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Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie and The Microphones on his wife’s death and creating music honoring that experience

First up: Phil Elverum. He’s a recording artist and songwriter. Elverum’s career dates back over 20 years, first as the Microphones and later Mt. Eerie. He’s produced ambitious, beautiful records that mix genres like folk, noise, death metal, shoegaze and more. It sounds a little like we’re listing off different bins in a record store, but it’s really compelling stuff.

His albums have all gotten a lot of acclaim, not just because of the studio experimentation but because of the beautiful, kind of ephemeral lyrics he used to tackle big, existential questions.

On his latest record, A Crow Looked At Me, he abandons pretty much all of that. His wife, Geneviève, died of pancreatic cancer last summer.

Phil wrote and recorded the album in the room where she died, using instruments she owned. As an album it’s raw, plainly spoken and kind of therapeutic. He talks about really specific moments – trips to the hospital, getting rid of old clothes, getting her mail still.

He talks to Jesse about death and dying, and how he processed thatloss through music. Plus, for a little levity, he talks about his high stakes gambling game: Wad Lord

Phil’s new album A Crow Looked At Me is out now.

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Photo: Jesse Thorn

Werner Herzog on his new film Salt and Fire

From eating a shoe onstage to hauling a steamboat over a huge hill in the Amazon, German film director Werner Herzog is one of those public figures that has a kind of mythology to him him. But in Werner’s case, a lot of it’s true. He has had a career that spans more than 5 decades and dozens of awards, working both in documentaries and narrative films. He’s known forand. He says that although he doesn’t consider himself a workaholic, he has directed a film almost every year from the beginning of his career, with 3 being released in the last year alone.

Jesse and Werner talk about his new film starring Michael Shannon and Veronica Ferres and what it was like when he was shot during a routine interview with the BBC.

Werner’s new films Salt and Fire and Queen of the Desert is out now.

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The Outshot: Broadcast News

Jesse tells us about his why the 1987 classic dramedyis his favorite James L. Brooks film.

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