Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin
Studio: WNYC Studios
Category: Society & Culture
What It Is
Actor Alec Baldwin talks to a variety of figures from the arts, culture, politics and entertainment.
Technical Details
A new hour of this show drops every two weeks or so. The iTunes page has the entire archive of programs, I think. Check out the website if you want to be sure.
What About It
This show finds Baldwin fitting very neatly into the very whispery NPR style of radio interview shows. His dulcet tones are soothing and his guests are interesting and sometimes quite surprising. He’ll have actors, directors, musicians and such, but then suddenly he’ll throw in a modern art painter or an honest to God columnist or athlete. He’s not a particularly gifted interviewer, but he has an affability that gives the interviews an appealing looseness. At a couple of shows a month, you can tell that Baldwin is doing exactly the show he wants to do with only guests that he’s genuinely interested in and that really helps the show. Still, it’s not a show-stopper and you’ll probably finish every episode wishing it had been Terry Gross doing the interview, but still, it’s diverting.
3 stars.
Essential If
You prefer Baldwin’s non-Trump related work.
Avoid Like the Plague If
Alec Baldwin has ever left you a profane voicemail.
Best Entry Point
I really like an episode Baldwin did with Dustin Hoffman. It was recorded live and it has energy. Baldwin does some of his best work at hitting less discussed patches of Hoffman’s career. They spend a very long time talking about a couple of movies you never really hear discussed, Lenny, in which Hoffman played Lenny Bruce, and Runaway Jury (!), in which Hoffman finally got to perform with one of his idols, Gene Hackman. Really good episode.