Conversations With Jim Zirin

Thomas Graham, a Russia expert and author of the terrific new book, "Getting Russia Right," was one of three former national security officials to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in secret back channel talks last April, possibly paving a way forward to end the war in Ukraine. He tells Jim why our post-Soviet effort to partner with Russia failed.

Andrew Roberts, one of the greatest biographers of the English language today, has co-authored his 20th book with General David Petraeus, called "Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine." He tells Jim how warfare has developed over the last eight decades, and applies the history to what we see today in Gaza.

Henry Timms, the tremendously effective CEO at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, tells Jim he will never stop innovating. Since taking over in 2019, he has accomplished the renovation of David Geffen Hall, and expanded programming to include concerts of hip-hop, and even an LGBTQ mariachi group. Henry is having much fun at Lincoln Center, and so has the New York community.

New Yorkers overwhelmingly elected Andrew Cuomo as their governor. His approval rating soared to 77 percent. The next year, he found himself hounded out of office by political enemies, accusing him of sexual harassment and covering up the number of COVID deaths in nursing homes. Melissa DeRosa, his former chief of staff, tells Jim of a political cabal that was out to get her boss.

Constitutional law Professor Kermit Roosevelt has studied the original understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment. He tells Jim Zirin that Donald Trump should be disqualified from seeking the presidency because he engaged in an insurrection on January 6. The matter is before courts in 21 states. It will certainly reach the Supreme Court.

Kai Bird's biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer inspired the hit movie. He tells Jim how the father of the atomic bomb fell victim to McCarthyism when they revoked his security clearance nine years later after a deeply flawed hearing.

George P. Shultz, our 60th secretary of state, was a consummate diplomat — a solver of seemingly intractable national and global problems. Many credit him, along with Ronald Reagan, with peacefully ending the cold war and for a time the nuclear arms race with the Russians. His biographer, the award-winning foreign correspondent Philip Taubman, tells me of his vast accomplishment.

Donald Trump appointed Mark Esper Secretary of Defense. During the stormy 16 months he was in office, Esper often clashed with Trump's directives to use the military in ways Esper thought inappropriate, including using the military to change the election results. Trump fired Esper in November 2020 a few days after he lost the election. Esper, a lifelong Republican, tells Jim he is not supporting T...

Superstar director Bart Sher tells Jim Zirin about the fourth revival of Camelot on Broadway with book by Aaron Sorkin. Nominated for a Tony — this one is deep in contemporary significance and is perhaps the most memorable.

My latest conversation with diplomat Richard Haass, author of the book 'The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens'. We discussed indicting a former president, the state of political discourse, and the obligations all citizens share.

Xi Jinping recently secured a precedent-breaking third term as president of China during a session of a rubber stamp parliament. In a blistering speech, he accused the United States of "containment" of China, a term reminiscent of the Cold War. Kevin Rudd, Australian Ambassador to the United States, finds Xi's speech alarming, arguing robust diplomacy is needed to manage our relationship and avoid...

Jim Zirin revisits his 2018 interview with super journalist and gifted writer Ken Auletta, recorded on March 12, 2018. In 1978, Ken profiled for Esquire the pugnacious attorney Roy Cohn whom he called the "personification of evil." Cohn died in 1986 discredited and disbarred. Donald Trump was a Cohn client and close friend. He called Cohn his mentor. Ken Auletta tells Jim some of the dirty tricks...

Jim Zirin revisits his 2021 interview with renowned Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe, recorded on April 19, 2021. Larry discusses all the civil suits and potential criminal charges targeting Donald Trump. He tells Jim Zirin that Trump has some interesting defenses in the possible criminal cases, but, at the end of the day, he will be held accountable.

Jim Zirin revisits his 2022 interview with seasoned lawyer Martin London, recorded on September 26, 2022. Marty reviews the indictable crimes of which Donald Trump may be accused. He tells Jim Zirin which case he thinks is strongest. As a top litigator, Marty addresses the tactics of where DOJ will want to bring its case, when Merrick Garland will spring, and whether "Teflon Don" will be indicted...

Chris Whipple, author, documentary filmmaker, and TV producer got inside the Oval Office in his latest book, The Fight of his Life. With unprecedented access, he sizes up the Biden presidency in mid-stream and comes to some surprising conclusions. Published earlier this year, the book acquires greater relevancy with the President's challenges growing as he confronts the war in Ukraine, the classif...

Author Bill Cohan has written a fascinating whodunit about the rise and fall of General Electric. Founded by Thomas Edison in 1892, GE rose to become a corporate behemoth featuring a $600 billion market cap, and a triple-A credit rating. Today, GE has all but disappeared, its market cap down to $87 billion. Bill performs the autopsy and tells me what happened.

Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, has weathered a parade of challenges including stormy union negotiations, serious financial constraints, a two-year covid shutdown, the firing of his star soprano Anna Netrebko because of her support for Putin, and a devastating cyber-attack which crippled his box office for nine days. Notwithstanding, he tells Jim Zirin about his survival mod...

Leading foreign policy thinker Walter Russell Mead, author Of "The Arc of a Covenant--The United States, Israel, and The Fate of the Jewish People," tells Jim that it is not just American Jewry in whom Israel has found strong support, but American Zionists of all stripes who understand that the entanglement between the Jewish people, the Jewish state and the United States dates back to the earlies...

Top-flight Washington lawyer David Dorsen represented hedge fund operator Michael Lauer for part of Lauer's 14-year struggle to achieve justice from the SEC in a deeply flawed civil fraud action. At the end of the day, a jury cleared Lauer of all criminal charges, but when the dust settled, Lauer lost all of his money, and the alleged victims got nothing, while the lawyers and accountants reaped a...

Lawfully married in 2007 to Thea Spyer, her companion of 40 years, Edith Windsor found herself the beneficiary of Ms Spyer's estate but was denied the spousal deduction for federal estate taxes. She sued, claiming that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. Edie and her lawyer Robbie Kaplan tell Jim Zirin that historic discrimination against gays warrants a "heightened scrutiny" of...

Visionary Harry Guggenheim was a man for all seasons: captain of industry, racehorse breeder, newspaper publisher, diplomat, a pioneer in commercial aviation and rocketry, a lifelong friend of Charles Lindbergh, and a museum builder. His biographer Dirk Smillie unravels the puzzle of this complicated man and tells Jim what the secret of Harry's success was.

Journalist Dahlia Lithwick writes a best-selling book profiling eight women lawyers who fought for equal rights during the Trump era. Her account begins in 2016 and ends with the Dobbs abortion decision this year. She notes the loss of yardage, but is certain that the struggle for freedom will continue.