Alex Ross has been a music critic at The New Yorker since 1996. His beat is classical music, but his work spans literature, history, the visual arts, film, and ecology. The MacArthur Genius Grant recipient was cited by the foundation for his ability to offer “new ways of thinking about the music of the past and its place in our future.”  He is also the author of three books, “Listen to This,” “The Rest is Noise” and his most recent, “Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music,” which dives into the influential composer’s complicated legacy. Alex Ross and Alec discuss the changing field of criticism, Wagner’s place in history and how to separate art from artist. 

Alex Ross has been a music critic at The New Yorker since 1996. His beat is classical music, but his work spans literature, history, the visual arts, film, and ecology. The MacArthur Genius Grant recipient was cited by the foundation for his ability to offer “new ways of thinking about the music of the past and its place in our future.”  He is also the author of three books, “Listen to This,” “The Rest is Noise” and his most recent, “Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music,” which dives into the influential composer’s complicated legacy. Alex Ross and Alec discuss the changing field of criticism, Wagner’s place in history and how to separate art from artist.

Award-winning actor Alec Baldwin takes listeners into the lives of artists, policy makers and performers. Alec sidesteps the predictable by going inside the dressing rooms, apartments, and offices of people we want to understand better: Ira Glass, Lena Dunham, David Letterman, Barbara Streisand, Tom Yorke, Chris Rock and others. Hear what happens when an inveterate guest becomes a host.

Award-winning actor Alec Baldwin takes listeners into the lives of artists, policy makers and performers.  Alec sidesteps the predictable by going inside the dressing rooms, apartments, and offices of people we want to understand better: Ira Glass, Lena Dunham, David Brooks, Roz Chast, Chris Rock and others. Hear what happens when an inveterate guest becomes a host.

Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin

Alex Ross: Music vs. Noise

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/3ee6e211-f6d9-4e24-835e-aec2001a597b/transcript

Josh Fox is an independent filmmaker, playwright, and environmental activist best known for his Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning 2010 documentary, GASLAND. He is also the founder and artistic director of International WOW Company, a film and theater company working closely with actors, filmmakers, theater-makers, writers, activists, and artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, including activist communities in sustainable energy and design, creating work that addresses current national and global environmental, social and political crises. As a filmmaker, Fox’s work has been featured on HBO, Netflix, and premiered at both the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals. His debut documentary film, GASLAND, earned a Special Jury Prize at Sundance as well as an Oscar nomination and Emmy win. As a theatrical director, he has been praised by the New York Times as "one of the most adventurous impresarios of the New York avant-garde”. Fox has also contributed as a journalist to publications such as Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, NowThis, AJ+ and Huffington Post. Fox’s documentary work returns to HBO this summer 2026 with his latest film, THE WELCOME TABLE, which tells the story of climate refugees across six continents who were displaced from their homes by climate disasters.

Josh Fox is an independent filmmaker, playwright, and environmental activist best known for his Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning 2010 documentary, GASLAND. He is also the founder and artistic director of International WOW Company, a film and theater company working closely with actors, filmmakers, theater-makers, writers, activists, and artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, including activist communities in sustainable energy and design, creating work that addresses current national and global environmental, social and political crises. As a filmmaker, Fox&rsquo;s work has been featured on HBO, Netflix, and premiered at both the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals. His debut documentary film, GASLAND, earned a Special Jury Prize at Sundance as well as an Oscar nomination and Emmy win. As a theatrical director, he has been praised by the New York Times as "one of the most adventurous impresarios of the New York avant-garde&rdquo;. Fox has also contributed as a journalist to publications such as Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, NowThis, AJ+ and Huffington Post. Fox&rsquo;s documentary work returns to HBO this summer 2026 with his latest film, THE WELCOME TABLE, which tells the story of climate refugees across six continents who were displaced from their homes by climate disasters.

Oscar Nominee Josh Fox Invites you to "The Welcome Table"

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6c7901fb-69ca-4af0-be92-b4b70126dee0/transcript

Our summer tradition at Here’s the Thing continues, as staff members choose their favorite conversations from the archives for our Summer Staff Pick series. This week, we revisit Alec’s conversation with Justine Bateman. In 2023, as the writers’ and actors' strike in Hollywood stretched into the fall, many have called this moment “existential.” After negotiations with AMPTP, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, broke down, SAG-AFTRA and WGA members took to picket lines over dwindling wages and the use of artificial intelligence, which may change the entertainment industry forever. Writer, director, and producer Justine Bateman is one guild member warning of A.I.'s potentially devastating influence. Following her roles in Family Ties and Satisfaction, among many others, Bateman transitioned to working behind the scenes as a filmmaker and author. She earned her Computer Science and Digital Media Management degree from UCLA in 2016, which has become all the more relevant facing the rise of A.I. Bateman speaks with Alec Baldwin about the threat A.I. poses to the entire entertainment industry, how the business has changed since she first started in it, and what drives her creative work.

Our summer tradition at Here&rsquo;s the Thing continues, as staff members choose their favorite conversations from the archives for our Summer Staff Pick series. This week, we revisit Alec&rsquo;s conversation with Justine Bateman. In 2023, as the writers&rsquo; and actors' strike in Hollywood stretched into the fall, many have called this moment &ldquo;existential.&rdquo; After negotiations with AMPTP, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, broke down, SAG-AFTRA and WGA members took to picket lines over dwindling wages and the use of artificial intelligence, which may change the entertainment industry forever. Writer, director, and producer Justine Bateman is one guild member warning of A.I.'s potentially devastating influence. Following her roles in Family Ties and Satisfaction, among many others, Bateman transitioned to working behind the scenes as a filmmaker and author. She earned her Computer Science and Digital Media Management degree from UCLA in 2016, which has become all the more relevant facing the rise of A.I. Bateman speaks with Alec Baldwin about the threat A.I. poses to the entire entertainment industry, how the business has changed since she first started in it, and what drives her creative work.

Justine Bateman - Summer Staff Picks

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1bfabc32-a810-40cd-bde9-b4b00104a0b0/transcript

Kurt Andersen has spent four decades chronicling America’s culture and politics in both fiction and nonfiction. In 1986, Andersen co-founded Spy Magazine, which became a cultural zeitgeist and influenced a generation of journalists. Andersen then co-created and hosted Studio 360, a Peabody Award-winning public radio show and podcast about art and pop culture which aired from 2000 to 2020. He is also a former editor-in-chief of New York magazine, columnist and staff writer for the New Yorker, Time magazine critic and columnist, and has written for television, film, and the stage. Andersen appears regularly as a commentator on MSNOW, and continues to contribute to The Atlantic and the New York Times. In addition to his work in print media, Kurt Andersen is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America, A Recent History and Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, A 500-Year History, as well as the bestselling novels You Can’t Spell America Without Me, True Believers, Heyday, and Turn of the Century.

Kurt Andersen has spent four decades chronicling America&rsquo;s culture and politics in both fiction and nonfiction. In 1986, Andersen co-founded Spy Magazine, which became a cultural zeitgeist and influenced a generation of journalists. Andersen then co-created and hosted Studio 360, a Peabody Award-winning public radio show and podcast about art and pop culture which aired from 2000 to 2020. He is also a former editor-in-chief of New York magazine, columnist and staff writer for the New Yorker, Time magazine critic and columnist, and has written for television, film, and the stage. Andersen appears regularly as a commentator on MSNOW, and continues to contribute to The Atlantic and the New York Times. In addition to his work in print media, Kurt Andersen is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America, A Recent History and Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, A 500-Year History, as well as the bestselling novels You Can&rsquo;t Spell America Without Me, True Believers, Heyday, and Turn of the Century.

Kurt Andersen Has a New Book Out (and it's amazing)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/25ad48dc-3337-4c89-a545-b4a9013b40b3/transcript

Alex Ross: Music vs. Noise

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