Maggie Gyllenhaal's in a good place right now, at least as far as work and family go. Her latest starring role is as a troubled teacher named Lisa Spinelli in The Kindergarten Teacher. It's an unsettling portrayal of, as Gyllenhaal tells Alec, the "f***ing dire" consequences of "starving a vibrant woman's mind." In the film, Lisa's mind-starvation manifests in an unhealthy, exploitative relationship with a kindergartner. It's not an easy thing to watch, and Gyllenhaal tells Alec, "I almost didn't do the movie because I thought, 'no movie is worth disturbing a child, even for a few minutes.'" But her concerns were addressed, she said yes, and the result is a performance Gyllenhaal feels really good about. In fact, she says she feels better and better about each role she takes on these days. It's from this career high that she and Alec talk about The Deuce, her college years, her alternate career in skating, and the happy joining of lives, careers, and vowels in her marriage to Peter Sarsgaard.

Originally aired October 9, 2018.

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Hrishikesh Hirway is an acclaimed musician, composer, podcast creator, producer, and television host. Hirway is best known as the creator and host of “Song Exploder”, a podcast where musicians break down their songs and tell the story of how they were made. Hirway is also the creator and co-host of podcasts “The West Wing Weekly” (with co-host Joshua Malina), “Home Cooking” (with co-host Samin Nosrat), and “Partners”. In addition to the podcast, Hirway is the executive producer and host of the Netflix television adaptation of “Song Exploder”. As a composer, Hirway scored the Netflix television show “Everything Sucks!” and the films “Our Nixon”, “Save the Date”, and “Companion”. As a musician, Hirway has made multiple albums under the name The One AM Radio and his music has appeared on TV shows such as “Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill”. Based in Los Angeles, Hirway and host Alec Baldwin sat down for a live conversation recorded at On-Air Fest in Brooklyn.

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Micky Dolenz was a successful child-actor, but he became a full-fledged star at 20 in 1966 as the exuberant singer and drummer of The Monkees -- or rather, as the actor playing that character. At first, the band was a creation of NBC and only existed on the show The Monkees. For the first season, much of the backing music was played by a studio band. Eventually, that changed, and The Monkees' transition from a TV band to a real band is a fascinating story of hard work, perseverance, and marketing genius. Dolenz brings all the energy and humor he showed on The Monkees to this episode of Here's the Thing, telling Alec about the dynamics among the bandmates, his years as a successful TV producer in the UK, and what it's like touring -- and recording -- as a member of The Monkees 50 years after the end of the show.

Originally aired June 16th, 2020.

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