Employee of the Month
We spend most of our time working, so what does it take to (mainly) love what you do? How do even the most gifted, talented, intelligent, ambitious, disciplined, imaginative, inventive, and lucky people develop their point of view, find meaning, serve a greater good, deal with work place politics, rejection, finances, boredom, red tape, logistics, and creative roadblocks? What are the perks or enjoyable about forging your own path? Catie Lazarus and her guests delve into beauty, banality and absurdity of work, jobs, and labor.
151
AL JAFFEE, iconic cartoonist, discusses Stan Le...
As you enjoy your Thanksgiving vacation or are traveling back from it, you will be grateful to hear from fascinating, fun, and formidably talented illustrator and writer Al Jaffee.
We met at his studio, where his MAD mind is as creative as ever, eve...
34 min
152
ANTHONY BREGMAN, Producer of Foxcatcher, on rai...
In our interview Anthony Bregman breaks down what exactly a good producer does, since everyone and their mother seems to call themselves a producer these days. Bregman is one of the rare film producers who is as dexterous at developing smart scripts as...
20 min
153
WESLEY MORRIS, Pulitzer winning film critic, on...
Wesley Morris writes about film, pop culture, sports, fashion, and politics. Currently at ESPN's Grantland, Morris previously wrote for The Boston Globe, where he received a Pulitzer for his film reviews. Wesley's love for film is palpable in...
21 min
154
BROAD CITY's ILANA GLAZER & ABBI JACOBSON talk ...
When they were in their early twenties, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson met in improv class, loathed how hard it was to get on an improv team at UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade), and started their own. In November 2009, they began writing the web series B...
26 min
155
ALEX BORSTEIN from HBO's Getting On and Lois on...
Interviewing Alex Borstein means hearing her sing live and surprising her with never released footage of her first big break on stage. (Special thanks to the Los Angeles Unified School District).
Actor and writer Alex Borstein is in the prime of her ...
23 min
156
SIMON RICH is best known for SNL and The New Yo...
Considering Simon Rich published his first two books before graduating from college, where he also served as President of The Harvard Lampoon, it's not surprising that he became the youngest writer hired by Saturday Night Live. Veteran SNL writer ...
14 min
157
Top Chef's TOM COLICCHIO on Employee of the Month
Tom Colicchio keeps adding to his impressive, albeit daunting, schedule as a father, husband, chef, restauranteur, entrepreneur, TV personality, pitchman, guitar afficianado, film producer and policy wonk. He takes all of his multi-hyphenates seriously...
35 min
158
Mad Magazine's AL JAFFEE on Employee of the Month
This October marks Al Jaffee reign as Mad Magazine’s longest running contributor, clocking in 59 years and over 479 issues. Since 1952, the comic book turned magazine infused a childish silliness with biting political depth and orignal artwork. By enga...
33 min
159
Tony winner JAMES MONROE IGLEHART on Employee o...
James Monroe Iglehart won his first Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his role of the Genie is Disney’s Aladdin. Considering Iglehart had only appeared on Broadway in Memphis and The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee, Aladdin is now permanently etched in st...
19 min
160
Singer David Berkeley on Employee of the Month
While it's easier for musicians to self produce these days, it's also easier to get lost in the shuffle of the faceless internet. Still singers, like David Berkeley, have figured out how to live the dream. Berkeley, who lives with his family...
19 min
161
JOSH CHARLES on Employee of the Month
Josh Charles’s longest day job was that of Will Gardner on The Good Wife, and he’s been nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor for his role. Even though his character was brutally murdered this past season, Josh hasn't been sitting shiva ...
23 min
162
New York Magazine's Matt Zoller Seitz on Employ...
I interviewed Matt Zoller Seitz live at Joe's Pub. You can hear our interview by clicking HERE.
Seitz is a journalist and film and television critic. He writes well, sometimes better than the actual shows and films he covers. His encyclopedic kno...
15 min
163
MARTHA PLIMPTON on Employee of the Month
Martha Plimpton is genuinely curious about others, a rare trait in actors, despite the importance of being so for their jobs. Wait an actor who isn’t narcissistic? It happens! That said, acting means many different things. Some folks are lucky enough t...
22 min
164
HBO's SHEILA NEVINS on documentary filmmaking a...
As President of HBO’s Documentary Films, Sheila Nevins has received more Emmy awards than anyone ever, across genres in entertainment. Her talent, insatiable appetite for work, and chutzpah proved instrumental in making HBO a mecca for innovative, non-...
24 min
165
RUSS & DAUGHTERS Co-Owner Josh Tupper reveals t...
On the eve of Russ & Daughters expanding their appetizing empire to include a sit down restaurant, co-owner Josh Russ Tupper talked about his beautiful, utterly original, undeniably physically taxing, and fun career path on Employee of the Month. D...
22 min
166
PAULA PELL on Employee of the Month
If Nora Ephron and Martin Short had a blond, blue eyed Southern love child, she'd be Paula Pell. A writer and performer, Paula Pell's been making you laugh for decades, and she's finally getting duly deserved public recognition.
Since ...
28 min
167
TAYLOR MAC on Employee of the Month
The Tony's rarely celebrate solo performance art, cabaret, or truly experimental, independent theater, but it's never stopped audiences from loving the artists who reinvent the wheel. Take Taylor Mac, who often goes by Judy, and has long been...
28 min
168
DAVE ATTELL on Employee of the Month
Today, you can't walk into a coffee shop without meeting some who is a comedian, and, yes, I am including the barista who messed up your order. But there are fewer folks who earn their living as stand up comedians for decades on end. I am not insi...
38 min
169
ROSIE PEREZ on Employee of the Month
Rosie Perez has had nine lives. As a choreographer, she redefined television's variety shows by seamlessly weaving the fabulous Fly Girls into In Living Color's vibrant fabric. Perez's fun, bold numbers brought an elegance to a hilarious...
27 min
170
CONGRESSMAN BARNEY FRANK may be retired, but he...
What do Bono and Nancy Pelosi have in common? They both gave Barney Frank memorable wedding gifts. Considering Frank was the first gay Congressman to marry his partner while in office, Bono and Pelosi were probably thrilled to make the cut for the gues...
31 min
171
WALLACE SHAWN on Employee of the Month
It's conceivable that Wally Shawn's fans enjoy his serious plays, such as Grasses of a Thousand Colors and The Fever, as much as his comedic turns in films like Pixar's Toy and The Princess Bride. Of course, there may be some folks who ...
37 min
172
ADIRA AMRAM on Employee of the Month
Mother's Day is coming up and I can't help thinking of how perfectly Adira Amram's MOM SONG music video captures an ideal mother-daughter relationship while simultaneously tweaking our culture's expectation that mothers and daughter...
31 min
173
JILL ABRAMSON's last interview before leaving T...
If you work at The New York Times, your boss is a bad ass. Whether she's more of a bad ass than you are depends on whether you....
1) Decorated your body with 5 or more tats.
2) Took 14 Senators to task.
3) Sustained injuries in both urban and n...
29 min
174
Modern Loss's REBECCA SOFFER on Employee of the...
Rebecca Soffer's passion is palpable, be it for Latin culture, community building, Olympic level table tennis, or pop culture. In a world which often rewards narrowly focused expertise, Soffer found the best way to quench her diverse interests wa...
44 min
175
Animator/Who Wants to Be A Millionaire Contesta...
For years, animator Scott Bateman was best known for his left leaning political cartoons and animations featured on Salon and The Daily Kos. Frustrated by the state of politics, not to mention journalism, Bateman invented Disalmanac, that now spans a b...
27 min