American Masters: Creative Spark

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How Leslie Jones Became a Comedian

12/19/2025 • 31 min

Comedian and actress Leslie Jones has lived a lot of life and she wants you to know it. The Saturday Night Live alum and veteran stand-up comic returns with a new special, called “Leslie Jones: Life Part 2.” In this interview, Jones traces the long road to discovering her comedic voice. She speaks candidly about family life and the comedians like Richard Pryor… Play episode

Phoebe Robinson Shows Her Work
Fantasmas: Julio Torres on Art Surviving in Late-Stage Capitalism
Sarah McLachlan: Making Music to Connect and Heal
How Natasha Rothwell’s Life Brought Her to “The White Lotus”
Daniel Dae Kim Leads Spy Drama and Fights for Industry Change
Phil Rosenthal’s Secret Recipe: Good Food and a Laugh
Tunde Adebimpe Channels His DIY Roots Into Raw Solo Debut
George C. Wolfe on Desperation and Desire in His “Gypsy”
Daveed Diggs Takes on Cyberpunk Rap
Lucy Dacus Makes Her First Love Songs
Alicia Graf Mack on Honoring the Past and Future of Dance
Min Jin Lee Revisits the Decades It Took To Write “Pachinko”
Michael Urie Finds Laughs in the Balcony and the Front Row
Conor Oberst Finds His Purpose in Process
Taffy Brodesser-Akner Defends the Trauma Plot
Minnie Driver’s Path to the Throne
Annie Baker Shifts From Stage to Screen
Jewel Finds Healing in Music and Art
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Can Do That Genre Too!
Here's a quick preview of our new season!
From The Plot Thickens: Decoding John Ford
Ling Ma on Imploding the Immigrant Narrative
Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Ghosts that Haunt our Cultural Past (Replay)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Searches for Truth Through Acting
Kelly Reichardt Breaks Down Her Filmmaking Process Behind "Showing Up"
Jennifer Egan Writes to Experience a Life Outside Her Own
Al Nelson’s Sound Design Journey From “Jurassic Park” To “Top Gun: Maveric…
Jason Kim Goes Inside the World of K-pop
Ruth E. Carter Designs Costumes to Stand the Test of Time
John Waters on the Fine Art of Bad Taste
John David Washington Explores his Past for his Broadway Debut
One more short scene from the life of Buffy Sainte-Marie
New season of American Masters: Creative Spark!
How Buffy Sainte-Marie Made Her Most Triumphant Song Yet
Jo Firestone Proves Comedy Has No Age Limit
Don Hertzfeldt Animates Stick Figures Into Existential Masterpieces
Atsuko Okatsuka Jokes Around
How Kim Gordon Makes Music
Making Movies with M. Night Shyamalan
Jericho Brown Takes on Tradition
Understanding the History and Mystery of Michael R. Jackson
Errol Morris vs. Steve Bannon
Introducing – American Masters: Creative Spark
Actor and playwright Wallace Shawn
Musician Miles Davis
Theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku
Comedian Maria Bamford
Writer and director Noah Baumbach
Playwright Lynn Nottage

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