Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

For over twenty years, Steve-O has performed on Jackass in all its iterations. He's done stunts on the original TV show, the movies and the spinoffs. He's risked life and limb, suffered countless serious injuries and in doing so made millions of people laugh and gasp. Recently, he's reunited with the Jackass crew for their latest film: Jackass Forever. He also has a new memoir out called: A Hard Kick in the Nuts: What I've Learned From a Lifetime of Terrible Decisions. Steve-O joins the show to chat about his new memoir and his work in Jackass over the years. He also talks about whether or not going sober has affected the work he does on screen with Jackass. Plus, he shares what it was like performing in a circus on a cruise ship.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Tom Scott is a rapper from New Zealand's underground hip-hop scene. He's been rapping for over a decade now. He grew up in Auckland – the biggest city in a very small country. In 2018, Tom released an amazing, beautiful album under the name Avantdale Bowling Club. On the record, he reflects on his roots. His childhood. The friendships he's lost. The places he's been. His family. It's an intimate hip hop record with jazz instrumentation. Tom recently released Trees, a follow up to the self-titled debut album. We're taking a moment to revisit our conversation with Tom from 2019. Tom explains what it's like to write an album that brings back somber memories, and why he felt it was important to use original jazz songs, rather than jazz samples.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Before John David Washington was an actor, he was lacing up the pads every week for a career in professional football. It seems fitting, then, that when he took up acting, his breakthrough role was the portrayal of an NFL player on HBO's Ballers . Washington has since gone onto play a bunch of other big parts since Ballers. He has since had a lead part in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman and a role in the brand new mystery comedy Amsterdam, which just hit theaters. In 2019, he joined us to chat about the many times he had to audition for his role on Ballers. Plus, what it was like to get a stunning offer for his role in BlacKkKlansman in a text message from Spike Lee.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hua Hsu is a staff writer for The New Yorker. He's written profiles and reviews of artists like Bjork, bell hooks, and Sandra Oh. He's also a professor of English at Bard College, with a passion for elevating underappreciated talent in literature. His new book, Stay True, is an intimate and probing memoir. In Stay True, Hsu looks back on his early twenties, when he was an undergrad at University of California, Berkeley. Stay True is about the most intimate relationships that defined his adolescence and young adulthood. Hua Hsu shares how writing this book reflected and refracted his relationship with his own American-ness.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bonnie Raitt is a legend. Now in her 70's she's still touring, still shredding and still writing songs. She's been recording music for over 50 years and she's won ten Grammys. Bonnie's also been in the rock and roll hall of fame for over two decades. Earlier this year she released Just Like That. Her eighteenth full length studio album. Our correspondent Ray Suarez talked with Bonnie about the new album. She gets into coming into her own as an artist, playing through the pandemic and getting back on the road. Plus, she'll talk about her longtime friend and collaborator John Prine, and what it was like performing his music after his death in 2020.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Michael R. Jackson is the creator of A Strange Loop. The groundbreaking show won the honor for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical at the most recent Tony Awards. Recently our correspondent Julie Klausner caught the show on Broadway, and she fell in love right away. Klausner and Jackson talked about writing the musical, showing it to his family, and so much more.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Billy Eichner was already a working comedian when he rose to fame as the host of Billy on the Street - a bonkers game show where he runs up and down the streets of Manhattan shouting questions at strangers. Now, he's written and starred in his first movie. Bros is a romantic comedy, produced by Judd Apatow, about a same-sex relationship. Bros features an entirely LGBTQ+ cast - the first of its kind from a major studio.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Chris Estrada is a stand-up comedian and co-creator of the new TV comedy, This Fool. Estrada also stars as the show's main character: Julio. Julio lives in South Central Los Angeles, where Chris grew up, but the show isn't autobiographical. Julio works at a local nonprofit that helps former gang members adjust to life on the outside. The show follows the misadventures of Julio and his cousin Luis who has finished up a lengthy prison sentence. The show is funny, human, unexpected and at times, surprisingly sweet. We talk with Chris about co-creating This Fool, his love of punk music and his late start as a stand-up comedian.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bobby Moynihan first appeared on SNL in 2008, and starred on the show for nearly a decade. He did a few impressions, but his strength was portraying offbeat characters. When Bobby left SNL in 2017, he began to appear in a variety of projects; shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and movies like The Secret Life of Pets. In his free time in-between projects, Bobby began writing. He created Loafy, the series of shorts about a cartoon, drug-dealing manatee of the same name. Lightning Wolves, an adult send-up of late 20th century animated shows like Captain Planet, came next. Bobby recently transferred that same passion for writing into the book world. He just published his first children's book, Not All Sheep are Boring. It follows the adventures of sheep who actually lead rich, interesting lives and have hobbies like drinking coffee, metal detecting, and eating pasta. Bobby sat down with Bullseye to discuss his latest venture.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Loudon Wainwright III is a singer and songwriter. He began his folk career in the late 60s, and released his self-titled debut in 1970. He's occasionally referred to as a novelty singer, but his broad musical catalog has proven that to be untrue. Loudon has recorded 26 studio albums, six compilations, and four live albums. His album High Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project brought him his first Grammy in 2010 for Best Traditional Folk Album. He recently turned 75 and commemorated this milestone with his newest album called Lifetime Achievement. He stops by to chat about the album and plays some music.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy