A curated roundup of the most fascinating interviews of the day so far…and one from the past...
Topics today: epstein, ai, tiktok, shark survivors, supermodels, robolox, air traffic, ny mayors race, midterms, nc race, and so much more…
July 24 2025
With the breaking news of Hulk Hogan’s death today, the passing of Ozzy Osborne and the ending of the Late Show, I'm reflecting on how this is really like the death of the 1980s….Sad! Keep reading and I will pay a little tribute and post a treat in the archival section…
But for now let’s get today’s news….
EPSTEIN ACCOUNTABILITY: In an interview with CBS’s Major Garrett, House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed concern over the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein case and called for full transparency and accountability. "We want full transparency. We want everybody who is involved in any way with the Epstein evils — let's call it what it was — to be brought to justice as quickly as possible. We want the full weight of the law on their heads," Johnson told CBS. “It's not a hoax. Of course not," said the House speaker, a Louisiana Republican, when asked if he considers it a hoax — a word that has been used by President Trump to describe some of his supporters' interest in the Epstein case.
Watch here:
FUTURE OF TIKTOK: U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick joined CNBC to discuss how the U.S. is approaching talks with China around TikTok, complaints from domestic auto lobbyists around the Japan trade deal, and more. ““We’ve made the decision. You can’t have Chinese control and have something on 100 million American phones,” Lutnick told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday. “Basically, Americans will have control. Americans will own the technology. Americans will control the algorithm. That’s something Donald Trump is willing to do,” Lutnick said. He added that if China doesn’t approve the deal, “then TikTok is going to go dark.”
Watch here:
Air Traffic Woes: Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was on the Breakfast Club, he talked about Full-time Fatherhood, Airport Regulations, Epstein Files, Presidential Polls and more. He also addressed the backlash after critics claimed he neglected Air Traffic Control by not upgrading their systems to prevent today’s air traffic issues.
Watch here:
MIDTERMS: Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) did a few interviews where he announced his decision to run for re-election and not run for Governor of New York, and states that while ultimately it was his own decision President Trump also preferred he stay in the House of Representatives. Lawler also talks about whether his House colleague Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) should jump into the NY governor's race, how he keeps his district, and what priorities will be discussed for the potential second reconciliation package. Rep. Mike Lawler spoke with Bloomberg.
Watch here:
And on Meet the Press NOW:
NYC MAYORS RACE: Andrew Cuomo, former New York Governor and independent candidate for New York City Mayor, joined CNBC to discuss the state of the New York City mayoral race, rise of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, affordability crisis in NYC, his thoughts on Eric Adams, and more. After admitting to mistakes in the primary he says “We now go to a general. The general is a different audience. It’s a different electorate. It’s bigger. It’s more moderate. It’s more Queens, outer borough. You have independents, you have Republicans voting. So, it’s a totally different ball game in the general.”
Watch interview:
EPSTEIN FILES:
Bradley Edwards, attorney for Epstein survivors, says on MSNBC that the executors of Epstein's estate are in possession of the birthday book containing Trump's letter and would be willing to turn it over to authorities. He said he has “numerous” clients who can confirm the book’s authenticity and said he suspects the executors of Epstein’s estate would be willing to turn over the book if they were asked to do so.“If they didn’t just voluntarily turn over the book, out of fear of reprisal, Congress could issue a subpoena to their attorneys,” Edwards said. “I know the executors’ lawyers. I worked with them for years. They’re good people. They’re good lawyers. They would comply with a subpoena immediately,” Edwards added. “We could solve this problem so quickly, if people actually want to solve problems.” Darren Indyke, the attorney in charge of Epstein’s estate, has not yet responded to a request for comment. (he would be a good future booking pursuit!)
Watch here:
Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California joined MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss the “bombshell” revelation that Jeffrey Epstein’s estate is in possession of the birthday book containing a letter bearing Donald Trump’s name, according to an attorney for over 200 survivors of Epstein’s abuse.
Watch here:
Ian Maxwell, the brother of Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s charged co-conspirator, said he was “grateful” for the “positive” statement President Trump made about his sister in 2020. He joined Piers Morgan for an interview. “And I don’t think that anyone else showed the slightest piece of humanity. Not anybody at that time, and yet he did. He didn’t need to. He’s the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world,” Maxwell said Tuesday. “He could’ve just sloughed it off. He didn’t. He made a positive statement. I am very grateful to that, and I know Ghislaine was too.”
Watch full interview here:
AI RACE:
Kids and Tech: Sam Altman CEO of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI, known for their popular program ChatGPT joined Theo Von’s podcast to talk about the pros and cons of developing AI so rapidly, how these new technologies will change our idea of “work” forever, and the ethical debate around the merging of man and machine. Altman said what really worried him was the psychological impact addictive social media platforms could have on children. "I do have worries about kids in technology. I think this short video feed dopamine hit, it feels like it's probably messing with kids' brain development in a super deep way," he said.
Watch here:
White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks joined CNBC to discuss the White House 'AI action plan', details of President Trump's executive orders on AI, state of the global AI arms race, concerns over electricity and energy demand, and more.
Watch here:
Roblox Co-Founder and CEO Dave Baszucki joins MSNBC’s Morning Joe from Washington, D.C., where he's meeting with lawmakers in support of COPPA 2.0: legislation that would expand online privacy protections to all kids and teens under 17. Baszucki defends Roblox’s safety record amid growing scrutiny over online predators, saying the platform has “gone way ahead” of current laws by using AI moderation, blocking image sharing, and limiting chat to “trusted connections.”
Watch here:
A group of shark bite victims gathered at a Florida hospital on Wednesday, where they shared their stories of survival and they reunited with the medical teams that treated them. They did an interview for NBC’s Today show.
Watch here:
A few significant interviews from Axios News Shapers event. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told Axios' Stef Kight that AI has "enormous disruptive potential" that so far has mostly been unbeneficial for Americans. "If the Republican Party wants to be a party of working people, I think we better start thinking about how AI is going to affect working folks," Hawley said. He had to be escorted out of the event because of Propalestinian protestors.
And
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told Axios' Stephen Neukam she's not going to fight "with one arm tied behind" her back as Texas Republicans pursue a President Trump-backed redistricting push. "If they're going to go nuclear in Texas, I'm going to go nuclear in other places," she said.
Watch it here:
FUN STUFF:
Actor Steve Buscemi was on the Late Show. He talked about some of the parts he auditioned for but didn't land.
Watch here:
Monica Lewinsky’s podcast “Reclaiming” has another great get. A deep dive interview with supermodel, entrepreneur, and icon Cindy Crawford. Cindy opened up about the childhood loss of her younger brother and how that early heartbreak shaped her perspective on life, family, and resilience. She talked about the challenges of being underestimated because of her beauty, and how she’s spent decades building a career for herself that extends beyond modeling. We hear the story behind how Cindy and her supermodel counterparts—Naomi, Linda and Christy— worked to own their narrative of 90's stardom and how the modeling industry has changed for this generation.
Watch it here:
Alex Cooper’s podcast Call Her Daddy has an interview with Kathy Hilton. She shares the secrets to a happy marriage, the chaos of tracking down Paris and Nicky when they were younger, and how she avoids all the Real Housewives drama. Plus, she reveals how to expertly slide into someone’s DMs, what to get at the Cheesecake Factory, and who tops her list for a celebrity hall pass.
Watch it here:
Futures:
So what interesting interviews should we be looking out for, what are the network bookers working on today and what are interesting pursuits? Some of my ideas
Miley Cyrus reportedly is working on something special for the 20th anniversary of Hannah Montana. 20TH ANNIVERSARY!!! Do you feel old yet? WOW
The New York Times is reporting that one of the Americans freed in a prisoner swap that the Trump administration executed with Venezuela had been convicted in that country of murdering three people. This story deserves more attention and reporting for sure and perhaps an on camera interview with the victim’s family members.
FUTURES ELECTION WATCH IN NORTH CAROLINA: Playbook reporting National Committee Chair Michael Whatley will run for Senate in North Carolina with Donald Trump’s blessing after the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, opted not to seek the seat. Whatley’s entry into the race sets up a big match up as Former Democrat North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper plans to launch a bid next week.
Reports that House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena yesterday compelling Ghislaine Maxwell’s testimony to Congress on my birthday Aug. 11th. Happy Birthday to me. Fun note, I was a breaking news producer for almost 8 years at a major television network and there has nearly ALWAYS been breaking news on August 11th…so mark your calendars for something to happen! It always seems to!
I am seeing reports that actor Ike Barinholtz will be playing Elon Musk in Luca Guadagnino's upcoming film ARTIFICIAL, which begins production in San Francisco next week. Thoughts on this? Share in the chat!
My husband says he really wants to see an interview with Ozzy’s family members now paying tribute to his incredible life and career. I agree, that would be an awesome booking when they are ready.
THE INTERVIEW ARCHIVES….
A fun look at brilliant archival interviews.
In honor of all the news about late night shows recently…I thought this was a good one from 1983.
Johnny Carson sat down with Bryant Gumbel for a wide-ranging four-part interview about his run on "The Tonight Show" and how he almost didn't take the role of host. This originally aired on TODAY between Sept. 28 and Oct. 3 in 1983.
Watch it here:
And another good one from 1983, an archival tribute to the late Hulk Hogan
Watch it here: