The Many Lives of Peter Weller

Sitting across from Dr. Peter Weller — another actor/author/academic like myself — I knew I was in for an engaging conversation. But as Peter explained the shape his life has taken, I saw beyond his vast accomplishments to his deep sense of self-knowledge. Long before he was Robocop, Peter was a ma…

Introducing: Don't Listen To Us with Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody

For the Thanksgiving holiday, who better to hear from than a family who has fought hard for the communication, compromise, and comedy that fuels their daily lives?  Don’t Listen To Us is an advice show for advice skeptics and wisdom lovers, hosted by Mandy Patinkin, his wife Kathryn Grody, and the…

Kyle MacLachlan (Directed by David Lynch)

The actor Kyle MacLachlan readily acknowledges the immense impact that the late director David Lynch had on his life and career. After making his on-screen debut starring in Lynch's sci-fi epic Dune (1984), Kyle expected superstardom — only to see the movie flop commercially. However, the connectio…

How Megan McArdle Became a Liberal-tarian

As a columnist for the Washington Post, Megan McArdle tackles the most fraught political topics of our time. So why did we spend so much time talking about pie? It turns out, it's all connected. We discuss how the same forces that shape our nation — especially technology — have also shaped our rela…

Waxing Poetic with Jia Tolentino (Live at Strand)

Back in September, I sat down with powerful writer and past guest Jia Tolentino at the Strand Bookstore in New York City to discuss my first poetry collection, About Time. This book is a poetic autobiography of sorts, gathering moments and fragments from my life. In front of a hometown crowd, Jia a…

Failure? Success? Judd Apatow Says Give It 10 Years to Decide

Take a walk through Judd Apatow’s office, like I did, and you’ll be reminded of all the successful projects he’s helped create over the years: Anchorman, Bridesmaids, Superbad, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I joined him there to discuss his new visual memoir, Comedy Nerd: A Lifelong Obsession in Stories …

Fail Again: Ben Stiller Confronts His Parents' Legacy

You might remember from way back when this podcast started that my very first guest was Ben Stiller. It was a memorable interview for lots of reasons, including that Ben talked to me about his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara and the documentary about the two of them he was working on. Well, t…

Listen Now: Alive with Steve Burns

Steve Burns was nice enough to join me on the show a few weeks ago, so I wanted to give you all a chance to listen to his new podcast. There are a thousand podcasts you can listen to; Alive with Steve Burns listens back. Steve Burns is continuing the conversation he began all those years ago. Back…

No Scars, No Stories with Charlie Sheen (Live at 92NY)

Charlie Sheen is an actor perhaps known just as well for his off-screen antics as his on-screen performances. In his new memoir, The Book of Sheen, Charlie is finally coming clean on what was going on during his years of hard drugs, public divorces, and on-set disputes that came to define his later…

Looking Back: Gretchen Rubin Wants to Make You Happy/ish

This week we’re revisiting my conversation with the author Gretchen Rubin, since we could probably all use a little more light these days. Gretchen has spent years trying to understand happiness, the ways she can access it herself, and how to bring others in on the wisdom she’s gained.  Gretchen a…