Through the Woods with Nick Offerman

07/03/22 • 53 min

2 Listeners

This holiday weekend, we’re revisiting one of our favorite talks with actor, author, and woodworker Nick Offerman. We begin with his new book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside (5:05), which was inspired by Nick’s upbringing in rural Minooka, Illinois (6:12), the writings of poet Wendell Berry (7:30), and his experiences with the late Sam Shepard at Steppenwolf Theatre (8:08).

Shortly after working with Shepard, Offerman began to find his footing—on and off the stage—as a performer, carpenter, and fight choreographer (9:35). He reflects on his galvanizing role in the film Going All the Way (15:14), the guiding principles of George Saunders (20:00), lessons from his sensei Shōzō Satō (25:26), the start of his nearly two-decade marriage with actress Megan Mullally (26:30), the phone call that changed his life (35:50), and the complicated legacy of Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation (41:45).

Then, before we go, we return to the timely (and urgent) message of his new book (46:47), a piece by Jeff Tweedy (49:50), and words by Wendell Berry (51:58).

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Then, before we go, we return to the timely (and urgent) message of his new book (46:47), a piece by Jeff Tweedy (49:50), and words by Wendell Berry (51:58).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Previous Episode

Margo Jefferson: We Must ‘Go On’

Today, we sit with author and cultural critic Margo Jefferson. We begin with her new book, Constructing a Nervous System (6:54), an early Ella Fitzgerald memory (11:20), and the said (and unsaid) racial pedagogy of her childhood (16:24), defined by Condoleezza Rice (19:54), Bing Crosby (24:18), and a formative interaction at a high school party (27:49).

On the back-half, we walk through Margo’s entry into criticism (34:27), her role in the emerging feminist movement (36:46), and what real allyship looks like in the continued fight for reproductive rights (40:12). To close, Margo discusses her approach in the classroom at Columbia (41:52), finding ‘temperamental kinship’ in Nina Simone (48:59), Oscar Wilde on the role of the critic (53:15), and how, at 74, she continues to “go on” (1:04:50).

To learn more and find links to support abortion funds, visit https://talkeasypod.com/margo-jefferson/.

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Next Episode

Jenny Slate in 2022

Five years ago, Jenny and Sam sat for a special conversation. They promised to reconvene in 2020 (which they did). To celebrate the release of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Jenny returns for round three!

We unpack the decade-long journey to making Marcel (8:00), what the character embodied for her (11:19), creating with director Dean Fleischer-Camp (13:39), combating misogyny in Hollywood (15:16), and the painful timeliness of her 2014 film, Obvious Child (17:54).

On the back-half, we return to passages from our 2017 (29:30) and 2020 conversations (34:40), what Jenny has learned since becoming a mother (36:55), and the regenerative power of making I Want You Back (38:52). To close, Jenny shares a special poem at the heart of Marcel the Shell, written by Philip Larkin (42:27).

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Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso - Through the Woods with Nick Offerman

Transcript

Speaker 100:00:15.156

Pushkin Let's talk Easy. I'm Samforgoso. Welcome to the show. Today, we're returning to one of our favorite talks with actor, author, and woodworker Nick Offerman. Offerman and I sat down last fall around the release of his new book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play, and it's opening chapters, it charts his journey hiking through the Glacier National Park with author George Saunders and musician Jeff Tweedy of the band Will Go. At the heart o