Bullseye with Jesse Thorn Folgen

Pitcher Sean Doolittle is the closer for the Washington Nationals, and no, it's not The Closer you're thinking about. Sean's been called one of the most interesting players in baseball. He'll talk about his unorthodox path to the major leagues, starting out as a first baseman, recovering from serious injuries and then pivoting to closing out games on the mound. Sean's also known as one of the nicest guys in MLB. He's used his platform as a baseball player to raise awareness about a number of issues: He's worked with veteran groups, spoken out publicly for LGBT rights, and hosted a Thanksgiving dinner with Syrian refugees. This interview was recorded in 2017, back when Sean was at spring training with the Oakland A's.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week, we're revisiting our conversation with Emmy-award winning actress Edie Falco. She's best known for her roles in The Sopranos, Oz and Nurse Jackie. When she spoke to us in 2018, she had just starred in the movie Outside In. Edie talks to Jesse about landing her first acting gig — which she started the day after she graduated from acting school at SUNY Purchase. Plus, Edie tells us why she thinks comedy isn't for her, and what it was like to work with James Gandolfini for nearly a decade on The Sopranos.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Linda Holmes is a pop culture critic and host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. She just released her debut novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over. It's about love and loss and the choices we make that sometimes require us to start from scratch. Linda joins the show to talk about her start in writing and how the game of baseball contains a great lesson on the importance of perseverance.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy