The Organist

Give Everybody Everything: The Financial Life of Bernadette Mayer Apr 18, 2019

The life of a poet is rich with meaning and beauty. But the financial life of a poet is decidedly less rich. The poet Bernadette Mayer is a case study in how literary influence does not translate into income. She dedicated herself to art knowing it wouldn’t make lots of money. Still, at 73, she has unavoidable expenses. Forget Silicon Valley billionaires — can a poor poet make the best case for Universal Basic Income?

The Narrative Line Apr 04, 2019

We’re constantly telling ourselves stories — who we are, where we’re going, what comes next. But what happens when the story you’re telling yourself turns out not to be true? Or, more fundamentally, what if the narrative form you’re bending your life story to fit only falsifies it? Can we find alternative ways of telling stories that are more true to life? Or do all narratives warp reality, only in different ways?

Consider the Grackles Mar 21, 2019

Touring a punk act pushes the limits of physical endurance — driving all day, sweating on stage, eating badly, sleeping worse. What keeps a band going for 14 years without a major commercial success? And what would possess someone old enough to draw Social Security checks to put himself through it?

Death in Twin Peaks Feb 21, 2019

Twin Peaks was never just a TV show: it was an obsession and an apparition. In its 2017 incarnation, the real-life deaths of several cast members hang spectrally over the proceedings. Legendary critic Howard Hampton meditates on how the show’s obsession with mortality in its fictional universe overlaps seamlessly with our own.

A Call in the Night Feb 07, 2019

Your phone rings at 3:30 in the morning. You answer the call, and a person who's just been woken up with a call from you is on the end of the line. The call is being recorded. Both of your lives are changed forever. In this episode we explore the surprising intimacy of anonymity. What happens when wires cross and someone you begin speaking with a total stranger as though you’re lovers?

Angelyne Jan 24, 2019

For decades, Angelyne pouted down from Hollywood billboards, looking like a New-Wave Jayne Mansfield: a dense cloud of bleached blonde hair and abundant cleavage barely contained by furry pink bikini tops. No one was sure what to make of the ubiquitous billboards of the woman who roamed L.A. in a pink Corvette. The only clues they offered were her name and a telephone number for her fan club. Who was she? What was she?

The Dogfather Jan 10, 2019

Today’s episode is about dogs.

The New World Nov 15, 2018

Where do speech balloons come from? How does time move from panel to panel? This week we explore the techniques of comic-book storytelling through Chris Reynolds’s graphic series, newly anthologized as The New World. Join us as we travel deep into the artist’s world to find the source of these bizarrely mundane comics’ depth and beauty.

Low Fidelity Nov 01, 2018

What sounds don’t we hear when we listen? What sounds are discarded in digital processing, whether it’s through hearing aids or mp3s? This week we travel to Scottish lighthouses, professional sound-testing facilities, and animal slaughterhouses to find out. Our guests include animal scientist and autism advocate Temple Grandin and journalist Bella Bathurst, who regained her hearing after twelve years of deafness.

Between Speaking and Singing Oct 18, 2018

Will spoken language become obsolete? What if, in the future, a simple conversation between two adults becomes a rarity, like an obscure musical piece that involves months of rehearsing and vocal training to be able to perform?

The Blindfold Challenge Oct 04, 2018

In his audio diaries recorded while driving cross-country, artist David Wojnarowicz tries to describe how he feels after being diagnosed with AIDS. Writer Sandy Allen translates the autobiography of their schizophrenic uncle, presenting his hallucinations as facts. In the “Blindfold Challenge,” sighted people perform daily tasks while unable to see. Can art—or anything—help us understand a life different from our own?

The Secret Life of Plants Sep 20, 2018

Stevie Wonder’s entire life, according to conspiracy theorists, is a lie. He’s been able to see all along. But what does that have to do with the idea that plants are conscious beings capable of communication?

Bingeing Texas Aug 23, 2018

The national news media is mesmerized by a president who runs the White House like a reality show. Jen Rice takes a look at the weird relationship between political actors and public audience. In her recap of the 85th Texas legislative session, she explores the blow-out fights and cliffhangers that reality TV has made famous. What can Texas’s politics tell us about the current state of the U.S.?

Borderlands Aug 09, 2018

This week, two stories from the U.S. borders. The first, from Javier Zamora, who crossed into the U.S. without his parents when he was nine years old. The other comes from our border with Canada, which Porter Fox navigated from end to end, by canoe, freighter, and rental car, encountering an increasingly policed border, Native American uprisings, and the unmistakable impact of climate change.

Two Years With Franz Jul 26, 2018

The poet and Pulitzer Prize–winner Franz Wright recorded 546 audio tapes in the two years of his life after a terminal cancer diagnosis. The tapes show incredible vitality in the face of death. Over two years, Bianca Giaever listened to all 546 tapes, emerging with this hour-long story of poetry and mental illness and love. This story was originally produced by Bianca and Jay Allison for the public radio website Transom.org.

The Voice of God Jul 12, 2018

Actor and writer Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), director Penelope Spheeris (Wayne’s World), and voice-over master Peter Coyote (Ken Burns’ documentaries, including The Vietnam War) describe voices from heaven, hell, and everywhere in between.

The Organist returns Thursday Jul 10, 2018

From KCRW and McSweeney’s, the Organist returns with its fifth season on July 12!

Bonus: Neighborhood Secret Apr 26, 2018

New Edition was an unlikely boy-band from Boston that launched Bobby Brown’s career and incubated the smooth 90s R&B of Bell Biv DeVoe.

How to Be in Two Places at Once: The Firesign Theatre in the US and Vietnam Dec 14, 2017

Four comedians trained in poetry and psy-ops, Firesign Theatre created dense, album-length art-objects that could take multiple spins to understand. Comedy in the form of abrasive soundscapes that reviewers were as likely to call “frightening” as “funny.” This week, we explore how these albums were heard: in groups, at teenage house parties, in poet John Ashbery’s pot smoke-filled living room, and on military bases in Vietnam.

Antigonick Nov 30, 2017

Antigone is one of the most widely performed plays in the world. Poet Anne Carson’s experimental translation of Sophocles’ tragedy incorporates 2,500 years of its performance and interpretation. The play’s emotional core persists even as we view Antigone through all of the ways she has been viewed and used throughout her history.

The Gospel of Ndegeocello Nov 09, 2017

Meshell Ndegeocello’s debut album kicked off the era of neo-soul, inspiring Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and D’Angelo. Twenty-three years later, Ndegeocello is still making art, but she’s expanded her medium with a new project that’s part theater, part church revival, with an unexpected saint at its center.

A 700-Foot Mountain of Whipped Cream Oct 18, 2017

From in utero to the studio, Clive Desmond gives us a history of the golden age of radio ads, featuring Frank Zappa, Ken Nordine, Linda Ronstadt, and Randy Newman. While the 1960s shift in print and TV advertising has been heavily documented and mythologized by Mad Men, Madison Avenue’s radiophonic collision with the counterculture is less well known. Here, in Clive’s private tour, each jingle becomes a Proustian madeleine.

The Ideological Organ Oct 05, 2017

In Stockholm, an organist plays hymns in a cathedral; at night, he sleeps in a makeshift recording studio in the cathedral’s basement where he composes otherworldly electronic music based on a Hungarian translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Incense, Sweaters, and Altadena: An Interview with Martine Syms Sep 21, 2017

Fresh off her first solo show at the MoMA, Martine Syms talks with the Organist about how growing up in Altadena, a red-lined suburb of Los Angeles led to her fascination with DIY culture and conceptual art. Syms draws inspiration from both famed furniture designer Charles Eames and the Ten-Point Program of the Black Panthers as she pushes herself to continually experiment in new media and new forms.

Appendix: Still Not Dotcoms Sep 14, 2017

At last! An unobstructed view of the internet’s lacunae: Brian McMullen reads his Still Not Dotcoms, an epic catalog of one thousand unclaimed URLs, in its totality.

magnificentwebsite.com Sep 07, 2017

In this four-part episode, MF Doom, in absentia, sends imposters to wear his steel gladiator mask and rap at his concerts. Joshua Cohen, author of Moving Kings, writes a novel live online while heckled by Reddit-grade hate speech. Novelist Fiona Maazel explores the nascent form of the podcast from a 4 am retirement home toilet seat, as performed by actor Zoe Lister-Jones. Brian McMullen recites his epic catalog of unclaimed URLs.

The Show About the Show About the Show Aug 10, 2017

In the vein of Werner Herzog, Larry David, and Spalding Gray, the radical documentaries of Caveh Zahedi find comedy in pushing social norms. His oddly life-affirming efforts to merge lived experience with art trigger the dissolution of his marriage. When our producer Rachel James visits the set of Zahedi’s The Show about the Show, she too becomes drawn into its inescapable vortex of metanarrative.

The Mother Road Jul 27, 2017

If you drive along I-70 through Missouri, you’ll see site-specific contemporary art displayed on the billboards. What happens when that artwork says “Keep Abortion Legal”?

Private Ears Jul 13, 2017

This week we’ll hear from two artists whose work investigates the growing prevalence of surveillance in societies around the world. Both Lawrence Abu Hamdan and Trevor Paglen approach their art as investigations: They see themselves as detectives, trying to document, through sound and image, corporate and governmental operations that are difficult for the average citizen to see or hear.

Ravening for Delight Jun 29, 2017

Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and the Alien movies all trace their tone of cosmic dread back to the horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, whose stories were published in pulp magazines in the 1920s and 30s. Paul La Farge’s latest novel, The Night Ocean, takes Lovecraft as its subject (or one of its subjects): It's a fictionalized investigation into Lovecraft's unusual relationship with one of his fans, a teenager named Robert Barlow.

The Voice is a Thief Jun 08, 2017

We explore the extremes of the human voice with essayist Elena Passarello, winner of New Orleans’ annual “Stella!” scream competition, in which participants channel Marlon Brando’s abject bawling. You’ll also hear Passarello’s rendition of how Koko, the gorilla with a lexicon of 1000 signs, tells the legendarily dirty vaudeville joke “The Aristocrats.”

Appendix: Hypnotic Induction Jun 01, 2017

“If you’re listening to this while driving a car, obviously, leave your eyes open.” In this special appendix to our recent episode on psychoacoustics, you’ll hear a hypnotic induction as performed and scored by the hypnotherapist Daniel Ryan.

Sleeping Knowledge May 25, 2017

How can sound heal a body? With our guides, Susan Rogers—who recorded albums for Prince and David Byrne—and hypnotherapist Daniel Ryan, we explore the psychoacoustic properties of lawn sprinklers and the human voice in a journey that encompasses magician David Blaine, “spiritual entertainer” Alan Watts, parents of crying children, and all of us.

Episode 78: The Topiary May 11, 2017

Martin Starr (Silicon Valley, Freaks and Geeks), Matt Bush (Adventureland), and Lilan Bowden (Parks and Recreation) star in this science-fiction audio drama. On a distant space colony, Leon carves erotic topiaries as a way to become closer to his coworker Michael—until the arrival of a visitor on the final tourist shuttle begins to turn the men against each other.

Episode 77: The Self-Rattling House Apr 27, 2017

In houses that double as musical instruments, Solange Knowles, Will Oldham, and five-year-old children perform on sonic architecture that reflects the raucous acoustics of life in New Orleans.

Episode 76: A Radio Wave In My Brain Apr 06, 2017

What is the position of acne-picking in contemporary literature? Otessa Moshfegh, author of Eileen and most recently the collection Homesick for Another World, writes descriptions of bodily functions that rival those of Louis CK. Moshfegh, who was raised in an immigrant family and trained in classical piano, pushes the sonic idiosyncrasies of English as she brings the reader into uncomfortable intimacy with her characters.

Episode 75: The Cool Gaze of Madame Realism Mar 23, 2017

Lynne Tillman writes art criticism starring a fictional character, “Madame Realism,” whose experience of art includes more than just the viewing of paintings. Here, Tillman takes the Organist on an expedition through the MoMA, and during a brief misunderstanding, along the sidewalk outside the MoMA…

Episode 74: It's Very Indian to Watch AbFab Mar 09, 2017

Tommy Pico’s first book is one long poem in the form of a text — call it an epic sext. But it doesn’t just chronicle Pico’s dalliances with "boys, burgers, and booze" — it rewrites the figure of the Indian, redefining what it means to be a Native American poet in the age of the Internet.

Episode 73: What We Talk about When We Talk about Two Bears High-Fiving Feb 23, 2017

Hermann Rorschach’s inkblot test has become ubiquitous in pop-culture as shorthand for both psychiatry and the subconscious. The first biography of Rorschach explores how our popular idea of the test gets it wrong.

Episode 72: Baptism of Solitude: Paul Bowles's Morocco Tapes Feb 09, 2017

Driving around Morocco in the late 1950s with counterculture icon Paul Bowles at the wheel, with a case of hot Pepsi, a brick of hash, and a massive, state-of-the-art Ampex tape recorder in the backseat.

Episode 71: Everybody Loves a Winner Aug 19, 2016

The story of the guy who wrote a minor hit for a new label in 1961, watched everyone around him get famous singing his songs, and survived to write a great album about it all fifty years later.

Episode 70: A New Career in a New Town Aug 05, 2016

SNL’s Kyle Mooney on the art of crafting a three-dimensional bro impersonation and the ways in which the act of uploading a video to YouTube constitutes character development. Also: David J, the bassist of Bauhaus, follows a harmonica line from a jukebox playing "Groovin’ With Mr. Bloe” all the way into David Bowie’s afterlife.

Episode 69: The Testosterone Abyss Jul 22, 2016

The website Weird Dude Energy is singularly devoted to collecting the most inexplicable male behavior on the internet. It’s funny and weird, but if you study it carefully, it also raises some troubling and complicated questions: about contemporary masculinity and community—and about violence, misogyny, and Donald Trump.

Episode 68: The Metaphysics of Dub Jul 08, 2016

The Nigerian-Jamaican- American writer Louis Chude-Sokei on black cyborgs, black blackface, and the intersections of race, technology, and robotics.

Episode 67: The Scientific Method of the Ramones Jun 17, 2016

On Joey Ramone, Sigmund Freud, and our head-bangingly repetitive drive into the unknown. Plus: live music and conversation with Sonny Smith.

Episode 66: Toward an Architectural Theory of Hugs Jun 03, 2016

A conversation with Craig Dykers, of the Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, on the invisible (but noisy) demands of building design.

Episode 65: Happy Golden Baby: A Conversation with Lil B and Steve Roggenbuck May 18, 2016

A conversation between the hyper-earnest and deeply irreverent rapper Lil B and the hyper- earnest and deeply irreverent poet Steve Roggenbuck.

Episode 64: Christopher Owens Live Apr 29, 2016

This week’s episode is a cut from our first live podcast event at PROXY in San Francisco: a conversation with the great songwriter Christopher Owens (also of the band GIRLS), who illustrates his talk with a set of live solo acoustic songs.

Episode 63: Radio Free Apr 08, 2016

Toni Morrison once said that good writing shouldn't be "harangue passing off as art"—but she hadn’t heard Free Black Press Radio.

Episode 62: Language Is Speech: An Interview with Joshua Beckman Mar 25, 2016

A conversation with poet Joshua Beckman about the aural delights of reading, writing, and listening to poetry.

Episode 61: The Meaning of Various News Photos to David Shields Mar 11, 2016

Can combat photography be beautiful without making a case for war?

Episode 60: Listening History: Graham Lambkin Feb 26, 2016

A guided tour through the musical development of Graham Lambkin, from early experiments in postpunk to the subtle art of moving cookware around in the rain.

Episode 59: Wish You Were Here Feb 12, 2016

An interview with a thoughtful android who lives with her caretaker in a cabin in rural Vermont.

Episode 58: The Six-Foot-Square Museum Jan 22, 2016

The Metropolitan Museum may have Queen Victoria’s bedroom and the Temple of Dendur, but Alex Kalman’s Mmuseumm in Lower Manhattan has Obama soap, Trump chocolate, and the curator’s grandmother’s closet. And it’s open 24 hours.

Episode 57: Growing Up Zorthian Jan 08, 2016

A story about the uncertain future of a family business that sells nothing.

Episode 56: Pop Philosophy Dec 11, 2015

Philosopher Simon Critchley argues that when it comes to the narrative of our lives, we are nothing more than our record collections.

Episode 55: The Love Song of Frank Serpico Nov 20, 2015

Jenny Slate reads Lena Dunham’s Erotic Male Jewish Comedian Fan Fiction; plus Frank Serpico and Sarah Vowell.

Episode 54: Hey Jonathan Nov 06, 2015

An original radio drama written by Lena Dunham and performed by Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff.

Note: This episode contains explicit content.

Episode 53: This is Chris His Oct 23, 2015

Christopher Knowles, a poet and artist who suffered brain damage in the womb, has written and performed in some of the most influential avant-garde operas of the twentieth century.

Episode 52: The Firestarter Oct 09, 2015

Scott McClanahan, the West Virginian author of Crapalachia, thinks he’d be better off if he’d pursued accounting instead of writing. Plus: a radio-play adaptation of one of McClanahan’s stories.

Episode 51: Orson on Wonderland Sep 25, 2015

Orson Welles's final years appear dark: earning money by making the rounds on talk shows and starring in wine commercials. But his assistant at the time, Bob Kensinger, has brighter memories.
Note: This episode contains explicit language.

Episode 50: The Happiest Accidents Mar 24, 2015

A masterclass in the art of the interview with the late giant of the field, Studs Terkel, in which Terkel spars with Muhammad Ali, arm-wrestles Zero Mostel, and performs guerilla street theater with Saul Alinsky.

Episode 49: The Voice Teacher Mar 10, 2015

Barbara Maier started giving singing lessons to musical theater singers and cantors at Hebrew Union college. Then she became the go-to singing teacher for the downtown NYC queer, performance, and rock scenes, including Debbie Harry, Diamanda Galas, Kathleen Hanna, Penny Arcade, and many others.

Episode 48: Shook Ones, Revisited Mar 03, 2015

Hua Hsu on the secret behind an ancient unsolved mystery of 90's East Coast hip-hop and the genius of listening.

Episode 47: No More Road Trips Feb 17, 2015

A conversation with Rick Prelinger on the power of home movies, his new film, and the unexpected value of ephemera.

Episode 46: The Difference Between Cowboys and Cowboy-Poets Feb 10, 2015

Two gems unearthed from season one, featuring Devendra Banhart and Sam Lipsyte. CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.

Episode 45: An Interview with Miranda July Feb 03, 2015

An interview with filmmaker, writer, and visual artist Miranda July. CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.

Episode 44: Contact Milk Jan 27, 2015

An exploration of the art of field recording, which summons alien-sounding compositions from the depths of seemingly benign (and quiet) ponds, bridges, and fence-posts.

Episode 43: Aetheric Vehicle Jan 20, 2015

The electronic duo Matmos crack open a song from their last record, revealing ping-pong balls, handcuffs, and telepathy.

Episode 42: The Oracle Jan 13, 2015

Old newspapers, Cold War Librarians, and perhaps the greatest score ever made from the free section on Craigslist.

Episode 41: A Funeral for Everyone I Knew Jan 06, 2015

A new radio play by Jesse Ball, written for The Organist, starring Greta Gerwig and Whip Hubley.

Episode 40: Cosmo's Factory Dec 30, 2014

Young drummer Neal Morgan dives deep with Creedence Clearwater Revival's Doug "Cosmo" Clifford on his playing on the 1970 classic "Long as I Can See the Light."

Episode 39: Year-End Hour-Long Best-of Freak-Out Dec 24, 2014

A greatest-hits compilation from The Organist’s first two years, created for a special holiday broadcast on KCRW.

Episode 38: Play It Forward: An Interview with Greta Gerwig Dec 16, 2014

An interview with Greta Gerwig, one of the great young actresses of the 21st century.

Episode 37: Leaving the Witness Dec 02, 2014

A preacher finds freedom to think in totalitarian China.

Episode 36: Aural Fixation Nov 25, 2014

An interview with one of the internet’s leading practitioners of ASMR, a bizarre, sensual, and wildly popular auditory relaxation technique.

Episode 35: The Brown Dog Chronicles Nov 18, 2014

Michael K. Williams (aka Omar from The Wire) performs a short radio drama written by artist and musician Willis Earl Beal. CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.

Episode 34: Chimpanzees and the Sunset Nov 04, 2014

Thomas Lennon (The State, Reno 911!, Hell Baby) performs two short monologues written by Nick Jones (Orange Is the New Black) and Blake Butler (300,000,000).

Episode 33: Auditory Nerves Oct 28, 2014

Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields, artist Chris Johanson, and electronic musician Gobby discuss their troubles with inner-ear damage. CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

Episode 32: Stella Oct 07, 2014

A mindbending new radio drama finds the connection between artificial intelligence and method acting.

Episode 31: Thundershirt Sep 30, 2014

A conversation between Lena Dunham and Judy Blume, in Blume's Manhattan apartment.

Episode 30: Rapping Taipei Sep 16, 2014

An interview with novelist Tao Lin on the pace of his speaking, with interjections from musicians Kool AD and Kitty and a short discussion with critic Christian Lorentzen. CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE.

Episode 29: Son of Rex Sep 09, 2014

An original radio drama by TV writer and novelist Nick Antosca and performed by the legendary actor and writer Edgar Oliver.

Episode 28: What We Hear When We Read Aug 26, 2014

A discussion of the aural side of reading with book designer Peter Mendelsund, including excerpts from classic readings by James Joyce and others. CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE

Episode 27: The Drywall Aug 19, 2014

We’re thrilled to unearth a classic story by legendary radio producer Scott Carrier, which hasn’t been heard since it originally aired on All Things Considered in 1993.

Episode 26: You're the Man Aug 12, 2014

Neko Case, whose musical career spans over two decades, takes us on a personal musical history tour. She tells us about the music she grew up listening to, and the musicians who helped shape her sound. CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE.

Episode 25: The Last Man on the Street Jul 29, 2014

We take to the streets with Mal Sharpe, a man who was among the first wave of fake newsmen, paving the way from everyone from Borat to Colbert.

Episode 24: An Interview with George Saunders Jul 22, 2014

Short story writer George Saunders discusses the use and origin of voices in the reading of his work. CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE.

Episode 23: The Glottal Break Jul 15, 2014

An interview with composer and singer Meredith Monk, with clips of music from her entire career.

Episode 22: Breathing Exercises Jul 01, 2014

This week the Organist explores sound design in two new documentaries, Irene Lusztig's The Motherhood Archives and Matt Wolf's Teenage.

Episode 21: The Piano Van Jun 17, 2014

The story of Chris Stroffolino, a poet, Shakespearean, and former member of the Silver Jews, who lives in a 1983 Ford Econoline van retrofitted with a piano in the back. CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE

Episode 20: Enter the Optigan Jun 10, 2014

Filmmaker Rodney Ascher (Room 237) presents an excerpt from an unreleased early film on the new episode of the Organist.

Episode 19: Composing the Tinnitus Suites Jun 03, 2014

What happens if you're a composer and the ringing in your ears after a concert never goes away?

Episode 18: A Mind Forever Voyaging May 27, 2014

Mike Mills' new film (available through July 1 only to our listeners!) asks the kids of Silicon Valley workers: what does the future look like?

Episode 17: Barely Not Shaking May 20, 2014

James Franco performs an untitled radio play by Will Eno, and Harmony Korine discusses his playful and obnoxious experiments in music.

Episode 16: The Horse Counselor May 13, 2014

Masterful comedic actors David Wain and Rachel Dratch perform an original radio play about a woman and her therapist... who also happens to be a horse.

Episode 15: The Frank Story May 06, 2014

The real-life story of Jon Ronson's new film, "Frank," which stars Michael Fassbender as an experimental musician who never removes his giant papier-mache head.

Episode 14: The Birthday Song Apr 29, 2014

The odd history of how the sweet, simple, omnipresent "Birthday Song" became a highly contested — and lucrative — piece of intellectual property.

Episode 13: High-Heeled Boys Apr 22, 2014

Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, takes us on a musical history tour, including music that influenced her from age two through high school. LANGUAGE ADVISORY

Episode 12: Worm People Apr 15, 2014

Portlandia creators Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein debut "Apologies," a new radio play, performed by Tig Notaro and Kevin Corrigan.

Episode 11: Another Planet Apr 08, 2014

The true story of Clyde Casey, a street performer who used surrealism and abstract art to fight crime in Los Angeles' Skid Row in the 1980's before he relocated to Another Planet.

Episode 10: Thundershirt Jan 07, 2014

A conversation between Lena Dunham and Judy Blume, in Blume's Manhattan apartment.

Episode 9: The Sonic Barber's Pole Dec 13, 2013

Featuring a preview of our upcoming conversation between Lena Dunham and Judy Blume; Canadian medical marijuana from the 1970s; aural illusions; and much more!

Episode 8: Kittens in a Basket Oct 07, 2013

Jesse Eisenberg, Mike Kelley, Catherine Keener, Alexis Georgopoulos, Ben Greenman and more.

Episode 7: Against Lineage Sep 09, 2013

Thomas Lennon, Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill, Chris Stroffolino.

Episode 6: The Pyramid Club Aug 05, 2013

This month, Hua Hsu, Sam McPheeters, Dawn of Midi and more.

Episode 5: Tempest Storm and Andy Kaufman Jul 05, 2013

Jack White talks to the world's oldest burlesque dancer, plus new recordings from Andy Kaufman.

Episode 4: Richard, the Angel of Death May 03, 2013

James Franco performs a new radio drama from Will Eno, plus Nick Cave's soundsuits and a rap battle.

Episode 3: Tween Anxiety Apr 09, 2013

Conan O'Brien talks to Jack White, Sarah Silverman on her pet owl, 'The Blob' and more.

Episode 2: The Rhetorical Bed Mar 07, 2013

David Cross, a copyright-free Birthday Song, Sam Lipsyte and more.

Episode 1 Feb 01, 2013

The debut episode of The Organist features George Saunders, Nick Offerman, five-word record reviews, and more.

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