Playing House and Hari Kondabolu

Episode notes

 

Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty ImagesJessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham of Playing House: Improv in the Writers’ Room, Showing Real Friendships on TV, and ‘Girl Porn’Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham play best friends on TV, and if their on-screen chemistry seems real, it is. They met doing improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and have been writing partners ever since. They co-created and star in Playing House, a sitcom about female friendship that’s more reminiscent of Lucy and Ethel than it is Carrie Bradshaw’s gang.

Playing House follows Emma and Maggie, two women who have been friends forever. Maggie stayed in their hometown, got married, and is expecting a baby. Emma has been professionally ambitious, closing business deals in Shanghai, and hasn’t been back to visit for what must be years.

Parham and St. Clair join us to talk about the marathon improv sessions that produce the show’s jokes, the designer home “girl porn” that provides contrast to their characters’ weirdness, and their real-life friendship.

Playing House airs on the USA network Tuesday nights at 10/9c. It’s now in its second season.

This interview originally aired April 29, 2014.

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Canonball with Marc Weingarten and Tyson Cornell: King Crimson’s ‘In The Court of the Crimson King’Every so often we like to take a closer look at albums that should be considered classics, to find out what makes them great. It’s Canonball.

No one says The Rolling Stones don’t belong in the pop music canon. But what about Genesis? Or Yes? What about the prog rockers? The music wasn’t down and dirty, and the songs weren’t pop-radio short. Sometimes they were downright long. But prog has always had its loyalists.

This week Marc Weingarten and Tyson Cornell, the editors of the prog rock anthology Yes Is The Answer: (And Other Prog Rock Tales), explain why the King Crimson album In The Court of the Crimson King is a classic, and how it laid the foundation for a whole genre. They’ll explain how these classically trained musicians mixed flutes, horns, blues riffs, and synthesizers to create this face melting album.

Yes Is The Answer: (And Other Prog Rock Tales) is now available in paperback.

This segment originally aired June 10, 2014.

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Hari Kondabolu: ‘Waiting for 2042’ and Stand Up Comedy with Required ReadingHari Kondabolu is a stand up comedian. You might have seen him on the late, great Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell. He’s also performed stand up on Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and The Late Show with David Letterman.

Hari didn’t think he would be a comedian. He thought that he was going to law school. Then somewhere between taking an Americorps Job organizing immigrants in Seattle and taking the LSAT, things changed direction. He transitioned into stand-up comedy.

Hari talks to us about the unique profile of his fans, how he fits into the “alternative” comedy scene, and how he actually got into a discussion about the racism of Apu from The Simpsons with Hank Azaria — the real voice of Apu.

His debut album, Waiting for 2042, is available through BandCamp and iTunes.

This interview originally aired July 22, 2014.

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The Outshot: The Everyday Wonder of ‘American Splendor’Jesse explains why Harvey Pekar makes putting one foot in front of the other feel like something special.

This segment originally aired July 22, 2014.

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