Randy Cohen

Janis Siegel, a member of Manhattan Transfer, has won ten Grammy Awards, but “I was not going to be a singer at all, actually; I was going to be a nurse.” Medicine’s loss, music’s gain. Siegel tells us about Pips Comedy Club and Tim Hauser.

Jamie Bernstein’s father, Leonard Bernstein, almost thought “that if he could write a good enough song, maybe he could stop war.” Not mad, aspiring. “It’s ridiculously idealistic, but that was his impetus.” Tales of a famous father. Bernstein tells us all about her father’s music!

Actor Charles Busch says, “My life was a bit like the plot of Auntie Mame.” Busch has stories about Linda Lavin, Christopher Isherwood, Lily Tomlin, Angela Landsbury, Vivien Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, and tells us about Gritti Palace, Venice. Plus, he sings.

In addition to being a much admired writer, Ann Patchett owns Parnassus Books in Nashville. “Because I own a bookstore, I get a copy of just about every book that comes out. It’s like being pelted to death with books,” she says. Patchett tells us about Meg Mason, her bookstore, and her father’s watch.

Colum McCann is the “New York Times” bestselling author of “Let the Great World Spin.” His new novel, “Twist,” tells a propulsive story of rupture and repair in the digital age, delving into a hidden world deep under the ocean.

We’ll speak with theatre director Ivo van Hove. van Hove has directed “A View from the Bridge,” “West Side Story” on Broadway, and “Lazarus,” David Bowie’s final project.

Host Randy Cohen will speak with Jonathan Capehart, a member of The Washington Post editorial board, commentator on The PBS NewsHour, anchor of The Weekend on MSNBC, and author of Yet Here I Am. Capehart seems liberal in his politics, conservative in his dress. “Absolutely. I love a good wild outfit, on someone else," he says.

When drummer Bobby Sanabria was a kid, his father introduced him to an array of music, from Tito Puente to Dobie Gray. “He bought himself a La-Z-Boy chair. He would sit there after dinner, smoke a cigarette, and zone out listening to music.” Bad for the lungs, great for the soul. The making of a musician. Presented with the Bronx Music Hall.

Special correspondent for BBC Studios Katty Kay, a regular contributor to MSNBC, and co-host, with Anthony Scaramucci, of the podcast The Rest Is Politics, talks to us about a Welbourne farm, her Swiss passport and her mother. “People call journalists curious; I think it’s just nosiness.”

Jonathan Brent, executive director of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, reflects on the powerful experience of working with original archival materials. While YIVO makes millions of its 24 million items accessible online, Brent recalls the visceral impact of holding Lenin’s party card — a reminder that scholarship is both intellectual and deeply personal.