Wheels Off with Rhett Miller

About Wheels Off with Rhett Miller

Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for the Old 97s, hosts “Wheels Off” a show about the messy reality of the creative life. Conversations with musicians, writers, artists, actors, and comedians about the pivotal moments that shaped their work, what it means to create in a digital age and grapple with the challenges, and the joy, of living a creative life.

Publisher

Rhett Miller

Category

arts · music

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Jan 2019

Latest episode

27 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

258 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   27 Oct 2026

   Grammy Winner Jimmy Webb on Songwriting and His New Album "Yours For The Taking"

   Rhett is joined by Jimmy Webb, the Grammy-winning songwriter behind "Wichita Lineman," "MacArthur Park," and "Up, Up and Away," and the author of Tunesmith, the songwriting book Rhett recommends to his own students. Webb arrives with a new album, Yours for the Taking: The Found Songs of Jimmy Webb,, and an hour of PBS's Great Performances devoted to his work. The conversation is packed with hard-won songwriting advice. Webb makes the case that a great title can do most of the work, explains why every song needs a message (a lesson from his Motown days), and argues that writing a song is harder than writing a poem. He describes what he learned from Joni Mitchell's notebooks, and when to rewrite a song or let it go. Jimmy Webb is the only artist to have won Grammys for music, lyrics, and orchestration. His songs have been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Glen Campbell, and Linda Ronstadt, among many others. He is a former chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the author of Tunesmith and the memoir The Cake and the Rain. Yours for the Taking: The Found Songs of Jimmy Webb is available now. Great Performances: Jimmy Webb: American Songwriter premieres Friday, October 30 on PBS. Webb plays City Winery in New York City on Sunday, November 1. Follow Rhett @rhettmiller Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive producer is Kirsten Cluthe, Studio Kairos. Music by Old 97's. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Watch the podcast on YouTube and Spotify, and listen wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, Lucinda Williams, Stewart Copeland, Nick Hornby, and more. New episodes drop bi-weekly. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2. 

   13 Oct 2026

   Lily Meola on Songwriting and Her Debut Album Lucky to Be

   Singer-songwriter Lily Meola joins Rhett to talk about her debut album, Lucky to Be. She's been singing for a living since her first paid gig at age 10, but for years she was certain songwriting wasn't for her. Lily talks about the people who changed her mind, including a Nashville writer who tracked her down through a YouTube video. She also discusses the long road to recording her debut album, including a year-long hunt to clear a sample from an old Western for her opener, "Sleeping With My Boots On" — why touring is exhausting, yet still one of her favorite things, and the simple motto that keeps her grounded. Lily Meola is a singer-songwriter from Maui, now based in Nashville. Her debut album, Lucky to Be is available now. Follow Lily @lilymeola Follow Rhett @rhettmiller Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive producer is Kirsten Cluthe, Studio Kairos. Music by Old 97's. Episode artwork by Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Watch the podcast on YouTube and Spotify, and listen wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, Lucinda Williams, Stewart Copeland, Jennifer Egan, Nick Hornby, and more. New episodes drop bi-weekly. Subscribe wherever you listen. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Eric D. Johnson on Fruit Bats, Bonny Light Horseman, and Songwriting

   Eric D. Johnson has spent over a decade making records as Fruit Bats, and more recently as one-third of Bonny Light Horseman alongside Anaïs Mitchell and Josh Kaufman. He joins Rhett to talk about why coming up in the indie rock world of late-’90s Chicago was a gift, why the calm in his music isn’t quite what it seems, and the question every songwriter wrestles with: how do you know when a song is finished? The new Fruit Bats album is out now. Follow Eric @fruitbats Follow Rhett @rhettmiller Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive producer is Kirsten Cluthe, Studio Kairos. Music by Old 97's. Episode artwork by Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Watch the podcast on YouTube and Spotify, and listen wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, Lucinda Williams, Stewart Copeland, Jennifer Egan, Nick Hornby, and more. New episodes drop bi-weekly. Subscribe wherever you listen. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who has been a guest on Wheels Off with Rhett Miller

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Josh Rouse
• Kristina Murray
• Chris Trapper
• Jordan Wax

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 61 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

90

Social presence

97

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Wheels Off with Rhett Miller

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Wheels Off with Rhett Miller