Here's The Thing With Alec Baldwin

Alex Gibney is one of the most respected and prolific documentary filmmakers in history. His stories feature strong characters and a propulsive narrative that often exposes malfeasance or incompetency, and the victim is often the little guy or our highest ideals, like democracy. Gibney has made over 30 has made in the last two decades, including Taxi to the Dark Side, his 2008 film about the CIA’s use of torture for which he won an Oscar. Alex Gibney talks to Alec about his latest film, The Crime of the Century (HBO), which he wrote, directed, produced, and narrated, and which explores the crime and manipulation at the center of the nation’s opioid crisis. He also talks about inheriting his anti-authoritarian views, early lessons working with Scorcese, and what it was like to take on a legend like Sinatra. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of our every-other-week summer archives series, we revisit two interviews from 2015 with masters of misdirection, Penn Jillette and David Blaine. Penn Jillette is half of the world-famous act Penn & Teller, and they star in one of the longest-running shows in Las Vegas history. In addition to juggling and card tricks, Penn Jillette plays upright bass and is the author of eight books, including his New York Times bestseller, God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales. Blaine is an acclaimed street magician and sleight of hand artist and also performs staggering feats of endurance. He once spent 35 hours on a hundred-foot-high pillar without a harness. He encased himself in a six-ton block of ice for 63 hours, and, in 2006, he spent seven days and nights submerged in a tank of water in public.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When he was just out of high school, Jackson Browne moved to NYC and wrote songs for some of the biggest names of the 1960’s folk scene. Then, when he returned home to Los Angeles two years later, he began singing his own material and set his course to become one of the greatest singer-songwriters of his generation. Today, Jackson Browne’s voice is still strong and political. He talks with Alec about his new album, Downhill From Everywhere, reflections on a life of activism, and the artists he’d still love to sing with.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s summer, and every other week, members of the Here’s The Thing staff are selecting favorite interviews from the archives. This week, we revisit Alec’s interviews with two award-winning, dynamic actresses who happen to have a lot in common, Julianne Moore and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Alec and Julianne Moore worked together on Still Alice (Julianne won an Academy Award for Best Actress) and 30 Rock. She spoke with Alec in 2014 about the chops she developed doing soap operas early on, her work on a string of independent movies in the 1990s, and why it’s always important to give even the most minor roles your best. Alec talked with Maggie Gyllenhaal before a live audience in 2018 at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Maggie talked about her early experiences in theater, what she’s learned about trust, and the ways her confidence has grown over her remarkable career.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Musical theater legends Ken Page and Betty Buckley have a lot in common. Both grew up dreaming of performing on Broadway: Ken in St. Louis; Betty in Fort Worth. Both were in the original Broadway production of Cats, Ken as Old Deuteronomy and Betty as Grizabella, for which she won a Tony. And both were pioneers in transforming musical theater over the past several decades. One of Ken Page’s most recognizable roles was as Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas, and, on Broadway, he starred in the 1976 all-Black revival of Guys and Dolls and in the original cast of The Wiz and Ain’t Misbehavin’. Betty Buckley has been called “the Voice of Broadway” with and she’s also starred in TV (Eight is Enough) and films (Split, Carrie, Tender Mercies, Frantic).  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Kurt Andersen started working on his new podcast, Nixon at War, he thought he knew a lot about Richard Nixon’s presidency, especially the bookend events of his 1968 campaign and his 1973 resignation. Devastating events with far-reaching consequences but unrelated - or so he thought. The surprising connections between the two are at the heart of Nixon at War. Kurt Andersen is a prize-winning novelist, historian, and public radio host (Studio 360). His most recent books -- Evil Geniuses, Fantasyland, and You Can’t Spell America Without Me, were all New York Times bestsellers. For more, visit Nixonatwar.org.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alec talks with two very different actors. Eddie Marsan grew up in working-class London and left school at 15 to become a printer. He was discovered on a dance floor, and a patron helped him afford drama school. Marsan’s worked with the likes of Martin Scorcese, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Mike Leigh, and he often gets cast as the tough guy. It’s an image he’s ready to shed. One of his most recent roles was in the Showtime series Ray Donovan as Terry Donovan, Ray’s brother with Parkinson’s disease. David Arquette comes from a long line of entertainers. His career hit a lull two decades ago when he won a WCW World Heavyweight Championship. It seemed Hollywood scorned him due to his love of pro wrestling. A self-produced documentary, You Cannot Kill David Arquette, chronicles David Arquette’s journey to store his name and his sense of self. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alec’s guest Mark Harris has written a compelling new biography about one of the most celebrated directors of all time, Mike Nichols. Drawn from more than 250 interviews, Mike Nichols: A Life tracks Nichol’s difficult childhood as a German Jewish immigrant growing up in New York City to his college years at the University of Chicago where Nichols found a community of performers, including his life-long collaborator Elaine May. In 1963, Mike Nichols and Elaine May performed more than 300 sold-out comedy shows on Broadway. Nichols then spent decades moving fluidly between directing on Broadway and in Hollywood. His movies include The Graduate, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Silkwood, and Working Girl, and his plays include Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing, and Monty Python’s Spamalot. Over the course of his lifetime, Mike Nichols’ won every major award in his field and, as Mark Harris movingly chronicles, it took a lifetime for Mike Nichols to learn to be happy.  Learn more a

Andra Day tells Alec that she almost turned down the opportunity to play Billie Holiday in Lee Daniel’s The United States Vs. Billie Holiday. Day considered herself a singer, not an actress. She went on to win a Golden Globe for Best Actress for the part and brought her incredible voice to all the Billie Holiday’s songs in the movie. The iconic song Strange Fruit is at the heart of the film’s conflict between the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the jazz singer, and Andra Day is no stranger to activism. Her song, Rise Up, has become an anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement, and she performed it at the Biden/Harris inauguration.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Friday, April 30, 2021, the Indian Point nuclear power plant permanently closed. Located less than 40 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River, Alec and others worked for decades to shut Indian Point down. In this episode, Alec reminisces with key leaders in the fight: Paul Gallay, Richard Webster, and Joseph Mangano. Paul Gallay is the president of Riverkeeper, an organization dedicated to the health of New York Waterways. Richard Webster is an environmental lawyer at Riverkeeper and formally the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic. Joseph Mangano is the Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ali Wentworth is a fearlessly funny actor and comedian as well as a New York Times best-selling author of three books, Ali in Wonderland, Happily Ali After, and Go Ask Ali. She played Jerry’s girlfriend Schmoopie in Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” episode, and she’s had roles in a wide range of TV and film projects including Jerry Maguire, Office Space, and It's Complicated. She’s married to George Stephanopoulos and the proud mother of two teenage daughters, Elliot and Harper. She started a podcast in the pandemic called Go Ask Ali which tackles parenting and friendships in unusual times. With Alec, Ali shares her courtship secrets, her approach to work-life balance and the dangers of taking too many sleep aids.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the United States begins to emerge from the worst of the pandemic, Alec looks back with three guests on the ways their work lives changed. As the Suffolk County medical examiner, Dr. Odette Hall’s work is always about the logistics of death. In the early days of the pandemic, that meant figuring out makeshift morgues and processes to deal with an unknown threat. Additionally, as the first Black woman in her public-facing role, Dr. Hall’s openness, humor, and compassion made her a trusted source amidst the chaos and grief. Alec also talks with his sister, Jane Baldwin-Sasso, a physical therapist who works with children and the elderly. Jane creatively faced challenges turning her hands-on work into virtual treatments. Finally, clarinetist David Gould performs with some of the world’s most celebrated ensembles. COVID brought a sudden halt to his professional life last spring, and personal losses due to COVID leave him reflective about what’s next. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodca

Screenwriter David Koepp and film editor Walter Murch have both carved out legendary careers in film. David Koepp has written or co-written the screenplays for more than thirty films, including many Hollywood blockbusters like Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Spider-Man, Panic Room, Carlito’s Way, and Mission Impossible. He’s directed six films and released one novel. Walter Murch was part of American Zoetrope, the groundbreaking film production company founded in the late 1960s by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. His long collaboration with Coppola earned him his first Oscar nomination for sound editing on the 1974 classic, The Conversation, and an Oscar win for editing on Apocalypse Now. He also collaborated several times with Anthony Minghella, winning two Oscars for his work film editing and sound design for The English Patient. His most recent work is a documentary he co-wrote and edited, Coup 53, about the U.S.- and British effort to overthrow the Iranian government in 1953.  Learn more about your

Alec talks with Michael Sisitzky from the New York Civil Liberties Union’s police transparency and accountability campaign as many cities around the country are considering police reform. The NYCLU is requesting police discipline records from around the state after the repeal of New York Civil Rights Law Section 50-a. The law previously shielded police personnel records. Then, Alec checks in with Kathryn Wylde, the president and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for New York City, about NYC’s post-pandemic outlook. In her role, Wylde serves as a liaison between NYC business leaders and the city government. The Partnership has focused the city’s pandemic recovery efforts by supporting small businesses and advocating for policies to restore jobs and keep people from leaving New York City.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hans Zimmer is one of the most celebrated and successful film composers of all time. He has scored more than 150 movies including Gladiator, Hannibal, Sherlock Holmes, The Last Samurai, the Thin Red Line, and many more. He won an Academy Award for Lion King and has earned 10 other nominations. His long-time collaboration with director Christopher Nolan on The Dark Knight trilogy, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and Inception has become one of the most celebrated partnerships in movie history. Hans tells Alec, whether he’s working on animated films or live-action ones, his scores enrich a film’s emotional journey. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marlo Thomas has been breaking barriers for women for more than five decades as an actress and activist. As an award-winning actress, Marlo became a household name as Ann-Marie, the lead in the television show That Girl, a woman who, in the late 60s, wanted a career more than a family. An outspoken feminist, Marlo then launched Free to Be...You and Me, which was first an album, then a book, and eventually, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning TV show for children that challenged gender norms and became a touchstone for a generation of feminists. Her best-selling books include a memoir about growing up an adored daughter of TV star Danny Thomas, and, just last year, she and her husband Phil Donahue released a book, What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Life, and a podcast, Double Date, filled with marriage advice. All in all, quite a life for That Girl.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for p

Broadway and movies have both been deeply impacted during the pandemic. To get a sense of what lies ahead, Alec checks in with Robert Wankel, chairman and CEO of the Schubert Organization, and Pamela McClintock, senior film writer for the Hollywood Reporter. Broadway shuttered completely on March 12, 2020, and reopening remains a challenge due to safety issues for performers and audiences as well as capacity requirements that mean ticket sales won’t cover the show’s costs. Movie theaters face fewer safety issues with reopening at reduced capacity but the industry is now reckoning with the fact many of us have gotten used to watching even the newest of new releases from the comfort of our couches. If you love the thrill of a darkened theater and being transported, this episode will make you think about what comes next.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Felix Cavaliere started The Rascals in 1965. Felix began playing piano at age six and listened exclusively to classical music until junior high when he first heard Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Fats Domino. Rock and roll changed his life. In The Rascals, Felix sang and played organ on some of the group’s biggest hits, including It’s a Beautiful Morning, Groovin’, Good Lovin’, and People Got to Be Free. The band signed with Atlantic and, with the legendary producer Arif Mardin, The Rascals had nine hits between 1965-1968, making it big as a crossover hit on Black R&B stations and white stations. Felix took a stand in favor of civil rights, insisting The Rascals would play only if Black acts were also on the ticket, a decision that eliminated parts of the country from their touring schedule. Today, Felix lives in Nashville, and he’s still playing and producing music.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthony Pellicano has dirt on some of Hollywood’s biggest names, and even after spending 17 years in prison, he’s still not talking. For decades, he was one of Tinseltown's most sought-after private investigators. His clients ranged from Tom Cruise to Michael Jackson, from Elizabeth Taylor to Courtney Love. But a raid of his Sunset Boulevard office in 2002 turned up explosives and eventually more than 150,000 illegal wiretaps. He walked out of prison on his 75th birthday, March 22, 2019. If he’d turned state’s evidence, he could have reduced his prison time, but that’s not how a personal code works, at least not for Anthony Pellicano.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William Kristol is one of the nation’s leading conservative voices. And, since 2016, he’s been at war with conservative elites and Trump loyalists. Kristol tells Alec he didn’t just vote for Joe Biden, he is actively rooting for his success. There is just too much at stake otherwise, particularly when so many members of the GOP keep parroting Trump’s lies about a stolen election. Kristol was the founder and editor of The Weekly Standard for more than two decades. When it closed in 2018, Kristol and a band of Never-Trumpers founded TheBulwark.com, a news site “free from the constraints of partisan loyalties or tribal prejudices.” Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.