Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Latest Episodes:

A Talk Easy Holiday Special: Goodbye 2020 Dec 27, 2020

Show notes

As we say goodbye to 2020, we turn to our guests from this historic year. After some year-end reflections from Sam, we hear from performer Alison Pill (4:35), comedian Hasan Minhaj (9:15), activist Dolores Huerta (29:00), broadcaster Brooke Gladstone (33:28), filmmaker Terence Nance (59:00), documentarians Bill & Turner Ross (1:00:00), and the legendary Holland Taylor (1:02:04).

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Talk Easy Holiday Special (pt. 1) Dec 20, 2020

Show notes

Our annual holiday special is here! To celebrate, we've released some special Talk Easy-themed mugs, available in navy and cream. Visit www.talkeasypod.com/shop for more info. Today on part 1 of our special, we hear from guests that came on Talk Easy over the past 10 months. Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker (4:35), poet Morgan Parker (6:40), director Cat Solen (25:00), TV titan Norman Lear (27:24), actress Juliette Lewis (39:00), and performer Tituss Burgess (41:12).

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Janaya Future Khan: The Work of Being Alive Dec 13, 2020

Show notes

Activist, social-justice educator, and Black Lives Matter co-founder Janaya Future Khan joins us in conversation this week. We discuss the therapeutic value of boxing (10:40), the racial biases embedded into modern technology (15:24), the danger of political nihilism (23:33), how activism is “the work of being alive” (27:45), and why we need to rewrite generational scripts (39:54), especially as Defund the Police receives pushback (54:56). Finally, we end with Janaya’s moving tribute to the late John Lewis (1:01:10).

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The AIDS Memorial: Stories of Love, Loss, and Remembrance Dec 06, 2020

Show notes

In collaboration with The AIDS Memorial, we present this special episode of Talk Easy. Five stories of love, loss, and remembrance from those impacted by the AIDS epidemic. We thank Aaron (2:36), James (19:45), Kelly (49:19), Jeff (1:05:39), and Theresa (1:39:13) for having the courage to share parts of their lives with us. (Warning: this episode contains intermittently graphic and severe language.)

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fran Lebowitz on Vinyl Nov 29, 2020

Show notes

Our conversation with Fran Lebowitz is now available on vinyl! Visit www.talkeasypod.com/shop for more info. Fran is the author of books like Metropolitan Life (1978) and Social Studies (1981). She is also a renowned public speaker, performing across the country in auditoriums and lecture halls. That was, until, the pandemic. In the absence of modern technology—she doesn’t have a cellphone, computer, etc.—there were no virtual events for Fran.When we spoke in the summer of 2020, she called in from her landline. After we finished taping I asked how she could listen to our talk once aired. Crickets. But then I had an idea: “What if we printed a vinyl record of the podcast, and have it sent to you?” Fran was entertained by this prospect… before admitting to me that she does, in fact, not own a record player either. By the time she made this admission, I had fallen in love with the concept. And so here we are.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Matthew McConaughey: Just Keep Livin Nov 22, 2020

Show notes

Matthew McConaughey just keeps livin. In his new memoir, Greenlights, you hear how. Through the trials and tribulations, speed-bumps and roadblocks, the Oscar-winning actor has remained unwaveringly optimistic and full-hearted. Today he joins us to share selected scenes from his life, on-screen and off. We start with the whirlwind year of 1992 (3:15) before moving into lessons learned from the late Joel Schumacher (13:02) and his idol, Paul Newman (18:07). He also candidly reflects on his rom-com decade (28:34), how his parents' on-again, off-again marriage impacted him (34:17), the McConaissance, from Mud to True Detective to Killer Joe (40:05). Then, before we go, he shares his hopes for the future–his and ours both (51:00).

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How Do We Heal? (with Resmaa Menakem) Nov 15, 2020

Show notes

Resmaa Menakem is a trauma specialist and New York Times best-selling author. His latest book, “My Grandmother’s Hands”, focuses on the historical and racialized trauma carried in our bodies and souls, from one generation to the next. As we try to heal, Resmaa joins us to talk about the dangers of white comfort (4:15), the “supreme standard” of the white body (10:03), his personal experience with generational trauma (14:33), the communal horror of racial injustice (19:10), his healing work with soldiers in Afghanistan (24:26), how black people have become habituated to soothing white bodies (36:10), and the illusion of allyship (40:19).

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Election Week with Noam Chomsky Nov 08, 2020

Show notes

At the end of a historic week, who better to provide perspective than Noam Chomsky? Today, he unpacks the 2020 election (5:25), the virtues of the Green New Deal (9:00), the perceived “radicalism” of Leftist proposals (14:21, 18:03), the need to better educate and organize (20:24), the upside to higher taxes in a democracy (24:56), compassion in the pandemic (35:26), and how Americans can move forward from our failures (40:03).

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Health & Science with Dr. Jha and Justin Rosenstein Oct 29, 2020

Show notes

On today's show: two dispatches from inside the medical community and Silicon valley, respectively. First we're joined by Justin Rosenstein, the man who led the team behind the Facebook like button. Now the co-founder of Asana, he breaks down the influence that social media has had on society in this critical time. Rosenstein serves as the whistleblower against Facebook on Netflix’s recent documentary hit “The Social Dilemma”. Today he talks about how social media platforms have handled the 2020 election vs. the 2016 election (3:20), why big tech companies have ignored the negative effects social media might have on society (10:23), the human price of today's economic system (17:38), and his vision for the deep structural changes ahead (30:27). Then, on the back end, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish Jha, joins us for the fourth time to update us on the latest uptick in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the United States. Dr. Jha talks about the politicization of the pandemic (40:33), the psychological toll the pandemic is taking on healthcare workers (45:15), his thoughts on how the president has dismissed the severity of the virus (51:10) and a realistic timeline of finding a cure (54:54).

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Case for Human Decency (by Rutger Bregman) Oct 25, 2020

Show notes

Dutch historian and philosopher Rutger Bregman joins us this week to unpack his latest book, “Humankind: A Hopeful History”. We discuss his radical idea that “most people are decent” (4:30), the trickle-down cynicism created by capitalism (7:51), why evil is more powerful than good (15:30), the toxicity of cable news (19:00), the failures of American policing and prisons (23:22), his infamous Davos takedown (29:04), the historic (and scientific) case for human generosity (37:43), his ungenerous public spat with Tucker Carlson (42:00), a new wave of progressivism on the left (50:20) and the cost of comfort (53:14). Then, with the election around the corner, we walk through his Ten Rules to Live By (59:02).

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected