This week: Actor Harry Dean Stanton shows off his singing ... Poet Patricia Lockwood revisits childhood ... Why Lyndon Johnson fascinates us, fifty years later ... Former frontman of The Walkman on his soulful solo debut ... Baseball excellence, naturally ... The arc of history bends towards better booze ... One sleepy rabbit with a speech impediment ... An unheard of use of science to re-grow Van Gogh's severed ear ... Common takes his backpack to Def Jam ... And Lizzie and Dan Post, breaking hearts all across Vermont.

This week: Oscar nominee Steve Coogan ("Philomena," this summer's upcoming "The Trip to Italy" ) meditates on condiments and dramedies ... "The Monuments Men" star Hugh Bonneville - a.k.a. Lord Grantham on "Downton Abbey" - minds his manors ... Former "The Office" employee B.J. Novak introduces us to Wikipedia Brown, Boy Detective ... The BFFs behind Comedy Central's "Broad City" riff on funny friends who came before them ... Rico inhales $50,000 worth of fungus ... and we learn how Satchmo changed American music .... Why single men should get into yoga and puppies ... And a happy "Chinese New Year."

This week: Actor James McAvoy (of this week's new "X Men" blockbuster, and the art-house drama "Filth") flies the Scottish flag... Writer-director Jon Favreau cooks up a new film... Emma Straub on why vacation with the ‘rents isn’t all that bad... Indie pop duo Sylvan Esso score your next brat barbecue... The one time when you WANT food to stain your clothes (It's art!)... Globetrotting comedy writer Kristin Newman does etiquette, for all nations... A drink for America's first speeding ticket victim...And more.

Musician Conor Oberst gives us a topography lesson ... A new movie - and fail-safe flirting tips - from actor Griffin Dunne... 'Freakonomics' Stephen Dubner is your kryptonite .... Colson Whitehead becomes a gambling man ... Inventing the futuristic fastener Velcro ... Why bad words might be good for you ... Annabelle Gurwitch finds lust in a hopeless place ... And we inspect teff: a tiny grain with a huge upside.

This Week: Marc Maron gives etiquette AND time-travel advice... Graphic novelist Mimi Pond lists criminals, spies, and other bohemians ... "Man On Wire" tightrope-walker Philippe Petit explores creative chaos... "The Descendants" author Kaui Hart Hemmings tells a new tale... load up on Kleenex 'cause here comes SADvertising... the history of the least respected trophy in sports... and Rico tastes Soylent: the pasty beige future of food. PLUS: Our listeners sound off about mouths and sounds.

This week: Stage & screen star Kevin Spacey channels Richard III (and Bill Clinton)... Food icon Ruth Reichl has us eating her words... folk-rocker Todd Snider meets Tony Bennett in an unlikely place... UK pop duo Elephant come together to DJ a dance party... Pluto gets discovered, named, and demoted... Etiquette experts Lizzie Post and Daniel Post-Senning urge America to move to the left... Hawaii's state legislature pits ukeleles versus steel... and singer Haley Bonar does not actually Kill The Fun. Plus: Brendan drinks California's state flower.

We just released the 250th episode of our show, so we're celebrating with this bonus episode, containing a collection of party-winning jokes from our guests. These laughs (or groans) come courtesy of Jonah Hill, Carrie Brownstein, The Arctic Monkeys, Tavi Gevinson, Jim Jarmusch, Timothy Olyphant, and many more.

This week: Daniel Radcliffe wears a mask that is not for a role ... Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich tells your roommate to turn that racket down ... Elizabeth Gilbert ("Eat, Pray, Love") sets the planets spinning ... Cartoonist Jeff Smith lists favorite strips ... Visiting the Candyland of vegetables ... There is danger and allure at "The Summit" ... A famously bad sitcom is still famous ... And art students build the next Robocop

This week: Scarlett Johansson muses on ol' blue eyes and earthly aliens... Comedian Billy Eichner takes etiquette to the streets ... We catch up with 90's alt stars Slint... A baseball game everyone wanted to lose... Terrifying Easter bunnies, brought to you by UCB co-founder Matt Walsh... Uncovering Uzbek cuisine ... And, check your chins, we might be at Peak Beard.

This week: Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch sinks his teeth into a new genre, and Tom Waits metaphors... Comedy writer Carol Leifer ("Seinfeld," "SNL") kicks off her shoes... Lavender Country brought gay rights to country ... "Review" star Andy Daly reviews other reviewers ... Rock music insider Lisa Robinson shares her backstage stories (and takes credit for U2) ... The Pickle Guys don their horseradish haz-mat suits for Passover ... "Rage quitting" isn't just a meme, it's actually kind of a problem ... A new tune from tUnE-yArDs.