Join Buzz Knight and David Duchovny for an Inspiring Talk on Music, Creativity and Life's Meaningful Moments

Summary

Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight

Episode: Inspiring Talk with David Duchovny on Music, Creativity and Life's Meaningful Moments
Date: July 16, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Buzz Knight welcomes David Duchovny—celebrated actor, novelist, poet, and musician—for a reflective and candid conversation. They explore Duchovny’s journey into music, the creative process behind his forthcoming fourth album Prince of Pieces, and the broader themes of creativity, family legacy, and artistic imperfection. Duchovny shares personal stories from his youth, his unique approach to songwriting, and the inspiration he draws from family, especially his late father. The episode concludes with Buzz’s signature “dream walk” question, offering an intimate look at Duchovny’s most meaningful memories.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. David Duchovny’s Musical Roots & First Musical Connections

• Discovering Music as a Child (04:17)

  • Duchovny reminisces about the pre-digital era: “You were kind of waiting in your room, you know, with this radio, waiting for maybe that lightning strike...something you were going to hear that was going to send you out to the record store.”
  • He recalls listening to singles on the radio and being thrilled to buy 45s, especially from Woolworth.
  • Mentions the influence of his brother (who introduced him to the Allman Brothers and the Stones) and the jazz tastes of his father.

• Early Radio Memories (06:31)

  • Duchovny and Knight bond over listening to New York stations like WPLJ and WNEW:
    • Duchovny: “It was a Dennis Elsis.”
    • Buzz Knight: “Dennis Elsis, who’s a dear friend....He’s still at it.”

• First Concert Experience (07:26)

  • Duchovny recalls a cold outdoor concert at Roosevelt Island: “Muddy Waters, Charlie Daniels, Allman Brothers Band...I think that was the first one.”

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2. The Genesis and Meaning of Prince of Pieces (08:09)

• Title Origins & Themes (08:19)

  • Duchovny: “It’s just a play on words of Prince of Peace...There’s also a sense in which we feel compartmentalized, split into pieces as adults.”
  • The album is described as a meditation on being the sum of our parts.

• Songwriting Collaboration (08:54)

  • Duchovny has built creative partnerships with Colin Lee, Pat McCusker, and Mitchell Stewart.
  • The intergenerational musical mix feeds into the album’s sound, blending Duchovny’s 70s influences with younger collaborators’ modern instincts.
  • “All songs, all rock and roll songs are just folk songs...it’s the way that you arrange them, record them, and produce them that makes them distinctive.” (09:01)

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3. Creativity Across Mediums: Music vs. Acting (10:49)

• Collaboration and Vulnerability
  • Duchovny describes his musical process as necessitating more dependency on others than acting or writing:
    • “I’m much more needy, I’d say, as a musician than I am as an actor or as a writer.” (12:21)
  • Unlike acting, where he can “bring it all the way home,” music requires constant communication and partnership due to his self-taught limitations on guitar.

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4. The Role of Imperfection & Technology in Music (12:35)

• Embracing Flaws and Live Moments
  • Duchovny on capturing the “magic” of imperfection:
    • “When there’s a mistake made...something has happened, like, life has happened. Real life has entered the room and the temperature changes.” (12:48)
  • He appreciates both meticulous studio productions (like Steely Dan) and the “dangerous vibe” of live, imperfect recordings.
  • Technology as a tool: supportive of using plugins and virtual instruments to reach sounds he otherwise couldn’t play, but remains wary of over-perfection.

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5. Evolution as a Songwriter (14:45)

• From Discovery to Refinement
  • Duchovny’s first album was a personal revelation:
    • “I was in my early 50s and had never written a song...It was really a discovery that came about by teaching myself how to play guitar.” (14:52)
  • Surprised by the folk roots underlying much songwriting, he found confidence layering lyrics over simple chord schemes.
  • “You have your entire life to make your first album and nine months to make your second. Album” (15:32, paraphrasing Brad Davidson).
  • Subsequent albums challenged him more lyrically—he now consciously searches for meaningful new topics.

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6. The Alchemy of Lyrics and Music (16:57)

• “Music lets you say things you can’t say as an actor or novelist”
  • Duchovny draws the line between poems and song lyrics, focusing on their synergy with music:
    • “There’s an emotionality that comes into play that can only happen with the interplay between music and lyrics.” (17:11)
  • Example: Born to Last—written for his son—gains depth in its musical form that surpasses its meaning on the page.

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7. The Story Behind “Catherine’s Wheel” (18:14)

• Inspired by his son’s hardships during college age.
• The metaphor of the Catherine wheel (initially misunderstood as a symbol of torture and regeneration) becomes a vehicle for expressing concern and hope for his child:
  • “I just started to think about wheels and regeneration and starting over in cycles...it was all kind of mystically in the same area.” (18:18)

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8. Family, Inspiration, and Late Bloomers (19:39)

• Father’s Influence and Life Lessons
  • Duchovny credits his father—a late-blooming novelist—as a key creative role model:
    • “He always said that he was a novelist...and when he was 73...he published his first novel.” (19:53)
  • Duchovny finds solace in the notion of “late bloomers” and opposes the myth that artistic peak must occur young.

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9. Upcoming Film Projects and Artistic Themes (21:06)

• Soapbox, The Exiles, Young Men, John Lee Hancock Project

  • Soapbox is the first script Duchovny co-wrote specifically for himself.
  • No single “through line” in his acting choices, emphasizing instead the serendipity of opportunity and intuition.
  • With a sense of humor, Duchovny jokes: “I seem to be getting killed a lot recently. I guess I like to say I’m in my dying era. I’ve played two Allens in a row. Maybe it’s my Allen era.” (21:23)

• Reverse the Curse

  • Duchovny references the adaptation of his book Bucky Fucking Dent: “If you were listening to WPLJ, you would enjoy the novel. And you should look up the movie. It's called Reverse the Curse on Hulu.” (22:25-22:34)

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10. Future Creative Projects (22:35)

• Potential for Soapbox as a novel or musical.
• Hopes to adapt his novel Truly Like Lightning into a limited series.
• The main barrier is finding industrial and financial support: “It’s just a matter of trying to, you know, get the powers that be to sign off on the budgets...” (22:49)

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11. The “Dream Walk” Question: Whom Would David Duchovny Take a Walk With? (23:36)

• Moving Reflection on His Father
  • Duchovny would choose a walk (or, more accurately, “a catch”) with his late father:
    • “I would love to just talk about that with him...it was moving to me that he had done that.”
    • “And, in fact, the last thing that we did, my dad and I...he said, do you have a couple gloves around? You want to have a catch?...We hadn’t had a catch since I was a kid.” (24:00-25:08)
    • Firmly states: “You see, I say have a catch, because that’s the way you’re supposed to say. You don’t play catch. I can’t stand it when people say, ‘Let’s play catch.’ No, let’s have a catch.” (25:08)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On discovering music:
  “You were kind of waiting in your room, with this radio, waiting for maybe that lightning strike, you know, that thing that you were going to hear that was going to send you out to the record store...”
  —David Duchovny (04:22)

• On artistic imperfection:
  “When there’s a mistake made...life has happened. Real life has entered the room and the temperature changes.”
  —David Duchovny (12:48)

• On late bloomers:
  “The inspiration would be the belief that some of us are late bloomers, or have talents that mature later...I think we live in a culture that...musicians or artists, mathematicians, they peak at...20s. You know, I didn’t.”
  —David Duchovny (19:53-20:36)

• On his “dream walk”:
  “In fact, the last thing that we did...he said, do you have a couple gloves around? You want to have a catch?...And you see, I say have a catch because that’s the way you’re supposed to say. You don’t play catch. I can’t stand it when people say, let’s play catch. No, let’s have a catch.”
  —David Duchovny (24:13-25:08)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 04:17 – Duchovny recalls (and romanticizes) discovering music as a child, radio stations, sibling influence.
• 07:26 – Describes his first concert and its impact.
• 08:19 – Explains the title and introspective themes of Prince of Pieces.
• 10:49 – Contrasts creative processes: music vs. acting.
• 12:48 – Discusses the value of imperfection and “realness” in music and art.
• 14:52 – How songwriting (and musical self-confidence) developed over his career.
• 17:09 – When music expresses the inexpressible—why lyrics only come alive paired with melody.
• 18:17 – Story behind “Catherine’s Wheel” and fatherly worries.
• 19:53 – Credits his father as an inspiration for creative courage and persistence.
• 21:23 – Modern film roles, deadpan humor about “dying era” and “Allen era”.
• 23:50 – The “dream walk” answer, a touching reflection on father and son.

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Tone and Style

Throughout the episode, Duchovny is down-to-earth, modest, often self-deprecating, and openly emotional when discussing family and creativity. Buzz Knight creates a space for warmth, nostalgia, and honest rumination.

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This episode is an invitation—to look back, reflect, and honor the winding, unpredictable journey of a creative life. Whether you know Duchovny as Mulder, Hank Moody, or now as a singer-songwriter, you’ll find a thoughtful, expressive, and genuine artist whose story welcomes late bloomers and dreamers alike.

Transcript

[David Duchovny]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Raiders of the Lost Podcast Host]

On Raiders of the Lost podcast, we explore cinema like no one else, including huge interviews with stars like Ryan Gosling on project Hail Mary.

[David Duchovny]

It was like the Jaws shark didn't

[Buzz Knight]

always work, came with its own problems.

[David Duchovny]

That's what made it great.

[Raiders of the Lost Podcast Host]

The cast of Obsession on set. There was so much magic happening with each scene. We were putting together deep dives into classics like 2001 A Space Odyssey or or Fight Club. Plus weekly episodes on all industry news. Listen to Raiders of the Lost podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And for more, follow raidersofthelostpodcast and IikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

[Carrie Brownstein]

Hey, Portlandia fans, Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.

[Fred Armisen]

The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form.

[Carrie Brownstein]

We're launching Podlandia AO Rewatch our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down schedul, going deep on our iconic characters and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made.

[Fred Armisen]

And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators and friends, including director Jonathan Krisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.

[Carrie Brownstein]

Kyle is going for it. Here you fully improvised, not just words, but a song.

[Buzz Knight]

Well, I thought you were all gonna write a song.

[Carrie Brownstein]

I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia Aao Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ari Chambers]

What's up, fam? It's sports journalist Ari Chambers.

[Sam J]

Hey, what's up, y'?

[Carrie Brownstein]

All?

[Sam J]

It's your girl, Sam J.

[Ari Chambers]

And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from 2gether.

[Sam J]

We're breaking down the biggest headlines, the viral moments and the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports.

[Ari Chambers]

From game changing performances to culture shifting conversations, we'll give you our takes, our debates, and a few laughs along the way.

[Sam J]

Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watches women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[David Duchovny]

This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea. Every week the news gets worse, the world gets crazier, and Yamanika is here

[Raiders of the Lost Podcast Host]

to tell whoever's responsible, you're the problem.

[David Duchovny]

Do you know I just found out who Sydney Sweeney was.

[Sam J]

If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of

[David Duchovny]

men do better or do less so I don't have to do so much.

[Sam J]

I'm Yamanika and I'm out. Listen to youo're the Problem with Yamaneka on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buzz Knight]

Taking a Walk I'm Buzz Knight, and welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast. Now, today's guest has spent decades defying the idea that you get to do just one thing. He's been an FBI agent who taught a generation to want to believe. He's Hank Moody, the boozy brilliant novelist of Californication. He's a New York Times best selling author of fiction and poetry. And now on August 14, he releases Prince of Pieces, his fourth studio album, a record steeped in roots rock, folk and Americana, built with longtime collaborators Colin Lee, Michael Stewart and Pat McCusker. And it's shaped by love, loss, hope and perseverance. The title track dropped June 5th. Catherine's wheel arrives July 10th, and this September, the paperback of his poetry collection About Time hits shelves on top of a stacked slate of upcoming films including Soapbox the Exiles, Young Men and An untitled John Lee Hancock Project. He's an actor who became a musician and, and a musician who became a poet and a poet who never stopped acting today. Coming up next, we're talking with David Duchovny on Taking a Walk. David Duchovny, welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast. It's so nice to have you on.

[David Duchovny]

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

[Buzz Knight]

So congratulations on Prince of Pieces. We're going to get into that and so many more things that you've got going on. You're fairly busy young ladies. But tell me about the first time you knew you had a connection to music because obviously you have a deep connection to music.

[David Duchovny]

Yeah, that's an interesting question because I always remember, you know, kind of listening to the radio, you know, and that's I'm, you know, older, so we didn't have, you know, the world, the entire world of music at our disposal. You know, it was kind of my impression of growing up and listening to music was, you know, you were kind of waiting in your room, you know, with this radio, waiting for maybe that lightning strike, you know, that, that thing that you were going to hear that was going to send you out to the record store and maybe that's where I would get, you know, my one record every three or four months was what I could afford, you know, so, you know, very excited to hear new music coming out. I remember there was this program, I think, on WPLJ or something in New York, which was called. And you would get to listen to 45 to singles before they came out. And you would vote on what you thought was going to be like a hit. And I remember hearing Frankenstein, that Edgar Winter group, you know, single that, that has no lyrics, it's instrumental. And I thought that's going to be number one. Even though it's instrumental, you know that's going to be number one. And I think it was. So. I remember listening to Grazing in the Grass by the New Edition. I remember bringing it up. The Beatles were big, even like the Archies when I was younger, you know, I was susceptible to like, listen to the Archies, the Monkeys, you know, the pop stuff. My dad listened to a lot of jazz, but I didn't listen to that with him. My brother was four years older, so he kind of led my tastes a little bit. Although he was into the Grateful Dead, but he got me to like the Allman Brothers and the Stones. So I was in New York and there's music all around and I just always loved it. And I was always wanting to go to Woolworth and buy 45s, you know, that's another thing that's going to date me. You know, they'd have these stacks of 45 singles. And it was in my young mind, I didn't want to pay for an album because it wasn't singles, you know, like I wanted the hits, you know.

[Buzz Knight]

Remember the revolutionary spindle that would company the 45?

[David Duchovny]

Sure, yeah. I have a T shirt with that thing on it. And I was always told that it was. That it had a special name, but it doesn't. It's just a spindle.

[Buzz Knight]

I was listening to WPLJ as well, because I grew up in. In Stanford, Connecticut.

[David Duchovny]

Yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

And I'd be listening to the station and talking to myself, imagining one day could I be on the radio and say 95.5 WPMJ and then WNEW FM too, you know?

[David Duchovny]

Yeah. It was a Dennis Elsis.

[Buzz Knight]

Dennis Elsis, who's a dear friend. I got to work at NW at one point in my career as well. But Dennis is. Is still at it. He's on Sirius xm and Dennis is on wfuv and he's still on.

[David Duchovny]

He is Allison Steele, the greats.

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

So you experienced music discovery in a similar way that. That I did. And yeah, you couldn't wait to race to. To buy your next purchase. That was always a really big deal. How about the first concert you went to? Do you have a memory of that?

[David Duchovny]

I think it was with My brother, as I said, was four years older. So I think my first. If it wasn't. If it wasn't yes or Elton John at Madison Square Garden, it was at Roosevelt Island. Saw the Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels Band and Muddy Waters, you know, something like that. Maybe even there was another band. So it's freezing cold out in Roosevelt Island Stadium. Muddy Waters, Charlie Daniels, Allman Brothers Band. I think that was the first one.

[Buzz Knight]

I love how in those days the bill was very eclectic.

[David Duchovny]

Like, yeah, totally. Yeah, it was like the Joe Franklin show, you know, like different folks.

[Buzz Knight]

Oh, my God, you're speaking my language, David.

[David Duchovny]

My God. Yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

Congratulations on Prince of Pieces. It feels like a title with some weight to it. What does it mean to you and where did it come from?

[David Duchovny]

Well, it's just to play on words of Prince of Peace, you know, Jesus being the prince of peace. And I thought, well, you know, that's not quite me. But there's also a sense in which, you know, I feel. Or we feel kind of compartmentalized, kind of split into pieces as adults. And it was just a meditation, really. The lyrics are just a meditation on that idea, you know, that we are, you know, the sum of our parts, really.

[Buzz Knight]

You wrote this one with Colin Lee, Pat McCusker, Mitchell Stewart. This is the same crew that you've worked previously with in your musical life.

[David Duchovny]

Yes.

[Buzz Knight]

That long term creative partnership that you can't get anywhere else mean to you.

[David Duchovny]

You know, I think we've developed a shorthand definitely over. Over the years because I'm not a really. I'm not a schooled musician. They are, you know, so I can come in with chord progressions and some lyrics and a melody and we can work it through. You know, in the beginning, I would come in with the songs pretty much done, and they would. They would definitely make it better. But after the second album, or maybe in the middle of the second album, started to maybe, you know, come in with a song half done or come in with a riff or come in with a chord progression or come in with a melody or come in with some bricks. And then we started to work on it together that way. And then, you know, the big journey is always like, how do we produce this song? You know, how do we arrange it? Because that's where the song comes to life, really. Because all songs, all rock and roll songs are just folk songs, you know, on an acoustic guitar or piano, really. And it's the way that you arrange them, it's the way that you record them and produce them that really makes Them distinctive, and you have to find that. And so I have my own tastes. Whatever. My taste grew listening to WPLJ or whatever. You know, whatever's in the vault back there of kind of sounds that I like or arrangements that I like. It's different from theirs because they're about 20. You know, they're 20, 30 years younger than me, 25 years younger than me. So they were raised on different music, different arrangements, which is nice because we go in and, you know, I'll say, I want it to sound more like this. I want to sound more like this 70s vibe that I. That just feels like home to me. Or, you know, I want bells or I want horns or whatever, you know. So that's really fun. Fun part for me is when we come together, you know, it's just kind of executing these ghost sounds that I hear on top of the songs that we're recording.

[Buzz Knight]

Talk about the differences in the creative process. Being a musician and then being an actor.

[David Duchovny]

Well, as I said, you know, I'm not able to bring it all the way home as a musician. Like, I. I can compose on a guitar, but I can't record on a guitar. I'm just. I'm not that kind of a player. I just took up the guitar 10, 12 years ago. You know, I'm just a strummer. And because I didn't really take lessons, I also can't really repeat anything. So if I'm lucky enough to get it down on a voice memo, you know, then I can. I can send it to the guys. But if you said, play it that way again, I'd be like, I. Maybe not. So I'm forced. As an actor, you know, you get your stuff, you have your part to memorize or whatever. You know, you do your work, you conceive of the character, and you do it in collaboration with the director and the writer and the cinematographer. But ultimately, when it comes time to finish, even though you're not in the edit, like, when you're up there, you know, you're alone and you're doing it, you have to do it yourself. The way music is to me, as I said, because I cannot do it by myself. It's extremely collaborative, and it's extremely. I have to communicate constantly to say, that's. If I'm playing it, I'll say, I'm hearing something that I'm not even able to execute. So I need you guys to, like, help me. Even when I'm singing something, like a melody, I'm thinking, okay, this is like the bare Bones of the melody. But I'm hearing it go somewhere else that I'm not quite. I'm not quite getting it yet. So there's a lot of. I'm much more needy, I'd say, as a musician than I am as an actor or as a writer.

[Buzz Knight]

What's your take on. I sounded like Jiminy Glick a little bit when I said that. What's your take?

[David Duchovny]

Sorry, yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

What is your take on the use these days around music with software technology that creates this perfection? It's the role of imperfection in music.

[David Duchovny]

Oh, I think that lets the air in that. That lets, you know it's going to sound pretentious. But, like, I was just talking about this the other day just in terms of acting, when somebody up, you know, when. When there's a mistake made and it's not like, cut. It's just like, oh, let's keep going. But something has happened. Like, life has happened. Real life has entered the room and the temperature changes. And I don't know that you're going to use that mistake in the final cut, but often it did something in the room. Let the air out, let chaos in a good way. And I think, you know, you miss that. A lot of times you hear on live recordings, it just has a different kind of a. It's more dangerous. There's a different vibe to it. And I think that's what you lose when you're going for perfection. I mean, I love Steely Dan, and I know they went in there and tried to perfect everything, and I appreciate that. And, you know, why not? If you can really hear it that way, why not? But I think my sense of music is more. And that goes back to live music is like, this is just happening right now. It's going to happen only this one time, only this one way. So that's. There's something magical about that. And if you're talking about using tools to extend stuff, using tools to augment your own abilities, like, I haven't. But I could. If I played piano, I could play all instruments, you know. Now you can go on the tools, and if you can play a keyboard, you can play strings, you can drum, you can do anything. So I'm all for that. That's great. I think that's amazing. And in terms of, like, you know, people that use, you know, going back like Frampton, which is where my ear goes, you know, using the vocoder, you know, and then you can pitch your voice in ways that you could never pitch it, and that's great. You know, because if you can hear that and you can't execute it physically, now, you can, and that's cool. But in terms of, like, those airtight productions, that's not. There's something that doesn't work for them for me, but that's just me.

[Buzz Knight]

This is album number four. And how has your relationship to songwriting changed since album number one?

[David Duchovny]

Well, album number one, you know, I was in my early 50s and had never written a song, you know, so it was like, shit, I'm writing a song. That's. This is not a position that I ever thought I'd be in. So it was really a discovery that came about by teaching myself how to play guitar and then seeing, you know, using the. You look up on the Internet and you see Square One by Tom Petty, and you see different versions, you know, like, different difficulty. And I'd always play the easiest one, whatever the four or five chords that I knew, and going from there and realizing, hey, you know, most of these songs, at least the easier version of these songs that I love, are working in very similar chord progressions. And, you know, it was a shock to me, you know, that I. Not. And I'm not saying it's a scam or anything, but it's beautiful in this way. It's folk music, right? It's like it belongs to everybody. And it's in this groove or in this space where, you know, they're not. The chords aren't changing that much. And, you know, you look at the Beatles and they're using the seven chords. They're like, introducing the seven chords into rock and roll and stuff like that. And you see these things happen. Or you see Keith Richards takes off the bass E string from his guitar, and there's a. A different sound. And you realize that you can put your imprint on it in a way that's not. You don't have to be like, a. An expert player to put your imprint on it. So that's what I discovered. And then I just thought, you know, lyrically I was very comfortable. So it was just, well, could I come up with chord progressions and then melodies? Could. It was really, could I hear melodies? And then I was just. I was like. I was hearing melodies, which was odd because I'd never heard them before. But as I was playing, I started to hear melodies, and then the words just came easily at first, because I just. As Brad Davidson, who I work with in the music, he says, you know, you have your entire life to make your first album and nine months to make your second. Album or whatever, you know, so I had a lifetime of words. So I guess the words have become more difficult as I've gone on. As I'm going into the, you know, if I think about writing a song now, I think about, well, what do I want to write about? At that point, I knew what I wanted to write about. I was writing about certain things.

[Buzz Knight]

Well, this feeds into the next question. You said before that music lets you say things that you can't say as an actor or a novelist. What's something on this record you couldn't have said any other way?

[David Duchovny]

My feeling is this. It's like the, you know, there's a difference. As I said in my book, on my poetry book, there's a difference between lyrics and poems. And when you see lyrics on the page, they can fall pretty flat. I mean, even the best lyricists like Dylan and Cohen, you read it on the page and it's like, you know, that's not a great poem, it's a great lyric because it's attached to this music that made the lyrics work. So I think some of the songs, if you looked at the lyrics on the page, like maybe the song Born to Last, which is really for my son a few years ago, and if I looked at it on the page, I think it was a nice, it was a nice sentiment to express to my son. But if I hear it, there's an emotionality that comes into play that can only happen with the interplay between music and lyrics. And I think when the song works, that's what's happening, you know, that the lyrics are holding the music up and the music's holding the lyrics up. And there's some kind of alchemy that's going on between the two that's just working and that, that goes back to arranging and producing and finding the right tempo and finding the right instrumentation and all that stuff.

[Buzz Knight]

What can you tell us about the genesis of Catherine's Wheel?

[David Duchovny]

Oh, that's another song for my son. Yeah, that came after I, you know, we had like a visit. It's, you know, he was already of college age and, you know, he was just as any 19 year old, he was, you know, having questions and struggles and everything. And that was just. I didn't like to see him in pain, you know. And then I. And again, it's just like this image or in the back of my mind I thought there was something called a Catherine Wheel. You know, I didn't look it up. And I remember there was a band called the Catherine Wheel and I Thought in my mind, I knew it was an instrument of torture, but I also, you know, and I just started to think about, you know, wheels and regeneration and starting over in cycles. So it was all kind of mystically in the same area. And I didn't even look up the Catherine wheel when I wrote that. And then I looked it up afterwards, quite a while afterwards, and it was so weird because my image was that somebody was kind of. It was almost like a crucifixion, like you were nailed to a wheel and somehow, you know, tortured. Maybe they rolled you. I don't know what they did, but truly, it's even more brutal than that. They just. It's just a wheel that they would hit people with. They were just like. It was a big, heavy wooden wheel that you would just brutalize people with, you know. So anyway, that's kind of off story, but that's what a Catherine wheel is

[Buzz Knight]

when you reflect on your career. Actor, musician, poet, novelist, renaissance man who inspired you at an early age to sort of be so curious and creatively inspired?

[David Duchovny]

Well, I say my father, because my father had a. He had a job that was basically a 9 to 5 job. But he always said that he was a writer, that he was a novelist, and he did publish, like, little books of satire, political satires, you know, when I was a kid. But he always said that he was a novelist and. But he'd never written a novel. And then. And when he was 73, which was just maybe two and a half years before he died, he published his first novel, like the age of 73. So I found that to be inspiring, you know, and then the fact that I published my first novel in my 50s, or, you know, had my first album in my 50s, I think is very similar to him because I had a day job too, you know, So I guess the inspiration would be the belief that some of us are late bloomers, you know, or that some of us have talents that mature later. You know, I think we live in a culture that. And I think we see our sense of like, you know, musicians or artists and mathematicians and everybody, you know, they peak at, like, you know, all the great rock and rollers died at 27, right? So they peak. Mathematicians and musicians are supposed to peak in their early 20s. And, you know, I didn't. So I was like, well, what can happen? You know, is there life after that? Is there inspiration after that? So somebody like my dad. Yeah, there is.

[Buzz Knight]

You've got some films I want to talk about and get your take on Soapbox the Exiles Young Men. Also a new John Lee Hancock film. All in the pipeline. Is there a thread that connects those roles that you're drawn to right now?

[David Duchovny]

Well, Soapbox I wrote with Max Barbaco and it's not close to me, but it's a character that I kind of conceived for myself. And it always. While it's the only time I've ever written something for myself or with myself in mind. So that's different. Even reverse the curse, which was. Started life as Bucky fucking Dent, which I wrote and directed. I had originally conceived or hoped that I would play the son in that. And it took me so long to get that movie made that I ended up playing the father of the son. So that was not a role that I wrote for myself at all. But there's never. I don't think there's a through line of anything that I do in that way as an actor because it's really. It's just the intersection of opportunity, timing, and whether it speaks to me. It's all those things. So I seem to be getting killed a lot recently. I guess I like to say I'm in my dying era. I've played two Allens in a row. Maybe it's my Allen era. I don't know. I don't know. Other than that.

[Buzz Knight]

Can I hear you say Bucky Dent again?

[David Duchovny]

Bucky Dent. I think if you were listening to wplj, you would enjoy the novel. And you should look up the movie. It's called Reverse the Curse on Hulu.

[Buzz Knight]

I love it.

[David Duchovny]

Yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

So is there anything not in the pipeline yet that you're imagining? You know, when you think about new inspiration, new projects, is there something that you can share? Oh, either in the most general sense that you.

[David Duchovny]

I mean, in the general. I mean, I've had thoughts about making Soapbox into a novel or even a musical. I think it's a. Independent of whether or not it does business as a movie. I think it's a great idea and it's timely. I tend to do that. I tend to write a screenplay and if I can't make it, then I turn it into a novel or. But I've never turned a movie into a novel. So there's that. There's the development project of Truly Like Lightning, another novel I have that I have really wanted to do as a limited series for a number of years now. So there's a bunch of stuff. It's just a matter of trying to, you know, get the powers that be to, you know, sign off on the budgets, you know, to get these things done, you know, that there's an audience for them.

[Buzz Knight]

So, David, in closing, we call the show Taking a Walk. We like to ask what we call the dream walk question. Who would you like to take a walk with, living or dead? Could be multiple folks, maybe even where would you be? But who would that be, David?

[David Duchovny]

Well, since I, since I mentioned. Can I say my father? You know, because I mentioned my dad, he's passed away and you know, I hadn't written a novel before he died. He died just a year or two, as I said, after he published his novel. So I would love to just talk about that with him. You know, I think it would have been important and moving for him that I had done that. And it was moving to me that he had done that, you know, just aside as I become a father, you know, just, there's so many things that I'd want to talk to him about that we didn't get to talk about because my kids were so, so young when he died. And in fact, the last thing that we did, my dad and I, which is similar to this walk, where would we be? And it sounds like a made up thing out of Field of Dreams, but he was waiting. He had a couple hours before he was due at the airport and he was staying with me in la. And he said, do you have a couple gloves around? You want to have a catch? And we never, we hadn't had a catch 25, you know, since I was a kid. Really, we had a catch because my dad, mom divorced when I was 11. I doubt my dad and I had a catch since, you know, maybe I was 13, you know. And you see, I say have a catch because that's the way you're supposed to say. You don't play catch. I can't stand it when people say, let's play catch. No, let's have a catch.

[Buzz Knight]

Yep.

[David Duchovny]

And we'd have a couple of gloves, we'd have a ball, we'd go somewhere. And I think it wouldn't be a walk as much as a catch. Oh, man.

[Buzz Knight]

Thank you for sharing that, David, so much. Congrats on Prince of Pieces on all your projects and you're welcome back anytime. It's an honor having you on Taking a Walk. David Duchotne.

[David Duchovny]

Yeah, thank you.

[Buzz Knight]

I'm Buzz Knight. And thanks for listening to the Taking a Walk podcast. Now please check out our companion podcasts produced by Buzz Night Media Productions with your host, Lynn Hoffman. Music Save Me. Showcasing the healing power of music and comedy. Save Me. Shining a light on how Laughter is the best medicine. All shows are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and are part of the iHeart Podcast Network.

[Raiders of the Lost Podcast Host]

On Raiders of the Lost podcast, we explore cinema like no one else, including huge interviews with stars like Ryan Gosling on Project Hail Mary.

[David Duchovny]

It was like the Jaws shark.

[Buzz Knight]

Didn't always work, came with its own problems. That's what made it great.

[Raiders of the Lost Podcast Host]

The cast of Obsession on set. There was so much magic happening with each scene. We were putting together deep dives into classics like 2001 A Space Odyssey or Fight Club, plus weekly episodes on all industry news. Listen to Raiders of the Lost podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And for more, follow aidersofthelustpodcast and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

[Carrie Brownstein]

Hey, Portlandia fans, Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.

[Fred Armisen]

The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form.

[Carrie Brownstein]

We're launching Podlandia AO Rewatch our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made.

[Fred Armisen]

And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators and friends, including director Jonathan Krisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.

[Carrie Brownstein]

Kyle is going for it. Here you fully improvised not just words, but a song.

[David Duchovny]

Well, I thought you were all going

[Buzz Knight]

to write a song.

[Carrie Brownstein]

I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia Aao rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ari Chambers]

What's up, fam? It's sports journalist Ari Chambers.

[Sam J]

Hey, what's up y'?

[Ari Chambers]

All?

[Sam J]

It's your girl, Sam Jae.

[Ari Chambers]

And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from 2gether.

[Sam J]

We're breaking down the biggest headlines, the viral moments and the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports.

[Ari Chambers]

From game changing performances to culture shifting conversations. We'll give you our takes, our debates and a few laughs along the way.

[Sam J]

Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to Everyone watches women's sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Fred Armisen]

I'm Jake Brennan and on the Disgraceland podcast I explore the wild lives of rock stars and unbelievable true crime stories from music history. These are the stories you haven't heard, the kind you'll end up telling someone else. Like the time Paul McCartney spent in a notorious prison or the bizarre crime Lady Gaga is accused of, or that time Blondie's Debbie Harry escaped Ted Bundy. Listen to Disgraceland on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.