Best Of: 'Hysterical' Podcaster / 'Seinfeld' Writer

Fresh Air

NPR

Tv & Film, Arts, Society & Culture, Books

4.4 • 34.4K Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happens when a former federal government employee turns his lens on the psychology of panic? You get Hysterical, a podcast series from Dan Taberski. In it, Taberski investigates a mysterious illness that swept through a group of high school students in upstate New York. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his award-winning podcast.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends some mystery and suspense novels for your summer reading list.

Also, we'll hear from Larry Charles who has been a writer, director and/or executive producer on a number of culturally impactful TV shows and films including Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, and Borat. He spoke with Terry Gross about his new memoir.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message is brought to you by the Happiness Lab. How do you cope with life's ups and downs? In her
0:06.2	podcast, Yale professor Dr. Lori Santos explores how people turn to things like music, nature, and
0:12.1	hobbies to cope when life gets hard. Listen to the Happiness Lab wherever you get podcasts.
0:18.3	From W.HYY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Tanya Mosley. Today, what happens when a former federal government employee turns his lens on the psychology of panic? You get hysterical, a podcast series from Dan Tibersky, winner of both the Apple and Ambie Award for Podcast of the Year.
0:38.4	In hysterical, Tibersky investigates a mysterious illness that swept through a group of high school students in upstate New York.
0:46.0	It began with one girl who woke up from a nap and suddenly couldn't stop stuttering.
0:51.8	Also, we'll hear from Larry Charles, who has been a writer, director,
0:56.4	an executive producer on a number of culturally impactful TV shows and films like Seinfeld,
1:02.2	curb your enthusiasm, entourage, and Borat. And book critic Marine Corrigan
1:07.4	recommend some mystery and suspense novels for your summer reading list.
1:13.0	That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.
1:18.0	But I thought, wow, this guy goes to work and he does Donald Duck.
1:22.2	I'm Jesse Thorne, on Bullseye, the one and only Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker from Star Wars.
1:27.2	On his life's greatest aspiration, doing silly cartoon voices in the moment that he realized his dream.
1:33.3	I did a terrible Donald Duck, but it made me think that's what I want to do.
1:36.8	I want to do cartoon voices.
1:38.7	That's on Bullseye for Maximumfund.org and NPR.
1:42.0	The best kind of celebrity interview is one where you find out that the person who made a thing you love also thinks in a way that you love.
1:52.0	Nothing is more foreign than when Ariel says in The Little Mermaid, I want to be where the people are.
1:58.0	I don't want to be where the people are. I just don't. I'm Rachel Martin. Listen to the
2:03.3	Wild Card podcast, only from NPR. It is so hot outside. Why not chill out with a nice, breezy book?
2:10.7	Over on NPR's Book of the Day podcast, we're doing a whole week of summer reads, novels about romance and
	...

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