The Dinner Party Download
American Public Media
Welcome to The Dinner Party Download, a fast and funny hour of culture, food and conversation: “public radio’s arts & leisure section.” In every episode you’ll learn a joke; bone up on an odd bit of history and then wash it down with a themed cocktail recipe; meet artists of note; have your burning etiquette questions answered; savor an emerging food trend; and hear your new favorite song. Plus, unconventional wisdom from hosts Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis Newnam.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 31, 2014 • 51min
Episode 238: Brie Larson, Baz Luhrmann, and Nomnomnom-enclature
This week: “Short Term 12″ (just out on DVD and streaming) star Brie Larson fears oranges and lobsters … Baz Luhrmann talks movie music from Bee Gees to Gatsby … Author Juan Gabriel Vásquez shares a story of narco-trafficking and lost hippos … A Jimmy Buffet song brings indie band Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr to […]
Jan 25, 2014 • 51min
Episode 237: Zoe Kazan, Jackie Collins, and Thinking Outside the Pizza Box
Zoe Kazan, writer/star of “Ruby Sparks” and the new play “Trudy & Max in Love,” uses our show to save a chihuahua… bestselling author Jackie Collins kidnaps our etiquette segment… Actor Sam Harris remembers the little people on his rise to stardom… all about an American who was big in Japan… New software monitors if […]
Jan 18, 2014 • 51min
Episode 236: Timothy Olyphant, Rosanne Cash, and Carl Hiaasen’s Pizza Surprise
This week: “Justified” star Timothy Olyphant says he’s just the help… Etiquette from Carl Hiaasen, chronicler of bad Floridian behavior… Rosanne Cash takes a trip into music & literary history… You can’t win ‘em all – unless you’re the Harlem Globetrotters … Luxembourg gives it all away … Indie band Diane Coffee brews us a pot […]
Jan 11, 2014 • 51min
Episode 235: Lupita Nyong’o, Gary Shteyngart, and Rust Belt Restos
This week: Lupita Nyongo, Golden globe nominee for “12 Years A Slave” reveals the secret to happiness… Gary Shteyngart develops a crush on the Iron Lady … Beyond the tabloid tale of Tonya Harding … Pittsburgh, PA steels itself for an influx of foodies… Novelist Chang-Rae Lee’s dystopian vision of Baltimore … Night clothes with thinking caps […]
Jan 4, 2014 • 51min
Episode 234: Best of 2013
This week, we ring in 2014 by looking BACK at our favorite interviews of 2013. (Because, yes, we’re punk like that.) You’ll hear “things you didn’t know” from Daniel Radcliffe, Margaret Atwood, and many more… Sounds big and small from reggae legend Jimmy Cliff and They Might be Giants… Writer Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) […]
Dec 27, 2013 • 50min
Episode 233: Liev Schreiber, Wild Belle, and Cheese Drama
This Week: We take a brief holiday break (and hope you’re able to do the same) and leave you with this choice episode from earlier in the year … Liev Schreiber (just nominated for a 2014 Golden Globe) talks canine engineering and bad answers … Choire Sicha, founder of The Awl, offers etiquette quips … Chicago […]
Dec 21, 2013 • 50min
Episode 232: Jeremy Renner, Nancy Sinatra, and Billy Collins
This Week: Jeremy Renner does the American Hustle… Nancy Sinatra on headphones and hair-poufs … Former Poet Laureate Billy Collins asks you to clean your room …Nick Lowe’s Eccentric Xmas Soundtrack … An inimitable, unpronounceable writer you’ve got to read… Italian food that might remind you of sushi … The precise moment when cringes become […]
Dec 14, 2013 • 50min
Episode 231: Geoffrey Rush, and Aubrey Plaza & LeVar Burton LIVE
Oscar-winning thespian Geoffrey Rush goes from burlesque to “The Book Thief”… “Parks and Recreation’s” Aubrey Plaza will not be mean on command … LeVar Burton, of “Reading Rainbow” fame, gets all Dirty Harry on a book “vandal”… We learn about a phone call that changed rock-and-roll history… rock critic and musician Joey Sweeney plays the […]
Dec 7, 2013 • 51min
Episode 230: Oscar Isaac, Mads Mikkelsen, and Vermouth Strikes Back
Oscar Isaac, star of the Coen Bros. “Inside Llewyn Davis,” talks travis pickin’ and tabbies… Int’l star Mads Mikkelsen, lately of Danish drama “The Hunt,” looks on the bright side of strife… Bestselling author Janet Evanovich tells us how to politely destroy a van… Changing views of Manhattan from the roof of the Chelsea Hotel … […]
Nov 29, 2013 • 50min
Episode 229: The 2013 All-Food Episode
Thanksgiving is kind of a national dinner party, so we wanted to bring our contribution: an ALL-FOOD EPISODE of the show. We know it comes a day late, but everybody loves leftovers, right? Lidia Bastianich on freedom food… Michael Pollan’s kosher barbecue … The Arctic Monkeys play a little dinner music … Eddie Huang vs. […]
