A Podcast for the Questions Rarely Asked
When Wesley Morris, a critic at large for the Culture desk at The New York Times, was brainstorming what he wanted to do with his new podcast, he had carte blanche to invite pretty much any guest he wanted.
But he didn't just want to talk to celebrities. Mr. Morris, who has won two Pulitzer Prizes for criticism, wanted to talk to the people who write about culture and the artists who make it, whether they were his friends or colleagues, or someone else who might have interesting things to say about why a particular show, character or maker had cut through the noise.
'The thing about having critics and writers come on is that they're used to talking about art and culture,' Mr. Morris said. 'But artists would love to talk about things they're not normally asked about.'
In the new weekly conversation show he is hosting, 'Cannonball,' which debuted last month and drops new episodes on Thursdays, Mr. Morris said he seeks to explore culture 'in the broadest possible sense.'
So far, that has brought us conversations with the writer Mark Harris about the new Pee-wee Herman documentary and what it means for artists to publicly come out, and with the chef and cookbook author Samin Nosrat about her love-hate relationship with FX's restaurant industry drama 'The Bear.'
In an interview, Mr. Morris shared his favorite podcasts and his dream guest for 'Cannonball.' These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
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