Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Bullseye guest host Shereen Marisol Meraji, host of NPR's Code Switch, talks with the musician Ahmed Gallab. You might know Ahmed as the man behind the band Sinkane. Ahmed and Shereen discuss his latest album, growing up in the U.S. as the son of immigrants and how he connects his Sudanese roots to his music. Sinkane's latest album is titled Dépaysé and is available now.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Guest Host Shereen Marisol Meraji, host of NPR's Code Switch, chats with actor Garcia. Garcia plays Jake Rodriguez on 'Tales of the City' on Netflix, a part-remake part-sequel to the TV miniseries you might remember from the 90's. Garcia and Shereen discuss their first breakout role, being pigeonholed as a trans character in Hollywood and how their chosen family led them to acting.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pitcher Sean Doolittle is the closer for the Washington Nationals, and no, it's not The Closer you're thinking about. Sean's been called one of the most interesting players in baseball. He'll talk about his unorthodox path to the major leagues, starting out as a first baseman, recovering from serious injuries and then pivoting to closing out games on the mound. Sean's also known as one of the nicest guys in MLB. He's used his platform as a baseball player to raise awareness about a number of issues: He's worked with veteran groups, spoken out publicly for LGBT rights, and hosted a Thanksgiving dinner with Syrian refugees. This interview was recorded in 2017, back when Sean was at spring training with the Oakland A's.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week, we're revisiting our conversation with Emmy-award winning actress Edie Falco. She's best known for her roles in The Sopranos, Oz and Nurse Jackie. When she spoke to us in 2018, she had just starred in the movie Outside In. Edie talks to Jesse about landing her first acting gig — which she started the day after she graduated from acting school at SUNY Purchase. Plus, Edie tells us why she thinks comedy isn't for her, and what it was like to work with James Gandolfini for nearly a decade on The Sopranos.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Linda Holmes is a pop culture critic and host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. She just released her debut novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over. It's about love and loss and the choices we make that sometimes require us to start from scratch. Linda joins the show to talk about her start in writing and how the game of baseball contains a great lesson on the importance of perseverance.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Joe Talbot is the director of The Last Black Man in San Francisco. It's a beautiful film about a guy named Jimmie and his desire to reclaim a San Francisco house built by his grandfather, many moons before tech booms rolled in and massive amounts of money changed the city. Joe talks about gentrification, his thoughts on authenticity in the Bay Area and the best reaction to a movie Jesse has ever heard.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Director Sara Driver refined her craft during New York's indie filmmaker boom in the late 1970s-1990s. Her directorial debut came in 1981 with You are Not I, a film about a young woman who escapes a mental institution during the chaos of a pileup. We revisit our conversation with Driver from 2018 where she discussed her docmentary, Boom For Real. It tells the story of a young Jean-Michel Basquiat and the New York arts community around him. Sara currently appears in Jim Jarmusch's latest zombie flick, The Dead Don't Die.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

H. Jon Benjamin is the voice behind some of television's most beloved animated characters. He's the voice of titular character "Bob" in Fox's heartwarming sitcom Bob's Burgers. He also plays Sterling Archer in FX's Archer, which just premiered its 10th season this past spring. Revisit our conversation with the actor as he talks about his book, his work on so many great TV shows and the beauty of fatherhood.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Who comes to mind when you think of a character actor? Sure, there are a lot of good ones, but there's no one quite like the great Wallace Shawn. On screen, he's had over 180 credits! You've seen him in films like Clueless, The Princess Bride and My Dinner with Andre. He's also had regular roles on Gossip Girl and Crossing Jordan. Wallace is also an Obie award-winning playwright and the author of several books. When he joined us back in 2017, he had just written Night Thoughts, an extended collection of essays touching on topics like politics, morality, and privilege. Plus, he'll talk frankly about how the movie business has changed since he started acting some 40 years ago. You can hear him as the voice behind Rex in Toy Story 4 later this month.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're revisiting our conversation with John Waters! You might know him as the director and writer of classics like Pink Flamingos, Hairspray and Cry-Baby, but even though he hasn't made a movie lately, he keeps pretty busy. He's done a ton of live performances, released a few compilation albums, and he just released his memoir and seventh book, Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder. When he joined us in studio, John talked about Make Trouble, a book based off of his commencement speech at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. Jesse talks with him about Little Richard, trigger warnings, and how the film industry tried (and failed) to make the King of Trash compromise his work. Plus, he'll tell us about the fabulous Commes de Garcon shirt he wore to the recording. His memoir, Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder, is out now.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy