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WNYC Studios’ “Death, Sex & Money” Launches Special Series With Celebrity Hosts

WNYC Studios’ “Death, Sex & Money” Launches  Special Series With Celebrity Hosts

Guest Hosts Include MAHERSHALA ALI, LISA LING, JASON ISBELL, ELLEN BURSTYN, TAYARI JONES, JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL, and Others 

Series Begins on Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Audio Trailer Available Now: deathsexmoney.org/lineup

(New York, NY – April 8, 2019)—Death, Sex & Money, WNYC Studios’ podcast about life’s most difficult topics, today announced “The 2019 Maternity Leave Lineup,” a special series featuring notable guest hosts in conversation with interviewees of their choosing. The invited hosts—who include iconic entertainers, bestselling authors, and award-winning reporters, some of whom have previously been guests on the show—are getting behind the mic while host and creator Anna Sale is on maternity leave.

The series debuts on April 10, with trailblazing journalist Lisa Ling interviewing actress and rapper Awkwafina, who recently starred in films such as Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8. The pair discuss how Awkwafina processed her mom’s death at a young age, why she’s turned down high-paying commercial gigs, and her experience finding “unconditional love” in her most recent romantic relationship.

On April 17, John Cameron Mitchell—the screen and stage actor currently starring in the critically-acclaimed series Shrill—interviews cabaret legend Marilyn Maye, who appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson a record 76 times. Among other topics, the two talk about loving and leaving alcoholic partners and planning how they want to spend their final days. On April 24, essayist and Very Smart Brothas Editor-in-Chief Damon Young will interview Kiese Laymon, author of Kirkus Prize finalist Heavy: An American Memoir, for a conversation about body image, masculinity, money anxieties, and what one can learn on and off the basketball court.

Released on Wednesdays, new episodes will also include:

  • Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali (Moonlight; True Detective) interviewing Rafael Casal, co-writer and producer of the 2018 film Blindspotting;

  • Sociologist and public intellectual Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom interviewing Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central;

  • Grammy Award-winning musician Jason Isbell interviewing GQ Magazine Editor-In-Chief Will Welch;

  • Bestselling novelist Tayari Jones (An American Marriage) interviewing artist and photographer Carrie Mae Weems;

  • The Center for Investigative Reporting and Reveal’s Al Letson interviewing MacArthur Genius and New York Times Magazine investigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones;

  • 2018 National Book Award finalist Sarah Smarsh—author of Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth—interviewing her father, Nick Smarsh; and

  • Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn (The Exorcist; Requiem for a Dream), who will return as a guest host to interview a special guest TBA.

“Death, Sex & Money has always been about talking together about life’s most important, but sometimes uncomfortable, topics,” said Sale. “One of the best parts of making it has been hearing how the show inspires listeners to talk more honestly to people that they care about and admire. So I’m thrilled to be able to listen along as these wonderful guest hosts and guests have the kind of frank conversation our show is known for. It’s a joy to share our platform as a place for these conversations to unfold. It’s one more way maternity leave rules!”

For more information about Death, Sex & Money, visit deathsexmoney.org. All episodes can be found on Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and where podcasts are available.  

ABOUT WNYC STUDIOS

WNYC Studios is the premier producer of on-demand and broadcast audio, home to some of the most critically acclaimed and popular podcasts of the last decade, including Radiolab, On The Media, Nancy, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Death, Sex & Money, Snap Judgment, Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin, and 2 Dope Queens. WNYC Studios is leading the new golden age in audio with podcasts and national radio programs that inform, inspire, and delight millions of intellectually curious and highly engaged listeners across digital, mobile, and broadcast platforms. Their programs include personal narratives, deep journalism, interviews that reveal, and smart entertainment as varied and intimate as the human voice itself. For more information, visit wnycstudios.org.