We plunge into a world of aesthetics with the curator of London's Design Museum and an all-female, all-keyboard band from Brooklyn who scour thrift stores and pawn shops for the perfect vintage sounds. Plus a nun fight, so that's pretty amazing.

Two masters of the joke. Comedian Dana Gould helped take stand up out of comedy clubs and into bars, rock clubs and book stores in the early 90s. After a stint as a writer and producer on the Simpsons, he's back with a new special. Plus a young upstart, John Mulaney -- he'll talk about his first Comedy Central special at age 26.

This week it's a crash course in media literacy. I'll talk about getting inside the news with Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield from On the Media. Then I'll chat with ad man Terry O'Reilly, whose CBC show The Age of Persuasion is all about the history and practice of marketing.

Guests Brother Ali & Pharoahe Monch

I talk with some of my favorite folks in the world. First Jimmy Pardo and Matt Belknap, who host the podcast Never Not Funny, one of podcasting's few true success stories. Then I talk with our old friend Jonathan Coulton, who gives us a bit of a house concert. His new live performance CD / DVD is called Best. Concert. Ever.