Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin

The first time acclaimed director Stephen Daldry was expected to shout “Action!” he thought it was a joke. Alec met with Stephen Daldry in 2011, weeks before his intimate, post-9/11 drama, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, opened. Daldry’s work is precise and intimate, but in conversation with Alec he was passionate about a wide variety of topics, including communal living, the virtues of mass transit, and the Olympics.   READ | Interview Transcript

Chris Rock is one of the greatest comic talents in the world, but when he arrived on Broadway to perform his first play, The Motherf***ker in The Hat, he did not yet know how to properly cross a Broadway stage. Rock says that his life has mimicked each role in the play—both the heart-breaker and the heart-broken—and he tells Alec that performing in the show was the hardest thing he has ever done.   READ | Interview Transcript

Thirty days after a casual dinner conversation about doing a reality television show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians started filming. Six years later, Kris Kardashian is hoping for another 26 seasons. In 2013, the Kardashian family earned $65 million in profits. Behind the clothing, jewelry and perfume empires is a family driven by faith and an unwavering work ethic. 

“Pretend I’m your priest,” says political strategist Ed Rollins, when he starts to work with prospective candidates. Rollins encourages his clients to tell him everything—even still, he tells Alec, “they always lie.”  A boxing phenom as a kid, Rollins went on to work on six presidential campaigns and knows what is really required of a president. He talks to Alec about his work with Michele Bachmann, offers new insight into Ronald Reagan’s legacy and shares some of his personal history—of a Democratic bent.  READ | Ed Rollins Interview Transcript

Michael Douglas has lived in the same apartment overlooking Central Park for decades. Alec joins him there for a compelling conversation about what makes a great director 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. He says he’s much more honest with his young daughter than he ever thought he’d be. Douglas explains how his father’s early brush with death, and his own cancer diagnosis affected them each in different ways. Resources: American Head and Neck Society

In WNYC’s new podcast series, award-winning actor Alec Baldwin gives the listener unique entrée into the lives of artists, policy makers and performers. Alec sidesteps the predictable by taking listeners inside the dressing rooms, apartments, and offices of people such as comedian Chris Rock, political strategist Ed Rollins and Oscar winner Michael Douglas. Every two weeks, Alec pursues great conversations in unexpected places to find out what motivates his guests, how they feel about what they do and what keeps them up at night. Here’s the Thing: Listen to what happens when a man you think you know surprises you. Sign up for the "Here's The Thing" with Alec Baldwin newsletter and subscribe to the podcast to get the latest on upcoming episodes.