We sat down with Sam Fragoso, host of the increasingly popular interview podcast Talk Easy. He’s built a reputation for uninhibited conversations, and our chat was no different. Plus, we've got all the drinks advice you need before St. Patrick's Day festivities this weekend: A definitive list of the 40 best Irish whiskeys, and our favorite nitro-canned stouts — just in case there's actually a Guinness shortage.

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Sam Fragoso Will Meet You Where You Are

Fans of Talk Easy will tell you that it’s a singularity in the interview podcast space. This is partly due to the guests the show attracts, Hollywood legends and celebrities like Francis Ford Coppola, Tom Hanks and Best Actress winner Mikey Madison. But regardless of the interviewee, the wide-ranging, no-subject-off-limits environment Talk Easy fosters is increasingly the real draw. Forget WTF With Marc Maron or Armchair Expert. Talk Easy has become known as a safe space — perhaps the safe space — for film and culture luminaries to spill their guts.

For this, you have creator and host Sam Fragoso to thank, not that he’d make a big deal out of it — the 30-year-old has been doing this for a decade. “That's my job — to get the best version of [guests] by way of questions and research and empathy and curiosity.” You can see how he gets people to open up.

For the latest installment in our Who’s Next series, we spoke to Fragoso about his journey to becoming one of the preeminent podcast interviewers.

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5 Nitro-Canned Stouts, Just in Case the Guinness Shortage Turns Out to Be Real

There are tons of Irish Dry Stouts on the market, but Guinness belongs to a very specific subcategory of them that are served most commonly with the addition of nitrogen, which gives the beer its famously smooth, creamy texture. Served on tap at your local bar, it’s not unlike the nitro cold brew on tap at a fancy coffee shop. If you buy one of them at a store, though, you’ll want to go for one of the canned options, which feature a floating “widget” inside. When opened, the widget distributes nitrogen throughout the liquid, creating the desired texture when poured aggressively into a glass.

So that’s what we’re looking at today: readily available Irish Dry Stouts sold in nitro-equipped cans. The differences between them are minor for the most part, so on the off chance your town is wiped clean of the real stuff, you should have no issues finding a suitable replacement.

The 40 Best Irish Whiskeys for 2025

I used to believe Irish whiskey was a gateway whiskey. I saw it as a smooth sipper. The whiskey was relatively inexpensive — at least the stuff I was drinking. And it went great in cocktails, particularly an Irish Coffee.

But I never gave the category enough credit, even though the Irish invented whiskey and an NYC bar pretty much devoted to the tipple — and walking distance from my old apartment — kept winning World’s Best Bar awards.

So here are lessons learned from the past few years of truly diving into this fascinating spirit. Plus, when available, a convenient link to buy one of these bottles, so you can pick one or two up before St. Patrick’s Day (but honestly, you should be drinking this stuff year-round).