The Great Creators with Guy Raz – Details, episodes & analysis

Eric Goode is a filmmaker, conservationist, and a former nightclub owner. His Netflix docuseries Tiger King, about zookeeper and convicted felon Joe Exotic, became a massive cultural phenomenon at the start of the pandemic.

In this episode, Eric joins Guy to discuss his eclectic career path - from pinning dead flies to canvas as an eccentric young artist to opening the infamous Area nightclub in 1980s New York, frequented by the likes of Andy Warhol, Jean-Michael Basquiat, and Keith Haring.

He also shares how his lifelong fascination with animals led him to conservation work and filmmaking, and behind the scenes of documenting Joe Exotic and the murder plot that unfolded while filming for Tiger King.

Watch Eric Goode’s latest documentary “Chimp Crazy” on HBO Max here: https://www.hbo.com/chimp-crazy   

Links from the Show: 

• Tiger King on Netflix
• Chimp Crazy Trailer
• Eric Goode’s Turtle Conservancy

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

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Mark Foster is the frontman for Foster the People, which rocketed to fame in 2011 on the strength of their very first single, ‘Pumped Up Kicks’. 

Mark talks about growing up as a pastor’s son in Cleveland; nearly joining the military but choosing instead to move to L.A. to pursue his music dreams; falling into addiction and getting sober; feeling afraid to perform on SNL after becoming famous overnight; and his process for getting into a flow state in the studio.

Mark also reflects on the meaning of ‘Pumped Up Kicks’, more than a decade later – and shares how current events influenced the themes on the band’s newest album, ‘Paradise State of Mind’.

Check out the new album here: https://store.fosterthepeople.com/products/paradise-state-of-mind-cd

Links from the Show: 

• Pumped Up Kicks (Official Video)
• Lost In Space (Official Video)
• Paradise State of Mind

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Phil Elverum has recorded more than 40 albums and documented decades of his life in song – first as “The Microphones” and then as “Mount Eerie”. In this episode, Phil talks with Guy about his musical beginnings playing the tuba, the 40-minute song that tells his life story, and the album he wrote about his wife's death – a project that resonated strongly with countless people experiencing grief.

Check out Phil’s latest album, Microphones in 2020, here: https://www.pwelverumandsun.com/products/microphones-in-2020-cd

Links from the Show: 

• Interview with young Phil about Nirvana
• Phil's Website
• The Glow Pt. 2
• Microphones in 2020
• Seaweed by Mount Eerie
• A Crow Looked at Me
• Geneviève Castrée: complete works

Connect with Phil:

• 💻Website: https://www.pwelverumandsun.com/

• 📺Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PWElverumandSun

• 📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flutelistener/

Connect with us:

•💻Website: TheGreatCreators.com

•📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegreatcreatorspodcast and https://www.instagram.com/guy.raz

• 🎵TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@guyraz

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

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Audra McDonald (Master Class, Ragtime, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill) has won six Tony Awards--more performance wins than any other theater actor. (She's also won two Grammys and one Emmy along the way.) Still, each new role she takes scares her. Audra tells Guy why that fear is actually essential to her work, about her never-ending quest to know her characters better, and how it felt to have her friend and mentor Stephen Sondheim publicly pan one of her shows.

Links from the show:

• Excerpts of Audra and Zoe Caldwell in Master Class 
• Audra singing "Summertime" from her role as Bess in The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess 
• Audra performing Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" from Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
• Audra performing the song "Say No to This" from Hamilton in the voice of Billie Holiday 
• Playbill pick of 13 Audra performances on the occasion of her birthday 
• 2020 New Yorker interview with Audra 
• More on Audra's forthcoming role in Ohio State Murders

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Stephen Colbert has played many roles--an officious high school teacher in Strangers with Candy, and a bumbling blowhard on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Now, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he's facing his biggest challenge: being himself. Stephen talks to Guy about working through that challenge, about the early and enduring influence Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello had on his work, and about how Stephen Colbert the man related to Stephen Colbert the blustering pundit.

Links from the show:

• The Second City improv troupe
• The Dana Carvey Show
• Dana Carvey and Stephen play clips Of "The Dana Carvey Show"
• Strangers with Candy
• Strangers with Candy clip
• President Obama on The Colbert Report
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS
• NASA's COLBERT treadmill

Full show notes:

• thegreatcreators.com/colbert

Social media:

• Instagram: @TheGreatCreatorsPodcast
• Twitter: @TGCwithGuyRaz
• Facebook: The Great Creators

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Trailer for The Great Creators with Guy Raz, which premieres September 20th.

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Michael Lewis is one of the most successful authors in recent memory. And in this episode, he dives deep into exactly how he tells unforgettable stories… from “Moneyball”, “The Big Short”, and “The Blind Side” – all adopted into feature films – to his newest bestseller, “Going Infinite” (about Sam Bankman-Fried). 

You’ll learn how to “surf the world” for ideas like Michael; how to bring stories to life; how Michael structures narratives using a notecard system; and how he blocks out distractions and conquers procrastination. Whether your goal is to become a better writer or a more persuasive communicator in general, this is an opportunity to learn from a master.

Want to go deeper? Michael has a new MasterClass on how to tell a great story. You can find it here: https://www.masterclass.com/series/tell-a-great-story

Links from the Show: 

• Liar’s Poker
• The Blind Side
• The Big Short 
• Moneyball 
• Moneyball Player Value scene
• Going Infinite 
• The Premonition
• Michael’s MasterClass: Tell a Great Story 

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Platt is an actor, singer, and songwriter who’s quickly become one of the most decorated performers of his generation. He sits down with Guy to talk about his first professional acting role at age 9, breaking out in “Pitch Perfect” and the runaway success of “Dear Evan Hansen,” finding his voice as an “authentically” queer artist, and the secret ingredient behind his success: “sacrifice”. 

Buy Ben’s new album, “Honeymind”, here: https://interscope.com/collections/ben-platt/products/honeymind-cd

Ben’s current residency at the Palace Theatre on Broadway: https://www.broadway.org/shows/details/ben-platt-live-at-the-palace,842

Links from the Show: 

• Ben performing “I’ve Got the Magic in Me” in Pitch Perfect

• Ben singing “You Will Be Found” (from “Dear Evan Hansen”) on America’s Got Talent

• “The Politician” on Netflix

• Ben’s duet with Lin-Manuel Miranda

• “Cherry on Top” Official Music video (from “Honeymind”)

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Audra McDonald to David Duchovny, Jason Sudeikis, and Tom Hanks – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Seth Meyers was a key player in creating some of the best seasons of Saturday Night Live. Now he's hosting Late Night in the very same building. In this classic episode from 2023, you’ll hear how his two-person comedy show in Chicago randomly landed him in front of just the right person to get him an audition at SNL. 

Seth also opens up about the anxiety he felt competing with his extremely funny co-stars. And he explains some of the ways he has managed to lead Late Night to new heights. 

Links from the show:

• Seth in Northwestern's improv troupe in 1992
• Seth and his brother Josh on Late Night
• Seth at the 2011 White House Correspondent's Dinner
• Seth as David Zinger
• Compilation of Seth and Stefon
• A Closer Look from Late Night
• Seth doing standup
• Seth's Instagram
• Seth's Twitter

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michael McDonald brought his legendary singing voice and songwriting talent to not one but two legendary bands: Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, the latter of which earned him a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Michael sits down with Guy to talk about writing classic songs on envelopes and forgetting about them for years; feeling self-conscious on stage as a frontman; his solo career; what he thinks of the term “yacht rock”; and how getting sober saved his life.

Michael’s memoir is called “What a Fool Believes”. You can buy it here.

Links from the show: 

• I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near) music video
• Warren G: Regulate music video
• What a Fool Believes music video
• Sweet Freedom (1986)
• Michael talking about singing on Steely Dan’s “Peg” 
• Rick Moranis SCTV sketch about Michael
• Three Michael McDonalds Sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (w/ Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake): Tonight Show
• Family Guy having fun with Michael’s famous backing vocals
• Michael’s Instagram
• Michael’s Facebook page
• Michael’s memoir, “What a Fool Believes”

See all our episodes – including conversations with Tom Hanks, Jason Sudeikis, Bjork, and many more – at TheGreatCreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.