Podcast
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
Hosted by Carole Zimmer · EN
Conversations with extraordinary people about their lives and how they navigate all the bumps in the road.
25episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
A Conversation with Kathryn Grody
1w ago00:46:28Tap to summarizeKathryn Grody is an actress who has appeared in films like Reds and The Lemon Sisters. She's also been married to actor and singer Mandy Patinkin for more than 45 years. They have two children: Isaac and Gideon. During the pandemic, the family retreated to their house in upstate New York. That's when Gideon began filming the daily lives of his parents and posting the videos on Tik Tok, Instagram and other platforms. These clips of Mandy and Kathryn bickering about what they should eat for dinner and the definition of pizza rats went viral, racking up millions of views. Grody's latest project is a one-woman show called The Unexpected Third. We talk about aging, the consequences of fame and the art of staying alive. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
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A Conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
3w ago00:44:19Tap to summarizeIbram X. Kendi became a star when his book How to Be an Antiracist landed on the bestseller list. Kendi, who's now a Professor of History at Howard University, gained a reputation as a racial-reconciliation guru. He's also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship which is known as the genius award. Now, Kendi has written a book called Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age. It focuses on a scary idea called the Great Replacement theory which insists that white people are being deliberately replaced by non-white immigrants. We talk about conspiracy theories, race and what that X stands for in the middle of his name. "Now What?' is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
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A Conversation With Gina Gershon
Apr 1400:40:04Tap to summarizeActress Gina Gershon hadn't had what you'd call a traditional Hollywood career. So, it's no surprise that she's written a memoir with an in-your-face title. Alpha Pussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs. Gershon says the alpha pussy part has something to do with the fact that she raises male cats. As a result of her roles in films like Bound and Showgirls, Gershon has become something of a gay icon. The actress has also impersonated Melania in sketches that appeared on Funny or Die. Now, Gershon is writing screenplays. We talk about breasts, ageism and stupid Hollywood executives. "Now What?' is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
Transcribe →A Conversation With Andrew Yang
Mar 3100:50:49Tap to summarizeIn 2019, At the age of 45, Andrew Yang decided to enter the race for President of the United States. He'd never run for any elective office before. Yang hoped his signature proposal of giving every American adult a universal basic income of $1,000 a month would help get him into the White House. Though he wound up with a dedicated group of tech-savvy followers known as the Yang gang, the candidate dropped out after losing the New Hampshire primary. Then in 2022 Yang announced he was joining the race for New York City Mayor. He was the front runner until his campaign lost ground and he wound up losing to Eric Adams. Now, he's written the memoir Hey Yang, Where's My Thousand Bucks? "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
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A Conversation With Graydon Carter
Mar 1700:48:37Tap to summarizeHe was editor of Vanity Fair for 25 years during a time that big glossy magazines ruled. Its pages were filled with stories about Hollywood royalty, Brangelina, fashion icons like Calvin, Giorgio and Donatella. Even Graydon's hair became famous for the way it took off on the sides like a winged creature. Graydon knows everyone and has juicy stories to tell. All this at a time when people turned real pages and lavish expense accounts reigned. The Vanity Fair Oscar party became the hottest ticket in town. People would do anything for an invitation. One year someone brought a pig as their guest. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
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A Conversation With Ani DiFranco
Mar 300:53:55Tap to summarizeSinger Ani DiFranco's career took off in the 90s when she became a big hit with people from the millennial generation, like my son Jon who spent his teenage years listening to DiFranco's song Untouchable Face over and over again. Her lyrics speak to the raw emotions of adulthood, especially when it comes to relationships and identity. And all these years later DiFranco's career is alive and well. She's about to embark on her Spirit of Love tour heading for cities across the country. I attended one of her concerts recently. Her fans are passionate and the energy is electric. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
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A Conversation With Jeanette Winterson
Feb 1700:32:22Tap to summarizeJeanette Winterson is a writer who grew up in a Pentecostal evangelical family in a little town in the north of England. She was adopted. Her parents were poor. There was no indoor bathroom. Winterson dreamed of escaping that life. When she was 16, she fell in love with a woman. Her parents were scandalized. Winterson left home, slept in her car and managed to get into Oxford. She's fascinated by the ancient fairy tales in The One Thousand and One Nights. Winterson uses these stories as a framework in her new book One Aladdin Two Lamps. We talk about good relationships, ghosts, elves and AI. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
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A Conversation with Caroline Paul
Feb 300:44:30Tap to summarizeCaroline Paul is an adventure seeker. She's been a white-water rafting guide and pioneered first descents on unexplored rivers in Borneo. To experience wing walking, she strapped herself to the top of a biplane while it performed maneuvers like loops and rolls. She's also racked up credits as a luge athlete, that crazy sport where you race down steep, icy tracks on small sleds, lying on your back. Now, Paul pilots a gyrocopter, a machine that might remind you of a praying mantis with wings. We talk about how the thrill of flight relates to themes of love and why Paul says it's easier to learn a landing than a human heart. "Now What?" is produced with help from Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
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A Conversation with Jimmy Wales
Jan 2000:54:16Tap to summarizeWhen Jimmy Wales was 3, growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, a door-to-door salesman sold his mother a copy of the World Book Encyclopedia. Jimmy fell in love with it. As an adult he had the idea of creating an online encyclopedia that would give everyone free access to the sum of all human knowledge. The result is Wikipedia, which Wales co-founded 25 years ago. Though not without controversy, Wikipedia is a runaway success. It's the world's largest, most comprehensive encyclopedia with more than 1 and a half billion unique visitors a month. That should only happen to "Now What?" I talk to Jimmy Wales about his new book The Seven Rules of Trust and how we can make a difference in a bitterly divided society. "Now What is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
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A Conversation with Emi Nietfeld
Jan 600:55:29Tap to summarizeUntil she was 10, Emi Nietfeld led a pretty normal life. It was when her parents divorced that her world fell apart. The parent she knew to be her father transitioned to a woman named Michelle. Her mother was a police photographer with serious psychological problems. In her book, Acceptance, Emi who is now 32, talks about the price she paid for working so hard to overcome circumstances that no child should have to endure. They include stints in a psychiatric ward, living in foster care, stays in a homeless shelter and a suicide attempt at the age of 13. So how did she wind up graduating from Harvard and what lessons can be learned from a childhood where welfare systems fail you? We talk about the notion of self-worth and how hard it is to outrun your past. "Now What?" is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.
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