Since his bestselling novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous debuted in 2019, Ocean Vuong has become one of the most beloved writers of his generation. He first sat with Sam in 2021 amid the pandemic.

Today, Vuong returns to discuss the personal history within his latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness—a piece of fiction that draws from the contours of his own coming-of-age in East Hartford, Connecticut (8:00). We begin with the class dynamics at the heart of the book (16:00), the surrogate family he found working at Boston Market (24:00), and his formative college years in New York City (32:00).

On the back half, we walk through how Ocean’s work continues to honor the memory of his late mother (40:00), the devastating impact of the opioid crisis (45:00), and his own journey to sobriety (50:00). To close, Vuong reflects on the childlike wonder behind his poem “Dear Sara” from Time Is a Mother (1:00:00), why he still loves teaching creative writing (1:05:00), and how all of these experiences deliver him back to the page, each and every day (1:15:00).

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Even before Jelani Cobb became Dean of the Columbia Journalism School, he was an educator. His reportage at The New Yorker (where he’s been writing about race and politics since 2012), steeped in history. And yet not even Cobb could’ve been prepared for what he’s described as a “harrowing” year in academia.

On the heels of graduation week at Columbia, Cobb joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about the climate on campuses across the country (5:14), the Trump administration’s sustained attacks on higher education (10:26), and the “potentially unlawful” detainment of student activist Mahmoud Khalil (15:06). Then, Cobb speaks to the challenges of public trust in journalism (28:30), “the beneficial workplace” he hopes to cultivate in newsrooms (40:00), and why young journalists continue to inspire him (46:00).

On the back-half, Jelani reflects on the five years since the murder of George Floyd (51:00), the fleeting corporate activism of 2020 (59:00), the importance of understanding Civil Rights history (1:06:00), and why he’s determined to continue telling stories in “dangerous times” (1:10:00).

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

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To commemorate the release of her new, deeply personal Netflix special ‘PostMortem,’ we revisit our conversation with Sarah Silverman.

At the top, we reflect on loss (7:16), her HBO special Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love (12:35), and coming of age in the ‘80s (18:42). Then, Silverman talks about her early comedic influences (25:35), her path from SNL to Los Angeles (32:30), and the mentorship of Garry Shandling (35:10).

On the back-half, we walk through the evolution of her provocative work, from The Sarah Silverman Program (38:42) to I Love You, America (46:52), the connective tissue of The Sarah Silverman Podcast (49:12), and the legacy of her beloved, late father (51:57).

Original air date: June 18, 2023.

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.