For years, the playwright David Adjmi was considered “polarizing and difficult.” But creating "Stereophonic" seems to have healed him. Stephen Dubner gets the story — and sorts out what Adjmi has in common with Richard Wagner.
Feb 6
662. If You’re Not Cheating, You’re Not Trying
In sports, the rules are meant to be sacrosanct. But when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs, the slope is super-slippery. (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES:April Henning, associate professor of international sport management at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Sc ... Show More
52m 50s
Feb 4
Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore? (Update)
They used to be the N.F.L.’s biggest stars, with paychecks to match. Now their salaries are near the bottom, and their careers are shorter than ever. In this updated episode from 2025, we speak with an analytics guru, an agent, an economist, and some former running backs to under ... Show More
58m 19s
Aug 2025
David Mamet Exits Stage Left
David Mamet is one of the most celebrated American playwrights of the last century: Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Speed-the-Plow, American Buffalo, and Glengarry Glen Ross— which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1983 and remains timely today. Our conversation unfolds, fittingl ... Show More
1h 19m
Aug 2024
163: The Show (Boat) Must Go On: Broadway and the American Musical
“Miller, Lyles, and I were standing near the exit door . . . Blake stuck out there in front, leading the orchestra—his bald head would get the brunt of the tomatoes and rotten eggs.” This is the story of American musical theater and the dawn of modern Broadway. Popular entertainm ... Show More
59m 46s
Jul 2024
James Graham: The playwright with the Midas touch
James Graham is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter for TV and film. His plays include Ink, This House and Dear England, about the struggles and successes of England’s former football manager Gareth Southgate. His acclaimed TV dramas include Quiz and Sherwood, set in the ... Show More
1h 8m
Oct 2023
Jake Heggie's opera 'Dead Man Walking'
Synopsis
As the 20th century drew to its close, some who followed the development of opera were struck by the number of new American operas on American themes.
On today’s date in 2000, one of these new operas debuted in San Francisco. Dead Man Walking, an opera in two acts, was b ... Show More
2 m
Sep 2025
How SFMOMA Centers the Audience — Christopher Bedford
<p>Today’s conversation is with Christopher Bedford, the Helen and Charles Schwab Director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Chris is leading a bold vision to make the museum community-centered, inclusive, and reflective of San Francisco’s cultural identity. In this epis ... Show More
29m 34s
Mar 2024
Spider-Man's Surreal Adventures on Broadway
<p><em>Very Special Episodes is a new podcast hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.</em></p> <p>In 2011, after many delays, one of the most anticipated musicals in theater history finally opened on Broad ... Show More
1h 4m
May 2024
George Miller, Miranda July, Orchestral Qawwali Project
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the latest film from the writer director George Miller, 45 years after the first Mad Max film with Mel Gibson aired. He joins us to talk about where the vision for the film came from and how it's evolved, and about working with stars Anya Taylor-Joy and ... Show More
42m 22s
Le "Roi Lion", "Michael Jackson", "Hamilton", "Wicked" ou encore "Retour vers le futur"... En plein Manhattan, bat le cœur des comédies musicales depuis des dizaines d'années. Ici certaines sont à l'affiche depuis plus de 30 ans. À Broadway, les producteurs injectent des millions ... Show More