Ahead of this year’s Academy Awards, we sit with “RRR” actor Ram Charan! At the top, he reflects on his experience observing Ayyappa Deeksha (3:09 and what it meant to join forces with actor NTR Jr. (7:05) on the Oscar-nominated Indian epic (7:50), guided by the singular vision of director S.S. Rajamouli (12:18). Then, Charan shares how the viral ‘Naatu Naat ... Show More
Aug 30
The Fall Movie Preview (with Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins of ‘The Big Picture’)
With the fall movie season upon us, who better to sit with than The Big Picture co-hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins?We begin with a post-vacation check-in (2:38), the god-given gifts of Ben Affleck and Jacob Elordi (6:19), and the latest film from “influencer” Ridley Sco ... Show More
1h 58m
Aug 23
In ‘The Good Place’ with D’Arcy Carden
From “The Good Place” and “Barry” to “A League of Their Own” and “The Five-Star Weekend,” D’Arcy Carden has become one of the most recognizable and beloved performers on television.We sit to discuss her Bay Area upbringing (6:33), moving to New York to pursue acting (16:05), and ... Show More
1h 18m
Aug 16
Novelist Colson Whitehead’s New York State of Mind
Novelist Colson Whitehead is one of only a handful of writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice—first for The Underground Railroad in 2017, and again for The Nickel Boys in 2020. He joins us on the heels of his latest novel, Cool Machine, the final installment of his ac ... Show More
1h 5m
Dec 2022
Beyond Bollywood: RRR and the future of Indian film
India’s RRR, a three-hour epic that’s made 175 million dollars around the world and found a massive audience through Netflix, has just been nominated for two Golden Globes — a first for an Indian film. And with that, RRR has brought a lot of attention to Tollywood, the South Indi ... Show More
27m 42s
Jan 2023
In Conversation With S.S. Rajamouli: An Empire Podcast Interview Special
Here's another little bonus episode to get your 2023 off to a good start, listeners. S.S. Rajamouli is the brilliant director of last year's astonishing, action-packed, Indian epic RRR (now streaming on Netflix), and in this very special, spoiler-filled interview (also available ... Show More
24m 2s
Nov 2025
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson - 'The Smashing Machine' [LIVE]
In front of an audience at Chapman University, one of most bankable movie stars of all time reflects on what his experiences as a pro wrestler taught him about being an entertainer, why and how he transitioned to acting, and why, after decades of picking projects with the aim of ... Show More
1h 30m