Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

The way Americans talk about money is changing. Economic commentator Kyla Scanlon has emerged as a fresh, influential voice in that conversation. Recently named one of TIME’s 100 Creators, her New York Times bestseller, In This Economy? How Money & Markets Really Work, has been hailed as “essential reading” by Jon Stewart. She joins us this week to offer her “boots-on-the-ground” understanding of the economy, ahead of the midterms.
We discuss the top-line concerns she’s hearing from young Americans (2:20), the affordability crisis (4:02), why a booming stock market doesn’t reflect the broader economy (6:04), President Trump’s closing message to voters ahead of Tuesday (9:34), a stagnant labor market where companies are reluctant to hire or fire (15:03), and why traditional career advice no longer applies to today’s workplace—a subject she explores on her new Vox podcast Best of Luck (16:35).
On the back-half, Scanlon reflects on her imaginative childhood in Kentucky (25:30), what she learned from working at a Hyundai dealership (32:29), and the leap of faith that brought her to Los Angeles (35:50). To close, she explains how she found her audience explaining economics on social media during the pandemic (37:35), Gen Z’s changing relationship to work (41:07), the rise of speculative investing (43:43), the economic implications of AI (53:15), and the ‘duty’ we have to hold onto to optimism (1:07:06).
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“The rules of engagement have changed already.”
Novelist Min Jin Lee (Pachinko) is a beacon of wit and wisdom. She returns to the show this week with American Hagwon, the long-awaited third installment in her Korean diaspora quartet.
We begin with the ten-year process of writing American Hagwon (3:25), the thesis guiding the novel (4:00), and her experiences with education after immigrating from South Korea to Queens, New York (8:53). Then, Lee describes her process conducting thousands of interviews for the book (14:20), her relationship to security (18:18), and the staggering effects of media on young people (21:55).
On the back-half, we talk about her years at Yale (32:58), how her legal training at Georgetown shaped her approach to fiction (44:32), and the risks of artificial intelligence (45:55). To close, Lee unpacks the dreams we defer for our families (1:10:22), her advice to “choose the important over the urgent” (1:20:07), and the premise for her next novel, Marshall Plan (1:26:30).
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Jason Sudeikis became a household name during his decade-long run on Saturday Night Live. Then, came his Emmy-winning turn in Ted Lasso.
On the heels of the beloved series’ Season 4 finale, we discuss this latest chapter (3:30), writing new characters (6:37), and what shaped Sudeikis’ sense of humor growing up in Kansas (9:50). Then, we talk about his years on the basketball court (12:30), lessons in show business from his uncle, George Wendt of Cheers (14:30), and how he arrived at SNL in the early 2000s (24:30).
In Act II, Sudeikis reflects on a piece of writing advice from Tina Fey (29:00), departing from the show in 2013 (45:00), and who he believes should succeed Lorne Michaels (49:00).
Finally, in Act III, we get into where Jason ends and Ted begins (1:02:24), how his personal life informed the show’s latest chapter (1:08:39), navigating public scrutiny (1:14:35), how the series helped him through difficult moments with his mental health (1:21:52), and what it meant to return to Studio 8H as an SNL host (1:30:27).
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“The Trump administration was betting that if they broke the law fast enough,” writes Michael Lewis, “the law would never catch up to them.”
On the heels of his new book, Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State, the bestselling author of Moneyball and The Big Short returns to the show. We discuss how watching Trump’s 2017 inauguration inspired The Fifth Risk, (4:30), the rise of DOGE (9:30), and Elon Musk’s mass firing of public servants (11:00). Then, Lewis unpacks the country’s growing national debt (26:00), parallels to the 2008 financial crisis (29:30), and the attack on non-partisanship in government (35:00).
On the back half, we walk through his approach to profiling people (39:39), the criticism surrounding Going Infinite and his proximity to Sam Bankman-Fried (44:10) and the controversy behind The Blind Side (53:45). To close, we talk about how he approaches difficult subjects (1:07:20), finding hope in dark times (1:13:30), and writing through grief following the loss of his daughter, Dixie (1:17:00).
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Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits, Paula) is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, alternating gracefully between the political and personal on the page for over forty years.
We sat with Allende in Los Angeles for a special evening presented by How To Academy, beginning with her upbringing in Chile (4:45), the roots of her feminism (8:45), and her early pieces as a journalist at Paula magazine (13:15). Then, Allende recalls the 1973 military coup that eventually forced her into exile in Venezuela (17:00), the making of her debut novel (20:00), and nearly losing the manuscript in the process (27:30).
On the back-half, Allende reflects on the thousands of letters she exchanged with her late mother (34:42), the loss of her daughter Paula and the book born from that grief (38:56), and the rituals that continue to shape her writing (47:00). We also talk about therapy and divorce (51:55), the questions that inspire each new book (1:05:15), finding love again at 74 (1:07:05), and the daily gratitude practice that keeps her returning to the page (1:10:30).
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