Who: Jonathan Alter, David Remnick, moderated by Abigail Pogrebin
What: What Everyone’s Talking About: The Obama Experts
Where: The JCC in Manhattan
When: October 13, 2010
Thumbs: Up

Who: Steve Carell, interviewed by Tad Friend
What: The New Yorker Festival’s “Steve Carell talks with Tad Friend (that’s what he said)”
Where: Acura at SIR Stage37
When: October 3, 2010
Thumbs: Up

Who: James Earl Jones, interviewed by Patrick Healy
What: “A Conversation With James Earl Jones”
Where: The Times Center
When: September 20, 2010
Thumbs: Down

Who: Billie Joe Armstrong, Michael Mayer, interviewed by Jordan Roth
What: “Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong in Conversation with Michael Mayer: The Creators of Broadway’s American Idiot”
Where: 92nd Street Y
When: September 19, 2010
Thumbs: Way Up

Katie Couric opted to go easy on Tony Blair at the beginning of “Tony Blair in Conversation with Katie Couric” at the 92nd Street Y, easing him into the more hard-hitting questions about foreign affairs in the Middle East and Europe. Blair responded to questions about his reflections, writing process, and intentions for his new autobiography. He revealed that he wanted the book to be more “personal” than others in the genre that he admits he’s found “easy to put down.”

As “The Apprentice” begins its 10th season on Thursday night, it’s embarking on new territory: the tough economy. Since the show’s past few seasons have been “celebrity” versions, the show hasn’t had the same focus on ambitious, hardworking professionals trying to push forward their careers. So Donald Trump and producer Mark Burnett are returning the show to its roots in hopes of helping one person turn his or her career around during hard times.

Who: Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Susanna White, interviewed by Donna Freydkin What: “Meet the Filmmakers“ for “Nanny McPhee Returns” Where: Apple SoHo When: August 16, 2010 Thumbs: At our sides The three women being interviewed – Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Susanna White – suggested that “Nanny McPhee Returns” (the sequel to the 2005 [...]

Who: Jimmy Fallon, interviewed by Brian Williams What:  “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon“ Where: Paley Center for Media When: May 27, 2010 Thumbs: Up Jimmy Fallon and Brian Williams engaged in a sort of role reversal. For starters, Fallon set the light tone for the evening by pretending to interview Williams about his life and [...]

Who: Jim Parsons, interviewed by Michelle Kung What:  “An Evening with The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons“ Where: Paley Center for Media When: May 5, 2010 Thumbs: Up After his interview with Michelle Kung ended, Jim Parsons accompanied the crowd upstairs and out the front doors to sign autographs for his adoring fans. We’d never [...]

As we exited the panel, we overheard a couple whispering, “Did he think he’d get away with it?” They were obviously discussing the scandal that brought down Eliot Spitzer, former governor of New York. It was that salacious side of Spitzer that brought many to the event, but the topic was only occasionally referenced and hardly discussed. Instead, interviewer Jeff Greenfield opted to focus on the Spitzer of the moment – the virtuous Wall Street fighter who was ahead of his time and is now rumored to be plotting a political comeback. Greenfield wasn’t “forgiving” Spitzer of his past sexual misconduct; he was sticking to the better story.

Who: Julianna Margulies, Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Archie Panjabi, Matt Czuchry, moderated by Matt Roush
What: “An Evening with The Good Wife”
Where: Paley Center for Media
When: April 21, 2010
Thumbs: Up

Who: Brian Williams, interviewed by Jeff Greenfield
What: “In the News with Jeff Greenfield – Brian Williams”
Where: 92^nd St. Y
When: April 18, 2010
Thumbs: Up

Who: Matisyahu, interviewed by Thane Rosenbaum What: “An Evening with Matisyahu” Where: 92nd St. Y When: March 16, 2010 Thumbs: Up

For many Saturday Night Live writers, the gig is their first real job. And that makes Lorne Michaels their first real boss. Contrary to what you may have heard, Michaels actually sounds like a supportive and understanding boss, setting aside the pressures of producing a weekly comedy show in favor of focusing on how to help his young talent get better at what they do.

Leave it to Malcolm Gladwell to come up with a reason why journalism – particularly magazine writing – will survive. Gladwell believes that even if a tiny percentage of people in the world value and subscribe to publications like the New Yorker then that actually translates into a large enough number to sustain the industry. But Gladwell also warned in his chat with his friend, colleague, and debating partner Adam Gopnik that it’s not often that his theories get substantiated by subsequent events.

Who: Dan Klores (filmmaker), Donnie Walsh (New York Knicks), Brandon Tierney (1050 ESPN Radio), moderated by Rick Allen (SnagFilms) What: ESPN’s 30 for 30 “Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks” When: February 4, 2010 Where: The Paley Center For Media Thumbs: Like the photo: One up for the movie. One down for [...]

ohn Nichols and Robert McChesney, this was a book promotional event and an opportunity to outline their recommendations to save traditional journalism. It was a setup for a predictable night full of previews of what’s contained inside yet another “save journalism” solution book. Yet, thankfully, David Carr took a topic that has been spoken about to death and breathed new life into the discussion.

“The night of Bush v. Gore, Scalia called to see if Ginsburg was alright. She wasn’t. But the fact that he cared enough to call her demonstrates unseen inner workings of those who make up the highest court.”

Who: Jeffrey Toobin, Calvin Trillin, Janeane Garofalo and Jonathan Alter, moderated by Andy Borowitz What: The Andy Borowitz Report: Obama’s First Year Where: 92nd St. Y When: January 27, 2010 Thumbs: Up Host/moderator Andy Borowitz set the tone for the evening with ten minutes of stand-up comedy at the top of the event. It sent [...]

Who: Garry Trudeau, David Levinthal, David Stanford, and Owen Powell. Moderated by Roger Rosenblatt What: Politics and Current Events Lecture Series: War in Afghanistan and Iraq Where: The 92nd St. Y When: January 26, 2010 Thumbs: Up, but could have been Upper

Who: Colin Firth interviewed by Janet Maslin What: TimesTalks’ “A Conversation with Colin Firth” Where: The Times Center When: January 20, 2010 Thumbs: Up When you ask Colin Firth to speak about what went into his latest performance, he won’t give you the typical actor-speak. Rather, he’ll tell you more widely how his character fits [...]

Who: Stephen Sondheim interviewed by Frank Rich What: Writers on Writers series’ “Paris Review Interviews IV” Where: Barnes and Noble (Upper East Side) When: January 18, 2010 Thumbs: Up

Something odd happened at the New York Times “Times Talks” conversation with Natalie Portman on Sunday. Forty five minutes into the panel, Portman quickly ran off the stage. Healy, without offering justification, then announced a delay in the panel. The audience sat awkwardly for a few minutes. Then they dimmed the lights to show a clip. Then security came out and removed a guy from the front row.

Who: Jimmy Fallon interviewed by Bill Carter What: The New York Times’ Arts & Leisure Weekend Where: The Times Center When: January 8, 2009 Thumbs: At our palms, applauding

Who: Alec Baldwin interviewed by Janet Maslin What: TimesTalks’ “Live with Alec Baldwin”Where: The Times CenterWhen: December 3, 2009Thumbs: Up