Episodes
July 29, 2025
Biographer of geniuses Walter Isaacson on the songs and city that made him
In our first ever live episode, recorded at the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival, Sophie sits down with Walter Isaacson, the acclaimed journalist behind the definitive biographies of visionaries like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Leona...
July 22, 2025
Best-selling author Jason Reynolds writes the Y.A. books he never had
Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and 2024 MacArthur Fellow who writes books for young people – but he didn’t finish a book until he was 17. Instead, Jason found his literary voice in the rap lyrics pri...
July 8, 2025
The music, movie stars and murder trial that shaped actor Griffin Dunne
Griffin Dunne was a Hollywood insider long before he became the successful actor he is today – in fact, he might not have survived childhood if Sean Connery hadn’t pulled him from the bottom of a pool. But Griffin’s story, ca...
June 24, 2025
Joan Osborne got famous for 'One of Us' — but finding her own voice took decades
If you’ve ever wondered, “What if God was one of us?” you probably have Joan Osborne to thank. But you might not realize that Osborne didn’t actually write her chart-topping hit. In this episode, the singer-songwriter traces ...
June 10, 2025
Death, Sex, Money – and music: The mixtape to podcaster Anna Sale’s life
As the creator and host of “Death, Sex & Money" – the hit podcast about "the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more” – Anna Sale has tackled her fair share of tough questions. In this episode, Anna shares the...
May 27, 2025
W. Kamau Bell on fighting white supremacy — but keeping it funny
W. Kamau Bell has made a career out of asking uncomfortable questions about race in America – both as a standup comedian and in his award-winning CNN series, United Shades of America. In this episode, Kamau shares the soundtr...
May 13, 2025
The White Lotus’ Natasha Rothwell on the 'angsty' music that shaped her
Long before Natasha Rothwell started stealing scenes as Belinda on The White Lotus or Kelli on Insecure , she was a self-described people-pleaser and peacemaker (yes, she’s a Libra). In this episode, Natasha reveals how creat...
April 29, 2025
How Damian Woetzel jeté-ed his way from ballet phenom to head of The Juilliard School
Damian Woetzel got addicted to dance when he was 11 years old. While his “dirty secret” is that ballet was never that hard for him, his experience as a young boy in the world of dance wasn’t always easy. In this episode, Dami...
April 15, 2025
Embracing ‘amor prohibido’ with singer David Archuleta
At the age of 16, David Archuleta captured hearts as the runner-up on American Idol. But behind the charismatic performer on stage was a young man struggling to reconcile his Mormon upbringing with his queer identity. In this...
April 1, 2025
John, Yoko, and a 'beautiful boy': How author David Sheff's life was shaped by three relationships
David Sheff’s memoir Beautiful Boy became a #1 New York Times bestseller and a major film, chronicling his son Nic’s harrowing battle with meth addiction. But before that, David was a music journalist who interviewed legends ...
March 18, 2025
America, the broken? Photographer Richard Misrach captures the country's splendor and scars
Richard Misrach is one of the most influential photographers of his generation, known for his haunting, large-scale images of the American West. His work captures both the region’s breathtaking beauty and the profound ways hu...
March 4, 2025
Held captive in Iran, Sarah Shourd found solace in a Seal song
Journalist, author, and playwright Sarah Shourd shares the songs that helped her though a childhood steeped in violence and poverty, and the 410 days she spent in solitary confinement as a political hostage in Iran. From scre...
Feb. 18, 2025
Rufus Wainwright’s rough road to becoming ‘the greatest songwriter on the planet’
Over the last three decades, Rufus Wainwright has released 10 studio albums, written two operas, and countless songs for TV and film. He’s been praised for his originality—Elton John once called him the songwriting GOAT. But ...
Feb. 4, 2025
Inside actor Rita Wilson's other life as a singer
Actor, producer, and director Rita Wilson is known for her performances in films like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Now and Then.” Her name can be found on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in credits for massive hits like “Mamma ...
Jan. 21, 2025
Director Cord Jefferson on winning an Oscar and writing for love
Writer and director Cord Jefferson charts his journey from being a rule-following kid to an angry teenager to an adult with depression. After a lifetime of rejection, Cord shares what helped him finally make "American Fiction...
Jan. 14, 2025
Introducing Professional Book Nerds: An Interview with Daniel Handler
On this special episode, we’re featuring a conversation from our friends at the Professional Book Nerds podcast, a podcast from the book nerds at OverDrive. Every week host Joe Skelley chats book recommendations on a theme wi...
Jan. 7, 2025
Failing publicly and feeling at home with Nextdoor’s Nirav Tolia
Cofounder and CEO of Nextdoor, Nirav Tolia, looks back on his childhood in small-town Texas, and how an inner conflict about belonging may have led to him creating the first social network for neighbors. With his commitment t...
Dec. 17, 2024
Rock photographer Jay Blakesberg on capturing the souls of legends
From Nirvana to BB King, The Rolling Stones to Radiohead, legendary rock photographer Jay Blakesberg has been documenting music icons for nearly 40 years. His work has been published in thousands of magazines, documentaries a...
Dec. 3, 2024
Sandra Bernhard’s ‘risky, beautiful, and heartbreaking’ life
From her groundbreaking role playing one of the first openly gay characters on television, to her iconic appearances on David Letterman — where she repeatedly made the host speechless — actor and comedian Sandra Bernhard has ...
Nov. 19, 2024
Chesa Boudin, raised by radicals, on the songs that shaped him
Lawyer Chesa Boudin’s professional life has been nearly as tumultuous as his upbringing. He was raised by family friends because his parents—members of the Weather Underground—were incarcerated for crimes committed when he wa...
Nov. 5, 2024
Rahsaan “New York” Thomas on breaking barriers behind bars
Rahsaan “New York” Thomas spent more than two decades incarcerated before being granted a commutation for his rehabilitation efforts behind bars. He shares how his life was shaped by growing up in Brownsville, “the murder cap...
Oct. 22, 2024
Why Kara Swisher loves country music and the military
Longtime journalist and media entrepreneur Kara Swisher has been covering Silicon Valley and the Internet since the days of dial-up. She’s taken nearly all of technology's titans to task with a fearless, no-nonsense style. Bu...
Oct. 8, 2024
Turns out, Mark Cuban is an emotional guy
Billionaire businessman and investor Mark Cuban is known for making — or crushing — entrepreneurs' dreams on the TV show Shark Tank. But in reality, he's a big softie. Here, he talks about getting his start selling trash bags...
Oct. 1, 2024
Introducing American Masters: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Can Do That Genre Too!
Today we’re sharing an episode of a podcast from our friends at PBS that we think you’ll really like – American Masters: Creative Spark. It’s a show that interviews iconic artists across disciplines about their creative journ...