Bullseye with Jesse Thorn Folgen

Keith Phipps is a writer who has worked for the AV Club and the Dissolve. He specializes mainly in pop culture, making him a natural fit for the show. Keith just wrote his first book. It's called Age of Cage: Four Decades of Hollywood Through One Singular Career. The subject of the book is the one and only Nicolas Cage. Cage is arguably one of the most enigmatic actors in recent memory. In his over forty years of acting, Cage has performed in unforgettable classics, arthouse indies, blockbuster action movies, direct-to-video horror and everything, literally every possible thing, in between. Keith Phipps joins the show to talk about his new book and how doing research for it has changed his opinion about Nicolas Cage. He also breaks down some of his favorite Nick Cage roles and shares how he makes sense of the actor's resurgent career now.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Mandy Moore first rose to stardom with her hit single Candy in 1999. It made Mandy a teen pop star, following the steps of her peers Britney Spears, N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys. But she never wanted to be just a pop star – she had dreams of performing on stage and screen and writing her own music. And for the last 20+ years, Mandy has been doing just that. She's starred in movies like Saved, The Princess Diaries and I'm Not Here. On TV she's appeared on Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs and This is Us, the smash-hit, beloved drama that just finished its 6-year run on NBC. Mandy played Rebecca Pearson on the show, a role that earned her Screen Actors Guild and People's Choice awards, along with Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Mandy is currently gearing up for her first North American tour in over a decade, in support of her new album In Real Life.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Content warning: This interview contains some explicit language and graphic, frank talk about sex that some listeners might be sensitive to. Ryan O'Connell is the creator and star of the Netflix show Special. It's a semi-autobiographical sitcom about Ryan's own life – his experience as a gay man, and coming to terms with his identity as a disabled person. Ryan has cerebral palsy. It's a congenital disorder that can affect someone's movement, muscle tone, or posture. For Ryan, that means CP mainly manifests as a limp. The show's depiction of disability is groundbreaking. It shows the intersection of disability and sexuality in a way that is rarely ever seen on screen. These days, Ryan is currently starring in the new reboot of Queer As Folk. On the latest episode, we'll revisit public radio veteran Ray Suarez in conversation with Ryan from last year.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy