Cannonball with Wesley Morris
Episodes
Our Last Chance to Talk ‘Gatsby’
25 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When a book publisher asked Wesley to write an introduction for a new edition of “The Great Gatsby,” he was confused. So many people had already w...
Rob Reiner Made Your Favorite Movie
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wesley has been thinking a lot this week about what Rob Reiner gave us. Not the best movies. But our favorite ones. He wanted us to feel good. And for...
My Favorite Performances of the Year
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s show, Wesley reveals his favorite film performances of the year — but his list is not an ordinary best-of list. He zeroes in on the spe...
D’Angelo and the Power of Last Albums
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The world is different once an artist dies. The same goes for their music. Since D’Angelo’s death, Wesley keeps returning to “Black Messiah” —...
I Love This Eddie Murphy Interview
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cannonball is off this week for the holiday. But I wanted to share something with you from our friends over at The Interview. It’s a conversation th...
'The Perfect Neighbor' Is an American Nightmare
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix has a hit in “The Perfect Neighbor,” a documentary attracting a lot of attention for both its subject and its form. Using police camera fo...
Where Have All the Covers Gone?
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every December, Wesley’s hometown radio station, 88.5 WXPN, does some kind of end-of-year countdown, as voted on by listeners. This year, it’s the...
When Did Music Critics Get So Nice?
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Wesley, the most interesting thing about Taylor Swift’s latest album didn’t have much to do with the music. It was the critical response. Sure...
Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson Is Finally Going There
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s new movie, “The Smashing Machine,” sends him back to his natural habitat: the ring. But for the first time ever,...
A Horror Movie Halloween Special: The Dread Under the Bed
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wesley Morris doesn’t go for cheap jump scares or gratuitous gore. Instead, his favorite horror movies fill him with a sense of dread. This Hallowee...
I Thought Lady Gaga Was Over. I Was Wrong.
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wesley Morris didn’t love Lady Gaga’s new album “Mayhem.” Then Caryn Ganz, The Times’s pop music editor, took him to see Mayhem — the tour...
Robert Redford Was a True Movie Star. Are There Any Left?
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wesley Morris has been talking about movie stardom with Bill Simmons of The Ringer for as long as they’ve known each other. The actor and director R...
Is 'One Battle After Another' the Best Movie of the Year?
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Thomas Anderson is a very rare figure in Hollywood — he’s widely considered to be one of the very best directors of his generation, but he’...
Is 'South Park' Trump-Proof?
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This season, “South Park” is taking on the Trump administration the only way it knows how: with stop-motion, expletives and jokes about the size o...
Nikole Hannah-Jones Knows Why History Feels Dangerous
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Six years ago, with the publication of The 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones argued that slavery was a foundational institution upon which the United ...
Cannonball Will Be Back Next Week!
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're taking a break this week. See you next Thursday! Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscri...
The V.M.A.s Are This Weekend. Does Anybody Care?
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been a long time since MTV was appointment viewing. And yet, billions of people are still watching music videos on the regular — on YouTube. ...
The Summer Movies That Made Us
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wesley was formed in the glory days of the summer movie: “Total Recall.” “Ghost.” “Pretty Woman.” All from the same epic summer of 1990. H...
Is the New Spike Lee Joint Serving Pound Cake?
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Highest 2 Lowest” is an over-the-top, bougie and unapologetically New York movie. It might also be Spike Lee’s most conservative offering to da...
‘And Just Like That …’ Is Over Too Soon
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wesley is joined by another unapologetic fan of the “Sex and the City” reboot, Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Together, they celebrate a show about old fr...
Beyoncé Isn’t Giving Up on America
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wesley went to the final stop of the Cowboy Carter Tour. He talks through what he saw — the genre of it all, and the quietly powerful politics — w...
Don't Let the Vampires In
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does Ryan Coogler’s vampire movie “Sinners” have in common with the Drake-Kendrick beef? Wesley has a theory that he’s been sitting with ...
What NYT’s Top 100 Movies Missed: 2 Former Video Store Clerks Get Real
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty-four years ago, Wesley Morris and the film curator Eric Hynes were just a couple of “cooler-than-you” cinephiles working at Kim’s Video, ...
Has Dining Gotten Too Fine on ‘The Bear’?
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wesley Morris talks with Samin Nosrat, a chef and food writer, about her love-hate relationship with “The Bear,” a show that’s always racing aga...
The Closet in Pee-wee’s Playhouse
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new HBO documentary “Pee-wee as Himself,” Paul Reubens, the creator of the iconic character Pee-wee Herman, comes out as gay. Reubens, who ...
The Diddy Trial Is Over, but My Mind Is Still Racing
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs ended on Wednesday when he was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but was acquitt...
Me and Bruno Mars — a Love Story
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Host Wesley Morris has a confession to make: He loves Bruno Mars. Nothing wrong with that, right? With the help of the culture writer Niela Orr, Wesle...
Introducing: ‘Cannonball’ With Wesley Morris
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A new weekly podcast, hosted by the critic Wesley Morris. Come on in, the culture’s fine. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcas...