Episodes

380: Aimee Mann, Hank Azaria, Jason Jones

Photo Credit: Sheryl Nields

Hank Azaria (“Brockmire”) talks about baseball in at least five different voices… Aimee Mann disses tattoo copycats, sings about actual cats … “Daily Show” expat Jason Jones — now starring in “The Detour” — relives the terrors of moving to New York City … Molly Wood unveils the latest scholarship at the University of Utah — for video game players … and we learn how we’ve been using salt completely wrong. Plus, Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand makes a dinner party playlist for his pals, we toast a dry Niagara Falls, and we announce/lament the winner of Martini Madness!


The Eerie Day the Niagara Falls Went Dry

A History Lesson With Booze ®

Around this time, back in the 19th century, one of the wonders of the natural world... became one of the creepiest.


Alex Kapranos DJs a Globe-Trotting Party Playlist

Soundtrack

Alex Kapranos is the frontman of the beloved Scottish dance-pop band Franz Ferdinand and a member of the new supergroup of sorts called BNQT. The band includes Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses and Jason Lytle of Grandaddy. Their new album comes out later this month. His playlist takes your party from Scotland to Germany to Latin America with tracks by Kraftwerk and more.


The Many Voices of Hank Azaria

Guest of Honor

Hank Azaria has had a huge career with character roles in films like “The Birdcage,” and many more. But he's probably best known as the voice behind a slew of character on “The Simpsons.” His latest TV project is "Brockmire,” a comedy about a disgraced, old-school baseball announcer attempting a comeback after a public meltdown goes viral. Using about three different voices, the actor talks about what influenced his hard-drinking sports announcer character in "Brockmire," reveals the awkward interactions he's had as a famous voice actor, and more.


Aimee Mann-splains Etiquette

Etiquette

In the ‘80s, Aimee Mann's band Til Tuesday hit the charts with the now classic song, "Voices Carry." She's since become a hugely respected solo artist with Grammy and Oscar nominations under her belt. Her new album, "Mental Illness," finds her telling cutting and unabashedly sad stories in song form. The singer-songwriter explains how cats and actor Andrew Garfield served as muses for her latest album, then she helps our listeners deal with mansplainers, tattoo copycats, and friends who won't let you off the hook.


The Science of Salt: What to Know Before You Cook Your Next Dish

Main Course

We were talking about this around the office, and realized we didn't know much about how salt does what it does. To fix all that, Rico sat down with Eric Schulze, a science writer and Senior Scientist at Memphis Meats in the Bay Area. During our chat, Eric taught us everything from salt basics to the science of "dry brining" your next steak.


Jason Jones Relives the Terrors of Moving to New York City

Eavesdropping

Jason Jones was a correspondent for "The Daily Show." Now, he plays the patriarch of the Parker family on the TBS comedy "The Detour." He tells a tale of how one misheard letter almost led to an unexpected visit from a lady of the night.