Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

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Judd Apatow’s Guide to Failure and Success (Fail Better with David Duchovny) Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

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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At the Movies with Director Edgar Wright (‘The Running Man’) Nov 09, 2025

Show notes

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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Novelist Salman Rushdie at ‘The Eleventh Hour’ Nov 02, 2025

Show notes

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 withThe 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).

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‘Before’ Director Richard Linklater Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

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 Moonand 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.

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GQ’s Will Welch on the Future of Magazines (and Men) Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

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).

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Does Fashion Have a Future? Designer Gabriela Hearst is Threading the Needle. Oct 19, 2025

Show notes

Gabriela Hearst is one of the rare figures in fashion with an unwavering commitment to sustainability.

At the top, we discuss her luminous Spring Summer 2026 collection at Paris Fashion Week (4:08), her childhood herding cattle on a 17,000-acre ranch in Uruguay (6:55), and the gaucho traditions that shaped her philosophy around art-making (10:35). Then, Gabriela reflects on the manifestation practice that’s guided her since adolescence (17:15), how love and heartbreak fueled her creatively (21:18), and what she took from a detour into acting (21:50).

On the back-half, Hearst talks about motherhood (24:30), founding her first label, Candela (31:00), and breaking free from the vicious cycle of fast fashion (38:00). To close, we walk through the past decade of Gabriela Hearst (40:28), the long-term vision for the namesake brand (50:00), and the affirmation that keeps her grounded (58:10).

This episode was recorded at Spotify Studios. Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

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Actor Rose Byrne: A Woman on the Verge Oct 12, 2025

Show notes

Rose Byrne has taken many forms on-screen. In Mary Bronstein’s new film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, she delivers a career-defining performance as a Long Island therapist and mother slowly unraveling under the weight of her child’s mysterious illness.

We begin by discussing the maternal madness at the heart of this new film from A24 (6:30), the long, collaborative road to shaping the character (10:00), and what it was like to have Conan O’Brien as a scene partner (13:30). Then, Byrne reflects on her debut performance in Dallas Doll (19:45), the plays and poems that inspired her as a teenager (22:30), and a formative role in the cult classic Two Hands, opposite the late Heath Ledger (26:00).

In the back half, we unpack the sexism she faced in Hollywood in the aughts (32:40), her unexpected comedic breakthrough in Bridesmaids and Neighbors (37:15), and the fruitful collaborations with Seth Rogen that followed (39:50). To close, Byrne pays tribute to two of her enduring artistic influences—filmmaker David Lynch (45:00) and playwright Arthur Miller (47:00).

Watch this conversation on YouTube.

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A Cup of Coffee with Director Benny Safdie (‘The Smashing Machine’) Oct 08, 2025

Show notes

Director, writer, and actor Benny Safdie stops by Sam’s home this week to discuss his new film, The Smashing Machine (1:30)—an unflinching portrait of mixed martial arts icon Mark Kerr (7:00), played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (9:00).

In the second half, we revisit our conversation from 2023. There, Safdie unpacks his collaboration with comedian Nathan Fielder on their television series The Curse (44:30), the timely premise that inspired the show (47:20), and his history of capturing real-life personalities on film (51:20). Then, he describes his early connection to the 1979 movie Kramer v Kramer (54:20), a New York encounter with photographer Robert Frank (59:20), and how directors Robert Bresson (1:03:20) and Frederick Wiseman (1:03:50) opened his eyes to the possibilities of street casting.

We also dive into Benny’s co-directing work alongside his brother, Josh Safdie (1:05:15), a heartbreaking scene from their debut feature Daddy Longlegs (1:09:26), and the projects that followed (1:14:15): Good Time, Lenny Cooke, and Uncut Gems. To close, Safdie talks about why he worked as a boom operator while directing (1:20:00), his recent pivot to acting (1:21:23), and his full circle moment of playing an astrophysicist in Oppenheimer (1:33:20).

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Ta-Nehisi Coates Has a Message to Deliver. Can We Hear It? Oct 05, 2025

Show notes

Few writers have examined the tension between history and morality more urgently than Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Last fall, on the heels of his new book The Message, Coates joined Sam for a conversation live in Los Angeles. At the top, they discuss how his Atlantic piece The Case for Reparations guided these three new essays (6:10), Coates’ early education growing up in West Baltimore (14:57), and his powerful dispatches from South Carolina (22:00) and the Middle East (29:30).

On the back-half, Coates unpacks why he believes the mainstream media prioritizes “factual complexity over self-evident morality” (37:47), his advocacy for Palestinian journalists (39:20), and his reflections about the U.S. election (47:28). To close, a formative passage from James Baldwin's The Lost Generation (52:38) and a story about love and writing (57:45).

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And In Our Hour of Darkness, Writer Arundhati Roy Sep 28, 2025

Show notes

“Sometimes I feel that I’m not going to write again,” says Arundhati Roy, “but then it becomes harder to keep quiet than to write it.”

Few writers have bridged the personal and political as powerfully as Arundhati Roy. With her first memoir, fittingly titled Mother Mary Comes to Me, she turns to her turbulent relationship with her late mother, Mary Roy, a pioneering feminist who reshaped Indian law.

Act I: Let It Be

We begin with the imagery that animates the new book (4:10), her tumultuous household growing up (10:00), and how she sifted through those memories while writing The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (15:40).

Act II: She’s Leaving Home

Roy reflects on her mother’s impact as a teacher (22:00), navigating her severe asthma as a child (24:30), and the moment she ultimately left home (27:20) for architecture school where she worked on film sets (30:00) and discovered The Beatles.

Act III: Revolution

Then, finally, how her writing sprung from her past (32:00), the political attacks that followed the success of her debut novel (35:00), bearing witness in the age of authoritarianism (41:00), and the timeliness of her 1998 essay The End of Imagination (1:01:00).

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

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