As host of WNYC’s “Here’s the Thing,” actor Alec Baldwin has been criticized for doing too much talking. He counters that he’s trying to push guests, such as Andrew Weiner, Chris Rock and Molly Ringwald, to share something the audience doesn’t already know about them. Baldwin offers his Brief but Spectacular take on why his show is about conversations, not interviews.

Comedian and actor Jim Gaffigan says he knew immediately that his life had changed the first time he got up on stage and made fun of himself. He gives his Brief but Spectacular take on comedy as a profession.

Comedian Tig Notaro lost her mother, ended a long-term relationship and got diagnosed with breast cancer all in the same year. It was, she says, more than she could handle, but it also spurred a writing spree that helped her cope with her illness. Notaro offers her Brief but Spectacular take on healing through comedy.

Playwright David McMillan vividly remembers the day O.J. Simpson was acquitted, because it created a national atmosphere in which racial assumptions were challenged. The debate over the court’s decision forced Americans to see their country for what it was, rather than what they believed it to be. McMillan offers his Brief But Spectacular take on why the Simpson verdict still matters today.