Recorded July 29th, 2012. Billy Joel has sold more records than The Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna—though the “rock star thing” is something he can “take off.” Joel started playing piano when he was about four or five years old. He admits that he doesn’t remember how to read sheet music anymore saying it’d be like reading Chinese. That doesn’t stop the third best-selling solo artist of all time in the U.S. from plunking out a few tunes with Alec.

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Anthony Parnther is a conductor, bassoonist, and music educator prominently known for his work conducting and playing for critically acclaimed film scores. In 2019 he was appointed music director and conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra and concurrently serves as the music director of the Southeast Symphony in Los Angeles, California, a position he has held since 2010. His notable film and TV work includes the scoring sessions for critically acclaimed films and TV shows such as “Avatar: The Way of Water”, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, “The Mandalorian”, Grammy Award-winning film “Encanto”, and Oscar winning film “Oppenheimer”. Notably, Panther led the scoring session for “Oppenheimer” which won Best Original Score in addition to Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2024.

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Against the backdrop of soaring stock prices and multi-million dollar executive packages, the labor movement is undergoing a resurgence. A Starbucks location in Buffalo, NY became the first within the coffee chain to unionize in 2021, and since then, more than 330 stores in 39 states have followed suit – with more elections underway. All the while, the Starbucks corporation was engaging in controversial labor-busting practices: the National Labor Relations Board found that Starbucks violated federal labor laws and a federal judge ruled that Starbucks engaged in “egregious and widespread misconduct.” Guest Gianna Reeve is an employee of the Camp Road Starbucks in the Buffalo area – and an organizer with Starbucks Workers United. Reeve joins Alec Baldwin to share her experience at one of the first stores to organize, the conditions that led to the unionization efforts, and what the Starbucks Workers United organization hopes for the future.

Gianna Reeve is a featured participant in the upcoming documentary “The Baristas vs The Billionaire.” To learn more, visit: www.baristasvsbillionaire.com

Originally aired June 27, 2023

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Oskar Eustis is a theater director, dramaturg, and the current Artistic Director of the renowned Public Theater in New York City. Throughout his career, Oskar Eustis has been dedicated to making the theater more accessible, uplifting new voices in playwriting, and the development of new plays in addition to directing and producing the classics. Among the productions he has helped bring to life are “Angels in America” and the Tony-winning “Hamilton”. Oskar Eustis has worked as a director, dramaturg, and artistic director for theaters around the United States. He has also produced and directed Shakespeare productions nationwide, notably The Public Theater’s annual (and free) Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. He is a professor of dramatic writing and arts and public policy at New York University and has held professorships at UCLA, Middlebury College and Brown University, where he founded and chaired the Trinity Rep/Brown University consortium for professional theater training.

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Mick Fleetwood is the drummer and a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, one of the most successful rock bands of all time. Fleetwood talks to Alec about how dyslexia led him to the drumming, how supportive parents encouraged his talent and his move to London as a teenager, how his friendship with the band’s founder, guitarist Peter Green, evolved to a life-long friendship, and how Fleetwood Mac balanced the weight of their interpersonal dynamics and the band’s wild, over-the-top success. The band’s 1977 album Rumors broke through Billboard 100 again last year thanks to a Tik Tok of a man on a skateboard lipsyncing to Dreams and introduced a whole new generation to Fleetwood Mac’s beautiful, enduring music.

Originally aired January 26, 2021

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Patrick Radden Keefe is a writer and investigative journalist known for books such as Chatter, Say Nothing, and The Snakehead. His work has been recognized with the National Magazine Award, the National Book Critics' Circle Award, and the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The New York Times named Say Nothing one of the 20 best books of the 21st Century. His reporting on the Sackler family was the inspiration for the 2023 Netflix limited series PAINKILLER and his book Say Nothing was adapted into a limited series for FX/Hulu of the same name. SAY NOTHING was named as one of the 10 Best Shows of 2024 by Variety, Vulture, and the New York Times. Keefe has also written extensively for many publications, including The New Yorker, Slate, and The New York Times magazine. He is currently a staff writer at The New Yorker.

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Actress Marilu Henner is known for a lot of things, from her groundbreaking role as Elaine Nardo on Taxi to her New York Times bestselling books on health and wellness to her amazing, nearly one-of-a-kind memory. But what shines through in every story, joke, and answer she gives Alec is her positivity and joy. Henner is someone who, at every turn, has chosen her happiness, and she’s eager to share her secrets for creating an optimistic outlook with everyone.

Originally aired December 21, 2021

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Paul Williams is an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe award-winning composer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for writing and co-writing popular songs such as “Evergreen”, “We’ve Only Just Begun”, and “Rainbow Connection”. Williams wrote the score and lyrics for renowned films such as the 1976 adaptation of “A Star is Born”, “The Muppet Movie”, “The Muppet Christmas Carol”, “Bugsy Malone”, and “The Phantom of the Paradise”. His songs have been recorded by legendary artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and The Carpenters. As an actor, Williams has appeared in numerous high profile films and TV shows such as the 1973 “Battle for the Planet of the Apes”, “Smokey and the Bandit”, “Phantom of the Paradise”, and “Baby Driver”. His illustrious career spans generations and includes titans of both the music industry and Hollywood. Currently, Williams is the president and chairman of the ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.

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