Talkhouse Podcast

Kendra Foster and X Ambassadors’ Sam Harris know a thing or two about songwriting. Foster is a two-time Grammy winner for her work with D’Angelo on his seminal Black Messiah LP, while Harris has written for Rihanna and scored major song placements with Chrysler and ESPN College Football, and in the Will Smith movie Bright. We paired Foster and Harris for a deep-dive conversation on all things songwriting, and they delivered. This conversation covers co-writing, making time to work on new joints while on tour, how songwriting blends technical and spiritual elements, and working with and without producers. It also takes in the artistic and financial benefits of taking risks, how D’Angelo taught Kendra to be patient with her perfectionism, and the way Imagine Dragons forever changed X Ambassadors’ career. Check it out, and subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast. —Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast host and producer Today’s episode was co-produced by Mark Yoshizumi.

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, filmmakers Eliza Hittman (Beach Rats), Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson), Tom Kalin (Savage Grace) and Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men) talk all things Oscars. In a conversation recorded at Kickstarter HQ in Brooklyn, the four directors discuss this year's (historic!) nominees, notable snubs, changes the Academy has made as part of its diversity push, parallels to the awards in the 1970s, the experience of being a contender and an Oscar voter, and much more. Plus, of course, they offer up their predictions for the big night! For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse Film at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop about future Talkhouse Podcasts.

Before Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, Flock of Dimes) and Jana Hunter (Lower Dens) were famous musicians, they worked long shifts together in a Baltimore restaurant. The friends watched each other's artistic careers explode, and when they sat down in the Sonos room at Rough Trade NYC — for one of three conversations that Talkhouse curated for Northside Festival — their chat was both hilarious and moving. (You can listen to Jlin with William Basinski now, and Suicide's Martin Rev talking with Julianna Barwick will drop soon.) As well as tales of those early days washing dishes and lying to annoying customers, their talk takes in the baggage of being "a girl with a guitar," the pros and cons of ceding control in the creative process, and... Abba. Check it out, and subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast. —Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast host and producer @eliaeinhorn Today's episode was co-produced by Mark Yoshizumi

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, we feature a conversation between friends and fellow Korean-American writer-directors Andrew Ahn and Christina Choe, recorded at the Kickstarter Lodge during last month's Sundance Film Festival. Choe was at Sundance with her debut feature Nancy (which won her the festival's Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award) and Ahn with his Sundance Now TV show This Close, about two deaf best friends. Over the course of their wide-ranging and extremely unfiltered conversation, Ahn and Choe discuss not only their new projects but also telling stories of one's own community, how Andrew came out to his parents through a short film, Christina's club KGB (Koreans Gone Bad) – and a whole lot about Christina's mom! For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse Film at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop about future Talkhouse Podcasts.

Jlin and William Basinski are two of today's most fascinating and gifted composers. Basinski works with decaying analogue tape loops to create ambient soundscapes, while Jlin constructs brilliant, stuttering reimaginings of footwork rhythms. The friends and collaborators sat down in the Sonos room at Rough Trade NYC for one of three conversations that Talkhouse curated for Northside Festival. (Upcoming episodes will feature the other two, Suicide's Martin Rev with Julianna Barwick, and Lower Dens' Jana Hunter with Jenn Wasner from Wye Oak and Flock of Dimes). The two get into Basinski's tribute to his hero David Bowie, Jlin's boundary-pushing collaborations with cutting-edge dancers, and how a cat on the loose ended up significantly contributing to Basinski’s artistry. Check it out, and subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast. —Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast host and producer Today's episode was recorded and co-produced by Mark Yoshizumi

Like fans the world over, we here at Talkhouse were devastated to hear of the Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan's untimely passing. We felt that the best way to honor her was to share her sweet and funny conversation with her D.A.R.K. bandmate Andy Rourke from 2016. On this week’s episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, Andy Rourke of the Smiths and Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries sit down to discuss their new supergroup, D.A.R.K, and we give their song “High Fashion” its world premiere. The new bandmates and old friends talk about Dolores’ teenage Smiths fandom, Stephen Street (who helmed production duties on iconic records for both groups), initial reaction from their legendary bands’ diehard fans to the new project, and getting pelted onstage at festivals back in the day by a half-eaten apple and a packet of sausages adorned with the note “Meat is Murder.” Take a listen and subscribe now on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher to stay in the loop on future Talkhouse Podcasts. — Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast producer and engineerToday's episode was mixed by Mark Yoshizumi.

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, we look back on the past year as Talkhouse Podcast host/producer Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Music Editor-in-Chief Amy Rose Spiegel, Talkhouse Film Editor-in-Chief Nick Dawson and Talkhouse’s marketing manager Keenan Kush discuss some of their favorite moments from the Talkhouse Podcasts of 2017. The highlights featured include: Taran Killam and Kyle Mooney discussing exercise routines (and doing a little beatboxing); Frankie Cosmos and Vagabon on setting boundaries with fans; Paul Major talking with the legendary Stephen Malkmus about listening to psychedelic music (but without the psychedelics); David Cross and the Strokes’ Fab Moretti helping Jean Grae recreate her past as a phone sex worker; Sam Esmail (Mr Robot) and Mark Frost (Twin Peaks) discussing TV vs. film (and Frost’s experiences writing Marvel movies); an extract from’s Shamir Voice Memos series; Sinkane dishing to Oddisee on his encounter with Usher; and Rob Corddry reminding Lake Bell about her unsuccessful attempt to be a vegan in Vegas. Check it out, and subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop about future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast.

The latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast continues our delicious dive into the world of food, following recent episodes that paired Chef Andrew Carmellini with A$AP Ferg, and Chef Paul Kahan with Sonic Youth and Pavement's Mark Ibold.  For today's show, lifelong friends — and now A Chef's Life colleagues — chef Vivian Howard and filmmaker Cynthia Hill sit down to chat about bringing the food and culture of rural North Carolina to the rest of America via their Peabody- and Emmy-winning series, the difficulty of working professionally with one's spouse, and how the hardest critics to please can sometimes be one's own parents. Check it out, and subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop about future Talkhouse Podcasts. Today's episode was recorded by John Plymale, and mixed by Mark Yoshizumi. 

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, friends and longtime former colleagues on The Daily Show Jason Jones and Aasif Mandvi are reunited for a conversation at the flagship Sonos store in Soho, NYC. Over the course of a hilarious and wide-ranging chat, the two talk about their worst fashion choices, their respective exercise regimes, their ambivalent feelings about social media, the new documentary The Problem with Apu (which Aasif appears in), Aasif's desire to be (or to spawn) Hollywood's first Indian-American action star, during all of which Jason Jones Solves Everything. (Including how to repeatedly plug the new season of his show, The Detour.) For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse Film at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop about future Talkhouse Podcasts.

On the second episode of the Talkhouse x Food Republic podcast, Chicago chef and restaurateur Paul Kahan and musician Mark Ibold (of Pavement and Sonic Youth fame) find that they're at a very similar place in life. The two cultural icons are into cooking, music and family, and they trade stories in this special conversation at the flagship Sonos store in New York. The podcast opens with Ibold admitting that he spent the previous evening testing out a recipe from Kahan's new cookbook, Cheers to the Publican, Repast and Present: Recipes and Ramblings from an American Beer Hall, which takes its name from the chef's Chicago institution, The Publican — part of a restaurant and bar group that includes Avec, Blackbird, Big Star and many others. As they chat, Kahan also taps Ibold for recording advice and coaxes out a few stories from the bassist's days on the road with Pavement. It's a rare chance to hear two legendary figures who'd never met before assess where they're at in life, and share hard-earned wisdom. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast.