How To Be Amazing With Michael Ian Black

The UK creator, writer and star of such BBC hits as Pulling and the current Catastrophe (also seen on Amazon) talks to Michael about realizing that she needed to create her own success and what her life is like now that she is working on two continents since her HBO show, Divorce starring Sarah Jessica Parker, has premiered.  

America’s favorite weatherman talks to Michael about how he stumbled upon what became the career that he loves and would never give up, along with a frank conversation about his Today Show family and what that really means. In addition, the two chat about the upcoming election, covering the news on September 11 and how you can never stop pitching the next idea.  

When Michael spoke to Five Thirty Eight’s founder Nate Silver, he highly recommended Daniel Kahneman’s groundbreaking book Thinking Fast and Slow. Now, Michael talks to Kahneman, the Nobel Prize-winning author and founder of behavioral economics, in a rare interview, in which he not only discusses his best-selling book, but also shares personal stories about growing up Jewish in Nazi-occupied Paris, his early years in the Psychology branch of the Israel Defense Forces and his fascinating research on decision making and happiness.  

On this episode, Michael talks with Sonia Manzano on the heels of her recent Lifetime Achievement Emmy.  Manzano is best known as “Maria” on Sesame Street, a character she played for 44 years. In the humorous and heartfelt conversation, she opens up about her early days on the iconic children’s program, learning how to work alongside the muppets and how she escaped a difficult childhood in the South Bronx to become an actress, writer, educator, and memoirist.  

Legendary magician and raconteur Penn Jillette has a keen eye for calling out the bullshit around him, but it took a dangerous health scare for him to realize his own eating habits were going to kill him if he didn’t make drastic changes to his diet.  In this episode he and Michael discuss how his desire to never take the easy route has helped make him a great magician and showman, and pushed him to lose over 100 pounds without surgery.  

Best-selling author Harlan Coben has sold over 60 million books in 43 different languages.  In this episode he talks to Michael in a remarkably practical way about how he does it – his writing process, how he dreams up his wildly imaginative and fun murder mysteries, his approach to marketing his books and more. A not-to-miss episode for anyone who aspires to write or just wants to know how a big bestseller is put together.  

The fashion therapist and Project Runway mentor chats with Michael about his journey from an art student to one of the most trusted names in the fashion world. In this deeply personal and heartfelt conversation Gunn opens up about his struggles with learning to be comfortable in his own skin and using his talent, creativity and passion for the arts to inspire others.

As a spy, Valerie Plame’s job was for nobody to know her identity.  All that changed when members of George W. Bush’s administration outed her to a reporter in retaliation for her husband public criticism of the Bush administration’s use of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq War.  Simply, her life as she knew it, was ruined.  In the years since, she rebuilt her life and using what she learned in her years as a CIA operative, has become outspoken about issues concerning cyber security and nuclear threat, among others.  Her experience from 2003 is eerily relevant to events happening today.   

Michael sits down with his friend and fellow member of the comedy troupes The State and Stella for a lively, hilarious and moving conversation about finding your voice in the entertainment industry. The two reminisce about their early days on MTV, and Showalter talks candidly about the rejection and failed TV shows that lead him to his true passion behind the camera writing and directing films such as the cult classic Wet Hot American Summer and the indie darling Hello, My Name is Doris; starring Sally Field.   

Wayne Pacelle took his childhood love of animals and made a career, you might even call it a crusade, helping them.  As the President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, Pacelle has learned to be a master strategizer to push change, sometimes in small steps, sometimes in big reforms. For anyone who cares about an issue, but thinks it’s too big or unwieldy to ever make a dent, Pacelle’s approach to animal welfare will be inspirational.  

The lead singer, co-producer and co-writer of the Scottish pop band Chvrches talks to Michael about her journey from being a law school student and journalist in Glasgow to performing in front of thousands of people. Her openness about what it’s entailed is a fascinating glimpse into the life of ascending celebrity as she shares details of keeping it all together and her response to misogynistic attacks on social media and at shows that almost crushed her .

America’s leading sex advice columnist known for his popular Savage Love column and podcast talks to Michael about how growing up a closeted gay person in a religious Catholic family prepared him for the job of letting people know they are normal, no matter what their sexual interests may be.  

Bryan Doerries is possibly the least likely defense contractor who has ever existed (background in the classics, and the kid of psychologists), but has become responsible for one of the biggest collaborations in history between the U.S. Military and the arts world. He’s using greek tragedies written more than 2,000 years ago to start conversations and a process of healing in communities that are dealing with some of the darkest things that humans have to deal with—  war trauma, imprisonment, and addiction.

On this episode, Michael goes deep with Krista Tippett. Tippett has devoted her professional life to asking the big questions on her show, On Being.  Questions about faith and science and love and how we should live our lives are posed in such an engaging, thought-provoking way that it’s no wonder she has amassed a huge following on both public radio and through her popular podcast.

When you grow up the only child of two very famous parents, most people don’t expect much from you, but Max Brooks wanted to prove to himself that he was more than just “Mel Brook’s kid.”  After trying his hand at various pursuits, he channeled his lifelong inclination toward the worst case scenario and wrote “The Zombie Survival Guide” and “World War Z,” which not only became huge hits among zombie fans,  but in the world at large because if you drop the zombie part of the title, he has a great deal of good advice for anyone concerned with disaster survival.   

Suzy Favor-Hamilton was propelled into the spotlight at a young age as a talented middle distance runner. She went on to become a three-time Olympian.  But as her running career came to an end, she experienced extreme mania from bipolar disorder which fed a dangerous desire for adrenaline that led her to become a high-end, Las Vegas escort.

In his early years as a comedian, Jim Gaffigan struggled to find his own comedic point of view.  It took him years to figure out that his best work meant being comfortable as his clean self and having faith that funny is funny, even without profanity.  Along with his writing partner, and wife, Jeanie, Gaffigan has become one of the most popular comedians working today.

The record-breaking, six-time Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald went from a hyper-active kid performing in the local dinner theater to Broadway mega-star. In this episode, Michael chats with her about failed auditions, letting go of her idea of perfection, and how she learned to embraces new challenges, such as learning to tap dance for her upcoming role in Shuffle Along Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed.

Chuck Klosterman is best known for his wildly popular books on music and pop cultural including the mega hits “Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto” and “Killing Yourself to Live,” in which he writes about subjects he is passionate about–from heavy metal to breakfast cereals and everything in between. In this episode Klosterman discusses his rise from small town boy to finding his place as one of America’s best loved cultural critics.

Actor and playwright John Leguizamo has become famous for being an open book, which is apparent in his critically acclaimed one-man shows that chronicle his life from troublemaker to film star. In his conversation with Michael, he talks seriously about how he became a performer, how money and fame were never important, and how a Latin boy from Queens was able to carve out his own career in what he calls “Hollywon’t.”