TRANSCRIPT Bullseye with Jesse Thorn: Delroy Lindo on ‘Da 5 Bloods’

Have you seen the latest Spike Lee Joint Da 5 Bloods? It’s one of the best movies of 2020. It follows the story of four Black Vietnam war veterans who return to Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City. Officially, they’re looking for the remains of their fallen squad leader. Unofficially… they’ve returned in search of buried treasure left behind during the war. Delroy Lindo’s portrayal of war veteran Paul completely steals the show. It’s an emotional, raw depiction of a very complex person who’s been through immense trauma. The performance is breathtaking. Returning to the land which caused all of them so much pain opens old wounds and reignites unresolved heartache. Public radio veteran Ray Suarez talks with Delroy Lindo about Da 5 Bloods. Delroy reflects on the previous times he worked with Spike Lee almost two decades ago. Plus, Delroy was born in London, spent part of his life in Canada, and only came to the US in his late teen years. He talks about how that experience has influenced his craft.

Guests: Delroy Lindo

Transcript

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Speaker: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR. [Music fades out.]

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“Huddle Formation” from the album Thunder, Lightning, Strike by The Go! Team. A fast, upbeat, peppy song. Music plays as Jesse speaks, then fades out.

jesse thorn

It’s Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. Have you seen Da 5 Bloods, yet? The Spike Lee movie? I mean, you should. It’s one of the best of the year. It follows the story of four Black veterans of the Vietnam War, who return to Saigon—now Ho Chi Minh City. Officially, they are looking for the remains of their fallen squad leader. Unofficially—well, unofficially, somewhere in the jungle there’s a bunch of gold they left behind and they wanna find it. The cast of Da 5 Bloods is really something. There’s Clarke Peters and Isiah Whitlock Jr., from The Wire. Jonathan Majors from The Last Black Man in San Francisco and Lovecraft Country. The late Chadwick Boseman. But the star is probably Delroy Lindo. He plays Paul. Paul returns to Vietnam a changed man: a widower whose son is tagging along out of fear for what might happen to his dad, a veteran who’s struggled to cope with the trauma of war. And on his head is a “Make America Great Again” hat. Returning to the land which caused all of them so much pain opens old wounds and reignites unresolved heartache. Delroy Lindo loses himself in the role. It’s breathtaking. Conducting our interview with Delroy Lindo is Ray Suarez, friend of the show, public radio veteran, one of the best in the game. Before we get into his conversation with Delroy Lindo, let’s hear a clip from the film. In this scene, the war veterans have a meeting with a French businessman who’s agreed to help Paul and his friends smuggle the gold out of Vietnam once they retrieve it. At this point in the conversation, though, the deal runs into a hitch. The asking price has gone up and Paul in particular feels disrespected.

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Desroche: Gentleman, I believe our business is finished. Paul: Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Do me a favor. Would you sit down please? Give us that respect. Where were Frenchies in World War II? [Beat.] Hitler had y’all by the snails. The [censored] damn U-S-of-A saved your asses. If it wasn’t for good ol’ Uncle Sam, all you’s—y’all’d be speaking the Deutsch. Eating bratwurst, schnitzels, and sauerkraut instead of croissants, snails, and escargot. Speaker: Come on, Blood, let it go. Paul: Nah, man! Nah! Speaker: Just let it go! Paul: Nah! [Censored] that! I ain’t done. [Beat.] This [censored] can’t tell me [censored]. My daddy—God rest his soul—landed in Normandy and killed beaucoup goosestepping Nazis. Let me tell you something. Them Nazis weren’t no punks, neither. Not like you.

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ray suarez

Delroy Lindo, welcome to Bullseye.

delroy lindo

Thank you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Thank you.

ray

Now, every line of work has a tempo. You finish this, you start that. We’re in the award season for Da 5 Bloods and other 2020 movies. But that’s been in the can a long time. Is there downtime after a project? Some time for you to catch your breath? How long before you move on to the next thing?

delroy

So, what’s happened since we filmed—since we wrapped 5 Bloods, in 2019, is that I went back to do, uh… work on a television show that I was working on. Then COVID hit, so everything shut down. Then, in the midst of COVID, the film was released. So, I started doing press for Da 5 Bloods and have been doing press essentially for the last six months. And then I went, last fall—the fall of 2020—to do a film in New Mexico. During the time that I was doing the film, I was also doing press for Da 5 Bloods. And I wrapped the film right before Christmas. I have been doing press for the film ongoing. And then I went to finish some work on the television show that I was doing, and I recently wrapped that. But I have been doing press for the film, in support of the film, 5 Bloods, throughout the whole period. Throughout the whole process.

ray

Sure! Sure. Also, the movie—Da 5 Bloods—opened mid-pandemic. So, there aren’t searchlights and a marquee and limos and an opening. [Delroy agrees several times.] And theaters full of people watching the movie. It changes the whole experience, as it’s changing the business.

delroy

It’s a completely different paradigm. But, you know, Spike made a really—made an interesting point. He said—because, as you probably know at this point, we were slated to go to Cannes—not in competition, but Spike was going to be a judge and the film was going to premiere at Cannes. Couldn’t do that. And it couldn’t have any theatrical release at all. But what Spike said was—to me, was despite all of that, more people would be seeing the film, because it was streaming, because it was being released via Netflix. More people would be seeing the film than otherwise might have. So, that was a plus.

ray

Let’s talk more about the film. You’re about the same age as your character, Paul, would be—almost right on the money, given the age that people were when they went to Vietnam. [Delroy confirms.] But the similarities, I would argue, might end there. This is a disappointed, bitter man in a lot of ways. Is it someone you had to get to know?

delroy

You know, I’m always—I always feel compelled to defend Paul. People will use the term, you know—he’s “full of rage”, which I feel compelled to defend. You just used the word “bitter”. And right when you used the word “bitter”, the word I would use is “crushed”. Paul has been crushed by life. Paul has been crushed by the circumstances in his life that he is trying to make sense of. He’s about the business of not only coming to terms with the various things in his life that have crushed him, that have knocked him around, that have beat him up, but more to the point, it is very much about the business of negotiating those things and finding answers for and ultimately seeking redemption for. So, as you use the word “bitter”—which is entirely your right to—if that’s how you see it. From my point of view, being inside of Paul, immediately when you used the word “bitter”, I—the word that came to my mind was “crushed” by life. Crushed by circumstances. And that is what Paul is in the process of negotiating through.

ray

Well, I don’t mean bitter as a pejorative. I think he’s earned every bit of his heartbreak. [Delroy agrees.] And life has done him in a way that’s given him every reason to be the man who comes back to Vietnam with his old buddies. The exposition at the top of the movie is fascinating, because have to quickly get a sense of who these guys are before we go into the jungle. And we get a—

delroy

But here’s—here’s what’s interesting about that exposition. Talk about an adjustment. You know, we—you, as a contemporary audience, I had no idea that Spike was starting the film with that particular footage. Right? So, one is actively making an adjustment to the narrative before we get into the meat of these men and their particular journey. That is a kind of a—a searing adjustment that the audience is being asked to make, in terms of the contemporary relevance of this story as it relates to America, as it relates to the world, and as it relates—specifically—to these men and their particular journey.

ray

Absolutely. One place that the journey from the ‘70s to the teens takes your character, Paul, is to make him an American conservative. [Delroy confirms.] Straight-backed, binary, good and evil, a pretty… a pretty rigid guy, I think it’s fair to say. Then he slaps a MAGA hat on his head and is—his Bloods, his friends from back in the war days recoil. They’re shocked to see it. 1 out of 12 black men in America voted for Donald Trump. And your character, Paul, was one of them.

delroy

So, you know what—it’s a beautiful thing that you raise those two elements. It’s a beautiful thing, because it gives me the opportunity to address a couple of aspects of the working process that became so rich and so valuable for the journey of making this work. Firstly—is “firstly” a real word? Is that a real word or is that— [Ray confirms.] Okay. So, firstly. [Chuckles.] Firstly, I would say I was compelled to deconstruct what in the world would cause this man to cast that vote, in 2016. Because it is antithetical to any vote that I would cast. So—but what I was compelled to do was to understand, attempt to understand, empathize with Paul and discover and create for myself the circumstances that would have led to casting that role. And in that process, I was connected with the loss that Paul has suffered. I connected with the extent to which he was reviled and spat on, coming back to America after having volunteered for three—volunteered, was not drafted—volunteered for three tours. And being so profoundly, you know, repudiated for that gesture of love toward the country. So, in that juxtaposing the extent to which many vets were reviled and called baby killers and spat on—all of those things which happened to one of my cousins in particular. They both had negative experiences coming back to America, but one more so than the other. But that was something I could very, very, um… clearly—I knew that to be true. That was axiomatic to many, many—the experiences of many vets. So, I had that. That was a chunk of data, as I’ve come to call it, that I could delve into. Then there was the fact that the script—what the script gives me is that I lost my wife in childbirth. Loss. Tragedy. That loss and tragedy has resulted in an estrangement from my son. Loss. I’m a parent. I’m a parent of a son. I can’t imagine being estranged from my son. And I—I can only imagine the depth of the pain and the hurt that Paul is suffering as a result of losing his wife in childbirth and then the conflicted feelings toward my son that results in this estrangement. So, there’s loss and there’s loss and there’s loss and there’s loss on top of loss on top of loss. That, for me—all stemming from the work that I was compelled to do to try to understand how in the world this man became not only—not only cast that vote in 2016, but then has that totem, that hat. All of these things are my attempts to not only make sense of my world, but I understood Paul needs a win. That’s the term I’ve taken to using. “I need a win in my life, man. And I see all these other winners! I see all the immigrants coming and getting ahead of me, in terms of their experiences. In terms of where I—what I see that they are getting as rewards from coming to Ameri—as a result of coming to America. All these things that I had not gotten. I need a win, goddogit.”

delroy

And so, here then comes this individual who says, “I can make you a winner. I can do all these things that are gonna make you a winner.” And I need to believe that. Right? So, that is—that formed the basis for—or one of the bases for the Trumpian aspect of who Paul is. And the—what you called rigidness—which, again, I’m compelled to defend, but it’s okay. You—no, you have a right to use that word. You call it a rigidness, this straight-backed—what you called the straight-backed rigidity, I call a strong sense of what I deserve, goddogit. And how in the world does it happen? These other people come from outside of the country and get things that I haven’t gotten. How dare they? How dare they!? This is my birthright, goddoggit! And if we weren’t on the radio, I’d be using other language right now. [Ray chuckles.] But you get the point.

ray

I get the point.

delroy

Now, what’s interesting when you reference my compadres, my Bloods, my brethren reviling me. I don’t remember the word you used, but here’s what’s interesting about their reaction, their response to my politics: it does not cause them to love me any less in the final analysis—which, for me, spoke to and speaks to the bond that these men share, the bond that the experience of having been in Vietnam together, the bond that that gave birth to. And that was also a brilliant clue to my relationship with these men, to our relationship together. And so, I appreciate that you raise those points, because it now gives me the opportunity to talk about how those elements became positives on the journey of Da 5 Bloods.

jesse

We’ll finish up with Delroy Lindo after a break. Coming up: Delroy was born in London, spend part of his life in Canada, and only came to the US in his late teen years. We’ll ask him what that’s like. It’s Bullseye, from MaximumFun.org and NPR.

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jesse

Welcome back to Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. Our guest is Delroy Lindo. Lindo is a veteran actor. He’s been in movies like Malcolm X, Get Shorty, and The Cider House Rules. These days, he’s starring on the TV show, The Good Fight, where he plays Adrian Boseman. Delroy is also the star of the recent Spike Lee film, Da 5 Bloods, in which he gives a brilliant performance as the Vietnam war veteran, Paul. He’s been nominated for a bunch of Best Actor awards for the role. If you’ve seen it, you know why. Anyway, for our show he is being interviewed by our pal, journalist, and host Ray Suarez. Let’s get back into it.

ray

You moved to the United States as a teenager, just as the war was reaching its crescendo, the worst years of it. So, you were here and immersed in it, but it was—at the same time—somebody else’s thing that you were—? Being introduced to, or—?

delroy

No, I have—no. I was not here. I was not here during the Vietnam years, during the Vietnam War. And so, what I’ve said to various of your colleagues is that my—of course I knew about the Vietnam War. You know, I was 16 years old in 1968, but my impressions of the war and the extent to which the war had infiltrated my consciousness and my being were, indeed, impressionistic. Therefore, my—in tackling this role and in negotiating this part and this journey, it involved a lot of research, for me. And frankly, a lot of educating of myself. I told one of your colleagues and I’ve told various of your colleagues in this process of supporting the film that many, many, many years ago, I had read Wallace Terry’s book, Bloods. It’s a book—Wallace Terry edited the book and it’s a—it depicts—it—they are—Bloods are—Bloods contains verbatim accounts of African American vets, their experiences in Vietnam, and their experiences with the military. And I had read Bloods many, many—I read Bloods when it first came out. So—

ray

Me too.

delroy

Yeah. So, you know, really, really impactful book. Right? And I went back and read it in preparing for this film, in—amongst all the various other things that I did in preparing. But to your point of what the Vietnam War meant to me and how I revisited how I reconnected with that in context of doing this film, it involved a great deal of research for myself to acclimate myself, orientate myself to the world of this film, of this particular narrative.

ray

One of the fascinating creative choices that Spike Lee makes is to not bother with the passage of time. And I didn’t realize it at first. I’m watching a firefight. You’re in the helicopter door, laying down fire. Now, in those kinds of scenes, a young guy can look older. I mean, since photography was invented, young guys fighting wars have looked older than their years. [Delroy agrees.] Then the light catches Isiah Whitlock in the helicopter and I notice he’s got a grey goatee. [Delroy laughs.] And I realize, “Oh, wait! They’re not bothering to make these guys look like they’re in their 20s.” [Chuckles.] And it took a second and I realized—and then in every flashback after that, no, you’re just—you’re just who you are now, back then. And that’s—especially after seeing The Irishman and seeing them trying to make Robert DeNiro look 40 years younger, I thought, “Well, maybe that’s the way to go!”

delroy

So, look. What you are—without knowing it, what you’re providing me in this—in this conversation, you’re providing me all these wonderful opportunities to correct you. [Ray laughs.] And I’m going to. [Laughs.]

ray

Well, luckily, I got a big enough ego, I can handle it.

delroy

I feel so superior right now. [Ray cackles.] Yeah. And that’s—I’m being—I’m being facetious. [Clears throat.] I’m being facetious. But it wasn’t that Spike was not bothering. It was that he was taking the circumstances that he was presented with—which, in this instance, were, “We don’t have the money, Mr. Lee, to give you—to engage that de-aging process. That’s just not in the budget.” And Spike’s genius basically rather than bothering, he embraced it. He embraced the—that element of the process and utilized it in support of the film. Classic Lee. He took lemons and made lemonade. Some really good lemonade. You know, Spike has spoken to the fact that it just was not in the budget to—we didn’t have the money to do that de-aging processes. But what I can tell you, as I’ve told various of your colleagues, when I read in the script that we would be doing those flashback scenes as our current-day selves, as our present-day selves, I didn’t miss a beat. It didn’t not make sense. Therefore, it made sense, evidently. It was not jarring. I didn’t think, “Huh, how’s this gonna work?” I just accepted it. Then, when we were filming the scenes, it made even more sense that we were interacting with Norm—played by Chadwick Boseman—as our present-day selves, because after all, narratively, we were revisiting the past and revisiting our recollection of Norm as our present-day selves. And so, it made even more sense that that de-aging had not been used.

ray

Absolutely, ‘cause once you realize it, you get it. [Ray agrees several times.] And it works. And, in fact, there is a still at the end of the movie where you are either altered in post or made up on scene, however it happened: an attempt to make the five of you look like young men. And when I saw that, I said, “Oh, thank god they didn’t do it!” [Laughs.] ‘Cause that—I said, “Oh, after we just watched this whole wonderful story, I’m glad they didn’t do it.” When I saw the effect at the end.

delroy

Yeah. And I know the—I know exactly the image that you’re—that you’re referring to. Yeah. It just made all the sense in the world from the standpoint that we were revisiting and trying to make sense of our memories, vis-à-vis Stormin’ Norm, played by Chadwick Boseman. And having, then, in real-time, to negotiate for ourselves what those memories mean and meant. And it just made the unfolding of the story that much sharper, I believe.

ray

Well, one thing that—for me—cranked up the poignancy of that idea is that we now know that Chadwick Boseman—not only does his character, Norman, never get to be an old man, but Chadwick himself has been robbed of the opportunity to ever be an old man. He never has to cover the passage of time, visually. [Delroy hums in agreement.] Did you and your co-stars know he was sick when Da 5 Bloods was being shot?

delroy

Clueless. We had no clue whatsoever. I don’t think any of us did. In fact, I’m almost positive none of us knew that he was sick. Which a testament to who he was, as an individual, as a—as a—as a human being and his professionalism, his commitment to his craft, and his commitment to the telling of this particular story. None of us had a clue.

ray

Have you seen the movie since its release? [Delroy confirms.] And since Chadwick died?

delroy

Uuum. I have not seen it since Chadwick passed. I will see it again, obviously. But I have not seen it since Chadwick passed.

ray

‘Cause I would imagine that would be hard to watch, given especially what the story is about. [Delroy agrees.] Of someone having their life taken too young.

delroy

But you know what? I don’t know what my experience will be, watching Chadwick, when I do see the film again. But what it accentuates for me is the importance of celebrating. I’m gonna celebrate Chad. Imma celebrate this man, not only—however I can, not only in terms of his contribution to this film, in particular, but his talent in general. I’m gonna be about the business of celebrating him. And that is not because I’m sticking my head in the sand against reality, but it’s my way of acknowledging—continuing to acknowledge the depth of the talent and to pay homage to that talent and to continue to homage to not only his contribution to the film, but to the narrative in general for all of us and for all of our sakes and for my own sake. I’ll tell you a story really quickly. After Chadwick passed, I was invited to attend the ceremony that they were having for him. And I received the notice—I got an email inviting me to this ceremony they were gonna have to celebrate Chadwick. I received the email when I was sitting on a plane, about to go to New Mexico to do this film that I did. So, I could not go. But in taking a half-step back and recognizing, acknowledging that Chad and I only spent—you know—a relatively limited time together working on this film and our families had dinner together a few days before he left Thailand. I’ve spoken a lot about how gracious Chadwick was toward my son, my then 17-year-old son, and how appreciative I was of that. And we—I think—had exchanged a couple of texts, subsequent to the film being released. But it really touched me very deeply that despite the fact that we had a relatively small amount of time together, he and his family felt so moved to invite me to this ceremony. And I found out after the fact that what it was, was a scattering of his ashes. So, the fact that whatever impression my coming together with him made on him and his family resulted in—had a depth, had enough depth that they would invite me to the scattering of his ashes means… [sighs], uh. [Beat.] Means the world to me. And I will—I will celebrate this man. [Clears throat.] And just celebrate the… the relationship that was nascent, no question, but was very, very significant at the same time.

ray

Da 5 Bloods is your fourth Spike Lee joint, but it’s been a long time since the last one. [Delroy hums in agreement.] Did you fall right into each other’s slipstream? Comfortably get right back into your old groove again?

delroy

We did. Yep. We sure did. And I think that’s a testament to a number of things. It’s a testament to the rich nature of the material, the confidence that he placed in me by picking up the phone and calling me and saying, “I want you to come and do this.” And the fact that we have enough of a history—I’m really hesitant to say this, but we have enough of a history that time does not diminish that connection. Because if you think of it—it’s structured and it’s focused. It’s focused on work and as such, because it is focused on work, Spike has a position, a relationship to the work. I have a relationship to the work. He has a relationship to me. I have a sense of what he wants. We have very specific focuses, as we have had in the three films that we did in the early, mid-1990s. And the results of those collaborations have been such that, apparently, evidently, 25 years did not diminish the strength of that connection.

ray

That’s great to hear! I mean, I went to high school with Spike Lee. And, uh—

delroy

Oh, wow! Oh, check you out! Wow!

ray

And I’ll tell you, when I see him interviewed on television, he is in some ways still that guy that he was at John Dewey High School in the 1970s. So, um. [Delroy laughs in surprise.] I’m, uh [laughs]—I’m interested to hear you say that. As a—as a longtime observer of your work and a fan. I mean, I even saw you in “Master Harold” … and the Boys. So, we—so, unbeknownst to you, we go back a long way. [Delroy hums in agreement.] I was looking forward to hearing you speak because I’ve never heard you say a word out of character. I’ve never seen you speak in a context other than performance. And I’ll tell you why. You were born in London, West Indian immigrant family. Moved to Canada as a young teenager, to the US as an older young adult. And I was thinking: what does a guy with those stamps in his passport end up sounding like? [Delroy laughs and agrees several times.] When you—when you finally land, like, what do you end up talking like? When you’re tired or when you’re relaxing or maybe when you’ve had a few drinks do other places come out in your speech? An actor’s body is his instrument. An actor’s voice is his instrument. And you’re natural speech is part of your instrument. Can you turn it on and off? Can you become who you were as a—as a younger man, when you need to?

delroy

Yeah. So, could I sound like I’m from South London or Southeast London? Yes. Can I sound like a Jamaican? Yes. And you’re absolutely right; that’s part of my toolbox. They’re really, really valuable parts of my toolbox. I’ve never been called—well, no, that’s not the right word. I’ve never gotten a job—I’ve never—as an actor, I’ve never had to play somebody from Southeast London. But were I to get a call to do that, and the material was something that I wanted to do, that the director or whomever wanted me to do, that would not be a problem. And that’s a—that’s a beautiful thing. That’s a beautiful thing. What’s brilliantly ironic about that is that, you know, my experiences as a young kid in London were not the best, [laughing] frankly. [They laugh.] Um, that was—

ray

Well, you put that very diplomatically. [They laugh.]

delroy

But now, as an adult, to have that in my toolbox and potentially be able to utilize that in service of my work is extraordinary. That’s god, man. That’s god. That is—you know, it is said, “It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.” And I have been gifted this journey of life and gifted this journey of work in such a way that so many of my neuroses and fears, insecurities, I can tap into in service of this work that I adore doing. Not only do I adore doing the work, I’ve been given sufficient opportunities to do the work. Which, as you know, is not a given. [Ray agrees.] And so, you know, the higher power, universal being, God, however you wish to define that force in life, has seen fit to construct circumstances—along with the work that I have done—but has seen fit to present me these opportunities where I could utilize all of those things in service of my work. And, I would say, in service of—uh, I don’t know, myself as a human being. Because that’s been part of my growth as a human being. That’s been part of my—the opportunities that I’ve had to create, yes, but also to recreate myself and have the life that I have that culminates in you saying—somebody like yourself saying, “Well, damn, you don’t sound like you’re from Lewisham.” And that’s a wonderful thing. It’s a wonderful thing that I don’t necessarily sound like I am from Lewisham, but it’s also a wonderful thing that I could sound like I am from Lewisham if and when an opportunity arose. That’s pretty—that’s pretty—it’s pretty brilliant. [Delroy thanks Ray several times as Roy speaks.]

ray

Well, Delroy Lindo, it’s been a real treat to talk to you about these ins and outs and to talk to you about the movie, Da 5 Bloods. I hope it has a successful coming season. And I hope your name gets thrown around a lot. And I hope that all our careers survive this bizarre time in American life.

delroy

Amen. Amen. Thank you so much.

jesse

Delroy Lindo. Da 5 Bloods is streaming right now, on Netflix. It is thrilling, touching, entirely unique. Go see it.

music

Thumpy, relaxed music.

jesse

That’s the end of another episode of Bullseye. Bullseye is created from the homes of me and the staff of Maximum Fun, in and around greater Los Angeles, California—where it is raining, right now! As I look out my window, [chuckling] the sky is bright blue and yet somehow it is also pouring rain down upon my house. You might even be able to hear it coming down the downspout, outside of my office window. The show is produced by speaking into microphones. Our producer is Kevin Ferguson. Jesus Ambrosio and Jordan Kauwling are our associate producers. We get help from Casey O’Brien. Our interstitial music is by Dan Wally, also known as DJW. Our theme song is by The Go! Team. Thanks to The Go! Team and to their label, Memphis Industries. You can also keep up with our show on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. We’re at Twitter.com/bullseye. We’re on Facebook at Facebook.com/bullseyewithjessethorn. And we’re on YouTube; just search for Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. We post all our interviews in all of those places. And I think that’s about it. Just remember: all great radio hosts have a signature signoff.

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Speaker: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR. [Music fades out.]

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.

If you would like to pitch a guest for Bullseye, please CLICK HERE. You can also follow Bullseye on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. For more about Bullseye and to see a list of stations that carry it, please click here.

People

Senior Producer

Producer

Maximum Fun Producer

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Video Editor

How to listen

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