The Naked American Songbook

What are you gonna do about Nina Simone? We're going to talk about and listen to her. Piercing vocals, pristine piano chops, and enduring activism, all lend themselves to decades upon decades of discussion. This is why we've compiled a few thoughts from our friends Zachary Quinto, Tonya Pinkins, Ari Shapiro, and Lea DeLaria, to make one Naked American Songbook style tribute to the High Priestess of Soul. As promised by host Julian Fleisher and Star Trek star Zachary Quinto, check out Nina...

You may know Ira from his touring storytelling, radio, and dance show. Or as a ringtone on the Netflix show Bojack Horseman. Or maybe you know Ira Glass from his always-chart-topping show This American Life, which has earned a shelf full of Peabodys and other awards. A few months ago, the very same public radio icon and Baltimore's own Ira Glass got naked with Naked American Songbook host Julian Fleisher. In that episode, we learned all about Ira's passion for Fiddler on the Roof, and that...

When Cole Porter first met Richard Rodgers during a slow point in his career, he confessed to the composer that he knew the key to his success on Broadway: just write "Jewish tunes." Why did WASP of WASPs Cole Porter make such a statement? Perhaps because so many successful songwriters of the Great American Songbook were members of the tribe who may or may not have been greatly influenced by the songs and melodies of their ancestors. And Cole Porter did just that. Taking the minor key like...

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star and co-creator Rachel Bloom left it all on the court during her recent TNAS episode. But there was one thing we didn't get to, and it's just too important not to share. Michael Jordan poses with a cutout of Bugs Bunny at a news conference, Tuesday, June 20, 1995 (ASSOCIATED PRESS/AP Images) In this bonus mini-episode, hear a different side of Bloom -- this is Rachel, the unofficial oral historian of the 1996 Warner Brothers triumph, Space Jam! Yes, the film...

If you are a certain age, you know that Darren Criss made his name on the hit show Glee. Or you may also know that he recently starred in American Crime Story, and the Broadway revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. And he's also the founder of a Broadway and showtune party called ElsieFest, which returns to New York in October (featuring friend of the show, Alan Cumming). Speaking of that sappy Scotsman, Cumming was also featured in our Magic of Disney Extra, in which Darren Criss admitted...

Naked American Songbook host Julian Fleisher has a painfully clear memory of his mother nagging him about her friend Shirley Glass' son. The young Glass had recently found success as a public radio host. To Julian's mother, it was simple: "Why don't you get a radio show like Shirley's son Ira?" A couple decades down the line, it's old home week here on The Naked American Songbook. That's right, public radio superstar host Ira Glass is a fellow Baltimorean, and Julian finally convinced him...

Rachel Bloom takes musical comedy seriously. A graduate of the NYU Tisch of the Arts, and an avid scifi reader, she's found a way to take music and fantasy and make comedy gold. She started hitting it big on her own YouTube channel and now is the Golden Globe-winning star of the prime-time musical comedy show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The CW show, which boldly references to Jazz, musical theater, old Hollywood, and some of the biggest names of Broadway, will launch a third season in the...

You're looking at a very special Naked American Songbook episode. Our first-ever live show was also our Lincoln Center debut (perhaps you heard the Doris Day-soaked preview). And for a special show, a special guest. Host Julian Fleisher described the singer-songwriter-producer-genius Stephin Merritt as having a unique combination: the craftsmanship of Cole Porter, the heartbreak of Roy Orbison, the polished production of Brian Wilson, the wizardly wordplay of Noël Coward, the radical...

Brad from Los Angeles sent a request to Judge Julian regarding the case of Fitzgerald v. O'Day. The brief contains each artist's definitive versions of that old American classic "Sweet Georgia Brown." The song brought two unlikely opponents to court to claim title of "Who Sung it Better!" It's quite a courtroom drama. Harold Bloom is cited. Watch each plaintiff make their case and listen as Judge Julian decides! Need more Naked American Songbook? Check out The Naked American Songbook...

Almost everyone has a favorite Disney song. There's something for everyone, it's like a proto-songbook training we unknowingly receive as babes. Is magic too strong a word to describe the glimmering nostalgia that only a Disney song can provoke? We don't think so. And neither do our Naked American guests like Glee's Darren Criss, the always-sappy Alan Cumming, and the upcoming Rachel Bloom, from the hit TV musical show, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend! We begin this Naked American EXTRA by clearing up...

If you've watched (or binged) Orange is the New Black you might know Lea DeLaria as Big Boo. But as we showed in her Naked American Songbook episode last fall, Big Boo Sings, Too. The new season has been on Netflix for days now, so if you need some more Lea, this is for you. Two years ago, Lea DeLaria released an album that taught us Bowie could be jazzy. At the very same time, Bowie was recording what would be his final album, showing us that Ziggy Stardust had a jazzy side. In this Naked...

For years, NPR's Golden Boy Ari Shapiro has been moonlighting in concert halls as a lyric baritone. The All Things Considered host became a regular guest singer for the Portland, Oregon-based group Pink Martini after a trial debut with them on stage at the Hollywood Bowl. Way back before the election, Ari joined Julian Fleisher in the Naked American studios to discuss his work with NPR, Pink Martini, and his musical convictions. In honor of the group's current summer tour, here is a little...

In between breaking down the secrets of the stars, the mysteries of the Milky Way, and all the things that come with exploring the limitless universe, your local astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson also enjoys the American Songbook. Specifically, those perfect little lyrical phrases they contain. In the episode last fall, our astrophysicist got frothy about Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jesus Christ Superstar, and My Fair Lady, among others. In this podcast extra, Neil excitedly tells host...

The Naked American Songbook went LIVE last month with singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt, member of The Gothic Archies, and the force behind The Magnetic Fields. Stephin willingly stripped down in front of a live audience at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts to talk to Julian about why he can't live without Doris Day, the effective songwriting duo of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and what he's been up to lately. Stephin's newest album for The Magnetic Fields, called 50 Song...

In the final episode of this second Naked Songbook season, Julian asks "How do you thank someone who has taken you from crayons to perfume?" As usual, the solution here is music. Join Julian as he sits with one of his idols, legendary lyricist Sheldon Harnick. What makes him a legend? Well, Harnick is one of the creators of the modern Broadway musical, for one. And at 92 years old, he's still writing music for the stage. In fact, he's got a New York premiere coming up in the spring: a...

Unless you're what they call a "millennial," Darren Criss may be a new name for you. But this excitable heart throb who made it big on the hit show Glee and starred Broadway's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, has a mature appreciation for the music. His love for the music is actually so deep that despite having a full day of rehearsals and a slight fever he came down to Naked American Headquarters to talk at length about Chet Baker, Jack Jones, and the immortal importance of the Rat Pack. In the...

Lyricist, Jewish hero and architect of modern Broadway, Sheldon Harnick, is best known for his monumental musical Fiddler on the Roof... (Lin-Manuel Miranda is a big fan). But you'll discover this NJB (Nice Jewish Boy) doesn't only write songs about the old country. In fact, he's 92 years old and still writing! A full episode is coming next month, but as a special Christmas and Channukah treat, here's a little preview of host Julian Fleisher's conversation with Naked American Songbook guest...

Before she played Celine Dion, Martha Stewart, and one of the NPR girls on Saturday Night Live, Ana Gasteyer was grooving to the Songbook in her dorm room in Evanston, IL. Yes, this classically-trained singer, violinist, and late night comedian is also a smart and sassy jazz performer. This was no surprise to intelligence at Naked American Songbook headquarters: Ana's 2014 record, I'm Hip was produced by host Julian Fleisher. And can you believe this whole Naked American mess got started...

Neil deGrasse Tyson knows a thing or two about science. But this astrophysicist is a true polymath, with knowledge reaching as far as My Fair Lady and Rocky Horror Picture Show. His passion for musical theater started when he was a young boy, attending Broadway shows with his family, and has continued into an infatuation with what Neil calls "perfect phrases." This journey has allowed him to discover profound cultural benefactors like Cole Porter, Gilbert and Sullivan, and most importantly,...

Many Orange Is the New Black fans just know her as Big Boo. But before she became known as the feisty and witty inmate, Lea DeLaria took the comedy world by storm in the late 80s. Appearing on the Arsenio Hall Show, she was the first openly gay comic on late night television in 1993. A few years later, Lea made her Broadway debut in On the Town. What we're saying is that Lea DeLaria has been around. And she knows her music. In this episode of The Naked American Songbook, Lea shows off her...