Kyle Meredith With...

Genndy Tartakovsky has spent decades shaping the animation landscape with everything from Dexter’s Laboratory to Samurai Jack, but when he sat down with Kyle Meredith, the talk was all about his first leap into unapologetically adult animation. His new Netflix film Fixed follows a good-natured dog named Bull on the last wild night before his scheduled neutering, a premise Tartakovsky says came to him in a single lightning-strike moment. Seventeen years, multiple pitches, and one truly committed cast later, the result is a raunchy-but-heartfelt comedy that pushes cartoons beyond TV-safe snark. Listen now.As Tartakovsky explains, the road to Fixed began with a character-driven buddy movie idea loosely inspired by his childhood friends, which studio execs insisted needed a hook. “They said maybe even an adult concept,” he recalls. “And instantly I said, ‘What if they’re dogs, and one finds out he’s getting neutered in the morning?’ Everyone laughed, and that was it.”Idris Elba, voicing Rocco, got the lion’s shar

The Alien franchise has never been short on xenomorphs, but FX’s Alien: Earth proves there’s plenty more to fear than acid blood and chestbursters. In a conversation with Kyle Meredith, showrunner Noah Hawley, producer David W. Zucker, and cast members Timothy Olyphant, Sydney Chandler, Samuel Blenkin, Alex Lawther, and Babou Ceesay unpacked the series’ deeper bite: AI ethics, corporate dystopias, and what happens when humanity hardwires itself into machines. Listen to all of the conversations now.Hawley says his entry point wasn’t just the monster, but “the moment Sigourney Weaver leans back and Ian Holm is revealed to be an android,” sparking a story about “being trapped between the primordial past and an AI future you created that’s now turning on you.” Chandler adds that Alien: Earth doesn’t “feed the audience answers,” but leaves space for viewers to chew on questions long after the credits roll. And while the genre demands a little running-and-screaming, the cast was just as invested in the subtler mome

Documentarian Amy Berg has tackled powerful subjects before — from clergy abuse to the West Memphis Three — but this time, she's turned her lens on one of music’s most luminous and elusive figures: Jeff Buckley. In a conversation with Kyle Meredith, Berg opens up about It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, a documentary that traces the short, brilliant life of the Grace singer through rare archival footage, intimate interviews, and a narrative woven with personal depth. It’s a project that took over a decade to come together, and one that goes beyond the myth to reveal a complicated, driven, and beautifully human artist. Listen now.“There’s only going to be one time this is going to happen,” Berg explains, referencing the trust it took for Buckley’s mother Mary Guibert to allow the project to move forward. “I’ve wanted final cut since 2009, and she just finally felt ready.” The result is a film shaped just as much by vulnerability as by sound. Buckley’s infamous self-doubt, perfectionism, and emotional openness

Revisit the time Kyle Meredith sat down with John Flansburgh and John Linnell of They Might Be Giants on this special Rewind episode. The crew chats about the albums Nanobots and I Like Fun, digging into how the band continues to find new ways to be weird 20 albums in. Listen to their insights now.The Johns discuss the strange comfort fans find in their music during chaotic times, how short songs and dark characters let them explore new creative corners, and why they’ve never subscribed to the cliché rock lifestyle. Flansburgh shares how Jack Bruce’s homemade Mellotron choir helped shape “I Like Fun,” and both Johns reflect on writing about death, dread, and Peter Pan syndrome with equal parts humor and sincerity. Plus: opinions about James K. Polk, writing beats by email, and the eternal mystery of Louisville’s incredible junk stores.Listen to John Flansburgh and John Linnell of They Might Be Giants chat about all this and more. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get your

Luciane Buchanan joins Kyle Meredith With… to talk about her powerful role in Chief of War, the new Apple TV+ series created by and starring Jason Momoa. Set during the late 18th century, the show tells the story of the unification of the Hawaiian Islands—told through an Indigenous lens—and Buchanan plays Queen Ka'ahumanu whose political savvy and presence made the unification possible. It’s an expansive, lushly shot series about resistance, legacy, and the long shadow of colonization. Listen now.“I had no idea about Hawaiian history at all,” Buchanan admitted. “I had heard of King Kamehameha, but that was about it.” Once cast, she took a deep dive into archives and oral histories, even tracking down the Queen’s birthplace in a cave on Maui. “I just kind of let her spirit know that I might not be the right person to do so… but I wanted to honor her in the best way I could,” she said of a solo pilgrimage that turned unexpectedly spiritual. “The trees started to shake. The wind picked up. And then it all we

The wait is over, and the most chaotic family reunion of the year has arrived. Happy Gilmore 2 sees Adam Sandler reprising his legendary golf-club-swinging man-child — only this time, he's got backup. Kyle Meredith caught up with the new generation of Gilmore lunacy: Conor Sherry, Ethan Cutkosky, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, and newcomer Philip Fine Schneider, who play Happy’s four sons in a long-awaited sequel that’s more absurd, more heartwarming, and somehow even more Sandler. Listen to the episode now.“It just flowed into the movie,” said Sherry about the group’s chemistry, crediting the “banter and camaraderie” that emerged both on and off the set. “We kind of have that cartoonistic aspect,” Cutkosky added, describing the high-energy tone as something that “literally just flows through you.”Friedman—better known as All Elite Wrestling's MJF—is also a classically trained actor who saw this as a homecoming of sorts: “Being able to go back to my roots here… it was really something else.” Schneider, meanw

Kyle Newacheck sat down with Kyle Meredith to talk about the long-awaited Happy Gilmore 2, which brings Adam Sandler’s hockey-stick-wielding everyman back to the green nearly 30 years after the original. The Workaholics alum and Murder Mystery director had the unenviable task of balancing nostalgia for one of the most quoted comedies of the ’90s with a modern polish. “It’s a comedy-first movie,” Newacheck explains. “There’s no genre overlay. It’s a family, fun, heartfelt comedy.” Listen to the episode now.Newacheck calls the original Happy Gilmore “a fantastic building” and compares the sequel to being asked to construct a new wing on an iconic house. “There’s already so much love baked in,” he says, but he knew he had a winner when he read the screenplay: “You can’t improv a good story -- this script had it. It made me feel something — not just the laughs, but the heart.” He also speaks about striking the balance between the '90s and now: “We’re smoother at filmmaking, sure. But I didn’t want to lose tha

Michael Clifford is no stranger to arenas full of screaming fans as a member of 5 Seconds of Summer, but he’s now venturing into the uncharted territory of solo artistry with his debut album SIDEQUEST. The guitarist-turned-frontman caught up with Kyle Meredith to talk about how the record came to be, the joy and anxiety that came with doing it alone, and how becoming a father restructured his creative compass. Listen now.While SIDEQUEST is certainly a departure from 5SOS’s collective sound, Clifford doesn’t go full scorched earth. “My DNA is always going to be in there as this kid who grew up listening to emo,” he admits. But instead of banking on nostalgia, he chased something more elusive: the sensation of hearing something for the first time. “Watching my daughter discover things kind of unjaded me,” he says. “It made me want to inject that into my music.”That childlike unpredictability permeates SIDEQUEST, especially in songs like “Eclipse,” a chaotic but emotional finale that Clifford says is structured

On the rewind episode of Kyle Meredith With.., hear from Caroline Polachek and Alison Goldfrapp — two vocalists who could probably sing a grocery list and still make it sound like avant-garde pop bliss.Polachek, formerly of Chairlift, has turned heartbreak and hyperpop into an art form, floating somewhere between baroque synths and Enya-core. Goldfrapp, meanwhile, has spent decades wrapping disco, glam, and electroclash into one shimmering Goldfrapp package. Lately, she’s stepped out solo just to remind us she can still make the dance floor melt. Expect stories of sonic reinvention, ghostly falsettos, and why "ethereal" is sometimes just another word for unstoppable.Listen to Caroline Polachek and Alison Goldfrapp chat about all this and more. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get your podcasts, and keep up to date with all our series by following the Consequence Podcast Network.Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.comAdvertising Inquiries:

Ben Folds recently sat down with Kyle Meredith to talk about the complicated year that saw him record a stunning live album with the National Symphony Orchestra just before stepping down as Artistic Advisor for the Kennedy Center. Folds opens up about the importance of the Kennedy Center’s mission, how it connects communities beyond the stage, and why that made his exit during the Trump administration’s takeover so necessary. Listen now.Reflecting on the album, Folds calls it “an absolute honor” to record with the NSO, praising the room’s natural magic and the delicate work of mixer David Boucher. The album arrives like an act of resistance, beginning with “But Wait, There’s More,” which Folds says was born out of the absurdity of the Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference. “It felt so cynical at first, but I do still believe there’s more good than not,” he says.The conversation also dives deep into the vital role of public funding and arts institutions, and how Folds’ Kennedy Center series aimed to

For the fourth time around, Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly, Malachi Barton, and Freya Skye sat down with Kyle Meredith to sink their teeth into Zombies 4, the latest chapter of Disney’s monster-mash musical saga. This time, Zed and Addison find themselves caught in the middle of a new supernatural rivalry — Daywalkers vs. Vampires — as they play camp counselors to Seabrook’s most fang-tastic new recruits. Listen to the episode now.Both Manheim and Donnelly have leveled up as executive producers on the film, and they’re more hands-on than ever. Meanwhile, newcomers Malachi Barton and Freya Skye came prepared for the monster mayhem, with Barton embracing a different kind of bloodsucker. “The whole writing team did such an amazing job of turning vampires into this fun-loving, friendly type of monster,” he said. Meanwhile, Skye studied up on the franchise’s style: “My way of studying was just watching the movies over and over… Zombies has such a distinctive feel to it.” Off-set, the cast bonded over music, game night

Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about the band’s wildly anticipated sophomore album, moisturizer. After riding the wave of their self-titled debut — and the indie smash “Chaise Longue” — the CoSigned band doubled down on what made them so joyously chaotic in the first place. Now a five-piece, they holed up in the countryside, turned off their phones, and let their oddball impulses thrive. Listen now.“A lot of it just came out of GarageBand bedroom demos the first time,” Teasdale says, reflecting on the shift from a duo to a collaborative project. “So it was the most natural thing to write the second record together. We just wanted to shut the world out and jam — the romantic version of a band you read about in music mags.” Those late-night jam sessions were fueled by repeat viewings of Aliens, Braveheart (“six times, but never the full movie!”) and cult fave Jennifer’s Body — which even inspired a song of its own.Teasdale gets real about the lyrical layers too, exploring love f

Renée Elise Goldsberry sat down with Kyle Meredith to dive deep into her vibrant debut album, Who I Really Am. The Tony-winning powerhouse, best known for her role as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, is proving she’s just as compelling behind a mic as she is on stage. Blending pop with the theatrical soul of Broadway, she's crafted a record that defies genre while still feeling timeless. Listen now.Of course, Hamilton remains a cherished chapter. She revisited “Satisfied” for the album and recently reunited with the original cast for the Tony Awards. “We’re ridiculously silly when we’re together,” she admits. “It’s love all over the room.” Meanwhile, her other family, the Girls5eva crew, might still have more stories to tell. “I dream we’ll be back in 10 years, dressing alike, singing harmony, taking over malls that probably won’t exist,” she jokes.Listen to Renée Elise Goldsberry chat about all this and more or watch it on Youtube. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get

Lucy Dacus sits down with Kyle Meredith to discuss her latests solo record, Forever Is a Feeling. The singer-songwriter unpacks the new album’s lush poetry, the angelic iconography behind its cover, and the raw intimacy of performing in churches and museums. Listen now.Touring behind the new record (get tickets here!), Dacus found herself gravitating towards sanctuaries both literal and spiritual. “Places like that always feel super reverent whether or not you’re religious,” she says of the cathedrals and churches she’s played in. “They inspire a quietness and an introspection that I really like.” That same thoughtful hush permeates Forever is a Feeling, an album that glides between dreamlike atmospheres and confessional clarity.Of course, she didn’t go it alone. The record brings together a who’s who of kindred spirits, from Hozier to Madison Cunningham to Bartees Strange, along with her boygenius bandmates Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker (also her romantic partner), appearances that feel like a tight-knit

Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips sat down with Kyle Meredith for three conversations across a handful of years to talk about solo albums, Luna reunions, and songwriting. Sometimes, these chats even double as emotional excavation. Listen to the archived interviews now.Wareham, known for his iconic turns in Galaxie 500 and Luna, talked in 2014 about finally releasing his first solo album and what it meant to step out from the comfort of collaboration. He also chats about working with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James as producer, as well as the funny backlash from his memoir, navigating identity beyond legacy bands, and why a lyric like “what have I done with my life?” doesn’t always need a worried reading.In her own chat in 2016, Phillips walked Kyle through Luck Or Magic, a stunning debut that toggles between torch songs and simmering synth-pop, and how tracks like “Do It Last” playfully (and darkly) flip gendered expectations of obsession in love songs. She also opened up about the nerves of writing about Dean…

Alan Walker dropped in to talk with Kyle Meredith about the evolution of Walker World — a decade-long transformation that’s turned a teenage bedroom producer into a globe-touring architect of immersive EDM. With the WalkerWorld 2.0 album, the brand-new single “Me, Myself & the Night,” and a multimedia blitz that includes a mobile app and cinematic film experience, the 27-year-old artist is engineering something more expansive than just chart hits. Listen now.Written during a writing camp in the Bahamas, “Me, Myself & the Night” became a template for a new era: “It gives the core Alan Walker sound and vibe... happy, jumpy, melancholic.” As for why he’s revisiting that era: “That’s the golden era of Alan Walker... we’ve been chasing trends, but now I want to make music that sounds like me again.”The world-building doesn’t stop at the music. With WalkerWorld: The Last Ride on the horizon and a fan-centric app that bypasses traditional streaming algorithms, Walker is pioneering a kind of EDM Extended Univ

Kyle Meredith sits down with two legends, Randy Bachman and the late Gary Brooker to talk about legacy and how you live with — and sometimes rewrite — the ghosts of greatness. Listen to these archive interviews now.Hear Brooker of Procol Harum speak just before his passing about the band’s 50-year retrospective Still There’ll Be More, the timeless power of “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” and why Procol never quite fit in anyone’s box (except maybe their own). Then, it’s Randy Bachman (The Guess Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive) discussing By George, his inventive reimagining of George Harrison classics that's filled with rearranged melodies, sly tributes, and a surreal phone call from Winnipeg to Friar Park. From Lennon birthday parties in Liverpool to dodged opportunities with Clapton, it’s a masterclass in reverence and reinvention from two legends.Listen to Randy Bachman and Gary Brooker chat about all this and more. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get your podcasts, and

Zara Larsson caught up with Kyle Meredith to talk about her new album Midnight Sun, her second LP in just over a year. Powered by creative momentum and a self-described “dream team” of collaborators, Larsson is embracing a more spontaneous workflow that channels her current energy into a confident, cohesive record. Listen now.The record's namesake track, “Midnight Sun,” is a tribute to summer nights in her native Sweden, where the sun never fully sets and life feels mythically endless. “I wanted to be this little nymph that goes to the city,” she says, explaining the vibe that shaped both the sound and spirit of the album. The song itself is a swirl of joy and presence and the kind of spiritual clarity that only appears in duskless Scandinavian landscapes. It also helped unlock the album’s carefree tone: “I don’t give a fuck, but I do care a lot, and I hope and I pray and I manifest,” she says, summing up the paradox at the heart of Midnight Sun.Larsson will bring that energy to her upcoming tour with Tat

Seth MacFarlane has long lived at the intersection of irreverence and reverence. As the creator of Family Guy, he built an empire of absurdist animation, but his latest creative projects deepens his musical streak. He caught up with Kyle Meredith to talk about his new album Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements, a collection of unearthed and previously unrecorded Frank Sinatra charts. From there, the conversation swings through his revival of The Naked Gun, a reimagining of The ’Burbs, and the success of Ted’s leap to television. Listen now.When Tina Sinatra called to offer MacFarlane access to her father’s archived arrangements, he jumped at the chance to revive what had been sitting in boxes for decades. “There were a good hundred charts or so in there that Frank had never recorded,” he says, citing a Nelson Riddle arrangement of “How Did She Look” and the infamous abandoned 1958 session for “Lush Life.” MacFarlane and his team not only finished the track, but aimed to deliver each song with the fidelity

Shirley Manson has never been one to shy away from big feelings, big statements, or big synths. Speaking with Kyle Meredith, the Garbage frontwoman dives into Let All That We Imagine Be the Light, a record that flickers with vulnerability, political outrage, and, surprisingly, hope. The follow-up to 2021’s No Gods No Masters, the new LP serves as a spiritual twin — but this one stares down the chaos with resilience rather than just rage. Listen now.“I realized that if I didn’t change my tack, I was going to lose my mind,” Manson says of her shift in perspective after the last album. “I wanted to project love, even though I was feeling physically broken and emotionally spent.” That brokenness included two hip surgeries and the loss of her dog — yet she funneled it all into a more nuanced lyricism.She also reflects on her refusal to stay silent about world events, especially the humanitarian crises in Gaza and Ukraine. That same spirit fuels the band’s creativity; even with new recording methods during her reco