Transcript
music
Gentle, trilling music with a steady drumbeat plays under the dialogue.
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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.
jesse thorn
It’s Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. First up this week, the great Holly Hunter! Hands down one of the greatest actors in the game, one of my all-time faves. She has had unforgettable roles in some of the best movies of the last 30 years or so: Raising Arizona, Broadcast News, The Piano, The Big Sick. I mean, I could go on and on. And I mean, I’m painting with a broad brush here, but I would say Holly Hunter’s characters don’t waste time. They know what they want, they know how to get it, [chuckling] and the sooner that you move out of the way, the better it’ll be for all of us. For the first time in a while, Holly is starring on a new TV show. It’s called Mr. Mayor. It’s the new sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. Holly’s co-star, Ted Danson, plays the show’s title character: Los Angeles mayor, Neil Bremer, who’s a kind of hapless political novice who backed into the mayoralty. Holly plays Arpi Meskimen. She’s been on the city council for decades and she—like many Holly Hunter characters—doesn’t believe in wasting time. And, as you’re about to hear, she is very opposed to Mayor Bremer’s first initiative: a proposed ban of plastic straws.
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Arpi Meskimen (Mr. Mayor): A ban on bendable plastic straws is blatant discrimination against quadriplegics, or any Angeleno with limited use of their hands! It’s an outrage. [Sounds of understanding from the council.] Arpi: They call themselves quaddies. Or chair-dogs. Speaker: [Flatly.] No. We don’t. Arpi: Oh. I’m sorry. My nephew must have been pranking me. Mayor Bremer, memorize this face. Zoom in on me. [Beat.] Fine, I’ll come to you. [Beat.] I’ve got your number, Bremer—like underwear bought in a drug store, you’re not gonna last two months.
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Music swells and fades.
jesse
[They laugh.] Holly Hunter, welcome to Bullseye. I’m so happy to have you on the show.
holly hunter
Hey, Jesse.
jesse
I ask this almost exact same question to Ted Danson last week, but I read in a joint interview that the two of you did—about you asking him about doing the kind of comedy that is in a Robert Carlock/Tina Fey show—which is to say, just jam-packed with very complicated jokes. Just joke, joke, joke, joke, joke, jokes. As in, “Like underwear bought in a drugstore.” And the advice [chuckling] that I read he gave you was, “Let the wind blow through your hair.” Which [laughs] I thought was the most beautiful thing. [Holly laughs.] But like, you’ve done plenty of comedy, but I don’t know if you’ve ever done comedy this jokey. What does it feel like to do it?
holly
Well, you know, at the first readthrough that we did for NBC, I was sitting in between Ted Danson and Bobby Moynihan. And I—you know, I was in the middle of two maestros. And they played as such. I learned so much from them, just in that first readthrough. It was so impactful, and I was very nervous. And it—it is, it’s like a completely different genre. But in a way, you know, not totally without precedent. I mean, in a way, I feel like Tina and Robert are related to Howard Hawks! I mean, it—you go back to the forties and you see some of those movies with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn and it—and Myrna Loy in the Thin Man series—it’s so fast. It’s so nimble. And this—I don’t know. I feel like this show’s a little bit like a cannonball. You know. It requires mental, physical, verbal dexterity from the actors, and I think when we’re warmed up, when we’re in that space together, it’s just—it’s a high. It’s so much fun to shoot this. I was thinking about this one joke that Mike Cabellon says to Vella Lovell—well, he says, “I like your pants.” And she says, “Oh, yeah. I said the word ‘pants’ near my phone and they showed up at my house.” [Jesse chuckles.] I—you know. And then it’s gone! So, it requires—I was thinking the other day—it’s like you can totally watch this show—you can have a glass of wine and watch this show and really laugh. Or you could have a cup of coffee and probably catch a few more jokes.
jesse
[Chuckles.] I was reading interviews with you and some of them came with glamorous publicity photos. And in some of those photos, you have this hairstyle that I think of as “women’s television hairstyle,” which is a kind of like loose, wavy curls just off the face—sort of medium-long hair and big curls that frame the face. And I—my understanding is that this hairstyle is popular in television because—hair people like it because it’s easy to keep in continuity, ‘cause it doesn’t move very much. And on this show, Mr. Mayor, your basically have the literal opposite of that hairstyle. Like, your hair is the hair of your character: the most unglamorous person on earth. [Holly laughs.] And—like a person for whom Patagonia is much too glamorous. [Holly agrees with a laugh.] What it is like to, like, show up to hair and makeup and have them be like, “Mmmm. Let’s make this more awkwardly choppy.”
holly
Well, you know, that was something that I really, really wanted. I mean, I so loved the idea of having this—like, in a way like an early nineties—it’s like an early nineties haircut done badly that Arpi got, say, in the early nineties and just went, “This works for me. It’s wash-and-wear. I can get up and go.” And then she just stays with it, you know, 20 years later she’s still cutting her hair that exact same way because why not? It’s hassle-free. And it is a really bad—it’s a bad cut, but it comes from—I really wanted to fulfill Mike Cabellon’s line. The very—almost the very first thing he says about Arpi is, “I hate her haircut.” And I just thought, “Aw, well that’s such a key into this woman: a hateable haircut.” You know. Sometimes it’s so liberating to come upon one aspect that if you fulfill that aspect, you are in new terrain. And that’s what it’s like with Arpi. Once I—you know, Tina and I talked and talked about this haircut, ‘cause I really, really wanted it. And once that happened, Arpi came much more into focus, just for me—psychologically. You know. I felt, uh, Arpi.
jesse
I wanna ask you about your childhood. Your original mode of art was playing piano and you quit kind of committedly. Like, you really quit playing piano in public. What did playing piano mean to you as a little kid and why did you stop doing it?
holly
Well, I think—you know, when I start—I started playing, like, on a windowsill. And I played so obsessively on a windowsill that my parents got me, like, a cardboard piano keyboard. You know, just a cutout. And then I played on that completely obsessively. And then they got me a piano because they went, “Okay, she seems to really mean it.” And I played the piano—you know—five hours a day. I mean, I would come home from school and just play. I wouldn’t spend the night with any friends unless they also had a piano. It was my first big love: a true passion. But I could not play in front of people. I mean, maybe if there was one or two people, but I didn’t even enjoy that. I just—it was a private affair. So, I think I was playing “Flight of the Bumblebee” or something like that at a—at my first recital, in Atlanta. And I couldn’t remember the last measure of the piece. And I finally, like, bonked out some base note that was in the wrong key and left the bench. And you know, it was so traumatizing [laughing] that I never went back to playing in front of people. But I did not give up the piano. I continued to play the piano with a real love for years and years so that when I read the script for The Piano and she was a pianist, I went, “Oh, wow. It would be so amazing to get to express that on screen.” And not only that, but for the audience to get to see someone who actually has a real relationship with the instrument. So, it—you don’t have to fake it. And it’s so particular and so granular, that love, that I knew that I—it would be so much fun for me to be able to express that.
jesse
I feel like there is a lot of technique involved in acting, but that… you know, beyond that technique, the really special skill of a great actor is a kind of fearless openheartedness. You know. A willingness to step off a cliff, often in front of other people and certainly with other people. Did that come naturally to you?
holly
Yes. Uh, stepping off the cliff, acting-wise, was… I don’t know, kind of a joy. I didn’t have any of that fear. I mean, yes, I have fear. Of course. I get nervous. I—fear can drive me to a degree, but it’s not—it’s not a crippling thing. It’s a motivating thing. I mean, I think all actors negotiate to a degree with fear. But, you know, when I do a play and they say, “Places,” I’m really happy that places that were—that that’s where we are. That when the lights go down, I’m really excited to get onstage. I mean, it’s really fun. It’s like, “Yes!” It’s much more of a big “yes.”
jesse
Were you set on going to conservatory and becoming an actor when you were a teenager?
holly
Yeah. This artistic director of the Alliance Theatre, in Atlanta—Fred Chappell—saw me in a play and he asked me did I want to apprentice with his theater company in upstate New York. A place called—it was in Cortland. Cortland, New York. And so, I went up when I was 15. My parents said yes, so I went up for three months and apprenticed in his company and it was just—oh my god. I mean, you know. [Laughs.] It was mind-blowing. It was so—it was such an amazing summer for me, to be around professional actors and helping them off the stage in the dark and turning the turntable at scene changes and picking up their clothes and hanging up their costumes and, you know, sweeping the stage after the show was over. And then occasionally doing kind of parts in the chorus. It was—I just—I completely fell in love.
jesse
Did your parents go with you?
holly
No. Thank god. And there was this one—and we all lived together in this big kind of boarding house and I remember there was this one guy who quite a few times in those three months, he would do this one-man version of The Wizard of Oz. And he had this pink boa that he had around his neck and he would play Dorothy—he played everybody. Played Dorothy, played the Scarecrow, the Tin Man. [Laughs.] And of course—and he was gay. And I was 15 and I didn’t even know what gay was. And that summer, I went, “Oh, wow! All these guys are gay! In the company!” [Laughs.] And it was just like, “Wow, this is so cool. This world of all these actors where everybody can be whoever they—whoever they are, whoever they wanna be.” I—it just was very… I don’t know. I just went, “I wanna be in a community that is as trusting as this community is, where people are in it together.” And so, that’s kind of really where I made up my mind, was in Cortland.
jesse
We have so much more to get into with Holly Hunter. We’ll talk about how, unlike a lot of other performers, she doesn’t really want to write or direct or do show business things that aren’t acting. It’s Bullseye, from MaximumFun.org and NPR.
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Synth-heavy, cheerful music.
jesse
This message comes from NPR sponsor NerdWallet: a personal finance website and app that helps people make smarter money moves. Have new money goals this year? Whether you want to use credit card points to plan a family vacation abroad—once it’s safe—or take advantage of low mortgage rates to refinance and save for your child’s education, NerdWallet is the best place to shop financial products to help make your 2021 money goals happen. Discover and compare the smartest credit cards, mortgage lenders, and more at NerdWallet.com. [Music fades out.]
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Music: Relaxed, lo-fi music. Madeline Sofia: There is so much Black excellence in the sciences that we want to celebrate. So in honor of Black History Month, all this week Short Wave is featuring conversations with Black scientists and educators: people doing incredible work and pushing for a world where science serves everyone. Listen now to the Short Wave podcast from NPR.
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[Three gavel bangs.] Music: Cheerful piano music plays under the dialogue. John Hodgman: I’m Judge John Hodgman. Jesse Thorn: And I’m Bailiff Jesse Thorn. John: Ten years ago, I came on Jordan, Jesse, Go! and judged my first dispute: is chili a soup? It’s a stew, obviously. Jesse: The Judge has dispensed a decade of justice. He’s the one person wise enough to answer the reeeally important questions. Like, should you hire a mime to perform at your own funeral? Speaker 1: After they cry, I want them to laugh. John: Do you really need a tankful of jellyfish in your den? [Jesse laughs.] Speaker 2: They smell like living creatures decaying. Speaker 3: Only if they are decaying. Speaker 2: [Doubtfully.] Yeah, which they will be. John: Real people, real justice, real comedy. Jesse: Winner of the Webby Award for Best Comedy Podcast. John: The Judge John Hodgman podcast, every Wednesday, on MaximumFun.org. [Music ends on a piano chord. Three gavel bangs.]
jesse
Welcome back to Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. I’m talking with Holly Hunter. She is, of course, the star of so many wonderful movies—Broadcast News, Raising Arizona, O Brother, Where Art Thou? These days, she’s starring on a brand-new TV show: NBC’s Mr. Mayor. Let’s get back into our conversation. When you graduated school, did you, like, go straight to New York?
holly
When I graduated from Carnegie Mellon?
jesse
Yeah, from conservatory.
holly
Yes. When I—when I graduated from Carnegie, I—yes. I went straight to New York City. Which, you know, was my spiritual home. I had never had that connection with a place the way that I had with New York.
jesse
Did you already have it? Had you been there or was it like a hayseed getting off the turnup truck and saying, “New York City, just as I always imagined it.”
holly
I felt like a hayseed getting of the turnip truck when I went from Georgia to Pittsburgh. And then, Pittsburgh is a small town but nevertheless you’re in a—I was in a conservatory. The workload was daunting. What was require of us young actors was very impressive and it was a real petri dish of pressure, of creativity, of seeing other actors who I greatly admired in that environment. You know. Cherry Jones was two years ahead of me, so I was watching Cherry when she was 19 years old being unbelievably brilliant. She was my first mentor, really. And I couldn’t be in the same room with Cherry. She just freaked me out so much. She was so talented. It was so—it was—that’s a beautiful thing for a young person, to be in awe of someone doing something that you want to be able to do. It’s enlightening and… affirming. I felt very affirmed to be at Carnegie. And so, then when I went to New York, in some ways I was ready to be in New York, because I’d been in that petri dish and New York is anything but a petri dish. It is just like an explosion of people and variety and everything. It’s everything. It’s not one thing.
jesse
I need to ask you about two celebrity roommates that you had in your youth, in New York City. The first of which was Jason Alexander. How did you end up sharing an apartment with Jason Alexander?
holly
Well, I had the great good luck to be introduced to a casting director, Joy Todd. And Joy just believed in me. She just went, “Kid, I’m gonna help you. I’m gonna—I’m gonna get you a good job.” [Laughs.] And so, why—when I first hit New York, there was a screenplay for a movie called The Burning. And it was a horror film, a slasher. And she said, “You know, I—this is gonna be a great opportunity for you. You can go to North Tonawanda, New York—which is just outside of Buffalo—with a busload of other kids, other young actors, and be terrorized by, like, this guy named Cropsy at a summer camp.” Who had, like, giant scissors who was gonna, like, do bad things to us. So, Jason was on that bus. You know. He was another one of the actors who was going to be terrorized. And so, we were up there for—I don’t know, it was, like—I felt like maybe we were up there for a month together, all of us young, very bright-eyed actors. And so, we all came back to New York really close. You know. They were kind of my first friendships in New York City. And I hung out with all those guys after we—after we got back. And so, Jason and I decided to, you know, get a place together on the Upper West Side and we did! And we lived together for—I don’t know. Maybe, like, a year or two. I can’t… remember. And then he—his soon-to-be wife—and I believe that he’s still married to her—moved in with us briefly and then they got a place together. But that was also—that was a—yeah, this was 1980. And I remember that this was in the days of answering machines and so Jason and I would be—do like really, really, really—once again, the height of silliness—messages, outgoing messages on our answering machine. Like, we would make up songs. He would play the piano. I would play the piano. We would sing. We would—[chuckling] we would be—you know, those were the days where people were doing wild and nutty things with their—with their answering machines. I miss that.
jesse
When you say people were doing wild and nutty things with their answering machines—
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Holly: [Interrupting.] Well, a lot—a lot of people were, but— Jesse: You’re specifically referring to theater dorks. [Chuckles.]
holly
Well—why? This didn’t happen with you, Jesse? [Jesse laughs.] You didn’t do these things? We—
jesse
Hey, I didn’t say I wasn’t a theater dork! I went to art school. [Laughs.]
holly
We looked at it as a great opportunity to, you know, create.
jesse
The other celebrity roommate I want to address is Frances McDormand, who—you know, the two of you have had such amazing sort of parallel-track careers. Tell me how you ended up rooming with her.
holly
Well, I did a play at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis. Which, at that time, was called the Loretto-Hilton Theater. And I got a boyfriend out of that play. We were doing Buried Child by Sam Shepard. So, I came back to New York with this new boyfriend and his best friend was Fran’s boyfriend. And Fran was going to Yale at the time, as a—as a grad student. She and her boyfriend were. So, my boyfriend said, “Hey, let’s go up and visit my best friend.” And so, we went up there and I met his best friend, and I met his best friend’s girlfriend, who was Fran. [Laughs.] And, you know, Fran and I—I don’t know, man. We just—we recognized each other. We hit it off. So, she finished—she graduated from Yale and then she and her boyfriend moved to New York and at that time me and my boyfriend were living in the North Bronx, because the North Bronx was really cheap [chuckling] in the eighties. Anyway, so, we said, “Hey, why don’t you guys—there’s plenty of room up here in the North Bronx. Why don’t you guys get a place up here, too?” So, they got a place a couple of blocks from ours. And then Fran broke up with her boyfriend and I broke up with my boyfriend and we had an extra apartment. So, we—she moved into my place. And you know, we… I don’t know. We kind of had a blast. We were… we were kind of broke, but of course when you’re in your early 20s, being broke is, like, no big deal. I mean, it was an adventure in some way. I think—you know, it just felt—it didn’t feel terrible. It felt kind of fantastic. You know. You take your pleasures where you can get them. “Hey, man, I got enough money to get a beer. Let’s go to the bar.” You know. That—“Hey! I’ve got enough money, we can go out to dinner next Saturday night, ten days from now.” You know. That kind of—that kind of thing.
jesse
So, how did Joel Coen enter the picture?
holly
I was doing a Broadway show and Joel and Ethan were casting Blood Simple. And they came and saw me in the play that I was doing, and I met with them and they said, “Oh, wow, you know. It would be so cool if you could—you know—if you could do this movie.” And I said, “You know, I can’t. I’m—” I was leaving that show to open a Broadway show. And I said, “You know, I’m not available. But! I got a—my roommate is great. And she’s available.” [They chuckle.] And so, they met Fran. And, you know—and they were like, “Wow. Who else is up there in the North Bronx?” [Jesse laughs.] So, Fran did Blood Simple and then, you know, Joel began coming around to our place. At this—and we were still in the Bronx. He started showing up there and spending weekends with us and stuff, because he and Fran were together. And then we decided to move back into Manhattan. And then Fran and I moved into Manhattan, but it wasn’t long after that that she and Joel got a place on the Upper West Side together. And then—you know, the rest is history for those guys.
jesse
You ended up in Blood Simple, just barely.
holly
Yes. On—once again, on an answering machine! [Jesse laughs.] There’s a theme—there’s a theme to this conversation.
jesse
Did they just keep you in mind and that’s how you ended up in Raising Arizona?
holly
Well, yeah. Um, you know, then after that we were all friends. You know. So, then we were—we were hanging out together. We all went out to LA. We rented a house in LA together for like a summer. Or maybe it was a winter. I can’t remember. And that’s when we were out in Silver Lake, that’s when they asked me to look at the script for Raising Arizona. Which, you know, was one of the greatest scripts that I had and still will have ever read.
jesse
Did you expect that you had a real shot at getting Broadcast News when they were casting Broadcast News?
holly
Oh no. No, no, no.
jesse
Why not?
holly
I just—like, no.
jesse
Because you weren’t a famous person? Because—?
holly
Yeah, it was out of my league. But at the same time, you know, it’s that thing—it is that thing. What you don’t know [chuckling]—what you don’t know sometimes, you know, can’t hurt you to a degree. There—it—there’s a certain protection that youth provides. It—there’s an invincibility or—there’s something where you feel not that you’re not human, but that like, “Hey, why not? What have I got to lose?” that is particular. It’s very specifically about being young. And when I did Broadcast News, I—I was young! And I knew that he’d been looking at other actors who were very famous to do that part. I mean, they were just really well-known people. And I was like, “Wow. This—this is—I can’t believe he hasn’t cast this part, yet.” ‘Cause he hadn’t cast it for, like, six months. And my agent finally just said, “Why don’t you go in for this thing?” ‘Cause I had been hearing about it, but I never—I never was even curious about the script. I went, “That’s obviously not for me.” So, when my agent got me the thing, I read it and just, like, breezed in. Talk about no fear! I had no expectation. So, no fear. So, when I walked in and met Jim, Bill Hurt was also in the room—which, okay, so Bill is somebody who does scare me. Bill was one of those actors that I find walks on sacred ground. You know. I—you know. I’d seen Altered States. I’d seen Body Heat. It’s like, “Oh my god! This guy!?” But nevertheless, the material was so much fun, and Jim was so unintimidating and so approachable and so fun. For just—fun. He’s got a great sense of humor. So, we just laughed and had a lot of fun and read through the entire script for a couple of hours. You know. And then I went home. And then, you know, the—and then he offered me the part the next day.
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[The beeping of a call coming in. The broadcaster continues talking in the background behind Jane’s dialogue.] Assistant: New copy; you wanted this. Jane (Broadcast News): [Answering the phone.] Jane Craig. Just a minute. [To the room.] We’re gonna go to Martin Klein at State for the message from Libya, then you’re gonna have the carrier pilot from the Sidra, in time to—[screaming] WHAT?! No! You missed him! We only have ten minutes left; how can you talk to me about parking problems! [Someone shushes her.] Jane: No! Not “you’ll try”, you’ll do it! DO IT! Or I’ll fry your fat ass, Estelle. Goodbye! [A bang.] Paul: [Whispering in awe.] I had no idea she was this good!
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Music swells and fades.
jesse
When you’re in a movie like that—you know, one of the things about doing comedy is that there are technical things to being funny. You know, you have to hit the joke in the right way for it to work. You know, there’s rhythm and—you know, you have to put over an idea and contrast it with another idea for it to be—you know what I mean? Those kinds of things are about—for lack of a better way of saying it, trying to be funny. You know. Being funny on purpose. Selling a joke. And I wonder if you’re in a movie like that that is so funny, whether or not you are aware of the “trying to be funny” parts?
holly
In a movie like what? Like Broadcast News?
jesse
Like Broadcast News. Yeah.
holly
Well, yeah. I mean, you’re—you know, of course. It’s a comedy. It requires rhythm and timing. You know. But it also requires—just like doing Tina and Robert’s show, it requires belief. You know. You have your own set of rules, as a character. And all these other characters have their own sets of rules, too. And I think, you know, part of comedy is a collision of my rules with your rules. And also, you know, my belief system is having a certain collision with your belief system. And that’s conflict but it’s also comedy. So, you know. But I think that, you know, musicality is always part of comedy. You know. Just thinking about what makes something funny is—you know, three’s funny, four’s not. It can come down to a certain level of mathematics or music that I think can be employed by all actors who are in something that is supposed to be funny, whether it’s Broadcast News or Raising Arizona or Mr. Mayor.
jesse
Are you proud of being funny?
holly
Uhh… well, I—it’s just a particular—it’s just another genre of working that I think is really challenging in a whole different way from doing a drama. It requires different skills and I think I feel enlivened by that. It makes me excited to go to work. Like, I love to go onto the set and they’re shooting a scene and Vella’s doing that voice that—Vella Lovell, who plays Mikaela—Vella is doing that voice that Mikaela has, and I am excited to be part of something where people are being that silly! It’s like, “Ooh! Fun! Bobby Moynihan! So silly! We’re in that arena!” [Jesse laughs.] “We’re in that world! Ooh!” So, I think that that is… it’s appetizing to me to go to work and be in that—because it requires a certain kind of dexterity that I am… I don’t know. I feel excited by it.
jesse
Do you have ambitions?
holly
I have ambition for my characters. But do I have ambitions, um, as an actor—like, I don’t have a production company. Um. I don’t really wanna direct. I feel like I’ve worked with so many… gifted directors who were kind of born to do it, that I feel—yeah. I—I really love being an actor. So—but with my characters, I wanna know more. I feel like that’s where my ambition lays. Lies. Lays. Lies.
jesse
[Laughs.] I can’t tell ya.
holly
Lays! I say—I think it’s “where my ambition lays.” Because ambition is inanimate. [They laugh.]
jesse
Holly Hunter, thank you for taking all this time to be on Bullseye. I’m—I have, like, admired your work for so long, so much. And I’m so—it’s such a thrill to learn that you’re as delightful and brilliant in real life as you are onscreen. So, thank you very much for doing this.
holly
Thanks, Jesse.
jesse
Holly Hunter: a legend. She is great on NBC’s Mr. Mayor, which you can watch on a few different streaming platforms, including Peacock and Hulu. If you haven’t seen Broadcast News, now is the time. [Chuckles.] I mean, if you haven’t seen Broadcast News, that should be the top priority in your entire life. You should be skipping meals to get to Broadcast News. Holly Hunter. Love her.
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Relaxed music with light vocalizations.
jesse
That’s the end another episode of Bullseye. Bullseye is created in the homes of me and the staff of Maximum Fun, in and around greater Los Angeles, California. Here at my house, everyone is buzzing about the film Santa Jaws. It’s a movie about a shark who wears one of those red, Christmas, Santa Claus hats on his fin. [Chuckling softly.] It’s a real movie. I don’t know. This is what my kid is into. Our 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 and Kristen Bennett. Our interstitial music is by Dan Wally, also known as DJW. Our theme song is by The Go! Team. Thanks to them and to their label, Memphis Industries, for sharing it. You can also keep up with our show on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. We post all our interviews there. And I think that’s about it. Just remember: all great radio hosts have a signature signoff.
promo
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.
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