The writer and activist has found an audience-- and faced repeated backlash-- as she's talked about what it's like to grow up big in a body-obsessed culture. Her first book, just released this week, is called "Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman."

Actor Michael McKean is probably best known for his comedy roles. He was the charmingly dumb Lenny on the hit '70s sitcom "Laverne and Shirley." And he played David St. Hubbins, lead singer of Spinal Tap... the fictional heavy-metal band he created along with Christopher Guest... as immortalized in the film "This Is Spinal Tap." But McKean's latest role is a far cry from all that. He's onstage now at L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum, in "Father Comes Home From the War." He talks about this his dark and complicated role and tells us about the time Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton had a “Spinal Tap” moment.

Dick Cavett is considered one of the greatest talk show hosts ever. From the '60s through the '80s his interviews with celebrities ranging from Gore Vidal to Jimi Hendrix were and are renowned for their humor and intelligence. The Onion AV Club said he "prove[d] good conversation makes good television." He also was a regular columnist for the New York Times and has published several books. He looks back on his part in the feud between Mary McCarthy and Lillian Hellman, what it was like to interview a reticent Beatle, and more.

Cameron Esposito been named "A Comic to Watch" by The New York Times and Jezebel, and you may, in fact, have watched her on IFC's Maron or E!'s Chelsea Lately. Her 2014 album, "Same Sex Symbol," was named "One of the Year's Best" by The A.V. Club. Now she's just released a new album, which was also filmed as a stand-up special. It's called "Marriage Material." The comedian turns her bachelor bash into a stand-up special and explains how the Supreme Court changed her sense of humor.

On stage and screen, Alan Cumming has played -- among other parts -- Dionysus, the Devil, God, a Marvel superhero, and every character in a one-man staging of "MacBeth." In recent years, he's co-hosted the Tonys, stolen scenes on "The Good Wife," written a best-selling memoir, and revived his iconic role as the master of ceremonies in the musical "Cabaret." Before taking on a few of our listeners' etiquette questions, the triple-threat reveals how he came up with the concept of his new album, "Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs."

meet the one guy on our NOTscars special who actually has been honored this week by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences: Steve Smith, a Canadian who co-created the AirWall. He explains how his cost-cutting bouncy castle has helped films like "Godzilla" and "X-Men: Apocalypse."

We get a little meta during our NOTscars show and present an award… for the best award. We scoured the world to find the most interesting ceremony and discovered The Ernie Awards, which recognizes the most sexist remarks of the year. Rico talks to Dr. Meredith Burgmann, who presides over the ceremony, about how is all began.

For our NOTscars we'd thought we'd honor one of the most watched forms of visual media in the world: airplane pre-flight safety videos! They're viewed by some 600 million people last year - yet they don't have an Oscar category. Learn all about how the wildly entertaining Virgin America safety video came to be and how the low budget helped Chu to become creatively resourceful.

Legacy and prestige are just some of the reasons awards are given out each year, but as Gallus explains, there's often a lot of backlash beyond #OscarsSoWhite.