Patrick Healy heads the New York Times quality control department of standards and trust. He tells Jim how the paper meets its critics from left and right, satisfies itself it has it right, and its coverage fair as it deals with the controversial and searing issues of Trump 2.0 and the Gaza war.

Glenn Lowry just stepped down as the sixth Director of New York's iconic Museum of Modern Art after a 30-year run in which he was acknowledged as one of the greatest museum directors in the world. Glenn Lowry led MoMA into the 21st century with a new focus on contemporary art. He oversaw two major expansion projects, met challenge after challenge, including the shocks of 9-11, the 2008 financial crisis, the covid pandemic, and the heavy hand on the arts of two Trump administrations. He tells Jim Zirin the secret of his special sauce.

Trump ran in 2024 with more negatives than any candidate in American history. Yet, he won the election over Kamala Harris who should have easily beaten him. Where did she go wrong? Could she have won? Best-selling author Chris Whipple with insider access concludes those around Biden ignored his cognitive decline, and tells Jim Zirin Harris never succeeded in separating herself from Biden.

Mark Pomerantz is a premier lawyer with blue ribbon credentials. He was a law clerk to conservative Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart. He served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. Later, he became a partner in Paul Weiss. Trump vindictively singled him out for criticism in his March 14 speech at the Department of Justice. He tells Jim of how Trump's attacks on lawyers and judges have undermined the rule of law.

Nothing so far has worked to solve the vexing Israel Palestinian issue. Trump proposes to relocate the two million Palestinians in Gaza and create a "Gaza Riviera." But will it work? Elliott Abrams of the Council on Foreign Relations, an old Mideast hand, weighs the imponderables and tells us how peace can be achieved even if Trump's plan is unworkable.

Author Jean Strouse tells Jim about the extraordinary relationship between a wealthy British art dealer Asher Wertheimer, his large family, and John Singer Sargent, the iconic portraitist of the 19th and 20th centuries. Her book is entitled Family Romance, and with great skill Jean paints a Sargent-worthy portrait of the Gilded Age featuring the opulence of a decadent aristocracy and shining a light on the dark corners of virulent antisemitism.

Jonathan Alter, best-selling author of four books on American presidents, has interviewed nine of the last 10 presidents. The trial of Donald Trump in Manhattan Supreme Court was undoubtedly the trial of the 21st century with a jury verdict of guilty on 34 crimes, Alter attended every day of the 23-day trial for the New York Times and the Washington Monthly, Then, he wrote a terrifically important book about it entitled "American Reckoning." He talks about justice and Donald Trump.