Employee Of The Month

William Shakespeare shed light on humans’ hypocrisy, absurdity, and complexity with unparalleled acuity. It’s obvious why Keegan-Michael Key, who with his gifted partner-in-crime Jordan Peele, chartered new waters with their hilariously subversive sketch comedy series Key & Peele, has always felt an affinity for the bard. But it is a dream come true, one he'd spoken of for decades, for the Emmy and Peabody winning actor to be in Hamlet at The Public Theater in New York. Directed by Tony winner Sam Gold and starring Oscar Isaac as Hamlet, the three month run sold out as soon as tickets went on sale. In our Employee of the Month interview, we spoke about Keegan’s two-decade detour in comedy, his first film Hamtramck, improvising with President Barack Obama for The White House Correspondents Dinner, and how comedian Mike Birbiglia’s indie Don’t Think Twice proved the perfect segue for extending his already rich repertoire to more dramatic roles. Did I mention Keegan-Michael Key can sing? Oh, you’ll here him....

This week on Employee of the Month, I spoke between songs with indie darling Adrianne Lenker. In our interview, which was recorded live at Joe's Pub, the singer, guitarist and front woman of Big Thief performed the heralded Masterpiece and a new surprise from their second album Capacity. She also spoke about her early forays performing at open mic nights in Minnesota as a kid and the craft of storytelling. In addition to Lenker, Big Thief features her longtime partner Buck Meek (guitar) as well as Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums). On June 9th, their second album will be out on Saddle Creek. ------This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte.com

Priya Natarajan, a world-renowned theoretical astrophysicist, is making dark matter maps of clusters of galaxies, the largest known repositories of dark matter in the universe. Her accessible, fascinating book Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos (Yale University Press) chronicles her journey, as well as that of the field of astrophysics which has undergone astronomical changes in recent years. In our interview, which was recorded live at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Natarajan revealed what it’s like to be an outsider in academia, and what it meant to her to watch Carl Sagan as a child, growing up in India. Find out more at http://employeeofthemonthshow.com -----This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte

John Roberts is a musician and comedian, who got his start when his hilarious Youtube videos inspired by his own mother went viral. He perfectly captured the spirit of his Italian, suburban, Catholic, New Jersey mom. His career as a comedian took off and he has toured doing comedy with Margaret Cho and gained national fame as the voice of Linda Belcher on Fox's hit animated series Bob's Burgers. Roberts, who is also a musician, also performs with Blondie, Gregory Brothers and as a solo act. At the end of our delightful interview, Roberts was joined by Alex Borstein, an Employee of the Month Alum who plays Lois on Family Guy to gives real quotes by President Donald Trump the gravitas they deserve.Our episode was recorded live at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater. www.employeeofthemonthshow.com or @catielazarus and @johnrobertsfun This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte.com

RACHEL FEINSTEIN is best known for her stand up, and we spoke about how she started acting, be it in her roommate's INSIDE AMY SCHUMER on Comedy Central, RED OAKS on AMAZON or Judd Apatow and Pete Homes new HBO series, CRASHING. We spoke about how she embodies characters, living with comedians, like Amy Schumer and Sherrod Small, and the myth that all comedians are broken. Her own comedy special ONLY WHORES WEAR PURPLE is out and she performs stand-up all over the world. Catch her @rachelfeinstein and for more, on Employee of the Month Show, go to @catielazarus and www.employeeofthemonthshow.com ----------This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte.com

"Don't ask for instructions " Cecile Richards, who serves as President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, explains what it takes to be a labor. She has been involved in helping women fight for basic healthcare and economic equality since she was only a teenager in Texas. Before 2006, Ms. Richards served as deputy chief of staff for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, founded the NGO America Votes, and began her career organizing low-wage workers. For more @catielazarus http://employeeofthemonthshow.com and http://plannedparenthood.org This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte.com

In a city overpopulated with ambitious, brilliant misfits, Oskar Eustis holds his own. The Artistic Director of the legendary Public Theater is somehow directing Julius Caesar with a star-studded cast including Oscar Isaac and Keegan-Michael Key for Shakespeare in the Park, while teaching at NYU, developing new works as far as Hong Kong, and as far, at least politically, as rural and Midwest, Trump voting counties go, while overseeing the mothership with a 120-person staff and at least 4 productions seven nights a week, not including the multiple writing and outreach programs, and stages, including Joe’s Pub. Eustis is an exceptional leader. Eustis is even training and nurtures potential successors. We spoke about how the Public became a global brand, his mission to make theater free and accessible, leadership, and what the windfall from Fun Home and Hamilton’s success on Broadway offers. This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte.com

After winning a Grammy with Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy and Peace), the inaugural Edinburgh Fringe Cabaret Award and the London Cabaret Award for best vocal act, Lady Rizo is touring with a whole new album Indigo. In 2004, her cabaret act was born. We spoke about her time before then from Princess Cruiselines, finding her own voice after flirting with the improv scene at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and loves, old and new. Our interview was recorded live at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater. You can check her out at www.ladyrizo.com and www.employeeofthemonthshow.com This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte.com

John Benjamin Hickey, who won a Tony for his role in “The Normal Heart,” isn't a stranger to the grueling schedule of theater. He started hosting his own radio show on Sirius. But the Julliard-trained thespian was itching to be on Broadway, and is enjoying being in the revival of John Guare’s 1990 Tony- and Pulitzer-nominated play, “Six Degrees of Separation.” For starters, it means being reunited with Allison Janney. We spoke about contrived intimacy, dating within your profession, and why Six Degrees of Separation is sadly still timely. Find out more and purchase tickets to the live show at http://employeeofthemonthshow.com This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte.com

While Steve Martin and Ricky Gervais dove into stand-up after they’d made a name for themselves and enough money for their great-great grandchildren’s grandchildren to never need to work, Judy Gold got her start in stand-up. It wasn’t easy to miss the 6’3, religious Jewish lesbian on the line-up, but it was her fearlessness and hilarity which won crowds over. She made a name for herself in theater, starting with her two one-woman shows 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother and The Judy Show, but she has more recently appeared in Shakespeare in the Park. We spoke about why she takes acting classes and her first job on Roseanne to Louie. When not performing stand-up or acting, Gold is also an Emmy Award-winning TV writer and producer and hosts her own podcast KILL ME NOW. Find out more at http://employeeofthemonthshow.com This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte.com

I selfishly don't want Zadie Smith to quit her day job, but the famed novelist could easily moonlight as a singer. The author of the critically acclaimed, best-selling novels White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW, and, most recently, Swing Time shared her insight on plagiarism, plots, outlines, and publishing. A regular contributor to The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books, she has written about everything from Brexit to Key & Peele to her late father. She once flirted with being a cabaret singer, and once you hear our interview, which was recorded live at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, you'll know why. It was a pleasure and privilege to speak with Zadie about publishing, awards, critics, and to hear her and Lady Rizo sing "Lady and the Tramp."

Do The Yes Men know how to beat Trump at his own game? The media savvy duo Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos gained fame in 1990’s for their lefty political pranks, which led to multiple documentaries, cult following of like-minded activists, and, most important, corporations taking notice. They exposed Dow Chemical for failing to compensate thousands of victims of their oil spill in Bhopal, India. More recently, The Yes Men created a parody NRA website offering to deliver “life-saving firearms” to “poor urban centers,” which led the NRA to shut down 38,000 affiliate websites. We spoke about exercising our democratic rights to resist, stand up, and survive. Our interview was recorded live at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater. Our next live taping is Thursday, March 16th at 9:30. Find out more at @catielazarus and www.employeeofthemonthshow.com

To celebrate International Women's Day, check out Emel Mathlouthi, who has been called the "Voice of the Arab Spring." After her song went viral during the Arab Spring in Egypt, she performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2015. While the Tunisian singer lives in exile in New York, Emel is currently on a world tour with her latest album Ensen. Hear a song from her new album, which she recorded live at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater on Employee of the Month and check out our earlier interview when Emel first arrived. Our next live taping is Thursday, March 16th with an all female line-up of powerhouses- Zadie Smith, Lady Rizo, and Judy Gold. Enjoy. Hope her voice inspires you to use your own. www.employeeofthemonthshow.com

A gifted character actor, Sarah Jones could be on SNL. Instead, chose to take her brilliantly funny embodiments of humans you know, maybe even you, to tackle poverty, prostitution, and now, "pussy grabbing." She reveals what it was like to work with Meryl Streep on Jones's Tony and Obie Award-winning show Bridge and Tunnel. Her latest show Sell/Buy/Date is a must see. We also spoke about Meryl Streep, Gil Scott-Heron, and Alan Alda, who I interviewed at the same live taping, so check out that Employee of the Month interview as well. Our next live taping is Thursday, March 16th if you are in New York, come! www.employeeofthemonthshow.com @CatieLazarus

Alan Alda insists, "Empathy can be taught," It is comforting to hear, although hard to imagine how a certain orange hued politician might learn how to empathize with, or, at least, respect immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, or anyone who isn't him. Wait, do I mean Alan Alda the actor? Yup. Best known for starring in M*A*S*H, as well as stealing scenes in Crimes and Misdemeanors, West Wing, 30 Rock, and Horace and Pete, Alda is also a science geek. He teamed up with Stony Brook University to create the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, where he teaches. Alda shares what he learned working with doctors and scientists, which he also wrote about in his forthcoming book 'IF I UNDERSTOOD YOU, WOULD I HAVE THIS LOOK ON MY FACE?' We also chatted about his work with comedians Louie C.K., Woody Allen, Stephen Wright, and death. If you see Alan Alda, please tell him my dog is alive and well.

One of the finest, funniest storytellers Leslie Goshko shared tales you have never heard before but will leave you laughing from crying or crying from laughing so hard. While New York claims her as a go to favorite scene stealer, be it as an actor, musician, cabaret star, storyteller or writer, she hails from the Midwest and maintains their renowned humility. In a business which offend rewards far less fascinating, fearless folks, Leslie Goshko is a must see. Really? Listen to our interview, and you tell me.

SUAD AMIRY is an architect and e founder of RIWAQ: Center of Architectural Conservation in Ramallah, Palestine. While spending 42 days under siege with her mother-in-law in Ramallah in 2002, Amiry started writing e-mails to a friend, who recommend she turn her adventures it into a book. The result was her debut memoir “Sharon and My Mother-in-Law,” which became critically acclaimed, translated in nineteen languages, and was released by Random House in 2006. She has continued to write about Palestinian life under occupation, including, “Nothing to Lose But Your Life" and "Gold Slept Here." We spoke about why architects are often dyslexics, part-time husbands are the best, Palestinians are never heard, and why mothers-in-law and dogs unite us all.

In this follow up interview, Hamilton Mixtape's Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Roots to Tribe Called Quest's go-to DJ and mixtape producer J. Period explains what exactly a DJ does, what sets him apart, and why Dj Jazzy Jeff really is a prince. He also reveals how, after working with Norman Lear, he got tapped to do music for the series America Divided. Most recently, J. Period teamed up with Jesse Williams, a former teacher, and heartthrob on Grey's Anatomy who blew away audiences with his socially astute and galvanizing speech at the BET Awards. Williams and J. Period are releasing Rise Up!, offering musical inspiration that is necessary now more than ever.

Hailed as a “music guru” by Rolling Stone and Questlove to Tribe Called Quest’s go to DJ and producer, J.PERIOD pioneered a way to tell stories through music and distill, celebrate and contextualize legendary musicians. The result is that the very musicians he creates a mixtape of seek out his lens on their own work. Theoretically, a baby can theoretically DJ, at least, that is what cloyingly obnoxious, upscale Tribeca DJ school claims, but J. Period took the craft to a form a high art. Having worked with Grammy legends, such as Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill, Common and The Roots, J. Period recently went mainstream producing, alongside Questlove and Pulitzer and Tony winning genius Lin-Manuel Miranda the album HAMILTON MIXTAPES. It is the number one album and J. Period oversaw the production and arrangement. He also has developed, written, and produced over 50 mixtapes and his own album, celebrating ten years as an international DJ, comes out in 2017. Our interview was recorded live at Joe’s Pub...

If you went to a career counselor, they might claim comedy is a dreamy career. It is. It is also a hard one. But on paper, comedy sounds fun! But it is notoriously competitive, and great comics from Louis CK to Seinfeld will say it takes years to truly find one's voice. So how do you earn enough to survive to even figure out whether a career is possible? How do you break into a world that is overwhelmingly white, hetero and male? The comedy world has rapidly been evolving over the past decade, so I wanted to hear from a comedian who is riding that wave and a trailblazer herself. Comedian Phoebe Robinson spoke about how she stuck with it, even when she thought she should quit and her massive career break. Robinson is best known for co-hosting with The Daily Show Correspondent Jessica William's 2 Dope Queens on New York public radio station's WNYC. We spoke about timing, as public radio wasn't known for being a hotbed for comedy or having an inclusive range in their roster of hosts, despite their best...