Julia Child, la Grandes Gourmande
Hosts Josh and Chuck explore the life, career, and cultural impact of Julia Child, tracing her path from privileged Pasadena upbringing and World War II OSS service to becoming America's most influential cookbook author and television chef. They discuss her late start in cooking, her revelatory first French meal, her training at Le Cordon Bleu, the creation of 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking', and the launch of 'The French Chef' on PBS. The episode also covers why she was so beloved-her humor, mistakes on camera, feminist outlook on the kitchen, love of butter and wine, hallmark recipes, and her distinctive final resting place in an underwater cemetery.
Is Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Its Most Valuable Asset? (Update)
The episode investigates the hidden economics and logistics of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, focusing on how it is produced, who pays for what, and what value it creates for Macy's, NBC, and New York City. Executive producer Will Koss, NBC executive Jen Neal, city officials, and author Jeff Kinney describe the year‑round production process, brand sponsorships, balloon design and fabrication, helium supply, security, and sanitation. Despite assembling many details, the show concludes that the true costs and financial arrangements around the parade remain largely opaque, and it tees up a second episode on Macy's broader retail challenges.
Cold War Santa with Sarah Archer
Host Sarah Marshall and historian Sarah Archer explore how Santa Claus and American Christmas traditions evolved from the 19th century through the Cold War, focusing on consumerism, design, and media. They trace Santa from a tiny artisan figure in Victorian illustrations to a postwar, space-age and domesticated icon wrapped in department stores, aluminum trees, and televised specials like Miracle on 34th Street, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Throughout, they examine how Christmas has always been bound up with retail, nostalgia, gender roles, and changing ideas about patriotism and the future.
Selects: Rockettes: Still Kicking After All These Years
Hosts Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant explore the history and inner workings of the Rockettes, from their origins as the Missouri Rockets inspired by the British Tiller Girls to their long residence at Radio City Music Hall. They cover how precision dance works, the troupe's role in saving Radio City, the grueling but coveted life of a modern Rockette, and controversies around representation and political performances. The episode also touches on updates to the show under director Linda Haberman and ends with a listener story about participating as a mock victim in a search-and-rescue dog exercise.
AM Radio: Solid Gold
The hosts trace the history and cultural impact of AM radio, from its early 20th-century technical breakthroughs and global spread through its "golden age" of dramas, soap operas, news, and political addresses. They explain how AM evolved into a youth-oriented Top 40 music medium and later the mellow 1970s "AM gold" era, while also covering regulatory milestones like the Fairness Doctrine and the rise of talk radio after its repeal. The episode concludes with a focus on AM radio's continuing importance for emergency alerts, its technical characteristics, and current debates over carmakers dropping AM receivers, particularly in electric vehicles.
"Claire Danes"
The hosts open with light banter about facials, manicures, and self-care before welcoming actor Claire Danes, who talks about her relatively low-key beauty routine, life in a New York City brownstone, and becoming a mother of three after an unexpected pregnancy at 44. She describes growing up in an artist loft in Soho, starting acting as a child, the whirlwind of early fame from "My So-Called Life" and "Romeo + Juliet," and how therapy and family grounded her. Danes also shares how she researches roles-including observing brain surgery and visiting Langley-her experiences on "Homeland," working with directors like Baz Luhrmann and Francis Ford Coppola, her eccentric family history (including an ancestor hanged in the Salem witch trials), and her new psychological thriller series "The Beast in Me" with Matthew Rhys.
"Tom Freston"
The hosts talk with media executive Tom Freston about his unconventional path from advertising into years of travel across North Africa and Asia, building a clothing business in India and Afghanistan, and eventually helping launch MTV and other major cable brands. Freston recounts the creation and impact of MTV, the birth of Comedy Central, his tumultuous years leading Viacom under Sumner Redstone, early views on platforms like YouTube and MySpace, and his later work in philanthropy and Afghan media. The conversation also explores his philosophy on travel, risk-taking, and using media for social change, plus colorful anecdotes involving Jimmy Buffett, Bangkok sex clubs, and a desert music festival near Timbuktu.
"David Duchovny"
The hosts talk with David Duchovny about his path from top-tier academic studies in English literature at Princeton and Yale to a multifaceted creative career as an actor, novelist, screenwriter, musician, and director. Duchovny describes how his family's literary background shaped his love of reading and writing, his early acting experiences and commercial work, the rise of The X-Files and its global impact, and his later work in music and fiction. They also discuss the challenges of reading discipline, managing multiple creative pursuits, fandom around The X-Files, and Duchovny's thoughts on the likelihood of extraterrestrial life.
VH-1: MTV for Your Parents
Josh and Chuck trace the history of VH1 as the mellower, adult contemporary counterpart to MTV, from its 1985 launch through multiple reinventions. They cover the channel's early focus on older artists, its successful 1990s rebrand with shows like Pop-Up Video, Storytellers, and Behind the Music, and its later pivot into pop culture countdowns and reality TV. The episode also examines VH1's role in Black-focused programming, the ethical controversies around shows like Celebrity Rehab, the Jasmine Fiore murder scandal, and VH1's current identity anchored in reality franchises and reruns.
Midnight Ghost Shows with Chelsey Weber-Smith
Host Sarah Marshall and guest Chelsea Weber-Smith explore the forgotten history of American "midnight ghost shows" or "midnight spook shows"-live theatrical seance‑magic‑horror shows that ran in movie theaters from the 1930s to the 1960s. They trace how these shows evolved from spiritualist seances into campy, gore‑filled spectacles aimed at teenagers, centered on elaborate stage tricks and a chaotic blackout sequence where anything could "happen" in the dark. The conversation also connects ghost shows to later horror culture, including William Castle gimmicks, haunted houses, and the participatory cult around The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Selects: How Schoolhouse Rock Rocked: Featuring Bob Nastanovich of Pavement
The hosts revisit the history and cultural impact of the educational cartoon series Schoolhouse Rock, tracing its origins in a 1970s advertising agency, the role of jazz musician Bob Dorough, and the evolution of its themed seasons on math, grammar, civics, and science. They discuss standout songs, how the show balanced sophisticated music with kid-friendly concepts, its decline with the computer-focused Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips segments, and its 1990s revival and later stage and media adaptations, including tributes and critiques of its simplified historical narratives. In an added interview, Pavement's Bob Nastanovich describes how the band came to record a highly personalized version of "No More Kings" for the 1990s tribute album, and the episode closes with a listener letter about grief, nostalgia, and family memories tied to the show.
The Happy Place of Saturday Morning Cartoons
Josh and Chuck take a nostalgic and critical look at the era of Saturday morning cartoons, tracing how they emerged, peaked, and eventually disappeared from broadcast television. They discuss the programming's cultural role for kids, the heavy commercialization and sugary-food advertising attached to it, and the regulatory battles over violence and marketing to children. The episode also covers the impact of deregulation, the rise of cable and gaming, and how these shifts ended the Saturday morning ritual while leaving a strong shared cultural legacy.
"Kirsten Dunst"
Kirsten Dunst joins the SmartLess hosts for a wide-ranging conversation about her life as a former child actor, her evolving relationship to auditions and awards, and her current slate of films including "Roofman" and Ruben Östlund's "The Entertainment System is Down." She talks about balancing a dual-actor household with parenting two young sons, her preference for a low-key life in the Valley, and an acting process that includes "dream work" to deepen characters. The group also digresses into food, TV habits, SNL memories, and why she now craves doing a big, fun comedy next.
"Michelle Pfeiffer"
The hosts welcome Michelle Pfeiffer for a wide-ranging conversation about her long acting career, from early roles like Fantasy Island and Grease 2 to iconic films such as Scarface and The Fabulous Baker Boys. She discusses how her approach to acting has evolved, learning to let go of perfectionism, the changing landscape for women in film and television, and balancing a busy career with family life and becoming a grandmother. Pfeiffer also shares anecdotes about working with Will on a recent series, her intense experience on Scarface, and her first attempts at acting while working in a supermarket and studying court reporting.
Kimmel & ABC, Nvidia's OpenAI Investment, and Tylenol's Trump Problem
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss Jimmy Kimmel's emotional late-night return after his Trump clash, what it reveals about masculinity, and why late-night TV is structurally in decline despite strong individual performances. They analyze Nvidia's $100 billion investment in OpenAI as a potentially late-stage bubble, related-party style deal that concentrates AI power and raises antitrust concerns, then examine Trump's unsupported claim that Tylenol causes autism, what Kenview should do in response, and the classic Johnson & Johnson Tylenol tampering case as a crisis-management model. The hosts also cover YouTube's decision to reinstate previously banned misinformation accounts under political pressure, a Florida investigation into Office Depot over a refused Charlie Kirk poster, their expectations of cronyism and giant, likely disastrous M&A deals, and end with a strong plea for adopting rescue dogs amid rising pet surrenders.
Tdhtdhtdhtdhtdh: Sound Effects!
The hosts explore how sound effects are created for films and TV, focusing on the craft of Foley artists and the history of sound design from silent movies to modern blockbusters. They discuss Jack Foley's pioneering work, the tools and techniques used on Foley stages, iconic examples from films like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Titanic, and Fight Club, and the heavy use of constructed audio in nature documentaries. The episode also touches on how sound departments are undervalued relative to their impact and ends with a correction about Teen Vogue's reputation for serious journalism.