Episode 344: Anderson Cooper, Nahnatchka Khan, Parquet Courts

Journalist and TV host Anderson Cooper dazzles us with details from the new memoir he co-wrote with his heiress mom, Gloria Vanderbilt... Nahnatchka Khan, showrunner for the sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat," thanks her Dad for trapping her in a car... Atlas Obscura's Reyhan Harmanci regales us with tales of lab rats with cold feet... Environmental journalist Cynthia Barnett talks April showers... Plus a cocktail to quench your thirst during the longest ball game ever, a mildly intoxicating mouthful of betel nut, and a tribute to our dearly beloved, Prince.


Episode 318: Salman Rushdie, Alice Cooper, Carly Rae Jepsen

Encore Broadcast: Novelist Salman Rushdie stirs up age-old mischief - and magic... Shock rock legend Alice Cooper tells wild tales of Groucho Marx, Paul McCartney, and his "Hollywood Vampires" crew, then slays us with sensible etiquette advice ... Carly Rae Jepsen DJs our party (you'll really, really like her soundtrack).... We shed light on the daguerreotype, then watch a cocktail develop... And Rico samples "Grass Jelly," a white-hot topping for ice-cold desserts.


Episode 343: The ALL-TV Episode

It's a special "ALL-TV" Episode, featuring big talent from the small screen! Ellie Kemper of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" smiles into the void... T.J. Miller ("Silicon Valley") recommends wedding gifts for the budget-minded (just make sure you have your tetanus shot)... "Orange is the New Black" star Uzo Aduba invites Shakespeare to the slammer... TV mastermind Norman Lear reminisces about the birth of the medium..."The Daily Show" correspondent Aasif Mandvi tells us a thriller-ing story.. And listeners chime in with their favorite TV theme songs. The revolution will be televised...or, you know, streamed.


Episode 342: Nicholas Hoult, Tatiana Maslany, Duncan Sheik

"Orphan Black" star Tatiana Maslany plays clones, twins, and Ying Yang Twins... Nicholas Hoult ("Mad Max: Fury Road," the new "Kill Your Friends") revels in a bit of depravity - and a good fanny pack... "American Psycho" gets the Broadway treatment, from Tony winner Duncan Sheik... A portrait of Georgia O'Keefe as a young woman... A Chicago priest battles the "Polish Edison" over credit for the bulletproof vest... And the band Heron Oblivion transports us to a rustic seaside dinner party -- so rustic, in fact, that it's set in a chicken coop.


Episode 341: Daniel Clowes, Cameron Esposito, Quilt

Graphic novelist Daniel Clowes on his unusual and endangered drawing utensils… Newly-married comedian Cameron Esposito describes her very public bachelor party and gives us etiquette advice… Sabri Ben-Achour of "Marketplace" and "Actuality" ponders the ghosts of peanuts past… The band Quilt DJs the chillest dinner party ever… NYMag’s Sierra Tishgart dishes on the deal with eel… Plus a bitter drink to accompany a North Pole rivalry, and more!


340: Jeff Nichols, Lauren Weedman, Tindersticks

Southern filmmaker Jeff Nichols ("Mud," the new "Midnight Special") brings sci-fi down to earth, then offers up some pearls of wisdom... One of the art world's bright lights, Dan Colen, muses on his new visions-- part-Disney, part-J.M.W. Turner... Scene-stealer and storyteller Lauren Weedman tells a tale of moms and "Miss Fortune"... We recall the day when Niagara did not Fall... Stuart Staples (of Tindersticks) spins a soundtrack that's easygoing and elegiac... And we check the hype on the (deep breath!) scotch shortage. Plus, advice with "Ask Polly," & a new breed of biker-rebel.


Speakeasy Special #6: Alan Cumming, Adam McKay, Dave Navarro

It's an all new "Speakeasy"! In this newest installment you'll hear Brendan and Rico make a few martini recommendations for folks in NYC and L.A… Alan Cumming regales us with a Scottish joke, complete with audio subtitles (you’ll understand this term we just coined when you listen, we swear)… Oscar award-winning screenwriter Adam McKay recalls a time before directing “The Big Short” when he was just a chipped toothed coachman struggling to get rides for his horse drawn carriage in Philadelphia… and Dave Navarro recalls a Dee Dee Ramone tale that proves the life of a rock musician isn’t always what it seems in the love department. Plus a DPD giveaway and more!


Episode 329: Alicia Vikander, Randall Munroe, EL VY

Encore Broadcast: Alicia Vikander, star of “The Danish Girl,” on why she hates Pictionary… “xkcd” cartoonist Randall Munroe helps us keep it simple… Matt Berninger and Brent Knopf of the band El Vy quarrel over Cat Stevens… Emily Post’s great-grandchildren on whether it’s OK to bring a half-empty bottle of wine to a party (or is it half-full?)… Actor Josh Thomas of the Australian comedy “Please Like Me” on taking his mom to the top of the world… Cocktalian Cari Hah charms us with a Chinese sorghum spirit, the history of the world’s first computer programmer, a binary-coded cocktail, and more!


Episode 339: Viola Davis, Alan Cumming, Dave Navarro

Actor Viola Davis -- star of the ABC hit show "How to Get Away with Murder" -- waxes poetic on the wonders of Vaseline... Broadway star Alan Cumming gives us an etiquette lesson and reminds us that he is NOT a performing poodle... Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro navigates the darkest moment of his life in his new documentary "Mourning Son"... Musician M. Ward DJs your dinner party... Plus, the history of New York's first subway and a hip underground companion cocktail, robotic animal decoys, and more!


Episode 338: The NOTscars Special

It's our first NOTscars show -- for everything you won't find at the Oscars! "Tangerine" star Mya Taylor on Hollywood realness and her rural refuge... New York Times film critic AO Scott lists his favorite Academy-ignored films... Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton of the "Another Round" podcast on tired movie tropes and #OscarsSoWhite... "Mad Max: Fury Road" music composer Junkie XL scores your dinner party... Plus, the flyest in-flight safety video, the finest Vine, a cost-cutting bouncy castle, fun with phaleristics (we didn't know what it meant either!), Australia's sexism awards, and more!