World Model · podcast knowledge graph

Danny McBride’s Delusions of Grandeur

2026-07-05 · 72 min · 10 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

  • → hosted by Higher Ground person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Higher Ground
  • → hosted by Karoline Ribak person
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    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Karoline Ribak
  • → discusses Society & Culture concept
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    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Society & Culture
  • → discusses TV & Film concept
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    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: TV & Film
  • → discusses Film Interviews concept
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    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Film Interviews

Entities found in this episode

concepts 6

  • mentioned Society & Culture concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Society & Culture
  • mentioned TV & Film concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: TV & Film
  • mentioned Film Interviews concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Film Interviews
  • discusses Society & Culture concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Society & Culture
  • discusses TV & Film concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: TV & Film
  • discusses Film Interviews concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Film Interviews

persons 4

  • mentioned Higher Ground person
    0.70
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Higher Ground
  • mentioned Karoline Ribak person
    0.70
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Karoline Ribak
  • hosted by Higher Ground person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Higher Ground
  • hosted by Karoline Ribak person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Karoline Ribak
Episode description as stored
From Kenny Powers (“Eastbound & Down”) to Jesse Gemstone (“The Righteous Gemstones”), Danny McBride has created some of the most vain, quintessentially American portraits of male dysfunction in recent memory. His debut short-story collection, Thrilling Tales of Modern Men , is an ode to the overconfident yet woefully insecure characters that have defined his work for the past two decades. We begin with the origins of Danny’s new book (3:38), his mother’s church puppet shows that first inspired him to write (11:00), and a formative movie theater memory that (may or may not have) foreshadowed his parents’ divorce (16:00). Then, we walk through the lifelong creative partnerships he formed at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (20:00), the odd jobs he held before breaking through in Hollywood (25:00), and the substitute teaching stint that inspired Eastbound & Down (35:00). On the back-half, McBride reflects on making The Foot Fist Way (38:00), Tropic Thunder (44:10), This Is the End (45:38), and the cult classic Your Highness (50:00). We also discuss the significance of Kenny Powers in the Trump era (1:02:00), returning to Charleston (1:05:00), the impact of Danny’s late friend and collaborator Ben Best (1:02:00) and his vision for the post- Gemstones chapter ahead (1:10:00). Subscribe to our YouTube channel . As always, our email: talkeasypod@gmail.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .