Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

We're revisiting our conversation with Kamasi Washington, one of the greatest living saxophone players. In the studio, he's played saxophone and arranged for hitmakers like Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, Run The Jewels, Snoop Dogg – and that's just naming a handful. On his own, he's a visionary bandleader with over half a dozen solo records to his name. He broke through in 2015, with his three hour long instant classic The Epic – a record that found its way to a bunch of top ten lists. These days, he's getting back to playing live music. With a handful of shows on the horizon all over North America this fall. Kamasi Washington talks about his time playing sax in bands, as a composer and bandleader. Plus, he'll reflect on one of his first major gigs with Snoop Dogg and collaborating with Kendrick Lamar on To Pimp A Butterfly. Of course, we also dive into his nearly unbeatable Street Fighter II skills. This interview originally aired in November of 2018.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Busy Phillipps has well amassed over 60 credits on the big and small screen. Her first big break came when she was just 20 years old on the acclaimed and influential TV show Freaks & Geeks. She followed that up with an appearance on Dawson's Creek and went on to star in several more TV shows and films. Her latest project is Girls5Eva, which was created by Meredith Scardino and is executively produced by Tina Fey. It's a comedy series about a fictional girl group that had a handful of smash hits right at the turn of the millennium. Think equal parts Spice Girls and N'Sync. Busy Philipps joins guest host Jordan Morris to talk about Girls5Eva, the resurgence of Freaks and Geeks in the age of streaming, and the moment she realized she wanted to make a career out of acting. Plus, she takes a Spice Girls quiz to see what group member she is.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For over 20 years, Tom Scharpling has hosted The Best Show. It aired on the New York public radio station WFMU until around 2013, and now it's a podcast. Tom's also a comedy writer who's worked on shows like Monk, What We Do in the Shadows and HBO's Divorce. As a voice actor, he's appeared on the Cartoon Network shows Steven Universe and Adventure Time. On the latest episode, we talk with Tom about his new book It Never Ends: A Memoir with Nice Memories, and hosting The Best Show for more than two decades. Plus, Tom tells us why C3PO, the fussy golden Star Wars robot, is one of the worst fictional characters of all time. Heads up: There is going to be some very serious talk about mental illness, including Tom's experience with electroconvulsive therapy. We thought we'd let you know.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Brat Pack, as you might know, is a term for a group of 8 or so actors who starred in about a dozen movies in the 1980s. There's Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, a bunch of others — and Andrew McCarthy. But McCarthy always kind of pushed back on the label of being a Brat Pack actor — he wasn't really into the whole nostalgia thing. Eventually, though, something changed. He even wrote a book about it. Brat: An 80s Story is a memoir that looks back on an era that changed his life forever. Andrew stopped by the show for an interview with guest host Julie Klausner, the writer and actor. He talks about coming to terms with the Brat Pack label, what his kids think of Weekend at Bernie's — and how he feels about being labeled a dreamboat. We'd like to hear your thoughts on Bullseye! To take a short, anonymous survey, go to npr.org/podcastsurvey.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Look at just about any "greatest albums of all time" list and you'll usually see Liz Phair's 1993 record Exile in Guyville. The album put her on the map as a singer-songwriter. The production was no frills, and the songwriting was personal at times and tongue-in-cheek at others. It inspired a bunch of bands and artists such as Courtney Barnett, Foo Fighters, and even Olivia Rodrigo. She followed that up with a number of great records including her self-titled album in 2003, which was her first ever major label record. On the album she collaborated with writers and producers that had previously worked with Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne. The album polarized writers at the time. While some thought it was a fun Summer pop album, others dismissed it as trivial. With her fans, though, it confirmed something they'd known for a long time. That Liz Phair won't be boxed in. She just released her first new album in over a decade. It's called Soberish. It's great and she continues to push boundaries on the project. She joins guest host Louis Virtel to talk about the new record, her friendship with Alanis Morissette and getting ghosted by Laurie Anderson. Plus, she looks back on the time she almost met Joni Mitchell.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're remembering the life of rapper Gift of Gab, who died last month at just 50 years old. Gab was the co-founder and MC for the legendary Northern California hip-hop group Blackalicious. If you're a serious hip-hop head, you know them; If you're not, you might recognize him for the tongue-twisting track Alphabet Aerobics. He could go toe-to-toe with anyone, and he knew it. Sometimes you wonder how he managed to breathe, never mind think. He was a battle rapper and a philosopher — a virtuoso. In this episode, we'll revisit a 2005 interview with Gab and DJ Chief Xcel, from back when this show was called The Sound of Young America. Then, the return of the Outshot: Jesse talks about what Gift of Gab meant to him, and what it's like to lose a hero. Lastly: We'd like to hear your thoughts on Bullseye and other NPR podcasts! To take a short, anonymous survey, go to npr.org/podcastsurvey.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Melissa McCarthy has played some unforgettable parts, like in Bridesmaids, The Heat and Spy. She met her husband, Ben Falcone, when they were members of the Groundlings theater in Los Angeles and have been performing together on stage and screen for almost 20 years now. Together the two have made five movies now. Their latest collaboration is the Netflix film Thunder Force, a superhero comedy which was released earlier this year. We're taking a moment to revisit Melissa and Ben's conversation from 2014. They'll talk about their high school days, including Melissa's goth phase, their fateful meeting in the Groundlings, and what it was like getting Kathy Bates to play a role that was literally written for her.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Content Warning: this segment contains some graphic descriptions of torture, sex and violence. It's an interview with John Waters for a segment we do called I Wish I'd Made That. In this episode, the director behind Hairspray, Crybaby, and Pink Flamingos. He stops by the show to talk about the 1975 film Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom which is directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. The release of Salò was controversial and some might say it is one of the most upsetting movies ever made. John Waters, whose films have earned him the title of "The Pope of Trash," has been a longtime fan of Pasolini's work. So, it is no surprise that he chose to talk about this film.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Patton Oswalt and Meredith Salenger keep busy with various projects in show business. They're parents, too. The celebrity couple don't get much one-on-one time together. In their podcast Did You Get My Text with Meredith and Patton they take a break from their busy lives as actors to talk about all the text messages, memes and random stuff they sent each other each day. Along the way, they get into serious stuff: relationship issues, friendships and loss. On the latest episode of Bullseye – Patton and Meredith discuss parenting, the joys of being nerdy and their new podcast. Plus, we get into their virtual meet cute – they texted for months before they heard each other's voices. Heads up: This interview has plenty of jokes, but we also get into some more serious topics like dealing with grief. In 2016, Patton lost his first wife, true crime writer and journalist Michelle McNamara suddenly. We thought we'd give you a heads up.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're dedicating this week's show to music duo Wendy and Lisa. Together they recorded some stone cold classics with Prince's band The Revolution: Purple Rain, Raspberry Beret, Kiss, When Doves Cry and more. These days, they're known for their work composing scores for TV and movies: Heroes, Dangerous Minds, Crossing Jordan, and Nurse Jackie. Their latest composing credits can be heard on Cruel Summer, the new teen thriller from Freeform. Wendy and Lisa talk with us about their 40-plus year partnership, and their Emmy award-winning work as composers. They'll reflect on their childhood friendship, and the work their fathers contributed as members of The Wrecking Crew. And of course, what it was like to collaborate with Prince, and work on some of his most iconic records.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy