Salon Talks
45 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 5 years ago - ★★★★ - 2 ratingsThrough insightful interviews and conversations with entertainment leaders, elected officials, and experts we dive into realms of politics, culture and science.
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Episodes
45: Aaron Sorkin reads Brietbart for inspiration
July 09, 2019 16:00 - 30 minutesWhen Academy Award-winning writer Aaron Sorkin began to craft the characters in his rendition of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” for the Broadway stage, he honed in on the town’s unemployed villain, Bob Ewell, and gave him real anxieties inspired by today’s right-wing politics. “I'll tell you where I went to find Bob Ewell, Breitbart,” Sorkin tells Salon. “A lot of Bob Ewell's dialogue was written by commenters at Breitbart. I'm not joking.” Ewell is the victim of poverty, Sorkin expl...
44: "The View" alum Sherri Shepherd is done with the drama
July 02, 2019 16:00 - 18 minutesIn her new Netflix comedy show, “Mr. Iglesias,” Emmy Award winner Sherri Shepherd plays a high school principal whose efficient, professional life runs at odds with her chaotic personal one. “It’s like they took a page from my book,” Shepherd shared. “She’s been married twice, she’s been divorced twice, and she’s looking for love.” The brainchild of comedian Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, “Mr. Iglesias” is simultaneously an old school throwback to the classroom comedies of the “Welcome Back, K...
43: The role of Louie Anderson’s lifetime
June 25, 2019 16:00 - 20 minutesComedian Louie Anderson says his Emmy Award-winning turn as Christine Baskets on the FX series “Baskets” is the role he was born to play. Basing on her on his own mother, Anderson opened up to SalonTV’s Mary Elizabeth Williams on “Salon Talks” about his deeply personal connection to Christine and her evolution over the show’s four seasons. “It was very emotional to shoot this character this year,” he said. “I had a lot of gut punches emotionally. A lot of tough things, where I had to ask my...
42: Jennifer Weiner was right about sexism and women writers
June 20, 2019 16:28 - 21 minutesAuthor Jennifer Weiner has built a built a career writing the kind of female-friendly, relationship-oriented fiction that typically gets dismissed as "chick lit," with bestsellers like "Good In Bed," "In Her Shoes" and "Little Earthquakes." She's also spent nearly a decade challenging the elitism and sexism of book publishing and criticism. Her new novel, "Mrs. Everybody" is a culmination of Weiner's work as both a storyteller and a truth-teller, a sweeping multigenerational family saga ag...
41: Randall Park’s Keanu Reeves fantasy comes true
June 11, 2019 18:13 - 20 minutesWith his new Netflix film “Always Be My Maybe,” Randall Park has become a full-fledged rom-com leading man. But when he was starting out, the industry didn’t see him that way. “I came from an Asian-American studies background. I wanted to be an actor because of that,” he recalled to SalonTV’s Mary Elizabeth Williams on “Salon Talks.” “I wanted to go out there and represent. I didn’t realize how little power I’d have in that at the beginning.” Five years later, Park says, he’s at a place w...
40: How “SNL” comedian Paula Pell got her mojo back
June 06, 2019 21:23 - 22 minutesActor and former “SNL” writer Paula Pell opens up about acting with her hall of fame-worthy, real-life besties, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph in Netflix’s "Wine Country.” The women escape to Napa for a milestone 50th birthday and Pell's character, Val, a wisecracking vintage shop owner, gets in touch with her vulnerable side when she strikes up a flirtation with a younger waitress. "It's so nice in this movie, because so much of any writing with gay characters usua...
39: Stress is killing us: Dr. Sanjay Gupta diagnoses the cause—and cures
May 28, 2019 16:10 - 25 minutesCNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates the epidemic level that constant stress is having on Americans’ health today in his latest project, the HBO documentary “One Nation Under Stress,” available now. On “Salon Talks,” he shares his personal tips for controlling stress and regaining control amidst life’s unpredictable stressors. The film goes deep on why Americans are experiencing decreased life expectancy today, and how the root causes are all stress-related, self-in...
38: Emilio Estevez wants to save libraries
May 21, 2019 17:56 - 24 minutesEmilio Estevez set his latest film “The Public” in a library “to remind people just how vital and important libraries are,” he shared on “Salon Talks.” Estevez wrote, directed and stars in the film, a David and Goliath story about mental illness, homelessness and democracy. “The Public,” was shot in and around Cincinnati on a tight 22-day schedule, with its public library as the centerpiece of the film. Supported by talents like Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, Gabrielle Union, ...
37: After 30 bestsellers, Harlan Coben is still insecure
May 14, 2019 16:05 - 21 minutesNumber one NYT bestselling author Harlan Coben has sold millions of books, been translated into 43 languages, and had his works adapted into film and television shows around the world. Yet the New Jersey native, whose newest novel is the twisty thriller "Run Away," never takes success as a sure thing, he shared on “Salon Talks.” "I still get paralyzed every day when I write," he told SalonTV’s Mary Elizabeth Williams. "I've written 31 novels; you'd think I'd be past that. I get mad at mysel...
36: Chelsea Handler’s midlife crisis
May 07, 2019 16:16 - 20 minutesChelsea Handler credits President Donald Trump with triggering her “big catharsis” this past year, she explains to Salon’s D. Watkins on “Salon Talks.” Handler’s new memoir “Life Will Be the Death of Me,” her sixth book, offers both hilarious and vulnerable reflections on her Trump-activated midlife crisis. Following Trump’s inauguration, the comedian embarked on a year-old commitment to therapy. She asked herself, “What am I doing? I'm in my 40s. What is my identity? How tied to fame am I?...
35: Why this iconic role called Jeff Daniels to Broadway
April 30, 2019 16:02 - 17 minutesEmmy Award winner Jeff Daniels shares the story of how Aaron Sorkin first approached him about starring as Atticus Finch in his Broadway version of "To Kill a Mockingbird.” Daniels, along with his Broadway co-star Celia Keenan-Bolger, who plays Scout, discuss on “Salon Talks” how they prepared for their roles. Daniels also opens up about craving roles that test him emotionally. "After 'Newsroom,' I'm of the age where, if I'm not challenged, I just lose interest,” he said. “I was not going ...
34: Designer Diane von Furstenberg on honoring women who “all remind me of my mother"
April 23, 2019 16:00 - 19 minutesAfter more than four decades in the fashion industry, Diane von Furstenberg understands what she's famous for — her iconic wrap dress. "People say I made the dress," she tells Salon. "The dress really made me. It paid my bills, it took me everywhere. I learned about life and I learned about women." The legendary designer is also an author, a business leader, the official godmother of the Statue of Liberty (thanks to her work launching a new museum in her honor) and a tireless champion of o...
33: Jesse Eisenberg has a type: Liars, Wall Street jerks and "Jesse Eisenberg types"
March 20, 2019 09:30 - 23 minutesJesse Eisenberg talks to Salon about "The Hummingbird Project,” OCD, "Zombieland, and why he’s very aware that he is a Jesse Eisenberg type. The 35-year-old Oscar-nominated actor has built a career as a nervous guy with a mile-a-minute mind, whether that guy is Mark Zuckerberg or Lex Luthor. And while he tells Salon, "I think of myself as a basic, unremarkable person,” the writer and director gets deep about what he looks for a role and what he hopes his characters teach viewers about humani...
32: How John Turturro got his moves, from "Do the Right Thing" to "Gloria Bell"
March 18, 2019 20:30 - 22 minutesIn a wide-ranging interview with Salon's D. Watkins, John Turturro talks aging, dancing, acting, basketball and working with Spike Lee. Turturro admits that he’s grown tremendously as an actor over the course of his prolific career, including in his most-recent role where he plays a 50-something divorce looking for love in “Gloria Bell." When asked about his character’s ability to grow, Turturro made real-life comparisons. “People don't change, but they can grow, you can grow,” he explained...
31: Steve McQueen on casting Viola Davis in "Widows": “There's depth, there's weakness, there's vulnerability”
February 21, 2019 14:30 - 21 minutes“I'm hoping that people's popcorn gets jolted out of their hands and gets thrown in their chest.” This is director Steve McQueen’s vision for audiences of his new heist-thriller “Widows,” starring Viola Davis. The Academy Award winner appeared on “Salon Talks” to discuss his first feature film since winning the best picture Oscar for “12 Years A Slave.” McQueen, who co-wrote “Widows” with Gillian Flynn and produced on the project, calls it a “rollercoaster ride” that most audiences will nee...
30: Andrea Savage of "I'm Sorry" on creating a funny show that moms can actually relate to
February 20, 2019 14:30 - 20 minutesActress Andrea Savage was sick of the two-dimensional mom roles she was getting pitched, so she created her own show that depicts motherhood how it really is: hilarious, difficult and a little raunchy. The result, truTV’s “I'm Sorry,” now in its second season. Savage, known for earlier roles on “Veep” and “Episodes,” joined “Salon Talks,” to discuss the funny real-world challenges of balancing work and motherhood and what’s in store for “I’m Sorry” season two, which starts off with her daug...
29: Tina Brown: "If you're a woman, you have to be gold in a silver job"
February 19, 2019 16:23 - 23 minutesFormer editor of The New Yorker and Vanity Fair Tina Brown is fed up with the double standards female leaders face. During a sitdown on “Salon Talks” where she detailed her new Wondery podcast, “TBD with Tina Brown," the legendary former editor of Vanity Fair and the New York discussed her own frustrations with how her legacy has been glossed over. Plus, Brown comments on #MeToo and why it’s made women both “stalled and furious.” About “Salon Talks” Hosted by Salon journalists, “Salon Tal...
28: Killer Mike thinks Bernie Sanders can beat Trump
January 23, 2019 18:20 - 22 minutesGrammy Award-winning rapper Killer Mike joins SalonTV’s D. Watkins for an honest and lively conversation around his radical ideas for reshaping America’s perceptions on race, education and activism and his advice on the 2020 election and the current government shutdown. Killer Mike, who is also a businessman, activist and executive producer of his new Netflix series “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike,” is using his show to confront misconceptions that impact the black community. Over the co...
27: Melissa Leo on what everyone gets wrong about acting
November 20, 2018 10:00 - 19 minutesAcademy Award-winning actress Melissa Leo peeled back the layers of her acting process and how she approached films like “The Fighter,” “The Equalizer” films and “Flight” opposite Denzel Washington, plus her newest film, “Unlovable,” directed by Suzi Yoonessi and starring John Hawkes and the film’s screenwriter Charlene deGuzman. Leo also opened up about working with different types of actors and directors and how the key players inform her experiences on set. Creatively, directors like Ant...
26: A foodie's guide to Thanksgiving from NYT food editor Sam Sifton
November 16, 2018 20:47 - 22 minutesSam Sifton, the New York Times food editor and founder of NYTCooking, joins Salon to deliver his best Thanksgiving dinner tips for home cooks. Sifton’s enthusiasm for the holiday—akin to that of a war-weary career field officer—is wonderfully infectious. Sifton, also author of “Thanksgiving: How To Cook It Well,” unpacks how to prepare the bird, why he’s against turkey brining and the best way to carve the turkey. Plus, Sifton reveals his deep frying turkey disaster and why leaving the cook...
25: Director Joel Edgerton reimagines masculinity
November 12, 2018 13:20 - 22 minutesThrough his roles in movies like "Warrior," "Exodus: Gods and Kings," and "The Gift," Joel Edgerton has cultivated an image as one of the industry's most reliable tough guys. But in real life, the director, screenwriter, and costar of "Boy Erased," has developed a different idea of what true strength looks like. "I grew up in the eighties, when the bigger your muscles, the bigger a movie star you were," Egerton told Salon’s Mary Elizabeth Williams on “Salon Talks.” "One of the myths abou...
24: How Jill Soloway found their non-binary identity
November 08, 2018 21:30 - 23 minutesWhen Jill Soloway won an Emmy Award for their groundbreaking Amazon series "Transparent" two years ago, they enthusiastically encouraged the audience to "topple the patriarchy." Six weeks later, the election of Donald Trump reminded us all that the patriarchy remains still very much untoppled. In 2018, Soloway is boldly calling out inequity and challenging established norms around power and gender in Hollywood. On “Salon Talks,” Soloway shared their book "She Wants It: Desire, Power, and To...
22: Parkland student activist on why you must vote
November 05, 2018 10:00 - 19 minutesDelaney Tarr, a student journalist and graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who survived one of the most deadly school shootings in U.S. history joins “Salon Talks” to urge you to vote. Tarr explains how she and her peers mobilized and built a movement around ending gun violence and in support of gun reform, known as the March for Our Lives. “I’ve never seen a community so unified in the way that it was after the shooting. It’s not just that something horrible happened, it’s tha...
23: Director Paul Greengrass slams far-right rage
November 04, 2018 10:00 - 24 minutesPaul Greengrass, the prolific director of the films “Captain Phillips” and “United 93,” is not shy about calling out the dangers of rising populist politics in Europe and the United States. Greengrass joins “Salon Talks” to discuss his new Netflix film “22 July,” which tells the story of Norway’s most horrific terror attack that left 77 dead in 2011 at the hands of right-wing extremist Anders Breivik. When talking about the film, Greengrass denounced current right-wing extremism. The Acade...
21: Rosamund Pike’s “most exposing” role ever
November 03, 2018 12:00 - 17 minutesActress Rosamund Pike joins “Salon Talks” to discuss her role as the late, intrepid war correspondent Marie Colvin in “A Private War.” Colvin is the admired “Sunday Times” journalist who braved conflict zones to give voice to the voiceless faces of war and even lost an eye while reporting in Sri Lanka. However, Pike, who earned an Oscar nomination for her duplicitous role in David Fincher’s “Gone Girl,” insists that Colvin was more vulnerable than her fierce career leads on. “One thing I r...
20: “House of Cards” scripts terrify actor Michael Kelly
November 02, 2018 10:15 - 23 minutesMichael Kelly has been nominated for three Emmy Awards for his role as Doug Stamper on Netflix’s “House of Cards.” Kelly joins “Salon Talks” to discuss the show’s final season and why he credits Robin Wright with picking up the pieces and bringing the cast together after the firing of Kevin Spacey. “We had the hiatus when the news broke, and one of the first calls I made was to Robin [Wright]. I said, 'We can't not do this,' and she said, 'We have to.' She sounded more like Doug Stamper at ...
19: Chef Samin Nosrat will inspire you to cook tonight
October 31, 2018 20:25 - 26 minutes“Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” author and chef Samin Nosrat is trying to change the food TV show format by appealing directly to home cooks. Based of her James Beard Award-winning cookbook of the same title, Nosrat stars in the new Netflix show “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.” The chef and the series’ director, Caroline Suh, joined “Salon Talks” discuss how the show prides itself on making the basics of home cooking easy and interesting. “For me, I am very much a champion of home cooking and home cooks. T...
18: Embracing failure with comedian Chris Gethard
October 29, 2018 14:41 - 22 minutesChris Gethard is, by any metric, a success. He's had his own HBO special called "Career Suicide," he's hosted a popular TV show, and is the host of the "Beautiful/Anonymous" podcast. That's exactly why he's uniquely qualified to talk about failure. Gethard joins Mary Elizabeth Williams on “Salon Talks,” to discuss his new book “Lose Well” and why failure is "not that scary." He recalls, "I've had a lot of things work out. I've had some successes. But I promise you that underneath of all th...
17: Rupert Everett warns of a future with “Ivanka Trump put into the White House”
October 26, 2018 09:00 - 24 minutesOver his decades-long career, Rupert Everett has played his share of royalty. He's been both King Charles I and George VI; he's played the Prince of Wales and Prince Charming. But as "The Happy Prince," the English actor has created one of his most indelible and deeply personal performances yet. Covering the tumultuous last days of Oscar Wilde, "The Happy Prince" is a passion project for Everett, who also wrote and directed the film. Everett opens up on “Salon Talks” about how his vision f...
16: Maggie Gyllenhaal on the dangers of ignoring creative women
October 17, 2018 11:30 - 19 minutesMaggie Gyllenhaal, star of HBO’s “The Deuce,” joins Salon’s D. Watkins to talk about her new Netflix film “The Kindergarten Teacher,” and the common thread between many of her recent roles— “starving” women who are after something much more than the obvious paths that their lives present. “I like it when the art I make, in general, just challenges things,” Gyllenhaal said. “I like playing a kindergarten teacher that’s all f**ked up. I like playing a porn director who totally has her eye on ...
15: How Trump benefited significantly from Russia, according to Greg Miller of the Washington Post
October 09, 2018 14:22 - 26 minutesGreg Miller, a veteran national security reporter at the Washington Post and two-time Pulitzer winner (as part of a team on both occasions), is precisely the kind of mainstream journalist who believes in playing stories “down the middle” and avoiding an overtly partisan tone. He spoke with Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir about what life might be like in an alternate universe where Donald Trump had indeed pivoted to a more mainstream presidential tone, as briefly seemed possible in the immediate aft...
14: Rebecca Traister on how angry women have changed politics and will shape midterms
October 04, 2018 23:00 - 24 minutesNew York Magazine writer — and former Salon journalist — Rebecca Traister makes the case that women have used their rage to change the course of history in her new book, “Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger,” available now. Women have been told that their rage is unattractive, unhealthy, overblown, and shrill, but, Traister argues, those claims are bad faith efforts to scare women into silence. She had the privilege to marinate in women’s anger for the four months it took...
13: “Virgins, whores and mothers”: Actress Lea Thompson on how she surpassed Hollywood's expectations of her
October 02, 2018 09:00 - 24 minutesWhen she was a young actress starting out in Hollywood a famous agent assessed Lea Thompson's options for her. "She told me, 'Here's your career, Lea: Virgins, whores and mothers.'" Looking back on that moment, she told Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams on “Salon Talks” how she got the last laugh. "And then I realized why “Back to the Future” is such a great part — because I got to play a virgin, a whore and mother all in one movie." Yet in a career that's spanned over three decades, Thompson...
12: Why actor Taran Killam is not afraid to talk politics
October 01, 2018 16:45 - 17 minutesShould an actor's opinions on politics remain separate from their work? Former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Taran Killam, who played Donald Trump on the show before Alec Baldwin, explained to SalonTV why it’s often hard to balance his expression as an American citizen with his expression as an artist. The actor also opens up about his role opposite Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish in the film “Night School,” in theaters September 28, and his upcoming ABC television comedy series “Single ...
11: Books that humanize the world: How author Khaled Hosseini of "The Kite Runner" built a global fan base around refugee stories
September 27, 2018 09:00 - 20 minutesKhaled Hosseini, author of the beloved novels "Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns," which tell stories set in the country he was forced to flee 38 years ago, Afghanistan, opens up on "Salon Talks" about why refugee stories are the central focus of his writing career. Hosseini's latest project, "Sea Prayer,” an illustrated poetry book, tells one refugee’s story of displacement and serves as a window into the refugee crisis in the Middle East. Hosseini says he was motivated to write...
10: Reporter April Ryan on exposing truth in the White House: “They don't like it, but guess what? I'm not gonna stop”
September 26, 2018 15:31 - 20 minutesJournalist April Ryan has built her career reporting from the White House, where she has covered Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and now Donald Trump for over 20 years. The correspondent and Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks joined “Salon Talks” to set the record straight on her journalism career, which she says is under attack by the Trump administration. Ryan says Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Trump have changed the White House’s historic relati...
9: Civil rights leader DeRay Mckesson responds to his harshest critics
September 25, 2018 09:00 - 20 minutesActivist DeRay Mckesson played a major role in documenting the Ferguson protests and the movement birthed to hold law enforcement accountable for the victims of police violence. Even though police officer Darren Wilson was never charged for killing Michael Brown, McKesson became a leading voice of Black Lives Matter, We the People and continues to fight for justice as a lecturer, television personality and author. He joined D. Watkins for an honest conversation around his harsh critics o...
8: Why women's anger is so misunderstood, according to author Soraya Chemaly
September 24, 2018 17:12 - 23 minutesThe punishments women receive for not appearing sufficiently deferential are steep. You can be the greatest athlete in the world, but if you're female and a woman of color, you will be penalized for behavior that your male counterparts get away with. Yet activist and “Rage Becomes Her” author Soraya Chemaly has a reassuring message around anger. “There is joy and creativity and immense political power in understanding how to use it." About “Salon Talks” Hosted by Salon journalists, “Salo...
7: How author Ian McEwan turns his bestselling novels into Hollywood dramas
September 20, 2018 17:11 - 23 minutesIan McEwan isn't afraid of the dark. In his 40-year career, the English author and screenwriter behind “Atonement," "The Comfort of Strangers,” “On Chesil Beach" and several more of the modern era's most indelible and haunting works has consistently explored the boundaries of love, sex, religion, death, law and morality. His latest offering, the film adaption of "The Children Act," is no different. McEwan joined SalonTV’s Mary Elizabeth Williams on “Salon Talks” to unpack why he’s drawn to c...
6: Neil deGrasse Tyson’s existential crisis on the role science has played in advancing war
September 18, 2018 19:24 - 19 minutesIn his science education efforts on programs like “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey”, astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson has typically taken an upbeat, curiosity-driven approach to the topic of scientific discovery. But on “Salon Talks” and in his new book, “Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military,” co-authored by researcher Avis Lang, Tyson takes a darker look at the development and use of scientific knowledge. About “Salon T...
5: “Dark Money” director Kimberly Reed reveals how corrupt U.S. elections really are
August 10, 2018 21:50 - 24 minutes"Follow the money." It's a directive that gained fame during the Watergate era, but decades later, it's harder than ever to find it, let alone follow it. Director Kimberly Reed's documentary "Dark Money" feels like a political thriller, but it's a true, and chilling, look at the way ultra rich and often entirely anonymous groups are spending big bucks to influence your vote. Reed joins “Salon Talks” to discuss her film, which is an investigation into the impact of untraceable corporate money...
4: Why James Clapper thinks everyone is suspicious of the intelligence community
July 25, 2018 16:44 - 34 minutesFormer director of national intelligence James Clapper gets candid on “Salon Talks” about Trump, Snowden, distrust of the intelligence community and why he says there’s a “kind of a professional risk or hazard” that those who serve in the intelligence community have. Clapper shares with Salon’s executive editor Andrew O’Hehir why there’s often mistrust surrounding the intelligence community and an aura of mystery behind what goes on there. Listen to the full interview to hear Clapper defend ...
3: Are Trump falsehoods actually lies? Dan Abrams debates Salon
July 18, 2018 12:27 - 24 minutesAre factual inaccuracies in Trump’s speeches and tweets lies or just non-truthful statements? Is there a difference? ABC’s News chief legal correspondent Dan Abrams offers an articulate, lawyerly defense. Plus, he takes Salon back to 1859 and into a murder trial courtroom with Abraham Lincoln, nine months before he got the Republican nomination, the backdrop of Abrams’ new book “Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency.” The book tells the story of the only ...
2: How could Trump be impeached? Alan Dershowitz makes his case
July 16, 2018 18:01 - 34 minutesMost liberals completely misunderstand the complex process of impeachment. Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard Law professor emeritus and longtime liberal, outlines his case against impeaching Trump on “Salon Talks.” Despite the harsh criticism he’s received from fellow Democrats, Dershowitz explains why he’s standing up for civil liberties and the law, even if it means defending Trump, dismissing Mueller's investigation and upsetting Democratic allies. His new book, “The Case Against Impeaching Tr...
1: Joaquin Phoenix defines his acting style
July 16, 2018 10:37 - 23 minutesFor acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix, the acting process is a mystery. The three-time Oscar nominee says the idea of getting into character is something he's never quite understood. Speaking with Salon's Andrew O'Hehir about playing a traumatized veteran in writer and director Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here," Phoenix shares why making unconscious decisions on set is where he finds his characters. About “Salon Talks" Hosted by Salon journalists, “Salon Talks” episodes offer a fre...