Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Tom Hanks is one of the defining actors of the last half-century. Today, we return to one of our favorite conversations with the beloved performer and writer.
We begin by discussing his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece (5:58), his nomadic upbringing across California (13:28), and the Stanley Kubrick film that made him want to be an artist (19:40). Then, we talk about his early work at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival (24:00) and moving to Los Angeles for his television debut in Bosom Buddies (28:30), before pivoting to dramatic roles in films like Philadelphia and Forrest Gump (32:44).
On the back-half, Hanks describes the transformative, eight-year process of making Cast Away (39:00), receiving an AFI Lifetime Achievement award for his work at age forty-six (41:35), the vital performances that followed (42:40), and his insatiable desire to reflect the human experience (46:23).
To close, Hanks reflects on the kinship he found with Yankee hall of famer Joe DiMaggio (59:08), his formative friendships with actor Holland Taylor (52:30) and the late Nora Ephron (54:40), and the Cecil B. DeMille story he hopes to keep telling (55:50).
Original air date: July 9, 2023
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Alanis Morissette’s 1995 chart-topping album “Jagged Little Pill” didn’t just describe a generation; it defined it. “I will take angry as the first note in the music,” she tells us. “I just think every woman I knew was pissed because they were paying attention. How do you not get pissed?”
On the heels of the record’s 30th anniversary, the seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter joins us this week to discuss her new LA residency, Butterfly with a Machete (4:42), growing up in Ottawa (10:20), and her turbulent years as a teenage Canadian pop star (11:27). Then, Morissette reflects on the nuances of “Jagged Little Pill” (13:10), how she channels the unconscious in her work (27:04), the “patriarchal responses” to the record, including from Joni Mitchell (35:09), and the pressures, insecurities, and misconceptions that shaped her rise to fame (38:15).
On the back-half, we talk about her road to sobriety (40:00), the enduring mystery of “You Oughta Know” as immortalized on Curb Your Enthusiasm (42:20), why she’s determined to set the record straight with her new show (46:30), and how she’s provided a roadmap—really, refuge—for the next generation of pop stars, like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo (1:00:27).
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In celebration of the Tony Awards, Sam’s conversation on ‘Fresh Air’ with the legendary Nathan Lane.
At the time of recording, Lane had just received a nomination for his starring role as Willy Loman in ‘Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.’ He’s a veteran of the stage – often in comedic and musical roles. But in the role of Loman, which he does eight times a week, he’s noticed something different in the audience. “There’s an old joke – my job is just to keep 1600 people from coughing. It's kind of true, but when you hear what we hear during ‘Salesman,’ you hear people weeping in the dark.” At the age of 70, Lane says this production of ‘Salesman’ is the thing he’s most proud of.
This episode originally aired May 7, 2026.
Listen to Fresh Air. Special thanks to Terry Gross, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, and Molly Seavy-Nesper.
Subscribe to the Talk Easy YouTube Channel, and watch our latest with Nathan’s Death of a Salesman co-star and Tony nominee Christopher Abbott.
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Christopher Abbott is one of the finest actors of his generation. He joins us this week from the Winter Garden Theatre, where he plays Biff Loman in the latest Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman opposite Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf.
Fresh off nine Tony nominations, we sit with Abbott to unpack is volatile and vulnerable portrayal of Biff (3:00), the renewed relevance of Arthur Miller’s critique of the American dream (6:00), and how he produces his intense performance, eight shows a week (8:30). Then, we walk through his upbringing in Greenwich, Connecticut (16:00), the working-class roots that shaped his approach to acting (25:00), and why he kept walking toward the stage (27:00).
On the back-half, we discuss Abbott’s lean years auditioning in New York City (32:00), his breakthrough role in Girls (42:19), creating work in the mold of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands (46:00), his journey to parenthood with Aubrey Plaza (1:02:00), and his lasting transformations in the films James White (1:05:00) and On the Count of Three (1:07:00). To close, we talk about his return to Girls in “The Panic in Central Park” (1:08:35), finding a home in the theater with Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (1:18:00) and now Death of a Salesman (1:20:40), and naturally, the New York Knicks (1:24:30).
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Emmy-nominated writer and stand-up Josh Johnson is making comedy that’s timely and timeless.
On the heels of his new HBO special Symphony, we begin with his creative process of shaping new material week after week, balancing life on the road with writing and hosting duties at The Daily Show (0:46). Then, we talk to Josh about the issues of today: Trump’s 1.8 Billion Slush Fund (4:26), pandemic fears (8:18), AI in commencement speeches (9:34), and “nonviolence as a psyop” (16:27).
On the back-half, Josh describes how he transitions between writing topical and evergreen jokes (23:12), the comedic inspiration that came from his Catholic school years (29:00), and finding his way into performing while working at Trader Joe’s (39:30). To close, we unpack the final week of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (42:27), the role of therapy in Johnson’s 2023 special Up Here Killing Myself (46:00), and what he hopes to create in the next five years (56:20).
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