), and theater performers’ struggles transitioning to screen. Funny aside:
- “Did you guys hook up?” – George
“Yeah, we’re both queer performers.” – Jeremy (08:59)
- “Did you guys hook up?” – George
Kennedy Curses, Relationships, and Marriage Anxiety
[09:48 – 14:43]
- Sharp, funny riffs about pop culture obsession with the Kennedys (Ryan Murphy, cursed lineage, and risk-seeking behavior);
- “No, this family is cursed…there are so many more interesting deaths.” – Jeremy (09:48)
- Relationship chat: Jeremy on resisting marriage, embracing long engagements, and the “right before” stage of love.
- “I really believe in long engagements.” – Jeremy (12:23)
- “We own an apartment together, we own art together… if we disentangled, that would be normal. If we had to call people who flew to my destination wedding, it would be a real issue.” – Jeremy (13:02)
Imprisonment in Japan: Kafkaesque Realness
[14:34 – 23:56]
- Jeremy details his 23-day imprisonment in Japan, subverting trauma with humor and sharp observation:
- “White people would pay for it. I could get white people to pay to do what I did.” – Jeremy (15:00)
- He lost 10 lbs, read 23 books (including the Norton Anthology and Aphra Behn's Oronooko), and experienced Japan’s analog, hard-boiled judicial process.
- “They brought me books every day. I had photo books, plays…” – Jeremy (16:05)
- “You don’t get to make a call. You don’t get a lawyer… It’s like Adult Swim, but real.” – Jeremy (19:39, 22:54)
- The process—prosecutor and judge culture, cultural differences, weirdly serendipitous book recommendations as a way to win over the judge, the deliberate cruelty of the press release outing Jeremy by name while sparing others.
Industry Parties, Activism, and The Necessity to Speak Up
[34:05 – 41:39]
- Viral story: Jeremy confronts Sam Altman (OpenAI) at Vanity Fair Oscar party:
- “I said, are you excited about being remembered as, like, basically the Goebbels of the Nazi party?” – Jeremy (34:07)
- On calling out those in power:
- “It's weird that so many people destroying the world are just there and everyone's just sort of like, completely chill.” – Jeremy (35:09)
- “I want other people to do this at more parties.” – Jeremy (39:35)
- Debate on the limits of social media “posting as activism” versus real-life confrontation:
- “I felt like I could do better talking to people IRL…leaning in over dinner than posting things.” – Jeremy (42:10)
Queer Culture, Therapy, and Celebrity Tangents
[43:09 – 46:20]
- Chat about gay pop culture icons, psychoanalyst Ed Droste, psychoanalysis as a “gay hobby.”
- Beef with Bella Freud and “nepo babies,” critique of shallow celebrity podcasts.
- “Say one interesting thing challenge. You’re related to Sigmund Freud and Lucian Freud…and you’re releasing crewnecks that say ‘slay’ on them?” – Sam (44:33)
- Cate Blanchett gossip—how truly famous people behave, lounge, and the connection to queerness and openness in relationships:
- “Kate has a way of sitting that looks so comfortable, so relaxed, so free.” – Jeremy (45:45)
Blue Ruptia: Collaborative Film-Making in Crisis
[51:03 – 61:31]
- Jeremy explains the origin and process behind his new film (with Charli XCX), Blue Ruptia, shot in Poland in a two-week, improvisational, “mutual aid” style (“Table of Bubbles” methodology):
- “He [Pete] has a style called Table of Bubbles. What if every day we write three scenes…if three scenes are three minutes each for 12 days, you have a 75-minute movie.” – Jeremy (54:21)
- Serendipity brought Charli XCX into the project, collaborative writing, poetic improvisation, and why mutual/DIY cinema is the future as big studios falter.
- “It’s like, mutual aid movies to, like, exercise creativity.” (61:31)
- Themes of “main character syndrome” and meaning-making, with deep analysis from the hosts:
- “The movie’s about searching for meaning in your life, trying to make yourself a main character.” – Jeremy (62:29)
- “I loved that part of the Charlie and Nel’s relationship, where…everything’s—the world revolves around us, and [it doesn’t].” – George (61:49)
Transcultural Cinema and Language as Empathy
[65:41 – 70:30]
- A mini-manifesto on the attraction of bilingual or multinational films as global cinema fragments, and how subtitles and code-switching force audiences to listen more deeply.
- “What subtitles do, what a different language in a text does, is it forces you to lean in.” – Jeremy (68:03)
- Personal reflection on the feeling of cultural/linguistic dislocation and identity, and how it shapes creative work:
- “He [my friend] realized he's not swaggy in Spanish… I'm the same way in Greece, I just, I've lost it.” – Sam & Jeremy (69:17–70:04)
Late-Stage Capitalism, Outsiderhood, Digital Detox
[74:18 – 77:36]
- Wry observation of LA's stratification (“Everyone’s unhappy with it and yet upholding it constantly.”) and NY vs LA.
- The aftermath of Japanese jail: cell phone withdrawal and the addictive grip of social media.
- “I dreamed about group chats. I had phantom buzzing for a week and a half.” – Jeremy (77:06)
- “The first three days I was out, I didn’t answer my phone. I felt free.” – Jeremy (77:56)
The Case for Classical Music, Cultural Curiosity, & Representation in Film
[78:54 – 85:47]
- Jeremy’s work with LA and NY Philharmonic, advocating for people (especially the young and curious) to participate in “high” arts:
- “If you have disposable income, become a member at a theater…the fun is that you won’t like everything, but you’ll always have something to talk about.” – Jeremy (79:16)
- More curiosity, less cancellation—on complex representation and criticism in art (esp. black women, queer people, and casting):
- “Would we rather artists never step outside themselves…for fear of failure and ridicule?” – Jeremy (85:15)
Notes for Hollywood: Oscars & the Art of “Giving Notes”
[86:33 – 89:33]
- The hosts and Jeremy roast and lovingly dissect the recent Oscar slate, calling for more shower scenes, longer (or shorter) runtimes, and yes—more visible queer people.
- “We all have notes—my main one, they’re all 30 minutes too long.” – Jeremy (84:57)
Notable Quotes & Moments
-
On the Netflix/A-list era:
- “There's no A list. Unless you were famous in 1995.” – George (07:48)
-
On jail as a writing retreat:
- “White people would pay for it. I could get white people to pay to do what I did.” – Jeremy (15:00)
-
On confronting tech leaders:
- “I said, are you excited about being remembered as, like, basically the Goebbels of the Nazi party?” – Jeremy, about Sam Altman (34:07)
-
On activism IRL:
- “I felt like I could do better work talking to people IRL about the crisis than I would have posting things.” – Jeremy (42:10)
-
On curiosity in art and criticism:
- “Few humans are trying to hurt you when they make art…but we should have a lot of grace for people trying and failing.” – Jeremy (85:10)
-
On mutual aid, collective filmmaking:
- “It’s mutual aid movies…to exercise creativity.” – Jeremy (61:31)
-
On genre-bending, code-switching cinema:
- “Subtitles…force you to lean in, and I think that’s becoming very attractive when there’s so much dopamine filling our brains.” – Jeremy (68:07)
Timestamps for Standout Segments
- 05:04 – 07:58: Reunion & high school bully apology
- 14:34 – 23:56: Japanese prison story, book list, legal system
- 34:05 – 39:43: Sam Altman/AI confrontation at Vanity Fair
- 53:19 – 61:31: Blue Ruptia film origin & “Table of Bubbles” cinema
- 62:29 – 63:18: Main Character Syndrome & narrative meaning
- 65:41 – 70:30: Multilingual art, empathy, and the nature of identity
- 74:18 – 75:52: NY vs LA–outsider reflections
- 77:06 – 77:56: Digital detox after jail
- 78:54 – 85:47: The case for classical music & representation
- 86:33 – 89:33: Roasting the Oscars—“giving notes”
Tone & Takeaways
The episode swings nimbly between sharp, self-aware humor, biting social and industry criticism, and moments of genuine vulnerability and insight. Jeremy O. Harris is characteristically unguarded—probing, gossipy, serious, sometimes outrageous, but always intellectually alive. George and Sam facilitate a vibe that is at once high-minded, playfully messy, and allergic to platitudes. For listeners, it’s a sprawling portrait of contemporary creative life—its dangers, its privileges, and its responsibilities—seen through queer, artistic, and sharply critical eyes.
For Further Exploration
- Jeremy O. Harris’ reading list from Japanese jail (16:51)
- Blue Ruptia and its collaborative, “mutual aid” film methodology (53:19–61:31)
- The role of confrontational activism in elite circles (34:05–41:39)
- The rise of multilingual and transnational art-making (65:41–70:30)
- How to be curious (not just critical) as an audience member (79:16–85:15)
This episode is essential for anyone interested in:
- Modern fame and its absurdities
- The backstage realities of art production
- Navigating identity, queerness, and protest in elite spaces
- The possibilities of new (and old) forms of creative collaboration
- The joy of having—and giving—notes
Stream Blue Ruptia, support mutual aid art, and, as ever, keep being curious—just don’t expect Jeremy to stop speaking truth to power (or to Sam Altman) anytime soon.