James Carville’s nickname is The Ragin’ Cajun. He became famous when Bill Clinton hired him as his lead political strategist in 1992 and Carville helped the guy from Hope beat George H.W. Bush to become the 42nd U.S. president. Carville’s aggressive tactics are highlighted in the documentary “The War Room.” He’s also famous for being part of a couple who are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, former Republican strategist Mary Matalin. Carville now co-hosts the podcast “Politics War Room.” He also spends a lot of time trying to figure out how to help the Democratic party regain power. We talk about what went wrong and how scared we should be. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Larry Charles is a true character. He liked to wear his pajamas to work. He was one of the original writers of Seinfeld. He also wrote and directed Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes. In between, Charles made a movie with Bob Dylan called Masked and Anonymous that was never released. He also directed Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat and Bruno where Cohen ran down the street in an orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood wearing pink hot pants. Larry Charles wrote a memoir called Comedy Samurai. The book is very funny. This conversation is hilarious. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Paul Hawken has racked up several notable accomplishments in his life. As a teenager, in the mid-60s, Hawken headed south to join the civil rights movement. He’s always had a strong sense of social justice and he started several companies that emphasized operating in a socially responsible way including The Erewhon Trading Company, a natural foods wholesaler, and the garden supply company Smith and Hawken. And through it all Paul Hawken Has thought a lot about our environment, the climate and how people relate to one another in their lives. He’s also written more than 10 books. His latest is called Carbon: The Book of Life. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Penn Jillette and his partner Teller have created one of the most successful and lucrative careers in show business by using mind bending effects and revealing the secrets behind their magic tricks. Teller is the short one with sleight of hand who doesn’t speak. Penn is 6 feet 6 inches tall. He’s the juggler who talks and plays the double bass. They’re the longest-running headliners in the history of Las Vegas and they have a TV show called Penn and Teller: Fool Us. In his spare time, Penn Jillette writes books. His latest is a novel called Felony Juggler. We talk about politics, why he thinks of himself as a professional atheist and how he lost 100 pounds in 3 months. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Alison Bechdel is a cartoonist and graphic novelist. She first started getting attention for her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For and later wrote a graphic memoir called Fun Home which is about her father’s troubled life and her own experience of coming out as a lesbian. In 2015, Fun Home was produced as a Broadway musical and won 5 Tony Awards. Her new graphic novel Spent is about an artist trying to come to terms with her past success. And here’s a spoiler. She includes this in her story but Alison Bechdel doesn’t really run a sanctuary farm for pygmy goats. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Writer Sophie Gilbert has a theory about the early 2000s. In her new book Girl on Girl, she’s written about some disturbing trends in popular culture focusing on the way that girls were portrayed in magazines and TV shows. Britney Spears, the "Princess of Pop,” appeared on 8 Rolling Stone covers dressed in scanty outfits and striking provocative poses. Lindsay Lohan became a pop idol at the age of 17. Keeping Up with the Kardashians followed Khloe, Kylie, Kris, Kourtney, Kim and Kendall. The reality show glorified celebrity and set what some consider to be unrealistic standards of beauty. I talk to Gilbert about how the sexualization of young women damaged their self-image and hurt the feminist movement. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Amy Irving’s film career soared in the 1980s. She was featured in the film Yentl, a role that earned her an Academy Award nomination. In the movie Crossing Delancey, Irving plays a single woman who falls in love with a pickle merchant. In real life, Irving married Steven Spielberg, a relationship that ended in divorce. She co-starred with Willie Nelson in the film Honeysuckle Rose and that was the beginning of a life-long friendship with Nelson. Irving’s career has shifted away from acting and towards music. She’s got a new album which features Willie Nelson covers. It’s called Always Will Be. I spoke to Amy Irving at her home in Westchester about singing as a second act and what it’s like to be an older woman in Hollywood. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Elizabeth Anne Hanks is a writer. She’s also the daughter of Tom Hanks. Her mother Susan was married to Tom Hanks before he became a movie star. Elizabeth grew up with her mother and older brother in Sacramento while her dad’s career in Hollywood took off with lead roles in movies like Big and Forrest Gump. Elizabeth could relate to something the character of Forrest said in the film. "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” What Elizabeth got is a childhood she writes about in her memoir called The 10. It’s the story of being raised by a mentally ill mother and forging a close relationship with her father. “Now What?’ is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Pico Iyer is a travel writer and a novelist who has spent time in far flung places like Ethiopia, Tibet, North Korea, Bhutan and Nepal exploring the history, culture and food of diverse cultures. In contrast to his life on the road in places, Iyer is now spending more time exploring his inner life. That’s what his latest book called Aflame Is all about. Several times a year, Iyer visits a Benedictine monastery in Big Sur which he finds to be a refuge from the crowded noisy world he usually inhabits. Iyer examines the benefits of just sitting still and doing nothing. We talk about Iyer’s relationship with the Dalai Lama and with singer Leonard Cohen when Cohen was a Buddhist monk living on a mountaintop. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Pardons are about presidential power. Many presidents wait until the end of their term to issue them. Not Donald Trump. He has pardoned more than 1500 people who took part in the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. President Trump has also issued more than 70 executive orders, another instrument of presidential power. They focus on shrinking the government, imposing tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada and freezing foreign aid. Many of these actions are facing lawsuits and judicial rulings. So, what will the federal government look like when the dust settles? I talk to legal scholar Jeffrey Toobin about the future of American democracy and his new book The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy. “Now What?” is produced with help from Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Picture this. It was my first job in radio. I decided to do a series about women and comedy. The idea coincided with the birth of Saturday Night Live. The first interview: Gilda Radner. We sat on the floor, right across from Studio 8H where the show is still performed. Gilda told me all about what life is like when you become an overnight star. Then I talked to Jane Curtin about people asking her for autographs when she walked her dog. Somehow, in those years I missed talking to Laraine Newman. But I finally just caught up with her. And she’s the star of this episode. It's an outrageous conversation about SNL and all the things that have happened to her since. Plus, you’ll hear what Gilda and Jane had to say from those early day sit-downs. “Now What?” is produced with help from Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Rick Steves is a travel writer who’s on a mission. His name appears on guidebooks to nearly every country on the continent including Croatia and Slovenia as well as France and Italy. His television series Rick Steves Europe debuted on PBS 25 years ago. Steves advises travelers to get off the beaten trail and head for villages where they can see the way local people really live. He’s also a passionate advocate for legalizing marijuana. Steves’ new book is called On the Hippie Trail. It’s a detailed journal about a trip he took from Istanbul to Kathmandu when he was 23 years old. I talked to Rick Steves about exotic lands, marijuana, travel and mortality. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Alan Lightman likes to look at things very closely. Lightman is a physicist at MIT who has written 7 novels including the best-selling Einstein’s Dreams. Lightman, who writes poetry in his spare time, calls himself a spiritual materialist. That’s a belief that you can find the spiritual within the realm of science. Lightman was also the host of the PBS television series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science. His latest book is called The Miraculous from the Material. It contains essays about the marvels of the universe like Mandarin fish, the northern lights and the Rings of Saturn. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Maira Kalman is one of those multi-talented people. She writes children’s books and books for adults. She’s also a contributor to the New York Times. She creates covers for the New Yorker and sets for operas Her latest work is a book of essays called Still Life with Remorse that includes family stories and paintings she’s done. It also includes vignettes about historical figures like Leo Tolstoy and Franz Kafka. In fact, Kalman likes to dress up as these characters like Kafka and make little films about them. Her son Alex shoots the movies. They’re very funny. We laugh about a lot of crazy things that happen in life on the new episode of “Now What?”