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Lemonada Media

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso is a weekly series of intimate conversations with artists, activists, and politicians. Where people sound like people. Hosted by Sam Fragoso. New episodes every Sunday.

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

What happens when a house is not a home? It's the question pulsating at the heart of the new film, Sentimental Value, and one that actor Renate Reinsve reckons with in the lead role of Nora.
 
We discuss her process connecting the ‘puzzle’ of each character (7:00), how she balances dark and light themes in this new film (8:20), and her creative childhood in Norway (12:00). Then, Renate describes how David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive impacted her as a young performer (20:20), her liberating teen years in Edinburgh (22:00), and how her longtime collaboration with writer-director Joachim Trier came to be—beginning with her supporting role in Oslo, August 31st (25:00).
 
On the back-half, she reflects on her early years in the theatre (36:20), how she recalibrated herself from stage to screen (39:15), and her spiritual tribute to the late Diane Keaton in The Worst Person in the World (42:53). To close, we talk about the final day on the set of Sentimental Value (49:40), her desires for the years ahead (55:00), and what it meant to bring her family to the film’s premiere at Cannes (58:39).
 
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Renate Reinsve Delivers the Performance of the Year in ‘Sentimental Value’

Following the success of The Worst Person in the World, writer-director Joachim Trier returns this fall with a candid family story in Sentimental Value.
 
We begin with the guiding words from writer Philip Roth (7:20), how Trier arrived at this intimate new film (8:40), and why he was drawn to father-daughter dynamics (his own, and others) in making this new project (10:00). Then, we talk about Joachim’s early observations growing up in Norway (25:00), why he prefers to be present with performers on set, rather than watching from a far-off monitor (32:00), and how he parlayed skating into his early work as a filmmaker (35:00).
 
On the back-half, Trier reflects on meeting longtime collaborator, screenwriter and director Eskil Vogt (37:00), the essayistic qualities of his sophomore film, Oslo, August 31st (40:00), and how that style fully solidified in Louder Than Bombs and The Worst Person in the World (42:00). To close, we revisit a recurring monologue in Sentimental Value (48:00), his last day on set with actor Renate Reinsve (50:00), and how director Martin Scorsese has inspired Trier to continue ‘stirring the sauce’ (56:00).
 
Subscribe to our new YouTube channel. Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.
 
Get 50% Off Monarch, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarch.com/talkeasy.

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Filmmaker Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental’ Family Affair

Filmmaker Noah Baumbach has spent the past three decades transmuting his experiences into cinema, culminating in his latest film, Jay Kelly, his love letter to movies (and the memories they evoke).
 
We begin with the “quiet crisis” Baumbach found himself in on the heels of releasing White Noise (5:30), finding his way back to the page, with co-writer Emily Mortimer, to create Jay Kelly for George Clooney (10:20), the films that defined his early years (15:00), and the week that Mike Nichols’ production of Heartburn took over his Park Slope childhood home (22:45). Then, we walk through his early, funny work in Kicking and Screaming (29:00) and Mr. Jealousy (30:45), how art imitated life in The Squid and the Whale (32:00), and the start of his lasting collaboration with Greta Gerwig in Greenberg (43:00).
 
On the back-half, Baumbach talks about his love of working with actors (45:30), setting the stage for the infamous Marriage Story fight scene (47:00), his process of writing personal stories (51:30), and how his subconscious seems to always be one step ahead of him (52:00). To close, the influence of Noah’s Hollywood mentor, the late Peter Bogdanovich (58:45) and a prescient essay from Baumbach’s mother, former film critic of The Village Voice, Georgia Brown (1:05:00).
 
Subscribe to our new YouTube channel. Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.
 
Get 50% Off Monarch, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarch.com/talkeasy.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Noah Baumbach Retrospective

For your Thanksgiving inspiration: a favorite episode from Wiser Than Me, where Julia sits down with legendary cook and author Ina Garten.
 
Over the course of her 76 years, Ina has lived a few lives: she worked on nuclear policy at the White House, ran the beloved food store Barefoot Contessa, and went on to write best-selling cookbooks and host her own hit TV shows. But what’s always defined her isn’t just the food—it’s the way she brings people together around it. In this conversation, Ina reflects on how aging has reshaped her taste, the art of simplicity, and what she’s learned about handling those quietly difficult, passive-aggressive types we all know too well.
 
To hear more episode of Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, follow wherever you get your podcasts or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/wiserthanmefd

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For the Holidays, Ina Garten (Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus)

This week, cook and writer Alison Roman published her fourth cookbook, Something from Nothing—a collection of over one hundred simple, timeless recipes inspired by the items you may already have in your pantry.
 
 
 
On the heels of its release, we return to our conversation with the culinary force. We discuss her dessert cookbook Sweet Enough (4:55), her early years as a restaurant pastry chef (12:24), and the chaotic conditions of working in the service industry (14:50). Then, Roman describes working at the experimental bakery Milk Bar in New York City (18:09), hosting cooking videos at Bon Appétit (22:40), and eventually working as a food columnist at The New York Times (25:18).
 
 
 
On the back-half, we walk through the criticism she faced in 2020 (32:20), the subsequent fallout from her remarks (38:52), the personal newsletter that emerged (47:12), the connective power of cooking (55:08), the time capsule of writing (58:30), and what she hopes for in the years to come (1:01:45).
 
 
 
Original air date: April 23, 2023.
 
 
 
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.
 
 
 
Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at www.rula.com/talkeasy #rulapod

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Cook Alison Roman Creates ‘Something from Nothing’

Today, we’re sharing an episode from Fail Better with David Duchovny, featuring filmmaker and writer Judd Apatow. Together, they trace the arc of Judd’s career, from Anchorman and Bridesmaids to Superbad and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, before diving into his new visual memoir, Comedy Nerd: A Lifelong Obsession in Stories and Pictures.
 
 
 
Throughout their conversation, Judd reflects on what’s driven him all these years—not the need to prove he’s funny, but the desire to understand if he has anything to say in the first place. It’s something David relates to as a writer, and it runs through the pages of Judd’s new book: a collection of everything he’s made and gathered while trying to make sense of this life he’s made.
 
 
 
They also talk about the sting of bad reviews, why they’ve both stopped Googling themselves, and how Judd’s documentary on Garry Shandling became a final act of friendship and legacy.
 
 
 
Hear more episodes of Fail Better with David Duchovny wherever you get your podcasts, or head to https://lemonada.lnk.to/failbetterfd 

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Judd Apatow’s Guide to Failure and Success (Fail Better with David Duchovny)

Director Edgar Wright hit the ground running. For most filmmakers it takes many years (and many films) to find their voice, but Wright’s seemed to be fully formed upon arrival, with 2004’s Shaun of the Dead.
 
 
 
The beloved British filmmaker joins us this week to discuss his new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man (5:38), the inspiration he took from director Sam Raimi’s career path (17:30), and Wright’s moviegoing childhood in Somerset, England (20:24). Then, we dive into Wright’s own movies: the start of his collaboration with Simon Pegg (25:42), their breakout with Shaun of the Dead (28:17), and the local lore that informed Hot Fuzz (39:59).
 
 
 
On the back-half, Edgar recounts the unlikely origin story of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World—which began in Quentin Tarantino’s guest house (46:46)—his ups and downs inside the studio system (43:00), including his brief foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Ant-Man (42:53), and how art ultimately imitated life in The World’s End (58:20). To close, we talk about how he sees the future of filmmaking and artificial intelligence (1:06:11) and why, after all these years, Edgar still believes in the magic of going to the cinema (1:13:55).
 
 
 
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At the Movies with Director Edgar Wright (‘The Running Man’)

For more than three decades, author Salman Rushdie has lived under threat. In 1989, a fatwa forced him into hiding. In 2022, he was stabbed more than a dozen times while speaking on stage—and nearly killed.
 
 
 
Less than two years later, he recounted the attack (and remarkable recovery) in his memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder. Now, at seventy-eight, Rushdie returns to fiction with The Eleventh Hour, a collection of five interlinked stories that explore anger, peace, mortality, and legacy.
 
 
 
We begin with the inspirations behind the new quintet (5:52), Rushdie’s formative, bookish years in Bombay (14:20), and the tumultuous family life that shaped his early writing (21:20). Then, he reflects on his time at Cambridge (29:30), his stint as a copywriter (35:32), and the lightbulb moment that led to his breakout novel, Midnight’s Children (39:40).
 
 
 
On the back half, we discuss the fatwa (50:15) and book burning of The Satanic Verses (53:30), threats to free speech (56:36), and the slippery slope of political censorship (1:04:30). We also talk about Rushdie’s recovery and return to the page (1:14:10), his meta Curb Your Enthusiasm appearance (1:08:37), and the lasting power of literature (1:24:00).
 
 
 
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

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Novelist Salman Rushdie at ‘The Eleventh Hour’

Director Richard Linklater has made a career out of telling personal stories with universal appeal. Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, the Before trilogy, Boyhood. No matter the genre or form, Linklater’s human touch remains.
 
 
 
To mark the arrival of his latest films, Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague, we return to our talk last summer with Linklater. We begin with Hit Man (6:36), his action-packed neo-noir (8:15) that also explores the malleability of identity (11:00). Then, Linklater reflects on his athletic career in college (17:20), the health scare that ushered in a period of creative exploration (18:48), and the renegade spirit that drove his first two feature films, It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books and Slacker (28:12).
 
 
 
On the back-half, Linklater describes a formative Sundance memory with director Robert Altman (34:00), his first experience at the helm of a major motion picture (37:48), and the lived serendipity that inspired his Before films (52:22). To close: a Hollywood state of the union (1:00:54), why Richard continues to create art from the fabric of his life (1:08:00), and whether Sam should return to directing himself (1:17:36).
 
 
 
Watch this conversation on YouTube and subscribe to our new channel.
 
 
 
Original air date: June 9, 2024.
 
 
 
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Before’ Director Richard Linklater

Is it possible the rumors of the death of print magazines (and masculinity) have been greatly exaggerated?
 
 
 
We sit this week with GQ's Global Editorial Director Will Welch to discuss the magazine’s 2025 Special Issue on American Masculinity (3:53), its revealing survey of nearly two thousand men across the US (5:00), the absence of “low-stakes mischief” in today’s surveillance age (9:40), the widespread obsession with Gen Z (12:00), and the “125 Rules for Modern Gentlemen” featured in the issue (17:30).
 
 
 
In Act II, we turn to Welch’s own story: his Atlanta upbringing (21:00), the music of OutKast and D’Angelo that shaped him (24:00), and his early years as an editor at The Fader (28:00). He also shares the call that brought him to GQ (33:00), his road to recovery (42:00), and how spiritual leader Ram Dass reshaped his life (48:00).
 
 
 
In Act III, Welch reflects on the “when the going was good” era of GQ (55:00), the magazine’s unparalleled access to its subjects (1:00:00), and how magazines (and men) can fit into the ever-changing cultural landscape (1:15:26).
 
 
 
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

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GQ’s Will Welch on the Future of Magazines (and Men)

Today, culture critic Wesley Morris (The New York Times) returns to Talk Easy for a conversation about The Wonder of Stevie, his new podcast with the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions.
 
At the top, Wesley unpacks Stevie Wonder’s legendary five-album run from 1972-1976, his recent “battleground states” tour in the run up to the election, and how his relationship to Stevie’s music has evolved in the process of making this limited series.
 
To listen to The Wonder of Stevie, stream here or wherever you get your podcasts. 
 
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

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Wesley Morris Returns with ‘The Wonder of Stevie’

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