Broadway star Audra McDonald is about to launch a national tour; here's how not to decorate for her welcome party ... Thomas Jefferson (well, scholar and radio host Clay Jenkinson channeling Thomas Jefferson) expounds on patriotic decorum ... Get ready, people, for a playlist from indie-supergroup People Get Ready ... A scoop of new Spoon ... Blankets that broadcast your mood to fellow flyers ... One man's violent vendetta against disco ... The national pride of eating sheep innards stuffed in a stomach and stabbed with a knife ... Reuniting a musician with his only recording ... And avoiding scams with Priceonomics.

Our youngest-ever Guest of Honor, Elle Fanning, isn't taking this acting thing too seriously ... Author Gary Shteyngart is only a little failure ... Ruben Östlund has made a film that may increase Sweden's divorce rate ... One bubbly coffee entrepreneur explains his innovation ... Michelangelo really, really, did not want to paint that ceiling ... Dan Pashman of The Sporkful builds a bacon tower ... Spooky new music from King Tuff ... And experiencing a horrifying, immersive, nightmare scenario from which you cannot hide - for fun!

Actor Jason Schwartzman – star of the new film "Listen Up Philip" – pits his ego against Brendan's... A soundtrack from Weezer's Rivers Cuomo inspires hand-holding... Iconoclastic artist Barbara Kruger points and doesn't shoot... And Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D shred etiquette to pieces. Also, humorist Simon Rich ponders barbarism and hamsters, a new Kit Kat craze hits the US, we tune into static small talk, and more!

This week: Aussie actor Joel Edgerton ("The Great Gatsby," "Warrior") dances into the spotlight with wildly different fall projects, including this week's "Felony"... Filmmaker Justin Simien ("Dear White People") explores the many shades of black identity, and talks etiquette with y'all... A be-witching soundtrack from electro-pop songstress Banks...Food falls from the sky! Brendan opens his mouth... The strange backstories of fragrances, from cinnamon to ambergris... Chicago Cub fan Steve Bartman inspires a cocktail full of vitriol - and forgiveness... Plus, pay-per-laugh, a gourd joke, and new music from Foxygen.

A podcast-only bonus! WARNING: These 2 performances from our recent live show are smart, funny, and NOT for family listening. (Cursing, frank conversation about sex, etc. Please listen responsibly.) Great stuff though! Comic Moshe Kasher on his Mom's nontraditional approach to sex ed... & comedy duo Garfunkel & Oates explain how not to break up.

This week: Filmmaker, writer, and 'Pope of Trash' John Waters offers etiquette advice, naturally... Jenny Slate, star of the film "Obvious Child," says 'complicated' and 'comedy' can coexist... Swedish sister duo First Aid Kit bring board games and tacos to their dinner cozy party ... When we're hungry, why do we get 'hangry'? ... From Panama to Pan Am: novelist Cristina Henriquez remembers a nation in revolt, then we learn about the 'Jet Age,' when coach was actually classy... Mailing your kid to granny's house was actually legal?! ... Plus: Vanity Fair columnist Richard Lawson, new New Pornographers, and keeping tabs on a penguin.

Actor Jeffrey Tambor comes to terms with a catch-phrase ... Perfume Genius really wants you to care as much about these songs as he does ... Quincy Jones shares what he learned from jazz man Clark Terry ... What a jar of baby food teaches us about society ... Edgar Allan Poe's creepy demise - and mysterious visitor ... Bob Odenkirk is so anxious his stomach is in knots (but it's working for him) ... Time off before you clock-in ... The angry, mid-meal text message the Posts think you should send ... And a new single from Kendrick Lamar ...

Actress Mia Wasikowska ("Alice in Wonderland") makes "Tracks" across the Outback… British film star Nick Frost ("The Boxtrolls," "Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz") squares off against etiquette monsters and bachelor party killjoys… Inner-party music from Interpol… "New Yorker" writer John Lahr writes the book on playwright Tennessee Williams… One of history’s strangest bar bets… Susan Sontag’s favorite words, as recalled by her confidant, novelist Sigrid Nunez… Plus, the perfect ketchup, and fine small talk from Anna Sale of “Death, Sex, & Money.”

Actor Bill Hader shows off his drama schooling … Bergdorf's Betty Halbreich dresses down America, while endorsing wearing hats on your face ... Biographer Mark Whitaker reflects on Bill Cosby's comedy and complicated identity ... Alt-country musician MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger crafts a party playlist for introverts ... Marlon James' novel humanizes Bob Marley stalkers, and would-be assassins ... Would you pay for a dinner reservation? Rico gets in (somehow) to L.A. hot-spot Bestia for some table talk ... Smells and the City with The Paris Review's Sadie Stein ... The botched roll-out of the Vietnam draft lottery ... Math for poets ... And some 'Pom Pom' pop (pop).

This week: Actor James McAvoy (of "X Men" and "Filth") flies the Scottish flag ... Writer-director Jon Favreau cooks up a foodie film ... Top author of the summer Emma Straub keeps the vacation going forever ... Indie pop duo Sylvan Esso score your next brat barbecue ... The one time when you want food to stain your clothes (it's art!)... Globetrotting comedy writer Kristin Newman does etiquette, for all nations ... A drink for America's first speeding ticket victim ... And more.