Table for Two

Leaping from Algiers, Louisiana to the Broadway stage and, ultimately, the top-tier of Hollywood, is no simple feat. In Patricia Clarkson’s case, it required a daring jump from her native New Orleans to Fordham University, and the fortuitous, essential mentorship of actress Debra Monk. But Clarkson never truly left the South behind, and in fact she relishes her upbringing there, recalling it fondly—especially her mother’s Creole cooking. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, the Golden Globe Award-winner sits down with host Bruce Bozzi to reflect on her early roles in The House of Blue Leaves and The Untouchables, her adoration of actress and singer Jennifer Holliday, and the values she’s gained by growing up the youngest of five sisters. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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After becoming Miss America and studying at Stanford and Oxford, but before spearheading the estimable nonprofit Lift Our Voices, Gretchen Carlson spent more than a decade as one of Fox News’s eminent hosts. The rest of her story is the stuff of legend: after being fired from network in 2016, the small-town Minnesota native helped bring down the network’s slimy chairman, Roger Ailes, on charges of sexual harassment by her and dozens of other women. Through Lift Our Voices, Carlson is still working to enact change for workers everywhere. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Carlson details the intricacies of modern workplace harassment—both her own experiences, and those of others—over lunch with host Bruce Bozzi, and shares the requisite steps towards creating safe, and inclusive, workplace environments. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Sarah Jessica Parker stands alongside the most instantly recognizable actresses in the world. And yet, if you go out for dumplings in New York City’s Chinatown, or loiter in the Whitney Museum—two of Parker’s favorite pastimes—or even just ride the subway, you might well run into her. Parker is a New Yorker through and through, and she won’t let the notoriety she’s garnered through her role in Sex and the City—one she is now reprising in the show’s sequel, And Just Like That…—stop her from taking part in the things she enjoys (and that includes public transportation). On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Parker shares a meal with host Bruce Bozzi to discuss more of the things she loves, Diane Keaton’s acting process, and being a mother. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Emily Blunt relishes a challenge. Her career, from early stardom in The Devil Wears Prada to later roles in Marry Poppins, A Quiet Place, and, this summer, Oppenheimer, reflects a self-imposed desire for all things difficult, different, and daring. Not to mention that the British actress—who, despite living in Brooklyn, maintains her Englishness—is also a mother, raising two daughters alongside her husband, actor and director John Krasinski. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Blunt sits down with host Bruce Bozzi to discuss family life, being neighbors with the Damons (Matt and Lucy), and Christopher Nolan's directorial style. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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For a span of eight years, Jon Hamm existed in the collective consciousness as one character, and one character only: Don Draper. So it may not come as much of a surprise that for a long time, casting agents exclusively offered him parts like the one he was already playing on Mad Men. What they didn't know, but have since figured out, is that despite possessing every bit as much charm as his most well-known character, Hamm is capable of so much more. In equal measure, he's funny, philosophical, and honest, all of which shine through on this week's episode of Table for Two, where he discusses what it was like listening to R-Rated Red Foxx LPs in the library at 10-years-old, his parents dying when he was young, getting married at 52, working with Tina Fey and John Slattery on his latest film, and much more. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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One would have an easier time charting the areas Rita Wilson hasn't excelled in than those in which she has. From early turns on television, on shows such as The Brady Bunch and Bosom Buddies—alongside her future husband, Tom Hanks, on the latter—to starring roles on the silver screen and Broadway stage, to her work as a producer (Mamma Mia!, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and A Man Called Otto), Wilson has left her fingerprints on classics both past and present. And that's to say nothing of her enviable music career, which has now yielded a fifth album, Rita Wilson Now & Forever: Duets. On this week's episode of Table for Two, Wilson joins host Bruce Bozzi to discuss her recent project, growing up in L.A. in the 70s, her friendship with Nora Ephron, and how Bruce Springsteen convinced her to start writing music later in life. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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The historian Douglas Brinkley has written over 20 books on everything from the American space program to Rosa Parks. But more than any other subject, his work has touched on the environment—Teddy Roosevelt’s pioneering preservation work, F.D.R.’s under-appreciated efforts to protect America’s public lands, the fight to save Alaska’s disappearing wilderness, and so forth. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Bruce Bozzi and Brinkley consider his latest book, The Silent Spring Revolution, and explore how one woman, Rachel Carson, launched an ecological revolution that in turn led to the Clean Air Acts, Earth Day, and a healthy number of popular environmental songs by the likes of Marvin Gaye and Neil Young. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts

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If not for her wisdom and polished charm, you'd never believe that Sienna Miller has been working in Hollywood for two decades. The New York-born British actress, former model, and perennial tabloid fixture is not only conspicuously ageless, but she possesses an unflappability that, coupled with her improbable ambition, has assured her success in switching from film to television to stage. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, just in time for the Cannes Film Festival, the former juror shares a glass of rosé with Bruce Bozzi and discusses the lasting influences of Lucille Ball and Marilyn Monroe; acting for a good cause; the labels that have hobbled female actresses both past to present; and much more. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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The name Tom Ford symbolizes many things: strong-shouldered suits, evocative fragrances, daring advertisements, and a brand that Estée Lauder bought in a deal valued at $2.8 billion late last year. But it also represents the American designer behind all those things, whose unerring taste has made him a master at everything he touches, from fashion and beauty products to feature films—Ford directed A Single Man (2009) and Nocturnal Animals (2016), both of which were nominated for Academy Awards. On this week's Table for Two, Ford shares a rare lunch on the town with Bruce Bozzi and is unmistakably himself in a black suit, white shirt (with deliberately unbuttoned cuffs for the occasion), and matching pocket handkerchief. Here, he discusses his life beyond fashion and within it, and in all his charming contradictions—Ford is contemporary but classic, shy yet assertive—he adds color to his known authority on how to look good anywhere, and everywhere. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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There was a time when the notion of an old—er, aging—rock star was laughable, a veritable contradiction in terms. And even now, precious few can legitimately claim such a title. Among that number is Jon Bon Jovi, who, it’s almost impossible to believe, is celebrating his band’s 40th anniversary this year. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Bon Jovi reveals how he got his first record deal when he was a spry 21-year-old from New Jersey; what it was like to share the stage with Bruce Springsteen for the first time; why Harry Styles is the biggest star of our age; and how he’s still in love with his wife, Dorothea, after over 30 years of marriage. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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