Kathleen Turner’s movie star status was quickly secured after her captivating role in Body Heat. She spent the next decade as one of Hollywood’s go-to leading ladies.  

But the arc of Kathleen’s career was disrupted by illness. She tells Alec about living with rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that plagued her both on screen and on stage. Many of her colleagues in film fear the stage, but Kathleen Turner finds theater irresistible.

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Alec visits with Dick Cavett at his house on Long Island – a place called Tick Hall. They survey the view: stunning. Meet Riley the dog: cute, if "neurotic," says Cavett. Then go inside to drink iced tea and hear about Cavett's career in television.

Cavett shares some of his memories with Alec: meeting Orson Welles in the lobby of the Plaza; talking with Marlon Brando by phone -- “I was told he would [call] at a certain time and we talked with the sun about 15 degrees above the horizon until well after the moon had risen;” and interviewing Laurence Olivier in the Wyndham Hotel when, Cavett says, he was feeling so depressed “I just want[ed] to go home and get under the rug.” Dick Cavett is the master of talk, a television legend; in this conversation, he shows Alec why his career has spanned nearly five decades.

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Dick Cavett shares some of his memories with Alec: meeting Orson Welles in the lobby of the Plaza; talking with Marlon Brando by phone—““I was told he would [call] at a certain time and we talked with the sun about 15 degrees above the horizon until well after the moon had risen;” and interviewing Laurence Olivier in the Wyndham Hotel when, Cavett says, he was feeling so depressed “I just want[ed] to go home and get under the rug.” Dick Cavett is the master of talk, a television legend; in this conversation, he shows Alec why his career has spanned nearly five decades.

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Alec talks with Rob Morris, president and co-founder of Love 146, an organization that fights to prevent child sex slavery and provide aftercare for its victims.

The numbers around the child sex trafficking industry are staggering. Over a million children are sold into this multi-billion dollar industry each year. As Rob explains to Alec, he sees behind the numbers: “This is not about an issue, this is not about a cause. This is somebody’s daughter, this is about somebody’s son. Little boy. Little girl.”

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The child sex trafficking industry is a $12-32 billion dollar a year industry. But Rob Morris wants us to consider the plight of individual children, rather than statistics. Morris is the president and co-founder of Love 146, an organization working to end child trafficking through survivor care and prevention education.

Morris and Love 146 want to increase the penalties predators face, and to protect children under 18 from being criminalized for their activity. Morris considers the Internet the “new streets” when it comes to sex trafficking, and he tells Alec he is determined to make sure child exploitation is included in mainstream sex education classes.  

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Lorne Michaels is one of the most influential figures in American entertainment. Alec goes to Rockefeller Center to visit Michaels in his office – the same office he’s had since 1975, when he created Saturday Night Live.

Michaels went on to launch the careers of some of the biggest names in comedy: Belushi, Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey … the list goes on and on and on.

“The only way you can manage creative people is with very loose reigns,” says Michaels. He says he works with “people at the point of their career where nothing matters but the work … people just completely devote themselves to the show.”

Lorne Michaels is the rare producer in that he’s truly involved in all aspects of production, yet he says when he does his job right, he leaves no fingerprints.

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Lorne Michaels had nothing to lose on October 11, 1975, when Saturday Night Live first aired. He doesn't pull all-nighters any more in preparation for the week’s show, but Michaels tells Alec he is still anxious on Saturdays at 11:30 pm. Michaels believes in the power of live performance and gives SNL hosts the best bits. But aside from the funniest lines, the irreverent Michaels offers little protection. Alec is no exception.  

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Alec talks with director Joe Berlinger about his latest film for HBO Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory -- the third film in a series of documentaries about a crime that took place 18 years ago in rural Arkansas.

Berlinger says, “We made these three movies as acts of advocacy” – which is not his usual style as a long-time documentary filmmaker. “I believe the audience should be treated like a jury. You give them the information, you weigh both sides, and you let them come to their own conclusion.” These films were different, acknowledges Berlinger: “We clearly have a point of view that there is a huge injustice.”

Early in his career, Berlinger worked for famed documentarians David and Albert Maysles. He says the Maysles brothers taught him about “The act of faith about making a film about real life as it’s unfolding.” Berlinger is known for his documentary work, has dabbled in features, but says he’d “love another opportunity to do a feature at some point, but, you know, I’m just used to being the author of my own work, being totally in control.”

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Documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger went to Arkansas to investigate a brutal triple murder. He thought there was a trend in youth violence; what he found were three wrongfully incarcerated teenagers. Berlinger’s quest to advocate for the West Memphis Three took 18 years and three films. Alec spoke with Joe about the emotional toil of making his Paradise Lost documentaries, especially as his own children were coming into the world.  

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Alec talks with writer Erica Jong and her daughter Molly Jong-Fast about sex, divorce, and the impact of sexuality on young women today.

Erica has been through 3 divorces – she’s on her fourth marriage.  She says “Divorce was the hardest thing [she] ever went through … Divorce is terrible. Divorce is difficult. We have no rules for it. It's so incredibly painful. Molly – still on her first marriage – says she’s learned “marriage is incredibly hard work.” Molly and Erica spar about the legacy of the feminist movement – but Molly concludes that her mother’s own legacy is about being honest.

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