Episodes

Episode 205: Sofia Coppola, Jonathan Goldstein, Zombies and blooood

Sofia Coppola/Photo by Andrew Durham

This week: Filmmaker Sofia Coppola talks about “The Bling Ring” and growing up in an Apocalypse … Humorist and “Wiretap” host Jonathan Goldstein takes his dad for a beer of rebellion … It’s the time of the season for a party playlist from The Zombies … Lidia Bastianich dishes out food etiquette and makes a divine intervention … Reviving corpses with blood and booze … Shining the spotlight on back-up singers … And gin’s pal tonic gets a make-over. Plus, screaming pigs, Jackie Chan: The Musical, and a Washed Out song that just feels right.


Jonathan Goldstein - 'Interrupting Feral Pig'

Icebreaker

Author and host of public radio show “Wire Tap.”


Jackie Chan makes a musical leap

Small Talk

The senior editor of Los Angeles Magazine, Elina Shatkin, tells us about a new work of theater in development: an autobiographical musical written and composed by Jackie Chan. Brace yourselves.


Historic Transfusions and the Bloody Corpse

A History Lesson With Booze ®

This week back in 1667 the first successful human blood transfusion took place… which is not to say the ones that followed were successful. Listen to the wild and woolly story, then replace part of your bloodstream with this hangover cure - the mutant offspring of a Bloody Mary and a Corpse Reviver No. 2.


1960s rockers The Zombies share a playlist of Influences & wine pairings

Soundtrack

The Zombies are known for their impressive string of 1960s rock hits - songs like “Time of the Season” and “She’s Not There” - and although band members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent say they would never play their own music at a party, they might be the rare people who wouldn't. What they would play, however, is a mix of classic songs that have influenced them - and which sound particularly good when paired with a light Italian red.


Filmmaker Sofia Coppola Bling Rings and Jungle Sings

Guest of Honor

Few filmmakers today have such an instantly recognizable style and sensibility as Sofia Coppola. In her new film, The Bling Ring, she has written and directed a high-energy, satirical piece, based on true events. She talks to Rico about Parisian Pillows, self-made celebrities, and singing in the jungle.


Author Jonathan Goldstein celebrates Fathers Day, seizes tomorrow

Eavesdropping

Canadian writer and WireTap radio host Jonathan Goldstein’s new book, I’ll Seize the Day Tomorrow takes wry stock of his life, on the cusp of his fortieth birthday. In honor of Father’s Day, he tells a tale from the collection about taking his dad out for a night late afternoon on the town.


Gin's special friend gets a spicy make-over

Main Course

Gin and tonic might be long-time BFFs (possibly involved in a torrid love triangle with vermouth) but sometimes it seems like tonic water just isn’t holding up its side of the relationship. Enter Pedro Goncalves, beverage director at the Michelin-starred Oceana Restaurant in New York City, who’s joining the ranks of bartenders making their own tonics in-house. Looks like ol’ gin and tonic might still have some new adventures ahead of them after all.


Lidia Bastianich's Etiquette Answers Save You From Dining Sins

Etiquette

Lidia Bastianich is an Italian-American food star whose new PBS special, “Lidia Celebrates America: Freedom & Independence” debuts on June 28th. The special sees her taking a special road trip across the country, with stops in the kitchens of folks from a multitude of cultures. She talks with us about border-crossing cuisine, expanding palates, and cutting a cake with the Holy Father.


Back-up singers in pop music history

Chattering Class

What’s a classic pop song without a catchy hook? Darlene Love provided harmonies (and lead lines) on some of the biggest hits of the 1960s - singing with artists from Elvis Presley to Sam Cooke to Sonny & Cher. The new documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom digs into the role of background singers and the struggles they face when they try to break out. Brendan joins Darlene and the film’s director Morgan Neville for a conversation about these under-sung stars.


Washed Out - 'It All Feels Right'

One For The Road

When Ernest Green couldn't find a job as a librarian, he pulled out his laptop and started work on his bedroom chillwave project Washed Out. Following up his 2011 break-out album Within and Without, this August he returns to the dreamy, drowsy pop world with Paracosom. Somehow, it all feels right.


Playlist: Episode 205

Playlist

The Sea & Cake - “The Argument” The Wedding Present - “Signal” Tipsy - “Liquordelic” Pourquoi Me Reviller - “Bloody Hours of Nasty Torture” Of Montreal - “Chrissie Kicks the Corpse” The Zombies - “Tell Her No” Joni Mitchell - “Carey” Big Mama Thorton - “Hound Dog” Little Richard - “Long Tall Sally” The Eagles - “New Kid in Town” The Zombies - “A Moment in Time” The Doors - “The End (Apocalypse Now Version)” Cat Stevens - “Father and Son” Chicago - “Old Days” Tonic - “Diffusion” Beirut - “Postcards from Italy” The Crystals - “Da Doo Ron Ron” Lou Reed - “Walk On The Wild Side”