Episodes

Episode 241: Stephen Malkmus, Doughnuts for Groughnups, and Oscar’s Finest “Act”

Photo: Leah Nash

This week: Stephen Malkmus on rock and roll fatherhood … Comedienne Annabelle Gurwitch makes an effort at etiquette …. Rebecca Mead revisits “Middlemarch” … Humble doughnuts get a sophisticated make-over … “The Act of Killing” is a difficult, fascinating, and important film to watch … Angel Olsen takes flight … Clown college admissions decline … And the history of an obsolete historical artifact, the printed phone book.


“The Chiropractor’s Soundtrack” – Annabelle Gurwitch

Icebreaker


The Coming Clown Shortage

Small Talk

It's all well and good to send in the clowns - until there aren't any left to send.


Skinny Phone Books and the Tropical Tom Collins

A History Lesson With Booze ®

This week back in 1878, a new type of book was published that you would never want to read cover-to-cover.


The Preatures Shine Through Dark Times

Soundtrack

The Preatures join us to play a song live in our studio and share some other party rocking favorites. The band is divided over Nick Drake.


Annabelle Gurwitch Enjoys Life's Tweet-Sized Pleasures

Etiquette

Actress, humorist, author, and multi-hyphenate Annabelle Gurwitch thinks it is time middle-aged people face facts: 50 is not the new 40. 50 is 50 - but that is perfectly fine.


Rebecca Mead Visits the Library, Home

Eavesdropping

In this story from her new book, "My Life in Middlemarch" about her love of George Eliot's classic novel, New Yorker critic Rebecca Mead touches - and smells - literary history.


Doughnuts for Groughnups

Main Course

Elevating the humble breakfast snack to a sophisticated dish and pushing the dough-envelope with savory and booze-infused offerings.


Stephen Malkmus' Populist Groove

Guest of Honor

Indie-rock stalwart Stephen Malkmus formed Pavement with the hope of playing at a club in Hoboken, NJ. Twenty five years later, his own music career has outlasted that dream club, and inspired legions of fans.


Confronting the Delusions of Violence in "The Act of Killing"

Chattering Class

The shattering, Oscar-nominated documentary "The Act of Killing" looks at those who perpetrated violence during the 1965 military coup in Indonesia -- their self-delusion and its aftermath.


Angel Olsen Gives Us a Hi-Five

One For The Road

Angel Olsen just received a "Best New Music" designation from Pitchfork for her second album, "Burn Your Fire for No Witness."


Playlist: Episode 241

Playlist

Music from this week's show.