Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee) with Whitmer Thomas

Singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee, and comedian Whitmer Thomas have each released perhaps the best work of their careers thus far in the past month or so: Waxahatchee with her new LP, Saint Cloud, Whitmer with his HBO comedy special The Golden One. The two are huge fans of each other's emotionally vulnerable work; having recently met, they have, as Katie puts it in this talk, “a weird kismet connection."

In their open and honest conversation, Katie and Whitmer take us through their careers, from their beginnings as teenage rockers in Alabama to their current professional successes, and the processes of making their powerful new works. We also hear about the benefits of a slower professional trajectory; pre-album-release shame when you’ve been completely open about your life in your art; and how Katie getting sober changed her music.

Check it out, and subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast, including upcoming shows featuring Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) with the Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt; Black Belt Eagle Scout with Sasami; and George Saunders with fellow author Dana Spiotta.

—Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast host and producer 

This week's show was recorded by Claire Morison at Bedrock.la and in Brooklyn by Talkhouse Film's Editor-in-chief Nick Dawson and myself in our respective #stayhome studios. The Talkhouse Podcast's co-producer is Mark Yoshizumi.

Our theme song was composed and performed by The Range.

Please direct all podcast-related ideas, vitriol, and compliments to [email protected].