The Best People with Nicolle Wallace

Welcome to"The Best People with Nicolle Wallace." Each week, Nicolle sits down with someone she admires for conversations that are illuminating, inspiring, and sometimes surprising. This first episode begins with Jason Bateman copping to how much he'd love to be behind the steady camon Nicolle's "Deadline: White House" set. From there they discuss his endearingly barbed relationship with his "Smartless" co-hosts Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, reflect on how to navigate the incredible plot twists of this wild Trump era, and Jason walks Nicolle through how to capture good sound of a body splat on the pavement.

On the second episode of "The Best People with Nicolle Wallace," Nicolle's "phone-a-friend" Rachel Maddow reflects on the weird reality of this moment: after tumbling over the edge of the cliff of Trumpism, how do Americans navigate the canyon below? They muse about "shirtless" Vladimir Putin's embarrassing relationship with President Trump, why Americans aren't buying that immigrants are the enemy, and why Rachel finds hope in good old-fashioned protest.  

Kara Swisher is a boss. As a journalist, entrepreneur, and longtime podcast host, she understands the intersection between tech and media, wealth and power like no one else. Kara joins Nicolle in this episode to talk about the art and intimacy of podcasting, the carnival barker Trump has always been and why she takes no guff from tech titans like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. 

Something about Nicolle: if she wasn't a full-time anchor and part-time podcaster, her dream job would be to work anywhere near the NBA. So as the best teams in the league are battling it out in the NBA Finals, she welcomes Doc Rivers, NBA Champion head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, to talk Trump, politics, and professional basketball. Doc does not shy away from the dynamics of why Trump won, where Democrats need to go from here and how basketball can teach us everything we need to know about surviving this moment and being human.

The real-life brothers behind the MeidasTouch digital media empire say building a resistance during Trump 2.0 is not that complicated: let your moral compass guide your actions. Anything else is just "weird". (Paging Donald Trump). Ben, Jordy and Brett Meiselas join Nicolle in this episode to share their outlook on how to keep our democracy thriving, build community, shut down bullies and why their digital first approach is giving Fox News a run for its money.

The names Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach speak for themselves. Glennon, a bestselling author, activist, and podcaster. Abby, an American soccer legend and World Cup champion. Together, the married couple is a force for good. In this episode, they join Nicolle to talk about how putting our bodies into uncomfortable places is the antidote to the dehumanization of immigrants, and why fighting for democracy needs to be a team sport.

Sarah Jessica Parker is the ultimate New Yorker. Andy Cohen says walking around with her is like "walking around with the Empire State Building." SJP, as Parker is affectionately known to her fans, is best known for playing the iconic Carrie Bradshaw on HBO's "Sex and The City" and its revival "And Just Like That," currently in its third season. But more than men or fashion, the show is about friendship, community, and what it means to show up for one another. And in this interview with "The Best People," she tells Nicolle Wallace that this spirit of care is one we could use a little more of in today's political climate.

Five-time Grammy Award winner, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, and more Billboard No. 1 hits than any other production team in history – these are just a handful of the accolades amassed by Jimmy Jam. The mastermind behind a seemingly endless list of iconic songs like "Control" and "Rhythm Nation" and the legendary producer has long been a venerated fixture of the music industry, alongside his partner Terry Lewis. From serving as the Chairman of the Grammys, to songwriting for Janet Jackson, to growing up alongside Prince, his infectious passion for music and belief in its unifying properties seeps into everything he does. In this episode, he joins Nicolle to share memories and lessons from his storied career.

Very few actors have the range to pull off "Dumb and Dumber's" slack jawed Harry Dunne, while mastering the arc of moral giants like Atticus Finch on stage or Ronald Reagan in the upcoming film "Reykjavík." Jeff Daniels is that actor. He's played iconic character driven roles like "The Newsroom's" Will McAvoy and delivered countless monologues that embrace the better angels of our nature. And now, he's playing guitar and writing songs that hold up a mirror to the human experience. He joins Nicolle in this episode to talk about the trajectory of his career, choosing a life in Michigan over Hollywood, and the lack of a national moral compass in the Trump era. Plus: a special acoustic guitar performance.

There is no pre-political Tim Miller. From a fifth-grade bet on Bill Clinton, to becoming a Republican strategist for Jeb Bush, to finally saying "Goodbye to All That" and leaving the party in 2020, and now hosting the Bulwark podcast as a ‘Never Trumper,' Miller has been immersed in politics his whole life. In this episode, Tim joins Nicolle to discuss finding (and losing) community within the Republican party, the manosphere, and what he's learned about breaking down the Trump coalition as a long-term anti-Trump advocate. 

From the war in Ukraine to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, Jacob Soboroff is no stranger to covering tragedy. His first-hand account of family separations along the Southern border during Trump's first term became a bestselling book and later the critically acclaimed documentary "Separated" by Academy Award winning director Errol Morris. Now, Soboroff is back chronicling the human toll and devastating impact of Trump's new immigration crackdown, including an exclusive interview for "The Best People": with Narciso Barranco, the gardener and father of three whose violent detention by masked ICE agents in California this June went viral. 

When systems are failing, what do you triage first? That's a question that keeps constitutional law superstar Melissa Murray awake at night. As a law professor at New York University, a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and co-host of the "Strict Scrutiny" podcast, Melissa is well-versed in examining our legal system at the intersection of the social and political, and she knows that what is being broken will take a long time to rebuild. In this episode, Melissa joins Nicolle to talk about why Justice Sotomayor's dissents from the bench send a message about protest amid a conservative supermajority on the High Court, the power of Black women voters, and how to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Pod Save America and Crooked Media founding member Jon Lovett isn't just a podcasting legend or Barack Obama's speechwriting secret weapon. He's a quick study of our political discourse and a cultural vanguard. Now he's spilling the tea on everything from the "vandalism" Trump is unleashing on American institutions, the Hollywood heavy-hitter who had a hand in THAT Trump joke at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and what it was really like working with Hillary Clinton. Lovett also offers some hard truths Democrats need to face if they hold any hope of getting back into power. Plus: his hot take on the Epstein scandal and whether it could deliver a knock-out blow to Trump's support with the MAGA faithful.

Life can take some pretty unexpected turns. Just ask Phil Rosenthal. The man who brought us "Everybody Loves Raymond" is now a global star in his own right thanks to "Somebody Feed Phil" – Netflix's longest running unscripted original series, a show Phil says boils down to one simple sentence: "I'm just like Anthony Bourdain if Bourdain was afraid of everything". The result is a profound, at times goofy, and utterly relatable exploration of humanity through food. Phil tells Nicolle about his "hero's journey" as a kid from Queens who didn't taste garlic until he was 17 to a world traveler who's trying to get everybody out of their comfort zones one dish at a time. And Phil shares what he's learned along the way: that most people are nice, it's time to replace the manosphere with the "lady-sphere", and diners might just save the world.

Ken Burns is America's documentarian: From the Civil War to Vietnam, baseball to the Brooklyn Bridge, his films are gospel for generations of Americans curious about the world and our history. This November, in a new six part, 12-hour documentary series Burns turns his attention to the American Revolution – and the counterintuitive revelation that democracy was *not* on the table when the fighting first broke out. Burns says what this film showed him is that the tension we feel today in 2025 arcs back to and mirrors the tension that gave birth to our nation. And Burns believes the American story boils down to a simple choice – a question posed in the timeless Frank Capra classic "It's a Wonderful Life": Do you want to live in Pottersville or Bedford Falls? (HINT: Ken Burns only wants to live in Bedford Falls)

She's a voting rights activist, a prominent voice in the Democratic party and a three-time New York Times best-selling novelist; but more than anything else, Stacey Abrams is a bonafide badass. As Democratic leaders struggle to unify around a message to counter Trump's relentless attacks on democracy, Abrams envisions a future where having a moral backbone is an asset, not a weakness. She calls out the political cowardice that's taken hold of Trump's MAGA Republicans and calls on Democrats to find their voice and their spine. Never forget, says Abrams, that being in the minority doesn't make you powerless.

At 22 years old, Jess Michaels was thriving. She was finding success as a dancer and model in New York City. Then, in 1991, she met Jeffrey Epstein. Jess Michaels was sexually assaulted by Epstein and it destroyed her stability, her career and her health. After doing the work to begin healing from this trauma, she has found renewed purpose as an advocate alongside other survivors of Epstein's abuse. The day after excerpts from Epstein's 50th birthday book were made public, Jess and her lawyer, Jennifer Freeman, joined Nicolle to call out the decades of institutional cowardice, and with a warning for elected leaders: Jess and her fellow survivors are not going away, and they are not going to stop until they get accountability, truth and justice.

Legendary singer and activist Joan Baez still marches in protests; but she also performs in a circus, dances with drag queens and does whatever else she can to maintain a sense of joy and laughter. Baez has spent her career equally at home on the political frontlines as behind a guitar. But as the world has changed, so has how she calculates risk. She thinks if she were to be arrested now – as opposed to 58 years ago – it would be "scary in a way that I was not scared back then." But, she tells Nicolle, "social change cannot happen until somebody's willing to take a risk."

Rosie O'Donnell has never shied away from a microphone. And while her decades-long public feud with Donald Trump has at times been fodder for tabloids, she is quite clear that her decision to move to Ireland, her ancestral home, was all about her family and her own self-preservation. Rosie and Nicolle first met as co-hosts thrown together to debate on "The View", but they developed a friendship that continues today. This episode shows the breadth of that connection, as Rosie reflects on the continual chaos Trump brings to the country each day, shares some memories about "The View" and Barbara Streisand, and issues a call to action for people feeling lost: find your community.

Anthony Scaramucci, known as "The Mooch" to friends and foes alike, holds a unique place in American politics. A baseball fanatic and Goldman Sachs alum, he was once a Donald Trump supporter, campaign advisor, and held an 11-day stint as Trump's White House Communications Director in 2017. After Trump called him a "deep-stater" and fired him, Scaramucci did a lot of soul searching. And in 2019, he came to own what he openly calls his "mistake" of supporting the president, urging voters to learn from his lapse in judgement. In this episode, he and Nicolle muse about Republicans' ability to remain in lock step, while the Democrats are in the midst of an inner-party civil war. But more importantly, Scaramucci shares his optimism for what's next in our democratic experiment.

Martin Sheen has been playing iconic leading men for nearly 70 years from "Badlands" to "Apocalypse Now" and of course as President Jed Bartlet in "The West Wing." But the Emmy and Golden Globe winner says that while acting is his profession, activism keeps him alive. The son of immigrants, social justice is at the center of his life; Sheen's decades of non-violent civil disobedience has earned him the dubious distinction of being the most arrested celebrity in Hollywood. At MSNBC's annual live event MSNBCLIVE '25, Nicolle talks to Sheen about his faith in this country and his call to action for each of us to "lift up this country" and make politics joyful again. Plus: a surprise appearance from an old friend from Sheen's days in the "West Wing."

Charlamagne Tha God's more than 7 million monthly listeners hang on his every word for a reason: Charlamagne is plugged into real Americans' lives. Listening to Charlamagne's nationally syndicated radio show "The Breakfast Club" has been likened to "sitting on America's front porch" – a sensibility Charlamagne honed growing up in rural South Carolina. "It gave me a front row seat on working class people".  Now he's putting politicians on both sides of the aisle on blast – from Trump ("he's wiping his a** with the Constitution") to Biden ("Joe Biden should have stepped down 2 years ago") and sounding the alarm about the rule of law, our fragile Constitution and why Democrats should never stop asking about the Epstein files. Plus what Charlamagne says gives him hope: "the one branch of government that hasn't failed us thus far: We the people."

Governor JB Pritzker has mastered the art of standing up to Donald Trump. Whether he's mocking Trump's threat to jail him ("Come and get me, Mr. President!) or calling on the citizens of Illinois to grab their phones and document how ICE is targeting black and brown people, Pritzker is showing us how it's done. With the threat of deployment of federal troops to the streets of Chicago, Pritzker is determined to lessen the fear and suffering of his constituents ("People are traumatized") and hold the Trump administration to account. Now, the Governor is warning that Trump may use the military to interfere in the 2026 election and turning our attention to a lesson from the Holocaust, so eloquently captured in Pastor Martin Niemöller's haunting poem "First They Came".  "People need to speak up, speak out, grab a megaphone and get to the ballot box."

"Pod Save America" began as a way to "narrow the distance" between the conversations former Obama White House staffers were having in private and the ones echoing throughout the public sphere. And since launching in 2017, it's become a force in America's competitive media culture. As two of the three co-founders behind Crooked Media, Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor are ushering in a new era of political communication, championing a craft many Democratic lawmakers might learn from – one that threads entertainment and information, and turns audience engagement into activism. They join Nicolle to talk about the stakes of the November 2025 election, what it would take for new Dem leaders to emerge, and what lessons they carry from their former boss, President Obama.

Scott Galloway — affectionately known as "Prof G" to his legion of podcast followers — is deeply concerned about young men in America. In his new book "Notes on Being a Man," he reflects on how a lack of economic viability and social connection has created powerful headwinds that make the experience of young men today far different from his own. Scott joins Nicolle to share his analysis of several careening crises at play, from the intentionally isolating effects of social media to a stark imbalance in generational income, while the crushing costs of everyday life pile up. With his entrepreneurial spirit and data-driven approach, Galloway isn't just diagnosing problems — he's mapping a way forward. Blending personal life experiences with research, he delivers a conversation that's candid, introspective, and unmistakably "Prof G."

As an American historian and history professor at Boston College, Heather Cox Richardson muses, " I don't predict the future, I predict the past." But there is a reason that her renowned "Letters From an American" Substack has the most subscribers of anyone on the platform: Cox Richardson's ability to apply the lessons from our nation's history to the politics of our present. And she sees a significant realignment happening in our democracy right now. In this episode, Heather zeroes in on the growing conflict between the citizenry and an executive branch that shows a bent toward aristocracy over democracy. She also points to progress, as Americans are waking up to the power they hold and finding their agency to say, in her words, "Hell no." 

Claire Danes knew she was destined to act at five years old, and audiences have felt that certainty ever since – from her turn as Angela Chase in the cult favorite series "My So-Called Life" to the iconic Carrie Mathison in "Homeland," her devotion to her craft has delivered some of television's most compelling characters. Her latest work in Netflix's "The Beast in Me" is no different, with Danes playing a grieving mother who finds purpose through a dangerous connection with her mysterious neighbor, played by Matthew Rhys. In this episode, Nicolle and Claire explore Claire's evolution as an actor, how she navigates life in the public eye, and the joy of raising children in New York City – the place she grew up calling home.

With the backdrop of intensifying scrutiny over the Trump administration's boat strikes, Nicolle's friend and colleague Rachel Maddow returns — this time with a chilling piece of American history in hand. Rachel's latest podcast, "Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order", examines one of the most astonishing chapters in American history: the U.S. government's decision to forcibly target, detain, and uproot innocent Japanese American citizens during World War II. Maddow holds a spotlight on the people in power who put internment into action, enabling this dark stain on American history.  In this episode, she and Nicolle zero in on the sobering parallels to our politics today, and Maddow urges citizens not to wait for someone else to show up, but rather, " wherever you are, however you're feeling, if you know something's wrong, you should stand up any way you can."

It takes a rare kind of brilliance to be universally funny, and Leslie Jones is Exhibit A. With the release of her new comedy special "Life: Part Two", the Emmy-award winning SNL alum joins Nicolle — who she affectionately calls "Nickkkaaay!" — for a conversation packed with candor, irreverence, and unadulterated hilarity. Whether she's calling out the narcissism fueling our leaders or recounting how she noticed Donald Trump's famously small hands on the set of SNL, Jones dives headfirst into comedy's singular power to expose political absurdity. While she laments the current state of Trump's America, she urges people to reject complacency and reclaim the moment. Buckle up for a sharp, no-filter episode with one of the country's most adored comedians.

Marc Elias is a formidable elections attorney and a fierce defender of voting rights. As Republicans hone a strategy of subtracting voters from the rolls in the 2026 midterms, Elias relentlessly challenges their efforts—in the courts and in the public square. Against the backdrop of notching over 60 legal victories against Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, Elias joins Nicolle to talk about the quiet legal war he says the Justice Department is waging to acquire data on voters. He also has some advice for Democrats: stop waxing nostalgic on norms of the past that Trump has destroyed. Instead, divine a new theory of government that builds on our past successes. And Marc wants to reframe how we describe law firms and businesses that have acquiesced to Trump's demands: "Stop using the word capitulation. Start using the word collaboration."