Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

The first issue of Love And Rockets came out in 1982. It was co-created by brothers Gilbert, Jaime and Mario Hernandez. They started off by self-publishing their work, but it wasn't long before they got a publisher, started racking up awards and earned a broad, passionate fan base. Mario eventually took a step back to raise a family, but Gilbert and Jaime have been going strong with the series for over four decades now. To celebrate 40 years of Love and Rockets, their publisher Fantagraphics recently released a box set of their classic work: Love and Rockets: The First Fifty. Interviewing Gilbert and Jaime is correspondent Brian Heater. The Hernandez brothers get into how it all started and the recent box set collection. Plus, what it's like to live with these characters for decades , and whether they've thought about how the stories might end.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Kate Beaton is a Canadian comics artist. She's the author of the award-winning comics series Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside, Pops, which each earned spots on the New York Times bestseller list. Her most recent work, a graphic memoir called Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, takes readers in a different direction. Ducks follows Kate's life just after college. She'd graduated with student debt and got a chance to pay it off early: all she had to do was work for a little while mining oil in Eastern Alberta. The oil sands are a world unlike any other, towns and cities created from scratch to forcibly extract resources from the earth. People worked there because they desperately needed a job, for myriad reasons. Kate worked alongside people, mostly men, who were separated from their families, their hometowns and the normal expectations of human behavior. Kate talks to Bullseye about her journey writing this memoir. Content warning: This conversation with Kate Beaton contains some mentions of sexual harassment and sexual violence. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Tom Hanks is an actor that needs no introduction. He made his film debut in the 80's and has since cemented himself as a cultural icon. Films like Castaway and Forrest Gump have earned Hanks many accolades. His two consecutive Academy Award wins and many nominations speak for themselves. But, his films have done so much more. They've transformed pop culture, earning him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Tom Hanks joins the show to talk about the limits of charm, shares driving etiquette tips and tells us about his new role in A Man Called Otto.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2011, filmmaker Mark Cousins released his award-winning documentary, The Story of Film: An Odyssey . It's a film that's true to its title. Through 15 episodes and 915 minutes, it provides an expansive, detailed look at cinema that explores the history of the medium. Mark recently followed up The Story of Film with two new chapters, titled: The Story of Film: a New Generation. The new documentary covers dozens of more titles and moments in film history, and adds another 150 minutes to the original series. Mark Cousins joins Bullseye to talk about what inspired him to continue his The Story of Film documentary. He also talks about why he prefers to go to the theater to see films rather than watching them at home. Plus, he tells us about the legit piece of movie history he brings with him wherever he goes.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Kumail Nanjiani has come a long way since he's joined us over the years. He got his big break as an actor in 2014, when he starred on the hit show Silicon Valley. Kumail played Dinesh. Kumail's the star and co-creator of the Academy Award nominated movie The Big Sick. He's acted on TV shows like Portlandia and Veep, too. Recently, he got buff for a role as a superhero in Marvel's Eternals. And his acting resume just continues to grow. These days, he's starring in the true crime drama Welcome to Chippendales on Hulu. Kumail joins us to talk all about Welcome to Chippendales. Plus, why he got super yolked, what he gets from working out. He also gets into some of his biggest fears about show business.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When we asked legendary blues guitarist Buddy Guy about the song that changed his life, Guy took us back to his childhood in Louisiana, to the first time he heard John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen'." He explains how the song encouraged him to learn the guitar in his early teens. Plus, he shares a story about getting to meet his hero and becoming friends with him. Buddy recently announced his farewell tour, after over a half-century in the game. It kicks off next month, so be sure to visit the Bullseye page at maximumfun.org for dates.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Julio Torres is a powerhouse. He's a comedian, actor and former writer for Saturday Night Live where his sketches brought a touch of magic to the show's standard fare. When we talked, he'd just released his first comedy special My Favorite Shapes. It's a little sideways from what you'd expect. Just like his HBO show Los Espookys —a horror-comedy that starred Julio alongside Fred Armisen, Ana Fabrega, and more. The show's second and – tragically – final season aired late last year on HBO. It's one of our favorites, so we figured we'd send off Los Espookys by revisiting our 2019 conversation with Julio.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When it comes to Bay Area hip-hop, E-40 is one of the greatest of all time. He's hip-hop's king of slang and a stylist without peer. When he joined Bullseye in 2019, he'd just released a new record called Practice Makes Paper. Lately, he's joined Too $hort, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube to form the West Coast supergroup Mount Westmore. They recently released their album SNOOP CUBE 40 $HORT. When he joined the show, he talked about what it was like growing up in the Bay Area and took us to the root of his passion for music. Plus, he talked about his college days at Grambling State University and participating in the school's talent show.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

British actor Lesley Manville is truly a master of her craft. You might know her work with the brilliant director Mike Leigh. She starred in some of his best movies like Secrets & Lies, All or Nothing and Another Year. These days, you can catch Lesley on the latest season of The Crown. She plays Princess Margaret. When we talked in 2019, Lesley had just wrapped up the third and final season of the BBC show Mum. Lesley joined us to talk about starring in Mum, and how she almost had a career as an opera singer. Plus, she told us about what it's like working with director Mike Leigh, and how she gets in character employing his unique improvisational style.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Bullseye Holiday Spectacular is here! We are revisiting some of our favorite holiday interviews with different guests from over the years. First, we kick things off with Rob Halford. The lead singer of Judas Priest tells us about the rock music he loves and the reason he decided to record a holiday album. We also have singer/songwriter Sy Smith, who shares which classic holiday tune changed her life. Micky Dolenz of The Monkees sits with Jesse to discuss his time in the industry and The Monkees holiday record Christmas Party. We close things out with the McElroy brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy. They're hosts of the Maximum Fun podcasts The Adventure Zone and the smash hit My Brother, My Brother and Me. They bring their signature wit to Bullseye and solve your holiday conundrums.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy