Bullseye with Jessie Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.

It's Bullseye, I'm Jessie Thorn.

Next up this week, another fascinating New Yorker, John Wilson. Wilson is the host and

creator of a new show that just premiered on HBO a couple months ago. It's called How To

with John Wilson. It is and I don't think I'm exaggerating here, one of the best shows

to come out in the last year. And I have to say that I think it is my absolute favorite.

How To with John Wilson centers around John but you don't ever actually see him on camera.

He's behind the camera for pretty much every frame. He takes you through his apartment,

his neighborhood around New York sometimes points even further than that. Each episode

of How To focuses technically on teaching you something, how to put up scaffolding or improve

your memory or make the perfect risotto. But it is profoundly discursive. As John wanders

down a street with his camera, you see whatever catches his eye. A weird smiling security

robot at a grocery store. A guy sitting on a walk, don't walk sign. Or, you know, there's

an extended shot of Kyle McLaughlin from Twin Peaks fusing with his metro card in a subway

station. It's a really funny show. It's also funny in a very unusual way. It's beautiful

and quiet. And in between the bizarre goofy shots of New Yorkers on the street doing

wild New Yorker stuff. He also finds touching human moments. Maybe all that description

is not as clear as it could be. It's a little bit hard to describe, but I'm hoping that

you will take one thing away from all that watch How To with John Wilson. It is so good.

Anyway, let's kick off my interview with John with a clip from the show. This comes from

an episode called How To Make Small Talk. But much like in real estate, location is everything

when you're making small talk. You could pose the same question in two different environments

...