Anthony Bourdain: Junk, Romance, and a Lust for Life
episodePreviously titled “Anthony Bourdain: Junk, Romance, and a Lust for Life (REWIND)” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
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What was Anthony Bourdain's early life like and how did it shape him?
This is exactly right.
Double Elvis.
Your 20s can be so exciting, but they can also be really overwhelming, confusing, and honestly just kind of lonely. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the psychology of your 20s is breaking down the science behind the biggest roadblocks we face. I was six years into my career, the 80-hour weeks and just the first one in, the last one out, and I ended up burning out. There was a large chunk of my 20s that I was just so wanting to be out of that phase, out of my skin, and I just really regret not living in the present more. You don't need to have everything figured out right now. You just need to understand yourself a little bit better. Listen to The Psychology of Your 20s on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests, like Amelia Clark.
When, like, young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever, my first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do?
That you'd rather be disappointed in. Do that. David Oyelowo.
I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts.
Dennis Leary, Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things, Tana Mongeau, Camilla Marone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
How much you weigh, Wanda? Right now, I'm about 130. I'm at 183. We should race.
No, I want to leave here with my original hips. On the podcast, The Matchup with Aaliyah, I pair prominent female athletes with unexpected guests. On a recent episode, I sat down with undisputed boxing champ, Clarissa Shields, and comedian, Wanda Sykes, to talk about Wanda's new movie, Undercard, the art of trash talk and what it really means to be ladylike. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search The Matchup with Aaliyah, and listen now. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network.
All right, discos, what is going on? Listen, to say that I'm excited to bring you this week's Rewind episode on Anthony Bourdain, it's an understatement. Bourdain is an outsized influence in my life, mainly his writing, his books, his TV shows, you know, his rock and roll ethos, his aesthetic, all of it left its mark on me. Anthony Bourdain wasn't a rock star, but as far as chefs and writers go, they don't make them more rock and roll than Anthony Bourdain.
How did Anthony Bourdain's addiction influence his career?
So I just had to cover him for Disgraceland. Anthony's life was fascinating, his late in life success, his struggles with heroin, and his death was tragic and complicated. All of that. makes for incredible storytelling. Now, this is more of a tribute than it is an expose, but it's all very much Disgraceland. So if you're like me and you're starved for more Bourdain content, I think you're going to dig this episode. Consider it an amuse-bouge, a tease of the palette before the Bourdain biopic is released later this year. All right, Discos, I hope you dig it. Here's my story on the late, great Anthony Bourdain.
Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis.
The stories about Anthony Bourdain are insane. As a struggling cook and writer, he chased the romance of a heroin addiction through the restaurant kitchens and grimy rock clubs of 1980s Manhattan. He published his first book of nonfiction at the age of 43 and became an overnight success. He parlayed success as a writer into success as a TV host, traveling all over the world, dining with rock stars, presidents, and everyone in between. He dodged bullets, the real and figurative kind, the figurative kind from the tabloids having the most impact. And through it all, Anthony Bourdain made great art. Nothing like that cheesy loop I played for you at the top of the show. That was not great art. That was a preset loop from my Mellotron called High Stakes Stakeout MK2.
I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to Maria Maria by Santana featuring the product GMB.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What was Anthony Bourdain's early life like and how did it shape him?
0:01–2:44
2
How did Anthony Bourdain's addiction influence his career?
2:44–6:19
3
What led to Anthony Bourdain's overnight success with 'Kitchen Confidential'?
6:19–9:37
4
How did Bourdain transition from chef to television star?
9:37–12:24
5
What were the highlights of Bourdain's travel experiences?
12:24–15:25
6
How did Bourdain's relationships impact his life and career?
15:25–17:45
7
What were the challenges Bourdain faced in his personal life?
17:45–20:12
8
What ultimately led to Anthony Bourdain's tragic end?
20:12–1:06:20
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from DISGRACELAND
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Travis Scott and Astroworld: The Devil Went Down to Houston (Rewind)
Bonus: Mysterious Crosby Cowboy, Robin Thicke Bank Robbery, and More
David Crosby: The Folk Singer Who Became an FBI Fugitive
Blink-182: Tom Was Right. Aliens Exist. (Rewind)
Bonus Episode: Another Biopic Bites the Dust