Paul Reubens, Aasif Mandvi, and Kimbra

Episode 147

18th November 2014

Paul Reubens created Pee-wee Herman. Jesse sits down with Reubens to talk about growing up in a circus town, Reubens’ early appearances on The Gong Show, and the plans for a new Pee-wee Herman movie. Jesse also talks with Aasif Mandvi. A longtime correspondent for The Daily Show, Mandvi has a new memoir out. It’s called No Land’s Man.
Plus, avant-pop artist Kimbra talks about the song that changed her life, and Jesse tells you about why Steve Reich helps him hear things differently.

Episode notes


Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Pee-wee Lives! Paul Reubens on his Past and Pee-wee Herman’s Future

Paul Reubens is famous for being the creator and embodiment of Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee has appeared in stage shows, on TV, and in movies for almost 30 years — from cameos in movies like Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie, to his first special on HBO, two feature films in the 1980s, and a successful run on Broadway just a few years ago.

So why has the character of Pee-wee Herman endured? Maybe it’s because Reubens worked so hard to make Pee-wee seem real.

Reubens has been busy the last few years with a new stage show, putting together the next Pee-wee Herman movie and now with the release of Pee-wee’s Playhouse on Blu-ray.

Reubens will talk about growing up in a circus town, how Pee-wee almost appeared on the Surreal Life, and the latest details on a brand new Pee-wee Herman movie.

The remastered Blu-ray edition of Pee-wee’s Playhouse is available now from Shout Factory.

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Phil Walter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Kimbra on “The Song That Changed My Life”: The Mars Volta’s “Cicatriz E.S.P.”

If you’ve heard the Grammy-winning mega-hit, “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye last year — and who didn’t? — then you already know Kimbra, who performed the female vocals on the record.

But the avant-pop musician had already been performing and recording for a decade. As a teenager growing up in New Zealand, she was writing music, playing guitar, and exploring the musical landscape.

Kimbra says that “Cicatriz E.S.P.” by The Mars Volta showed her production tricks and psychedelic sounds she had never experienced before.

You can hear some of that psychedelic influence on her new album, The Golden Echo.

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Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Aasif Mandvi is “No Land’s Man”

You probably know Aasif Mandvi as the Senior Muslim Correspondent on The Daily Show. He says he’s probably not the best person to represent Muslim culture. But then again, that’s kind of the point. (He’ll explain.)

Mandvi had already been acting on the stage and screen for many years when he was called to audition for The Daily Show in 2006. And though he’s been a mainstay of the show for seven years, he’s continued to write and act in other projects, like the 2011 indie comedy Today’s Special and the upcoming HBO series The Brink.

Mandvi talks to us about how he found himself making a 9/11 joke on his very first day at The Daily Show, what it was like being an Indian kid growing up in Northern England and Florida, and that time he almost got punched by a member of Congress.

Aasif Mandvi’s new book of personal essays is available now. It’s called No Land’s Man.

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Steve Reich’s Different Trains, Kronos Quartet

The Outshot: Steve Reich’s “Different Trains”

Jesse will talk about how Steve Reich’s 1988 orchestra piece “Different Trains” transports him.

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In this episode...

Senior Producer
Producer
Maximum Fun Producer
Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Guests

  • Paul Reubens
  • Aasif Mandvi
  • Kimbra

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

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Senior Producer

Producer

Maximum Fun Producer

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

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