Photo: Eliott Bliss

Episode 292: Marion Cotillard, Kenny G, High Maintenance

Marion Cotillard shines a light ... Kenny G goes Brazilian ... The challenges and rewards of working with a spouse ... How what we feel affects our feelings ... A totes fake resto ... A picky bit of history ... Corin Tucker calls ... Kelly Link's story of an unusual relationship ... And why positive linguistic bias is awesome!


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Episode 291: Eddie Redmayne, Issa Rae, Andrew Jarecki

Eddie Redmayne reveals his egg-y fears ... Issa Rae gives tips for shutting down awkward asks ... Why not leaving a tip might be the nicest thing you can do for a waiter ... Swedish star Seinabo Sey warms us up ... A documentarian tells us why audiences love true-crime stories ... We get some insight into the cockroach psyche ... New music to know from Unknown Mortal Orchestra ... And the Posts stop by to remind you to do something a little nice for Valentine's Day this year.


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Episode 290: Patricia Arquette, Weird Al, and Jenny Lewis

Pop-parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic on being weird (and Weird, and "Weird") ... "Boyhood" star Patricia Arquette's stolen Santa Clauses ... How singer Jenny Lewis kicks people out ... A trademark-licensing dispute that lead to a big hit ... Visiting a magical-realist Virgin Islands with author Tiphanie Yanique ... New York Philharmonic conductor Alan Gilbert counts coughs to judge a concert ... Famous little fishes ... And a new song for Swiss-es.


Episode 289: Frank Gehry, Miranda July, Dame Edna

This week: A musical peek into Frank Gehry's house ... Dame Edna delivers 'glorious' advice ... Miranda July builds a system ... The children raised amid resource extraction ... Adding butter to coffee to make it 'Bulletproof' ...Natalie Prass curates a list of sisters and goddesses ... and a case of déjà vu (déjà vu)


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Episode 288: Nick Kroll, Laura Poitras, Eddie Huang

This week: The filmmaker who documented Edward Snowden (but didn't decorate his hotel room) ... Comedian Nick Kroll goes in search of the weirdest voices in America ... Chef and author Eddie Huang tries to bring authenticity to a network sitcom ... Kolache pastries heat up ... An opera star shares moments when music made the movie ... Lionfish on the prowl ... The luck of the Lucas Gusher ... and a brassy new number from super-producer Mark Ronson.


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Episode 287: J.C. Chandor, Mark Duplass, Twerps

This week: Actor-writer-director Mark Duplass on brotherly love - without eye-contact ... A spicy, south-of-the-border drink trend ... Filmmaker J.C. Chandor makes art inspired by tragedy ... FM radio is invented, and we're pretty grateful ... An ex-Aerosmith roadie/sailor/journalist settles down on an unlikely farm ... Aussie rockers Twerps turn up the volume ... Latin lessons from Panda Bear ... The West Virginia town without modern technology (because of modern technology) ... And a mammoth of a story from author Thomas Pierce.


Episode 286: Best of 2014

We are kicking off 2015 by rounding-up some of our (and your!) favorite moments from 2014. Actor Jeffrey Tambor talks parenting -- in real life and television ... Grilled cheese sandwiches fall from the sky ... Anjelica Huston will not be forgotten ... A collection of all-star etiquette wisdom from Billy Eichner, Mel Brooks, Betty Halbreich, Justin Simien, and Annabelle Gurwitch ... Jessie Ware shows us some love ... Marlon James takes us to Jamaica, Bill Nye takes us to the stars, and Greta Gerwig jumps for joke-joy.


Episode 285: Wes Anderson, Dave Barry, and Real Estate

This Week: Filmmaker Wes Anderson on stoves that witnessed history... Humorist Dave Barry takes aim at your etiquette questions... Real Estate (the band, not the biz sector) play party DJ... Lit phenom Helen Oyeyemi gazes into the mirror, mirror... And Noah Strycker opens up his bird-brain. Plus, wild camels roaming Texas, the strangest cleanse ever, and Mac DeMarco's tuneful "Brother."


Photo: Collette Lash

Holiday Bonus: Frolic with Molly Ringwald and Friends

We're issuing you a holiday bonus — in the form of an extra podcast. We know, it's what you wanted most of all. So we've wrapped up the contents of our recent Holiday Frolic live event in Los Angeles. You'll hear an extended version of the B.J. Novak story and conversation from last week's broadcast, plus some podcast-exclusives: Etiquette (and sushi secrets) from Molly Ringwald and music from Moses Sumney and The Silver Lake Chorus.


Episode 284: B.J. Novak (live!), The Dukes of Hazzard, and Miriam Toews

A special fireside chat with writer-actor B.J. Novak, from our “Holiday Frolic” road show ... Also: Canadian author Miriam Toews' tale of two sisters... We tag along on "The Search for General Tso" ... The stars of classic 1970's “The Dukes of Hazzard” play holiday DJ for us ... Actor Joel Edgerton swims right into a punchline ... A reality show in the UAE crowns the "Prince of Poets" ... King C. Gillette's 1895 invention of the disposable razor and his against-the-grain politics ... Lizzie Post and Dan Post-Senning pop in bearing a sack full of etiquette tips for the nice and naughty ... And D’Angelo returns with "Black Messiah," his first release in fourteen years.