Apple News In Conversation

This is an episode from our archives.
Tom Hanks has learned a thing or two about moviemaking during his decades-long career. Ultimately, he says, it’s not about one person’s vision or direction; it’s about the countless people behind the camera — and a few in front of it — who make a movie possible. That’s the foundational idea behind his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece. Hanks spoke to Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu before SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors, decided to strike. But his book and their conversation are a reminder of all that goes into creating the entertainment many of us take for granted.

Martinus Evans did not have an easy start to running. Weighing over 300 pounds, he set out to finish a marathon after a doctor told him to “lose weight or die.” He writes about his running journey in his new book, Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run. In this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, Evans talks with host Shumita Basu about the lessons he’s learned from being a “back-of-the-packer.”

Sharon Horgan has spent decades creating hilarious TV and compelling women characters at every stage of life. In the BBC comedy Pulling, she captured the confusion of early adulthood. Young parenthood was the subject of Amazon Prime’s Catastrophe. And HBO’s Divorce, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, focused on the dissolution of a marriage. Her latest project, Bad Sisters, premieres its second season this week on Apple TV+. Horgan sits down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about bringing realistic women onscreen, the delicate balance of writing comedy and drama, and why menopause might be the most challenging life stage of all.

What if the United States had lost the space race — and the Soviet Union had been the first to land a man on the moon? These are the driving questions behind the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind. The show explores the ripple effects of what coming in second could have meant for American culture, the feminist movement, geopolitics, and technology over several decades. And while fiction, it offers warnings about the future of space travel. On this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu talks to the show’s technical adviser and former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman about how he helps ground the series in science.

The United States’ food system is fundamentally broken. We produce food that is optimized for profits, not quality. A lot of it is also detrimental to our health. And the way we produce it does huge harm to the planet. Best-selling author Mark Bittman has been a leading voice in food and policy for decades. He talks to Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the serious problems with how our food is made and sold — and offers solutions to improve the system.