Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin

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Barry Gibb Keeps the Bee Gees Stayin’ Alive Mar 02, 2021

Show notes

The Bee Gees were Barry Gibb and his younger twin brothers, Robin and Maurice. From the time they started playing together as children, they dreamed of stardom, and they certainly succeeded. The Bee Gees became among the top-selling music groups of all time. The distinctive “blood harmony” of the brothers' voices set the dance floor on fire and their prodigious talent as songwriters extended their career long past disco’s days. Now in his mid-70s, Barry is the sole survivor of the group. Barry talks to Alec about his songwriting, fame, and family. Robin died in 2012 and Maurice in 2003. Barry’s keeping the Bee Gees’ music alive and still making music. HBO recently released a documentary about the group, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? and Barry put out an album featuring Nashville greats singing Bee Gees songs called Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook (Vol. 1).

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Julie Holland Prescribes Human Connection Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, recorded several months into the pandemic, NYC-based psychiatrist Julie Holland assures Alec it’s not just him, we’re all having a hard-time. Dr. Holland says our brains are wired for connection and isolation is causing many of us to go into “fight or flight” mode where it’s harder to feel safe and loved. But there’s hope. Put down the phone, go outside, call a friend. Connect. And, for some, drugs might help, too. Holland has been deeply curious about the brain since high school and she’s a leading researcher in using psychedelics and cannabis to treat PTSD. In controlled settings, these drugs can restore a sense of being connected with others and the larger world. Holland is the author of several books including Good Chemistry, Moody Bitches, and a memoir, Weekends at Bellevue.

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Patton Oswalt Runs at Love Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

In the glut of comedy that exists today - with hundreds of comedy clubs, sit-coms, late-night talk shows, and podcasts - Patton Oswalt has distinguished himself over his three-decade career by being a talented actor who also happens to be very funny. Patton talks to Alec about the sudden death in 2016 of his first wife, author Michelle McNamara, how it changed his relationship with their daughter. Patton says the strength of his first marriage allowed him to “run at love” when it came a second time (he married actress Meredith Salenger in late 2017). Alec and Patton also compare notes on the deep imprint their favorite TV shows growing up have had, what Patton learned about FOMO while writing for MADtv, and why Patton started all over when he started performing at comedy clubs in San Francisco in the early 90s.

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Katie Porter Enjoys Being a Fish Out of Water Feb 09, 2021

Show notes

In 2018, U.S. Representative Katie Porter (CA-45) was the first Democrat ever to be elected in her traditionally conservative Orange County district. Prompted to run by Trump’s 2016 win, Porter quickly made a name for herself with her tough questioning of CEOs and administration officials, often using a whiteboard to lay out the facts. Katie Porter’s no-nonsense approach comes in part from her upbringing in Iowa. During the farm crisis of the 1980s, she saw first-hand how her father, a third generation farmer turned community loan officer, helped to support their neighbors. She went on to study bankruptcy law under Elizabeth Warren at Harvard Law School and become a consumer protection attorney and a law professor. A single mom to three school-age children, Katie Porter tells Alec people often have often underestimated her - at their own peril.

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Isabel Wilkerson on Caste and William Darity on Reparations Feb 02, 2021

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Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson talks to Alec about her best-selling book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Wilkerson says America’s caste system began in 1619, when enslaved people first arrived in the Jamestown colony. Drawing comparisons between India’s millennia-long caste system and the Nazis’ subjugation of Jews in WWII, Wilkerson says white Americans developed a caste system to justify centuries of violence and discrimination against African-Americans. Wilkerson says we must understand our full history and the caste system today to become a more equitable nation. Alec then follows up on the question of reparations with William Darity, a Duke University professor of economics and co-author of From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century. Darity says the U.S. government owes $10 - $12 trillion in reparations to the approximately 40 million descendants of enslaved people. Darity says reparations are essential to close the persistent wealth gap between white and Black households.

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Mick Fleetwood Skates Back into the Charts Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

Mick Fleetwood is the drummer and a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, one of the most successful rock bands of all time. Fleetwood talks to Alec about how dyslexia led him to the drumming, how supportive parents encouraged his talent and his move to London as a teenager, how his friendship with the band’s founder, guitarist Peter Green, evolved to a life-long friendship, and how Fleetwood Mac balanced the weight of their interpersonal dynamics and the band’s wild, over-the-top success. The band’s 1977 album Rumors broke through Billboard 100 again last year thanks to a Tik Tok of a man on a skateboard lipsyncing to Dreams and introduced a whole new generation to Fleetwood Mac’s beautiful, enduring music.

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Howard Dean Still Has Something to Say Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean offers a long-view take on what’s needed in this pivotal moment as Joe Biden takes office. Dean talks about vaccines, prioritizing the important while attending to the urgent, and what unity might look like for our deeply divided country. Dean has studied democracies around the world, yet much of his adult life has been rooted in Vermont where he practiced family medicine before becoming the state's longest-serving Governor from 1991 - 2003. Dean ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 Presidential race, pioneering grassroots fundraising. Then, as chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 and 2009, his 50 state strategy played a key role in Barack Obama’s 2008 win. At 72, Dean teaches foreign policy at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and is as opinionated and clear thinking as ever.

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Kristen Bell Chooses Her Lane Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

Actor Kristen Bell (The Good Place, Frozen, Veronica Mars) has a happy marriage that requires a lot of work, and she’s good with that. She considered a life in the theater as a student at NYU, even making it to Broadway before graduation. However, on a whim, she moved to Los Angeles and has been starring in movies and TV ever since. Like her most memorable characters, Bell is plucky, relatable, and very funny. That’s her lane and she’s good with that, too. She tells Alec, at 40, she’s more comfortable than ever in her skin, more aware of her voice and what she needs to be happy, lessons she strives to model every day for her daughters, and her legions of devoted fans.

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Here’s The Thing Trailer Jan 05, 2021

Show notes

Join award-winning actor Alec Baldwin in conversation with some of the most dynamic artists, policymakers, and performers working today. This season, Alec will talk with Kristen Bell about marriage and why generosity always wins, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean on the difference between the important and the urgent, and music legend Mick Fleetwood about why Fleetwood Mac has survived for more than half a century - 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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These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, Part 2 Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

Here’s The Thing is moving from WNYC to iHeartRadio. Over the past several years, Alec has talked with some of the greatest artists, musicians, actors, writers, thinkers, public policy makers, and sports figures of our time. The final two programs on WNYC highlight a compilation of some of Alec’s favorite interviews from the past several years. This penultimate WNYC episode features clips from interviews with David Letterman, Audra McDonald, Carly Simon, Robert Osborne, and Jon Robin Baitz. Join Alec as he celebrates his accomplished guests and the Here’s The Thing catalog.

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