Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

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You Can Know Everything (About the Economy) with Kyla Scanlon Nov 01, 2026

Show notes

The way Americans talk about money is changing. Economic commentator Kyla Scanlon has emerged as a fresh, influential voice in that conversation. Recently named one of TIME’s 100 Creators, her New York Times bestseller, In This Economy? How Money & Markets Really Work, has been hailed as “essential reading” by Jon Stewart. She joins us this week to offer her “boots-on-the-ground” understanding of the economy, ahead of the midterms.

We discuss the top-line concerns she’s hearing from young Americans (2:20), the affordability crisis (4:02), why a booming stock market doesn’t reflect the broader economy (6:04), President Trump’s closing message to voters ahead of Tuesday (9:34), a stagnant labor market where companies are reluctant to hire or fire (15:03), and why traditional career advice no longer applies to today’s workplace—a subject she explores on her new Vox podcast Best of Luck(16:35).

On the back-half, Scanlon reflects on her imaginative childhood in Kentucky (25:30), what she learned from working at a Hyundai dealership (32:29), and the leap of faith that brought her to Los Angeles (35:50). To close, she explains how she found her audience explaining economics on social media during the pandemic (37:35), Gen Z’s changing relationship to work (41:07), the rise of speculative investing (43:43), the economic implications of AI (53:15), and the ‘duty’ we have to hold onto to optimism (1:07:06).

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Novelist Min Jin Lee (‘Pachinko’) Has Something to Teach Us Oct 25, 2026

Show notes

“The rules of engagement have changed already.”

Novelist Min Jin Lee (Pachinko) is a beacon of wit and wisdom. She returns to the show this week with American Hagwon, the long-awaited third installment in her Korean diaspora quartet.

We begin with the ten-year process of writing American Hagwon (3:25), the thesis guiding the novel (4:00), and her experiences with education after immigrating from South Korea to Queens, New York (8:53). Then, Lee describes her process conducting thousands of interviews for the book (14:20), her relationship to security (18:18), and the staggering effects of media on young people (21:55).

On the back-half, we talk about her years at Yale (32:58), how her legal training at Georgetown shaped her approach to fiction (44:32), and the risks of artificial intelligence (45:55). To close, Lee unpacks the dreams we defer for our families (1:10:22), her advice to “choose the important over the urgent” (1:20:07), and the premise for her next novel, Marshall Plan (1:26:30).

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Jason Sudeikis (‘Ted Lasso’) Still Believes Oct 18, 2026

Show notes

Jason Sudeikis became a household name during his decade-long run on Saturday Night Live. Then, came his Emmy-winning turn in Ted Lasso.

On the heels of the beloved series’ Season 4 finale, we discuss this latest chapter (3:30), writing new characters (6:37), and what shaped Sudeikis’ sense of humor growing up in Kansas (9:50). Then, we talk about his years on the basketball court (12:30), lessons in show business from his uncle, George Wendt of Cheers (14:30), and how he arrived at SNL in the early 2000s (24:30).

In Act II, Sudeikis reflects on a piece of writing advice from Tina Fey (29:00), departing from the show in 2013 (45:00), and who he believes should succeed Lorne Michaels (49:00).

Finally, in Act III, we get into where Jason ends and Ted begins (1:02:24), how his personal life informed the show’s latest chapter (1:08:39), navigating public scrutiny (1:14:35), how the series helped him through difficult moments with his mental health (1:21:52), and what it meant to return to Studio 8H as an SNL host (1:30:27).

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Author Michael Lewis (‘The Big Short’) Pulls Back the Curtain Oct 11, 2026

Show notes

“The Trump administration was betting that if they broke the law fast enough,” writes Michael Lewis, “the law would never catch up to them.”

On the heels of his new book, Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State, the bestselling author of Moneyball and The Big Short returns to the show. We discuss how watching Trump’s 2017 inauguration inspired The Fifth Risk, (4:30), the rise of DOGE (9:30), and Elon Musk’s mass firing of public servants (11:00). Then, Lewis unpacks the country’s growing national debt (26:00), parallels to the 2008 financial crisis (29:30), and the attack on non-partisanship in government (35:00).

On the back half, we walk through his approach to profiling people (39:39), the criticism surrounding Going Infinite and his proximity to Sam Bankman-Fried (44:10) and the controversy behind The Blind Side (53:45). To close, we talk about how he approaches difficult subjects (1:07:20), finding hope in dark times (1:13:30), and writing through grief following the loss of his daughter, Dixie (1:17:00).

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Author Isabel Allende: A Life of Storytelling Oct 04, 2026

Show notes

Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits, Paula) is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, alternating gracefully between the political and personal on the page for over forty years.

We sat with Allende in Los Angeles for a special evening presented by How To Academy, beginning with her upbringing in Chile (4:45), the roots of her feminism (8:45), and her early pieces as a journalist at Paula magazine (13:15). Then, Allende recalls the 1973 military coup that eventually forced her into exile in Venezuela (17:00), the making of her debut novel (20:00), and nearly losing the manuscript in the process (27:30).

On the back-half, Allende reflects on the thousands of letters she exchanged with her late mother (34:42), the loss of her daughter Paula and the book born from that grief (38:56), and the rituals that continue to shape her writing (47:00). We also talk about therapy and divorce (51:55), the questions that inspire each new book (1:05:15), finding love again at 74 (1:07:05), and the daily gratitude practice that keeps her returning to the page (1:10:30).

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The Christiane Amanpour Interview Sep 27, 2026

Show notes

Christiane Amanpour is the host of CNN's award-winning flagship global program “Amanpour,” where she’s been one of the network's most trusted voices on foreign affairs since 1983. She joins us this week from New York City amid the UN General Assembly and President Trump’s continued attacks on the press.

We begin with the White House ban (3:00), the President's challenges to the First Amendment (4:18), and the erosion of public trust in mainstream media (11:00). Then, we tell some of Christiane’s story: fleeing Iran during the Islamic revolution (23:55), her seminal reporting from the frontlines in Bosnia (31:17), and how she sees the role—and function—of journalism (33:53).

On the back-half, Amanpour reflects on navigating family and motherhood in a high-risk career (39:45), the trauma and healing that followed years of war reporting (44:00), and modeling civil dialogue on ⁠The Ex Files⁠, a podcast she co-hosts with her ex-husband, former U.S. diplomat and Assistant Secretary of State Jamie Rubin (55:38). To close, she discusses CNN’s coverage of Israel and Gaza (58:47), the “fight of her life” for free speech (1:13:32), and why, after more than four decades, she still believes in asking questions guided by facts, holding those in power to account, bearing witness—and doing a job she continues to love (1:14:00).

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Former Obama National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes: “It’s Time to Let the Illusions Die” Sep 20, 2026

Show notes

For eight years, Ben Rhodes worked as a speechwriter and Deputy National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama. A decade after leaving the White House, Rhodes has become increasingly critical of the foreign policy establishment he once worked within.

We begin with his recent essayLet the Illusions Die(2:48), Trump’s war in Iran (6:35), and what Rhodes took away from the Obama administration’s wars and interventions in Afghanistan and Libya (8:47). Then, we revisit his early years writing speeches for President Obama (30:35), his work during the 2008 campaign around race and identity (31:35), and the contradictions he came to see after years of working in American foreign policy (39:00).

On the back-half, Rhodes reflects on the Biden administration’s handling of Gaza (42:30), why he stayed quiet despite believing in early 2023 that Biden should not seek reelection (49:25), and his views on the midterms and the future of the Democratic Party (55:00). To close, he reflects on witnessing the September 11th attacks as a college student in New York City—and the life as a fiction writer he left behind in their aftermath (1:11:50) writing his new book, All We Say (1:17:52), and what history teaches us about reforming systems that no longer work (1:22:07).

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Can We Avoid AI Catastrophe? (with Tech Ethicist Tristan Harris) Sep 13, 2026

Show notes

“I get calls from people inside of some of the AI labs,” says technology ethicist Tristan Harris. “And it feels like getting a call from Robert Oppenheimer before the atomic bomb.”

Harris (a former Google insider and AI expert) has spent more than a decade sounding the alarm about the effects of technology on our wellbeing. He’s currently the co-founder of Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to align technology with humanity’s best interests.

In light of Anthropic whistleblower Jacob Coxon’s recent resignation (0:45), which has since been echoed by Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Sam Altman (OpenAI), and Elon Musk (1:30), we wanted to represent our prescient conversation with Harris from this spring.

We discuss The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (6:30), how AI has developed over the past ten years (10:12), why the most powerful figures in tech are preparing for doomsday scenarios (13:15), the AI arms race underway (15:45), the ‘balance sheet of benefits’ that shapes Silicon Valley’s thinking around AGI (24:30) and the unsettling lack of control being exercised over their own nascent systems (33:55).

On the back-half, we talk about Chat GPT’s role in the devastating death of teenager Adam Raine (40:30) [content warning], Tristan’s early ethical concerns about technology as a Stanford graduate working at Google (48:34), and the rewiring he attempted as part of the widely-seen 2020 documentary The Social Dilemma (53:00). To close, Harris outlines his tech safety practices to protect our future on the planet (1:08:05), top leaders’ prognostications of (p)doom at the hands of AI (1:10:43), and, as a counter, the ‘human movement’ that he believes can lead us to a narrow path toward a better future (1:17:30).

Original air date: March 29, 2026

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It’s Time to Give Nick Offerman (‘Parks and Recreation’) His Flowers Sep 06, 2026

Show notes

These days Nick Offerman appears to be one of the few remaining men who enjoys “making things rather than destroying things.” Career-best performances, best-selling books, a wooden, cedar-strip canoe built out of his Los Angeles Offerman Woodshop. Nick does what he can (and then some).

He joins us this week on the heels of his double Emmy nominations to talk through his emotionally complex performance in Margo’s Got Money Troubles, its connection to his past (8:48), and the range of projects born from his tendency to keep busy (13:10). Then, we turn to the words of the late, beloved poet Wendell Berry (15:35), Offerman’s rural upbringing in Illinois (16:45), and his timely role in the crime thriller Sovereign (26:55)

On the back-half, we talk about masculinity in America (30:35), Ben Shapiro’s vexing response to Offerman’s Emmy-winning turn in The Last of Us (40:52), what Parks and Recreation symbolizes to its fans, new and old (56:00), and why he believes “if you can finish your day having offered more flowers than you’ve stepped on… that’s a good goal” (1:05:40).

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Play It Again: Gloria Steinem Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

Rest in peace to writer and activist Gloria Steinem.

The trajectory of Steinem’s life and work was unparalleled. Her cultural and political impact, incalculable. We sat to discuss the life-altering procedure she had completed at age 22, why she helped create the women's liberation movement alongside Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Flo Kennedy, and how she learned to become angry—on her own behalf—about race and gender bias throughout America.

Original air date: December 15, 2019

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