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The Best People with Nicolle Wallace

MS NOW, Nicolle Wallace

89 episodes

Who are The Best People? They’re the most magnetic and engaging people in the room; the ones who know how to get that extra something out of every collaboration, connection, and endeavor. These people are the best at what they do and know how to bring out the best in others. Now, in an era of social and political upheaval, The Best People share lessons that we can all use. Listen as Nicolle Wallace seeks varied perspectives on how to keep reaching for truth, decency, and connection.

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  1. Heather Cox Richardson: "This is Americans vs. Dictators"

    · 53 min · Episode 34 · Explicit

    Against the backdrop of the shocking U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, renowned historian and Substack superstar Heather Cox Richardson is back with Nicolle, bringing her unique capacity to explain…

  2. Get Insider Access to MS NOW Podcasts

    · 1:42 · Bonus

    Listen to this special invitation from Rachel Maddow and sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to take advantage of a 3-month free trial! With MS NOW Premium, you can get our entire suite of podcasts –…

  3. Best of The Best: Joan Baez is Calculating How Much She’s Willing to Risk

    · 42 min · Episode 33 · Explicit

    Happy New Year! This week, we’re revisiting an episode we recorded back in September with the iconic folk singer, songwriter, and activist, Joan Baez. Please enjoy! We’ll be back with new episodes next week. Legendary…

  4. Best of The Best: Rosie O'Donnell Did Not Become an Artist to be Liked

    · 48 min · Episode 32

    As we reflect on 2025 and prepare for the new year, we thought it would be a good time to share an episode we recorded back in September that blends themes of comedy, friendship, and community. Please enjoy this “Best…

  5. Marc Elias Urges Dems to Replace Nostalgia with Forward Progress

    · 49 min · Episode 31 · Explicit

    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…

  6. Leslie Jones Asks MAGA: Why Do You Want America to Suck?

    · 51 min · Episode 30 · Explicit

    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…

  7. Rachel Maddow Has Some Advice for Those Who Capitulate

    · 51 min · Episode 29

    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…

  8. Claire Danes is “Tough and Nervous"

    · 38 min · Episode 28 · Explicit

    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…

  9. Introducing "Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order"

    · 2:05 · Bonus

    "Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order" is the story of one of the most shocking decisions in American history: the executive order to target and round up innocent citizens, Japanese Americans, at the outbreak of World…

  10. Best of the Best: Jess Michaels Survived Epstein. Now She’s Speaking Up

    · 50 min · Episode 27

    Since the government shutdown ended, there’s been a renewed focus on releasing the Epstein files. And after the House and Senate voted to compel the Justice Department to make the files public, President Trump signed…

  11. Heather Cox Richardson: "People are Starved for Facts"

    · 51 min · Episode 26

    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”…

  12. Scott Galloway Wants to Make America America Again

    · 55 min · Episode 25 · Explicit

    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…

  13. “Pod Save America” Co-Hosts: Re-Humanization Needs to be a Goal Now

    · 49 min · Episode 24 · Explicit

    “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…

  14. JB Pritzker on ICE Raids in Chicago: “People are Traumatized”

    · 46 min · Episode 23

    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…

  15. Charlamagne Tha God: “We The People” Hasn’t Failed Us Yet

    · 41 min · Episode 22 · Explicit

    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…

  16. Preview of “The Blueprint” Season 2

    · 6:51 · Bonus

    Jen Psaki is on a mission to show us how the Democratic party can use this political moment to fight and win again. On Season 2 of her podcast, “The Blueprint,” she interviews the people reshaping the party, starting…

  17. Martin Sheen is the Most Presidential Man in the Room

    · 39 min · Episode 21

    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…

  18. Anthony Scaramucci Thinks Trump Has "Lost a Step"

    · 55 min · Episode 20 · Explicit

    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…

  19. Rosie O'Donnell Did Not Become an Artist to be Liked

    · 47 min · Episode 19

    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…

  20. Joan Baez is Calculating How Much She’s Willing to Risk

    · 41 min · Episode 18 · Explicit

    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…

  21. Jess Michaels Survived Epstein. Now She’s Speaking Up

    · 49 min · Episode 17 · Explicit

    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…

  22. Stacey Abrams’ Steps to Freedom and Power

    · 51 min · Episode 16 · Explicit

    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…

  23. Ken Burns Believes in our American Experiment

    · 47 min · Episode 15

    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…

  24. Phil Rosenthal is Hungry… And Subversive

    · 46 min · Episode 14

    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…

  25. Jon Lovett: “This is not Policy Making. This is Vandalism”

    · 55 min · Episode 13 · Explicit

    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…

  26. Melissa Murray is the JLo of Law

    · 57 min · Episode 12

    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…

  27. Jacob Soboroff: “The American People Are Being Lied To”

    · 47 min · Episode 11 · Explicit

    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…

  28. Tim Miller is Ready to Fight Fire with Fire

    · 40 min · Episode 10

    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…

  29. Jeff Daniels on the Enemy Within

    · 42 min · Episode 9

    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…

  30. BONUS: The Youth Baseball Coach Who Fended Off ICE

    · 19 min · Bonus

    BONUS: In his two decades of coaching youth baseball, Youman Wilder never expected ICE agents to show up at his practice. But recently, that's exactly what happened. On New York's Upper West Side, Coach Wilder claims…

  31. Jimmy Jam on Prince, Janet, and a Nation Finding Its Rhythm

    · 48 min · Episode 8

    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…

  32. Sarah Jessica Parker: “I Always Just Believed in Us”

    · 43 min · Episode 7

    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…

  33. Glennon Doyle & Abby Wambach: Brokenhearted but Showing Up Anyway

    · 1 h 02 min · Episode 6 · Explicit

    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…

  34. Deconstructing the Manosphere with the MeidasTouch Brothers

    · 53 min · Episode 5 · Explicit

    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…

  35. Doc Rivers Refuses to Shut Up and Dribble

    · 53 min · Episode 4

    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…

  36. Kara Swisher on Musk & the “Megalomaniacs” in Charge

    · 58 min · Episode 3 · Explicit

    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…

  37. Rachel Maddow: Born to Dilly Dally, Forced to Fight Fascism

    · 57 min · Episode 2

    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…

  38. Jason Bateman Can’t Look Away

    · 41 min · Episode 1

    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…

  39. Introducing “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace”

    · 2:11 · Trailer

    On her new podcast, “The Best People,” Nicolle Wallace sits down with the smartest, funniest, wisest people she knows. These are the people who are the best at what they do and use their success to help others. Hear…

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