Every other week throughout the summer, members of the Here’s The Thing staff are selecting their favorite interviews from the archives. This week, we revisit Alec’s conversations with two of the funniest comedians in the business – and coincidentally, two of the most popular episodes from our archives.  Chris Rock is known for his work on SNL, his stand up specials, the sitcom Everybody Loves Chris and films like Madagascar and Grownups.  In recent years, the comedian dove deeper into acting, including an acclaimed turn in the FX dark comedy Fargo.  In a conversation from 2011, Alec goes backstage after a performance of the play The Mother F**ker With The Hat, Rock’s Broadway debut. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld broke the mold with his sharp observational humor and a groundbreaking sitcom about “nothing,” over nine seasons of Seinfeld. He also produced and hosted 11 seasons of his unconventional talk show, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee and continues to tour standup.  In this conversation from 2013, the comedian discusses getting his start in standup, why he thinks Seinfeld was a success and the unique connection he feels to his audience.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cheryl Hines has been displaying her comedic chops for 11 seasons of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm, earning her critical acclaim and two Emmy nominations. She’s also known for her work in the feature film “Waitress,” the sitcom “Suburgatory” and most recently, the second season of “The Flight Attendant.”  Hines utilized her talents behind the scenes, producing the television series “Campus Ladies” and directing the film “Serious Moonlight,” starring Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton.  She’s also a member of one of America’s most well-known political families, as the wife of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.   Cheryl Hines and Alec discuss how Cheryl found her way to acting, what it’s like to work with the one-and-only Larry David, and how she’s changed since meeting her husband.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Here’s the Thing Summer Staff Picks series continues, featuring our favorite episodes from the archives. This week, we revisit Alec’s interviews with two great American storytellers, Ira Glass and Alex Gibney.  Ira Glass has been the host and creative force of WBEZ’s This American Life since 1995. The public radio personality revolutionized nonfiction storytelling by using a voice that's personable, modest, and emotionally engaged. Alec sat down with Ira Glass in 2014 to compare notes on interviewing, the afterlife, and finding one’s vocal style.  Alex Gibney is one of the most respected and prolific documentary filmmakers in history. His stories feature strong characters and propulsive narratives that often expose malfeasance or incompetency. In this 2021 conversation, Alex Gibney speaks with Alec about going up against powerful organizations, shifting from Japanese literature to film and the collaborators that have helped him grow.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few artists have the unique voice and talent of David Sedaris, master of satire and social critique – and one of America’s preeminent humor writers. He is the author of numerous bestsellers, including Calypso, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays on Ice, Naked, and Barrel Fever, having sold 12 million copies of his books, translated into 25 languages. He’s also a regular contributor to The New Yorker and BBC Radio 4. David Sedaris and Alec discuss Sedaris finding his way to his craft, writing about his father’s passing in his most recent book, Happy-Go-Lucky, and the best advice he’s learned from his thirty-year relationship with his partner. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s summer, and every other week, members of the Here’s The Thing staff are selecting their favorite interviews from the archives. This week, we revisit Alec’s interviews with two extraordinary women in media, Sheila Nevins and Tina Brown, recorded in 2017.  Sheila Nevins was the head of HBO Documentary Films from 1979 until 2018 and now leads MTV Documentary Films.  She has overseen the production of literally hundreds of documentaries, which have won dozens of Oscars, exerting more influence on the medium than perhaps anyone in its history.  Tina Brown is a journalist, editor and author, with her work ranging from memoir to biography, including her most recent book, “The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor - The Truth and the Turmoil.”  As the founder of Talk magazine and editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, Tatler and The New Yorker, the British-born Brown brought her fresh observations and sharp wit to both the revered publications she led and New York society. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Television director James Burrows has been working since the 1970s on beloved series like Taxi, Cheers, Friends, Frasier, and Will & Grace. He has directed over 1,000 hours of television, co-created the long-running, critically-acclaimed series Cheers and is the recipient of 11 Emmy Awards and a DGA Lifetime Achievement Award. His golden touch becomes apparent when you consider that a staggering 75 of the series pilots he directed, including The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, advanced to series. His new book, the memoir “Directed by James Burrows,” details his accomplished life and career. James Burrows and Alec discuss their favorite parts of working together, how Burrows got his start in the entertainment industry and why his book is ultimately about kindness.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex Ross has been a music critic at The New Yorker since 1996. His beat is classical music, but his work spans literature, history, the visual arts, film, and ecology. The MacArthur Genius Grant recipient was cited by the foundation for his ability to offer “new ways of thinking about the music of the past and its place in our future.”  He is also the author of three books, “Listen to This,” “The Rest is Noise” and his most recent, “Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music,” which dives into the influential composer’s complicated legacy. Alex Ross and Alec discuss the changing field of criticism, Wagner’s place in history and how to separate art from artist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah Polley is a storyteller – and a remarkable one. Whether as a precocious child actor in Road to Avonlea and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, as a documentarian unpacking her family history in Stories We Tell or as screenwriter and director of the Academy Award-nominated Away From Her, Polley is adept at portraying complex and honest depictions of humanity. And now, she is the author of a revealing and insightful collection of essays, Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory. The book pulls together reflections from challenging chapters in her life and career that explore how a change in approach can provide a path forward. Polley joins guest host Talia Schlanger for a candid and revelatory conversation that goes deep into Polley’s decision to pivot from a successful actor to writing and directing, to the difficulties she experienced working in Hollywood and the decision to step forward with her own #MeToo story.  Their discussion turns personal when Polley turns the tables on host Talia Schlanger and invites a discussion about Schlanger’s own experiences of #MeToo. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abe Laboriel Jr. is the drummer on speed dial for some of the biggest names in the music business, including Eric Clapton, k.d. lang, Eddie Vedder, Melissa Etheridge…and Paul McCartney, as member of McCartney’s band for the past two decades. Son of Mexican bass guitarist Abraham Laboriel and nephew of Mexican rocker Johnny Laboriel, the Berklee-College-of Music-trained drummer has music in his blood.  He’s also had the pleasure of playing some of the biggest stages in the world: the Super Bowl, the Olympics and the Queen’s Gold and Diamond Jubilees. Abe tells Alec why drums are his instrument of choice, what it’s like to jam with Sir Paul, and how he tethers great musicians back to the band.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer and essayist Adam Gopnik has been called “one of the greatest thinkers and wordsmiths of our age.” He is best known as a staff writer for The New Yorker, to which he has contributed non-fiction, fiction, memoir and criticism since 1986. The international best-selling author has penned ten titles spanning memoir, essays and children’s literature and is the recipient of three National Magazine Awards and the George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting. Gopnik is also a talented lecturer and storyteller, appearing with the Moth and in a series of one-man shows he created.  It seems there isn’t anything Gopnik can’t do, as he recently transitioned into theater as a book writer and lyricist.  Alec speaks with Adam about his time writing in Paris, the mystery of mastery and the search for a beautiful existence and full life. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.