Calvin Duncan grew up in the ninth ward in New Orleans. His mother died when he was very young. He stole food so he'd have enough to eat. When he was 19, Duncan was arrested for allegedly killing a man during a robbery. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, spending more than 28 years in Angola, Louisiana's notorious state penitentiary. That's when Duncan began studying law. In 2011, he was released from prison and at the age of 60, Duncan graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School. He's just scored another first. This November, Calvin Duncan was elected Clerk of the Criminal Court in New Orleans. Duncan and Sophie Cull co-wrote The Jailhouse Lawyer. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

Picture this. It was my first job in radio. I decided to do a series about women and comedy. The idea coincided with the birth of Saturday Night Live. The first interview: Gilda Radner. We sat on the floor, right across from Studio 8H where the show is still performed. Gilda told me all about what life is like when you become an overnight star. Then I talked to Jane Curtin about people asking her for autographs when she walked her dog. Somehow, in those years I missed talking to Laraine Newman. But I finally just caught up with her. And she's the star of this episode. It's an outrageous conversation about SNL and all the things that have happened to her since. Plus, you'll hear what Gilda and Jane had to say from those early day sit-downs. "Now What?" is produced with help from Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

E. Jean Carroll is a brave woman. In 2019, she sued Donald Trump for calling her a liar after she went public with the accusation that he had raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. There was a second trial. This one was about defamation and sexual abuse. Juries in both cases found Donald Trump guilty. E. Jean Carroll was awarded more than $88 million in damages. Now, President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the judgement that he defamed and sexually abused her. She's written a book about the court proceedings called Not My Type. We talk about resistance, trauma and never giving up. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

Paul Krugman is proud of his accomplishments including being chosen as the sole winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to new trade theory. When it comes to trade, Krugman is no fan of President Trump's tariffs. And President Trump is no fan of Paul Krugman. Trump has called Krugman a "deranged bum," a description Krugman considers a great honor. After 25 years as a columnist for the New York Times, Krugman decided to leave the paper and go out on his own. He now writes a newsletter on Substack where he has about 400,000 subscribers. We talk about why he thinks the U.S. economy is in worse shape than it looks and why he continues to have faith in the American people. "Now What?" is produced with help from Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

Jake Tapper anchors several programs on CNN including the Sunday morning public affairs show State of the Union. Tapper has been reporting on politics at the network for more than 12 years. He recently conducted a controversial text interview with President Trump. Tapper has written two books so far this year including the best seller Original Sin about Joe Biden's mental and physical decline during his presidency. Tapper's new book Race Against Terror is about a member of Al Qaeda who was tried in a U.S. criminal court for killing American troops in Afghanistan. We talk about jihadis, democracy and the Trump administration's politics of revenge. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

Former FBI Director James Comey is at the top of President Donald Trump's enemies list. Trump has made no secret of his dislike for Comey, who was in charge of the FBI probe that looked into whether Russia had interfered with the 2016 election. In May of 2017, Donald Trump fired Comey. The President has prodded the Justice Department to go after his political opponents. Now, Comey has been indicted for allegedly lying to Congress. Critics say the country has entered a dangerous phase in which the government is taking revenge on its political opponents. In August 2023, I spoke to James Comey about decency, fairness and what it's going to take to protect our democracy. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

Virgil Abloh is a designer who broke the mold when it comes to the world of design. He had a degree in architecture, not fashion when he started out designing tee shirts. Kanye West became Virgil's mentor at a time the rapper's own career was taking off. Virgil went from designing streetwear to becoming the first Black artistic director of the French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton. Robin Givhan, a Pulitzer-prize winning Senior Critic-at-Large at the Washington Post was so fascinated by Virgil's wide-ranging talent that she wrote a book about him called Make it Ours. We talk about Virgil's tragic death at the age of 41 and how his work has had an historic impact on fashion. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

Rax King is a writer. Her first book of essays is called Tacky. Her new one is Sloppy. King prides herself on being a model of bad behavior. Name a vice and she's got it: overspending, shoplifting from Brandy Melville, lying, former cocaine abuser. She likes to wear low cut tops to show off her numerous tattoos. A prominent ink decoration that curves around her neck says "I'll go on." It frames her Bitch necklace. King also co-hosts a podcast called Low Culture Boil which she describes as trash-themed. We talk about the allure of being a bad girl, why watching Jersey Shore helped her to bond with her father and tips on how to audition as a stripper. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

Footwear runs in the family. Kenneth Cole's father had a shoe manufacturing company in Brooklyn. Cole's brand is also known for the social issues he embraces, from combating HIV/AIDS to calling attention to the stigma of mental illness. The new documentary A Man with Sole looks at how Cole's company took off after he parked a trailer in front of the Hilton Hotel, installed a red carpet and sold 40,000 pairs of shoes in three days. Cole also figured out how to revive his company when the going got tough. I spoke to Kenneth Cole in his Manhattan headquarters about the rewards of being a risk taker. "Now What?" is produced with help from Steve Zimmer, Patrick Emile, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

Laurie Woolever was chef Mario Batali's assistant at a time when his hit restaurant Babbo was attracting celebrity diners vying for reservations. Then she spent almost a decade working for Anthony Bourdain. Woolever made haircut appointments for the TV host in New York and she found places in Singapore or Mumbai where Bourdain could practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when he was on the road filming his long-running TV show Parts Unknown. After the shocking phone call in 2018 letting her know that her boss had taken his own life, Woolever felt lost. In Woolever's memoir Care and Feeding, she talks a lot about the influence of the two celebrity chefs who came to dominate her life. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.