Angel Olsen is an Asheville-based singer and guitarist. She made a name for herself with haunting vocals and harmonic soundscapes that draw on everything from psychedelia to country-western music. Her much-anticipated sophomore album, called "My Woman," comes out this week. She also performed a few songs at our live show in St. Paul, Minnesota, last year. Here she is with a party playlist for the long weekend ahead.
Attention all bookworms! We want to hear who you would want to break bread with at the table and why.
Don't wait another four years -- study these athletic feats to go for gold at your next dinner party.
In July, author Nicole Dennis-Benn stopped by to share an excerpt from her debut novel "Here Comes The Sun," which explored themes of identity, sexuality, and what people risk by being out in Jamaica. While she was in our studio, the author shared another riveting tale from the book.
On this week’s Speakeasy, Brendan got into a heated debate with Rico and guest Jim Gaffigan over… fruit salad. We want to hear your stance on the great fruit salad debate. Vote in the poll and sound off in the comments!
Iceland's own Júníus Meyvant won his home country's equivalent of a Grammy for "Song of the Year," and he's making an international name for himself with soulful folk-pop that's both emotive and uplifting. His debut album, "Floating Harmonies" just came out. He blends smooth sounds with blues tunes on his playlist, which features tracks from The Bee Gees, B.B. King, and more.
Sharon Jones is the unstoppable lead singer of the funk and soul band Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings The ten piece act has been releasing albums and touring the world for a decade. In 2014, they earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B album. The year before that album came out, Sharon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The singer talks to Brendan about her cancer battle, which was chronicled in the documentary "Miss Sharon Jones," and drawing strength from soul songs.
Each week our listeners send in questions about how to behave, and answering them this time around is actress Kristen Bell. She's starred in series like "House Of Lies," the cult hit "Veronica Mars," and she was the off-screen narrator of the scandalous teen drama "Gossip Girl." Bell also voiced the sweet princess Anna in the mega-hit Disney film "Frozen." The actor answers our listeners' questions on whether 'XOXO' has lost its meaning and how to handle passive-aggressive comments from family.
Comedian Josh Gondelman is up for an Emmy for his writing on "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver." His new comedy album, "Physical Whisper," is out now. Listen to a tale from the album in the audio above about how he knew his girlfriend was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
Each week on Chattering Class, we're schooled by an expert in some party-worthy topic. This week, the topic is the most famous martial arts fighter of all time, Bruce Lee. And our teacher is Charles Russo. His new book is called "Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the dawn of Martial Arts in America." He examines how Lee’s passion for martial arts came to be and his life before movies made him a legendary fighting figure.