Chris Whipple is an Emmy award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, author, and political analyst. A former CBS 60 Minutes producer, Whipple is also the EP and writer of the Discovery Channel documentary series “The Presidents’ Gatekeepers” and the Showtime Network documentary series “The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs”. Whipple continued his research on these topics in two of his books and is the author of four New York Times best-sellers including: Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History, The Spymasters: How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future, The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, and The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House. Whipple has also written for Vanity Fair, Politico, the Daily Beast, and many other publications. Notably, Whipple wrote the two-part 2025 Vanity Fair profile on the second Trump presidency and White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles.

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When John Dean found his conscience, America found its backbone and impeached a president. The Nixon Administration tried to undermine American democracy during the election of 1972 through now-legendary dirty tricks aimed at their Democrat opponents. They almost got away with it. Dean was Nixon’s White House Counsel, and participated in the cover-up of the Watergate break-in. Then he began cooperating with investigators, and blew the case wide-open. Dean is one of the most complicated and fascinating characters in modern American history. In a frank and funny conversation with Alec Baldwin in front of a live audience, John Dean opens up about how it all went down – and how it could go down now under Trump, who he says shares Nixon's paranoia and authoritarian instincts.

Originally aired December 11th, 2017.

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Marc Shaiman is a renowned composer, lyricist, arranger, and music producer known for his prolific work across film, television, and theater. In this episode, Alec and Marc discuss his career, as well as his new memoir, Never Mind The Happy. Shaiman's work in film includes “When Harry Met Sally”, “Sister Act”, “City Slickers”, “A Few Good Men”, “Sleepless in Seattle”, “The American President”, and the first “South Park” movie. Shaiman has written and arranged music for countless artists such as Harry Connick Jr., Mariah Carey, Billy Crystal, and Bette Midler. Shaiman earned widespread acclaim for co-writing the hit Broadway musical “Hairspray” alongside his co-lyricist Scott Wittman. Shaiman and Wittman went on to co-create musicals “Catch Me If You Can”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Some Like It Hot”, and “Smash”. Marc Shaiman has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, two BAFTA awards, and has won a Tony, two Emmys, and two Grammys.

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Join award-winning actor Alec Baldwin in conversation with some of the most dynamic artists, policymakers, and performers working today. This season, Alec speaks with composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman, Vanity Fair journalist Chris Whipple, conductor and violinist Karina Canellakis, and civil rights lawyer Roberta Kaplan, just to name a few. If you like listening as much as Alec likes talking with interesting people, subscribe now and never miss an episode.

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E Jean Carroll was once described by one of her editors as being “institutionally incapable of being uninteresting” - and Carroll is exactly that. Elizabeth “E” Jean Carroll is a journalist, author, and advice columnist. Her “Ask E Jean” column was one of the longest-running advice columns in American publishing, featured in Elle magazine from 1993 to 2019. In addition to Elle magazine, she has written for New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Esquire, and Outside Magazine. Carroll is also the author of six books, including her 2019 book What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal, in which Carroll accused Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in the mid-90s. As a result, Carroll faced Trump in court and has since won multiple civil cases against him. In this conversation Carroll reflects on her career of honest and bold writing, and her own resilience.

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Kat Owens is a plastic pollution researcher, artist, and activist. She merges science, policy, and the arts to address plastic pollution in her ongoing art series “Entangled and Ingested” which showcases portraits of animals affected by plastic pollution…made of plastic. Owens is also a National Geographic Explorer, a Fulbright Nehru fellow, and a Professor at the University of Hartford in the Department of Politics, Economics, and International Studies. Owens works with her students on a variety of projects to address real-world problems, such as collecting marine debris and addressing pollution along their hometown shorelines in Connecticut. Owen’s research in marine plastic pollution and river debris has been supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Fulbright Nehru Foundation, and the National Geographic Society.

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Jonathan Mahler is a longtime staff writer for the New York Times Magazine and the author of the best-selling book Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, New York Times notable book The Challenge: Hamdan V. Rumsfeld and the Fight Over Presidential Power, and recently published book The Gods of New York: The Tumultuous Eighties, from Donald Trump to the Tompkins Square Riots. Mahler’s first book was adapted into a mini-series for ESPN and his second book, The Challenge, won The Scribes Book Award in 2009.  Formerly a columnist for Bloomberg View, Mahler’s writing has also appeared in Slate, the Daily Beast, and New York Magazine. Mahler’s work in sports journalism has been featured in the anthology book series The Best American Sports Writing and received numerous journalism and media awards, including the Gerald Loeb Award and the Mirror Award.

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Daniel Squadron and Melissa Walker are an unexpected duo. Formerly a New York State Senator, Daniel Squadron represented New York’s 25th and 26th districts for almost ten years. After leaving public office, Squadron co-founded a civic engagement initiative called The States Project - of which he is currently President. Melissa Walker was formerly a magazine editor and journalist published in countless magazines such as Seventeen, Glamour, Teen Vogue, The NY Observer, and New York Magazine. Walker has also authored 10 young adult novels. After a fateful meeting at a holiday party, the two began working together on The State’s Project’s Giving Circles program, co-founded by Walker. The Giving Circles has engaged more than 35,000 donors and raised tens of millions of dollars since its formation in 2018 and works within the States Project to shift the balance of power in state legislatures - ultimately leading to greater political change nationwide.

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Tommy James started making music when he was 4 years old and he hasn’t stopped. Tommy is a musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and the frontman of rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Known for timeless classics such as “Crimson and Clover”, “Crystal Blue Persuasion”, “Hanky Panky”, “Sweet Cherry Wine”, and “Draggin’ the Line” Tommy James has amassed 23 Gold singles, 9 Platinum albums, and over 100 million records sold worldwide. He was honored with a BMI Five Million-Air Award for over 21 million radio plays and his music has appeared in over 200 TV shows and films, and in countless commercials. To date, over 300 musicians have recorded covers of James' music, including: Billy Idol, Joan Jett, Prince, R.E.M., Kelly Clarkson, Bruce Springsteen, and even The Boston Pops.

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Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi is one of the most in-demand maestros in the world, and one of Alec’s favorite conductors. Järvi is currently the chief conductor of the NHK symphony orchestra in Tokyo and the Tonhalle Orchester-Zürich. Over his career, he’s led orchestras in Paris, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Malmö, and, for the decade between 2001 and 2011, here in the United States, as the musical director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He and his musical family are pillars of the thriving classical music scene in his home country of Estonia. Paavo Järvi talks to Alec about how slowing down in the pandemic offered Paavo time to think, his early love of music, what it was like to come to the United States from Soviet-era Estonia as a 17-year-old, and what he took away from a decade of conducting the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. 

Originally aired November 30, 2021

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