Talkhouse Podcast
Nobody's Ever Asked Me That: Nicolas Winding Refn
On the latest episode of Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That, Nick Dawson sits down with writer-director Nicolas Winding Refn, the cinematic iconoclast behind such movies as Drive and The Neon Demon, whose latest release, Her Private Hell, is in theaters now. In a fascinating and unique conversation, he touches on turning his dyslexia, color-blindness and other “untreated diagnoses” into creative advantages, his addiction to Legos, his fantasy of living in a world of only women, meeting Andy Warhol as a teenager, the importance of telling your kids that they’re geniuses, and much more.
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Other episodes of this podcast
Talkhouse Podcast
Jakob Nowell (Sublime) with Yelawolf
On this week’s short but sweet Talkhouse episode—I might even call it a mini-sode—we’ve got a couple of guys at interesting points in their interesting careers. Both have been flirtatious with the mainstream, but not exactly in it. It’s Jakob Nowell and Yelawolf. Jakob Nowell was still an infant when his dad, Bradley Nowell, died at just 28. Bradley was the frontman for the Southern California band Sublime, whose music would go on to reach a much wider audience not long after his death. The other two members of Sublime continued with a different singer, with varying degrees of success, while Jakob Nowell grew up and starting making music on his own. A couple of years back, Jakob got together with his dad’s old bandmates and reignited Sublime again—and the fact that his voice sounds remarkably like his dad’s made it a welcome transition for the band’s fans. This new Sublime recorded an album, which they say will be the band’s last, and they tour and play like crazy, including owning their own festival packed with reggae and punk-tinged fellow travelers. Those fellow travelers include the other half of today’s conversation, Yelawolf, who will play a bunch of shows with Sublime this year, including the band’s cruise in November and a big amphitheater in Alabama next week. There aren’t many musicians who can claim collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Eminem, Travis Barker, A$AP Rocky and Tech 9, but the Nashville-based rapper can. He’s been around for a long time, and has always seemed like a musical seeker. His next album, 45 , is coming out later this year, and it reportedly features no rapping at all. Check out the single “My Country” right here and see for yourself. I caught these guys on a busy day and they didn’t chat very long, but I still felt like there was enough there to share: They chat about hanging out backstage with superstars at the Aftershock Festival, about potentially collaborating in the future—they even have a dream third member of their trio in mind—and about Jakob’s emotional trips to the last venue his father ever played. Check it out. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast , and thanks to Jakob Nowell and Yelawolf for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff we’ve got going at Talkhouse.com . This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! 0:00 Intro 02:40 Start of conversation 02:48 On Sublime’s cross-genre appeal, and on Jakob joining Sublime 05:21 On Jakob visiting the last theater his dad ever played at 06:49 On Yelawolf’s current tour and experiencing different music scenes and crowds on tours 08:34 On wanting to collaborate together and mixing genres 09:35 On touring together, how they met at Aftershock, and meeting music legends at the festival 11:37 On wanting to play with Les Claypool 12:05 On their plans for the rest of 2026 and 2027, and wanting to visit each other Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network . Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Sign up for our newsletter . Follow @talkhouse on Instagram , Bluesky , Twitter (X) , Threads , Facebook , and Letterboxd .
Talkhouse Podcast
Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) with Bob Mould
On this week’s episode, we’ve got a pair of absolute legends and friends who’ve both been on the show before, but never together. It’s Ben Gibbard and Bob Mould. I’m not sure if either of these guys needs an introduction at this point, but here goes. Ben Gibbard is the singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter for the band Death Cab For Cutie, with whom he’s been making thoughtful, gorgeous, heartfelt indie-rock for nearly 30 years now. Death Cab made its way out of the underground and into the mainstream with 2003’s epic Transatlanticism , and 2003 was also the year that birthed Gibbard’s unexpectedly massive side project The Postal Service. But while those two records might get a lot of the glory, Death Cab has a deep, rich catalog that continues to grow and thrive to this day. The band’s latest album, I Built You a Tower , came out earlier this year, and it sits comfortably with their best. As you’ll hear in this chat, he’s not ashamed to play the hits while still committing himself to writing great new songs as well. Check out “Riptides” from I Built You a Tower right here . The other half of today’s conversation, Bob Mould, has clearly had an influence on Gibbard—among literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of other musicians and songwriters over the years. Mould came crashing out of the gate with his band Hüsker Dü in the late 1970s, pioneering the sort of furious yet melodic punk that would define its era and whose sound reverberates to this day. After Hüsker Dü split in the late ‘80s, Mould embarked on a more contemplative solo period—pioneering the punk-goes-acoustic thing—before, in 1992, forming a trio called Sugar with David Barbe and Malcolm Travis. Sugar was the biggest commercial success of Mould’s career, and for good reason: The band’s two albums distilled his greatest strengths. Sugar didn’t last long, but reformed just last year and have been playing triumphant gigs ever since. You can catch them on tour this year, including at Chicago’s Riot Fest. I have barely scratched the surface of Mould’s life and career, so forgive me for that. In this great conversation, these two chat about revisiting old albums and the question of “fan service,” about how they discover new music as they get older, and about how they prepare their bodies and brains for being on the road. It’s a fun chat, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Ben Gibbard and Bob Mould for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform and check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com . This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! 0:00 Intro 02:37 Start of conversation 02:53 On touring and adjusting to life at home again 06:20 On coming home to family after touring 07:10 On Death Cab’s current tour, and bus tours vs. plane tours 09:01 On Bob’s longevity as a performer, and his other career paths 11:20 On staying in shape to tour, and feeling grateful 13:19 On Bob’s energetic performances and physicality 14:23 On doing “rock moves” onstage, and injuries 17:32 On the pros and cons of discovering music through streaming, file-sharing, or physical media 22:16 On living under “an avalanche of music” and why some music does or doesn’t connect 24:01 Why less new music connects with Ben and Bob as they get older 26:32 On how musical identities, genres, and rules have changed 29:12 On finding time to listen to new music, finding new influences from different genres, and “taking inspiration from myself” 33:52 On fitting influences, inspirations, and elements together into a new song and reinterpretation 36:22 On the cons of songwriting publishing disputes and the value of intellectual property 38:08 On David Eggers, protecting art from AI, and the “alchemy and magic” of creating 39:42 On feeling satisfied by making music for yourself, and handing off demos 41:48 On why they’re driven to write songs, and “selfish” reasons to create 44:07 On reflecting on their past work, the importance of “fan service” concerts, and the cultural impact of Transatlanticism 47:57 On connecting with your past self through “album play” shows 50:11 On being the “vessel” for work that deeply connects with people over time 51:43 On Hüsker Dü, solo work, and record label experiences 54:49 On Ben’s birthday, and upcoming shows Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network . Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Sign up for our newsletter . Follow @talkhouse on Instagram , Bluesky , Twitter (X) , Threads , Facebook , and Letterboxd .
Talkhouse Podcast
Johanna Samuels with Madison Cunningham
On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a pair of fantastic music makers who also happen to be… women in music. That’s their joke, not mine—you’ll hear. It’s Johanna Samuels and Madison Cunningham. Though she’s from New York, Johanna Samuels’ music has always had West Coast vibes—it makes perfect sense that she now calls Los Angeles home. Her latest album, Sorry, Kid , just came out, and it’s got an interesting backstory: The songs were written years ago but never finished, and there were false starts making them work this time around. But she found a great collaborator in Jonathan Rado—you’ll hear her refer to “Rado” a bunch in this chat—and finally broke through to a stunning set of mellow, downcast songs. You’ll hear the influence of Aimee Mann, Tom Petty, Elliott Smith—if those are your thing, give it a close listen. The other half of today’s conversation, Madison Cunningham, plays a little bit on Samuels’ record. The two are old friends, and you may have heard Cunningham in a variety of disparate places over the years: She played with Andrew Bird, and the two covered the lone Buckingham-Nicks album together. She’s toured with big names, including Harry Styles. Her 2022 album, Revealer , won the Grammy for Best Folk Album. Cunningham’s third album, Ace , was released late last year, and it’s a winning left turn—less guitar, more piano, a little weirder than ever before. Check out the Samuels’ track “Rare,” which features some playing and singing from Cunningham. This episode was recorded with our guests in the same room, and you can hear the friendly energy these two have. They joke around about being “women in music” as well as the long road to Samuels’ album, Fiona Apple, Tom Petty, and much, much more. I hope you enjoy listening as much as they did recording. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast , and thanks to Johanna Samuels and Madison Cunningham for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the other great shows in our network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! 0:00 Intro 2:18 Start of convo 2:20 On “women having a moment” in music, and Pitchfork’s mean reviews 3:51 On their newest albums, seeing how art comes out of each others’ lives, and artistic phases 7:01 On releasing songs after the inspiring emotion has passed, mental health, and using songs to process emotions 09:22 On the joy of creation, tarot cards, and the addictive qualities of the creative process 12:17 On the recording process, and finding the sound and lyrics 13:46 On Tom Petty, finding inspiration from great songs, simple lyrics, and cover songs 17:05 On learning to write songs by dissecting other songs, inspiring each other, and deceptively simple pop songs 20:45 On the timeline of making an album, the “Sha Sha Redemption,” and the importance of fun 25:06 On humor and self-awareness in sad songs 28:09 On their “women are having a moment” joke, dealing with anger, and not wanting to be known for one emotion 29:43 On how male songwriters approach expressing emotions differently, and if being hot makes for shallower art 33:58 On being grounded, loving life, discomfort, and feeling free to make new art 37:24 On other artists’ paths and growth, and being willing to try new things Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network , and visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more. Don't miss the latest from your favorite artists: subscribe to the Talkhouse newsletter to receive weekly highlights in your inbox. Follow @talkhouse on Instagram , Bluesky , Twitter (X) , Threads , and Facebook .
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