Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Jason Sudeikis became a household name during his decade-long run on Saturday Night Live. Then, came his Emmy-winning turn in Ted Lasso.
On the heels of the beloved series’ Season 4 finale, we discuss this latest chapter (3:30), writing new characters (6:37), and what shaped Sudeikis’ sense of humor growing up in Kansas (9:50). Then, we talk about his years on the basketball court (12:30), lessons in show business from his uncle, George Wendt of Cheers (14:30), and how he arrived at SNL in the early 2000s (24:30).
In Act II, Sudeikis reflects on a piece of writing advice from Tina Fey (29:00), departing from the show in 2013 (45:00), and who he believes should succeed Lorne Michaels (49:00).
Finally, in Act III, we get into where Jason ends and Ted begins (1:02:24), how his personal life informed the show’s latest chapter (1:08:39), navigating public scrutiny (1:14:35), how the series helped him through difficult moments with his mental health (1:21:52), and what it meant to return to Studio 8H as an SNL host (1:30:27).
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“The Trump administration was betting that if they broke the law fast enough,” writes Michael Lewis, “the law would never catch up to them.”
On the heels of his new book, Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State, the bestselling author of Moneyball and The Big Short returns to the show. We discuss how watching Trump’s 2017 inauguration inspired The Fifth Risk, (4:30), the rise of DOGE (9:30), and Elon Musk’s mass firing of public servants (11:00). Then, Lewis unpacks the country’s growing national debt (26:00), parallels to the 2008 financial crisis (29:30), and the attack on non-partisanship in government (35:00).
On the back half, we walk through his approach to profiling people (39:39), the criticism surrounding Going Infinite and his proximity to Sam Bankman-Fried (44:10) and the controversy behind The Blind Side (53:45). To close, we talk about how he approaches difficult subjects (1:07:20), finding hope in dark times (1:13:30), and writing through grief following the loss of his daughter, Dixie (1:17:00).
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Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits, Paula) is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, alternating gracefully between the political and personal on the page for over forty years.
We sat with Allende in Los Angeles for a special evening presented by How To Academy, beginning with her upbringing in Chile (4:45), the roots of her feminism (8:45), and her early pieces as a journalist at Paula magazine (13:15). Then, Allende recalls the 1973 military coup that eventually forced her into exile in Venezuela (17:00), the making of her debut novel (20:00), and nearly losing the manuscript in the process (27:30).
On the back-half, Allende reflects on the thousands of letters she exchanged with her late mother (34:42), the loss of her daughter Paula and the book born from that grief (38:56), and the rituals that continue to shape her writing (47:00). We also talk about therapy and divorce (51:55), the questions that inspire each new book (1:05:15), finding love again at 74 (1:07:05), and the daily gratitude practice that keeps her returning to the page (1:10:30).
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Christiane Amanpour is the host of CNN's award-winning flagship global program “Amanpour,” where she’s been one of the network's most trusted voices on foreign affairs since 1983. She joins us this week from New York City amid the UN General Assembly and President Trump’s continued attacks on the press.
We begin with the White House ban (3:00), the President's challenges to the First Amendment (4:18), and the erosion of public trust in mainstream media (11:00). Then, we tell some of Christiane’s story: fleeing Iran during the Islamic revolution (23:55), her seminal reporting from the frontlines in Bosnia (31:17), and how she sees the role—and function—of journalism (33:53).
On the back-half, Amanpour reflects on navigating family and motherhood in a high-risk career (39:45), the trauma and healing that followed years of war reporting (44:00), and modeling civil dialogue on ⁠The Ex Files⁠, a podcast she co-hosts with her ex-husband, former U.S. diplomat and Assistant Secretary of State Jamie Rubin (55:38). To close, she discusses CNN’s coverage of Israel and Gaza (58:47), the “fight of her life” for free speech (1:13:32), and why, after more than four decades, she still believes in asking questions guided by facts, holding those in power to account, bearing witness—and doing a job she continues to love (1:14:00).
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For eight years, Ben Rhodes worked as a speechwriter and Deputy National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama. A decade after leaving the White House, Rhodes has become increasingly critical of the foreign policy establishment he once worked within.
We begin with his recent essay Let the Illusions Die (2:48), Trump’s war in Iran (6:35), and what Rhodes took away from the Obama administration’s wars and interventions in Afghanistan and Libya (8:47). Then, we revisit his early years writing speeches for President Obama (30:35), his work during the 2008 campaign around race and identity (31:35), and the contradictions he came to see after years of working in American foreign policy (39:00).
On the back-half, Rhodes reflects on the Biden administration’s handling of Gaza (42:30), why he stayed quiet despite believing in early 2023 that Biden should not seek reelection (49:25), and his views on the midterms and the future of the Democratic Party (55:00). To close, he reflects on witnessing the September 11th attacks as a college student in New York City—and the life as a fiction writer he left behind in their aftermath (1:11:50) writing his new book, All We Say (1:17:52), and what history teaches us about reforming systems that no longer work (1:22:07).
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