Award-winning actor Alec Baldwin takes listeners into the lives of artists, policy makers and performers. Alec sidesteps the predictable by going inside the dre...
Governor Gavin Newsom on California’s wildfires, economy, and future
Politician and businessman Gavin Newsom has served as the 40th governor of California since 2019. Prior to his governorship, Newsom was the lieutenant Governor of California and the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco. Now in the final years of his term, Newsom reflects on the challenges and victories of the past seven years, most pressing being the wildfires that destroyed areas of Southern California this past January. A native to San Francisco, Newsom is familiar with the state’s natural wildfires but has seen a dramatic increase in their devastation during his term.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11/3/2025
47:06
Lucy Walker Surveys Another California Fire
2021 marked the premiere of Lucy Walker’s documentary film “Bring Your Own Brigade” which unpacked the catastrophic California wildfires of 2018, The Camp Fire and The Woolsey Fire. Now four years after the film was released, Southern California recently experienced even more devastating wildfires in January 2025. The most damaging fires were the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire. For Lucy Walker, history is repeating itself at an even larger scale and her 2021 film is even more relevant today. It’s a traumatic revisiting of difficult subject matter, and here Lucy shares what she has learned about wildfires since making her film and what she thinks can be done to prevent wildfires from becoming even more catastrophic. Listen to Alec’s 2021 conversation with Lucy Walker here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
04/3/2025
30:36
Psychologist, writer, and curator Christopher Rothko on preserving his father’s legacy
Christopher Rothko never thought he would have a career in the art world but he has become the driving force behind preserving his father, painter Mark Rothko’s, legacy. Christopher along with his sister Kate are the copyright holders to their father’s work and oversee exhibitions of Mark Rothko paintings around the world. With a background in clinical psychology, Christopher is also known for his writing about his father's art, life, and legacy, as well as his own reflections on the emotional and philosophical aspects of Mark Rothko’s paintings. Through his books and public work, Christopher has enabled the art of Mark Rothko to continue to resonate with audiences worldwide.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
25/2/2025
43:02
From the archives: Paula Pell
We’re revisiting some of Alec’s favorite episodes from the archives. In this episode, originally recorded in November 2012, Alec talks with writer and actress Paula Pell – who made people laugh at Saturday Night Live for 18 years. Pell landed her dream job as a writer at SNL after working at a Florida theme park. Her agent told her that Lorne Michaels wanted to meet her – “it is not an audition, but he wants to fly you up and talk to you.” Pell wasn’t sure what she was headed up for, but she got a job writing for the show. Because of her longevity on the show, Pell calls herself “Nanny SNL,” but she’s the first to admit, “If you have a good night there you feel like you’re 20 again.” Today, Pell can be found writing and producing movies and television, in addition to her starring role in Peacock's “Girls5eva.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
18/2/2025
42:57
On the 50th Anniversary of “SNL”: with Steve Higgins and Susan Morrison
This season marks the 50th Anniversary of “Saturday Night Live:” the groundbreaking and iconic show that revolutionized late-night television with its sharp celebrity impersonations, satirical news segments, musical performances and absurd sketches - performed by comedy’s brightest stars and brought to life by the brilliant mind of creator Lorne Michaels. To commemorate this milestone, host Alec Baldwin speaks with writer and producer Steve Higgins, a key figure of the show for three decades, and Susan Morrison, the author of Lorne’s biography “Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live”. Morrison and Higgins reflect on the early days of the show, its relation to the New Yorker Magazine, and what has kept the show a cultural touchstone for so many decades.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Award-winning actor Alec Baldwin takes listeners into the lives of artists, policy makers and performers. Alec sidesteps the predictable by going inside the dressing rooms, apartments, and offices of people we want to understand better: Ira Glass, Lena Dunham, David Letterman, Barbara Streisand, Tom Yorke, Chris Rock and others. Hear what happens when an inveterate guest becomes a host.