Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin

This week Alec talks with opera singer Renée Fleming, whose singing voice has been described as "double cream." Fleming remembers her professional debut -- “I was just jelly at the end of the first rehearsal” -- and celebrates her long association with The Metropolitan Opera. Fleming talks about performing and the challenges of being heard, without amplification, over an orchestra, but also about...

This week on Here’s The Thing, Alec talks about the financial crisis with Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist. Stiglitz shows no restraint when unleashing criticism of presidential policies -- on both sides. Of President Barack Obama’s financial-industry rescue plan, Stiglitz said that whomever designed it was "either in the pocket of the banks or … incompetent." Stiglitz talks to Ale...

This week on Here’s The Thing, Alec talks with Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies. Today Osborne plays the role of ambassador to a bygone era. We hear the journey he took to get there -- which could have been a classic movie itself. Osborne tells Alec about meeting Lucille Ball: “If it had been Lana Turner I met or somebody I wouldn't have been able to talk, but it was Lucille Ball.” No...

Alec talks with Kristen Wiig -- who catered, did floral design, answered phones at a law firm and handed out peach samples at a farmer’s market -- all before landing her current gig, as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Kristen says she loves performing, but admits there’s also a “big part of me that’s just like: don’t look at me.” Kristen talks about auditioning for SNL, and the prospect of l...

Alec talks with Herb Alpert, legendary trumpeter and co-founder of A&M Records, the independent record label Alpert eventually sold to Polygram. In 1966, Alpert’s band, The Tijuana Brass sold over 13 million records, outselling The Beatles. Alpert talks about the thrill of signing musicians like The Carpenters, Cat Stevens, and The Police but also reveals what it was like to lose -- and slowly...

Kathleen Turner made her film debut 30 years ago in the blockbuster thriller, Body Heat. Since then, she’s been leading lady in numerous films and on stage and she’s earned Tony nominations for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Turner sits down with Alec to talk directors – from stage and screen; raising a daughter in New York; dealing with rheumatoid arthritis; and her pas...

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 wo...

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, th...

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...

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 gi...

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 marriag...

Alec sits down with director Stephen Daldry, whose new movie, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," opens on Christmas Day. Stephen offers a window into his past – from training as a clown and driving giraffes through Pompeii to being serenaded with Billy Elliot songs by a persistent Elton John. Alec and Stephen trade notes on acting styles -- and whether being Mayor – of New York or London – wou...

Chris Rock says he "wanted [his] acting to grow." So what did he do? He took a job on Broadway. Alec goes backstage with Rock after a matinee of The Mother F**ker With The Hat to hear about what it was like for Rock to be in his first play. Rock says rehearsal was the hardest thing he's ever gone through in his life. Chris Rock and Alec talk about the play, the movie business, and Rock's career in...

Alec talks with Kris Kardashian Jenner, the self-described “momager” of the Kardashian clan. Kris explains what it’s like to live and work with her family: “you can’t get more controlling than that.” Kris describes her family’s retail roots--her grandmother owned a candle store, her mother opened a store, and Kris herself, along with her daughters, opened two clothing stores. “I sold t-shirts,” sa...

Alec Baldwin talks with political strategist Ed Rollins. A boxing phenom as a kid, Rollins went on to work on six presidential campaigns. He talks to Alec about his recent work with Michele Bachmann, offers new insight into Ronald Reagan’s legacy and shares some of his personal history – of a Democratic bent. “Pretend I’m your priest,” says Ed Rollins, when he starts to work with prospective candi...

Michael Douglas invites host Alec Baldwin into his New York apartment for a compelling conversation about what makes a great director, a smart producer, and why playing the villain is so wonderful. Douglas reveals how competition with his father, legendary actor Kirk Douglas, shaped both his career and his life as a parent, telling Alec, “I’m much more honest with my seven-year-old daughter than I...