Photography by JENNA JONES

SAM FRAGOSO

Podcast Creator

The podcast creator’s program, "Talk Easy With Sam Fragoso," launched in 2016, is practically a rite of passage for creatives taking a sharp turn in their career (up, left, right, you name it), with past guests including Mikey Madison, Hilton Als, Sebastian Stan, and Joaquin Phoenix.

WHAT’S YOUR TRADEMARK? The follow-up question.

WHAT’S ONE BOOK, WORK OF ART, OR FILM THAT GOT YOU THROUGH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE? I moved to Los Angeles in August of 2016, right around the release of Blonde, which definitely eased my entry into this strange, unknowable, and sprawling city. Then Trump won (the first time) and the record started to feel like an elegy. I miss Frank.

“In every industry, I’d love to see more investment in artists trying to tell new stories.”

WHAT’S SOMETHING PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT YOU? That I’m actually just the adult version of Wiley Wiggins from Dazed and Confused.

NAME AN INFLUENCE OF YOURS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE PEOPLE. Michael Jordan. I grew up in Chicago playing basketball, and his obsessiveness—his drive and passion, his tunnel vision—has fundamentally shaped how I make Talk Easy.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF IN YOUR INDUSTRY? LESS OF? In every industry, I’d love to see more investment in artists trying to tell new stories about what it feels like to be living through this moment. Less straight men in front of microphones talking about how they “maximize” their days and “minimize” their pain. We’re at capacity.

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