Episodes

Episode 268: Daniel Radcliffe, Benjamin Booker, and ‘The Narcissist Next Door’

Stuart C. Wilson / Getty

Actor Daniel Radcliffe’s favorite language … NOLA rocker Benjamin Booker’s wild party … The era when your granddad’s music was super-rebellious … Emily Post-approved place-settings for palaces (and regular restaurants) … Novelist Edan Lepucki’s arty darkness in the California sun … Hula hooping to outer space … Cronuts, ramen burgers, donnolis, and the future of fusion foods … Katy Perry’s kindergarten couture … And how to handle the narcissist next door.


Benjamin Booker - "Turtle-Back"

Icebreaker

A joke about a very happy snail, from musician Benjamin Booker.


Trendies Embrace Their Inner Toddlers

Small Talk

What do you call it when adults dress in kitschy prints, slouchy overalls, and other fashions normally left to preschoolers? A trend called "toddlercore."


The Birth of Swing and the Hep Benny

A History Lesson With Booze ®

When Benny Goodman first played swing music, audiences threw bottles at him. We celebrate the moment the crowd came around by getting out some bottles of our own - to make a cocktail.


Edan Lepucki's Artifacts of California

Guest List

Edan Lepucki's novel "California" centers on a couple who have fled a dystopic near-future Los Angeles. The author gives us a list of other art that captures the essence of her home state in all its darkly sunny weirdness.


Daniel Radcliffe and the History of Everything

Guest of Honor

The actor best known for playing Harry Potter tries to create a new kind of on-screen magic in "What If," his first romantic comedy lead. He also tells Rico about the dining habits of blue whales, and why "television" was the "LOL" of the '30s.


Poet Matthea Harvey and a Dreamy, Spinning One

Eavesdropping

Matthea Harvey has books for children, but her playful, political poetry is for adults. She shares a selection from her newest collection, "If the Tabloids are True What Are You?"


Jeffrey Kluger Thinks This Interview Is All About Him

Chattering Class

Reality show stars are actually less narcissistic than convicted psychopathic murders, and other facts about the disorder from Jeffrey Kluger, author of "The Narcissist Next Door: Understanding the Monster in Your Family, Your Office, and Your Bed."


Lizzie Post's Practical Fork-Signals

Etiquette

A solo visit from Lizzie Post this week to discuss cross-cultural kissing, cross-office whistling, and the essential origins of all etiquette rules.


Mutant Donnolis Take Manhattan

Main Course

We have covered a few 'fusion foods' (cronuts, sushiritos) The newest nom-able neologism is 'donnoli,' a doughnut-cannoli combo. How many more mash-ups can we take?


Benjamin Booker Gives a Little Feedback

Soundtrack

Rootsy rocker Benjamin Booker suggests you come hungry to his dinner party and expect it to get a little wild (at least musically).