Episodes

Episode 206: Greta Gerwig, Questlove, and Drinkable Spam

Greta Gerwig, credit Iya Savenok

This week: We ride the rerun ship back in time, for an episode that turns out to be pretty prescient … Francis Ha star Greta Gerwig on naturalism vs. quirk … The Roots’ Questlove on food … Author Carl Hiaasen gives us a reality check … Kathy Griffin, queen of misbehavior, offers etiquette advice… The forgotten Astaire … The first spam email inspires a drink you shouldn’t delete … And musicians The Imagination Movers give entertaining tips on keeping kids entertained. Plus, a Spurlockian joke, a soprano drought, and your new favorite song from the Alabama Shakes.


Fast Funny with Morgan Spurlock

Icebreaker

Documentarian Morgan (Supersize Me) Spurlock leaves us with a quick joke. His new CNN series, “Inside Man,” premieres Sunday, June 23.


When puberty becomes an occupational liability

Small Talk

Eric Zorn, columnist for The Chicago Tribune, calls our attention to an alarming trend in the music world: early-onset puberty.



Carl Hiaasen gets real with his favorite reality shows

Guest List

Carl Hiaasen made his mark writing thrillers. But his recent children's book Chomp, is a coming of age story that doubles as a send-up of reality TV … so we had him bring us a list of his favorite somewhat ridiculous reality shows.


Comic Queen of Misbehaving Kathy Griffin talks manners

Etiquette

Kathy Griffin knows a thing or two about misbehavin’. (Just ask Andersen Cooper.) The comedian, actress, and talk show host has won over legions of fans with her provocative, irreverent comedy and her double Emmy-winning show “My Life on the D-List.” This summer, you can catch her on a nationwide stand-up tour and her 16th television special just debuted on Bravo. She advises our listeners on how to handle bad influences, lingering guests, and see [sic] food.


The adventures of the 'forgotten' Astaire

Eavesdropping

We all know about Fred Astaire. Less well-known is Adele Astaire, and Australian theater scholar Kathleen Riley is trying to change that. Her new non-fiction book is called “The Astaires: Fred and Adele.” Today we overhear her recounting a dinner-party worthy anecdote about the duo’s adventures.


Kid-pop stars Imagination Movers on how to impress the tikes

Chattering Class

To help us win our next kid-friendly dinner party, we turn to certifiable kid experts The Imagination Movers. The New Orleans-based band has been performing kid-centric pop-rock for almost a decade in sold-out tours and for their Disney Jr. show. Mover Rich and Mover Scott (both fathers, too) enlighten Rico about the wonders of interactivity, make-believe and arena-rock cliches. (The Imagination Movers head out this week on a tour for their just-released Rock-O-Matic album).


Roots drummer Questlove shares a meatier kind of drumstick

Main Course

As the drummer and co-leader of hip-hop group The Roots (also the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) ?uestlove is music royalty. Now he’s getting into the food game, too, and it turns out his buttermilk chicken is as good as his music. Bon Appetit named it one of their top things to eat in 2012. We grilled the musician about his ironically healthy new diet, and why food is the new hip-hop. For more tales of ?uestlove’s life - musical and otherwise - his just-released memoir is sure to be a treat.


Actress Greta Gerwig on being quirky like a Chrysler

Guest of Honor

Greta Gerwig appeared in last year’s remake of the movie Arthur. She co-starred in Noah Baumbach’s film Greenberg alongside Ben Stiller, and she stars in the new film Damsels in Distress, the first work in 12 years or so from celebrated indie director Whit Stillman.


Alabama Shakes - 'I Found You'

One For The Road

Last summer, when we caught on to the Alabama Shakes and frontwoman Brittany Howard’s unbelievable pipes, our One For the Road pick “You Ain't Alone” unleashed a torrent of listener love. Now that the band’s debut LP Boys and Girls is finally here, it’s about time for another. Here’s “I Found You” - perfect track for when all’s sweet in the world.


Playlist: Episode 206

Playlist

All the songs featured in Episode 206