Table for Two

Countless lunches and dinners—not to mention glasses of rosé—later, the inaugural season of Table for Two with host Bruce Bozzi is coming to a close. We’ve whiled away afternoons with Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Anna Wintour, Matthew Broderick, and Scarlett Johansson; laughed over cacio e pepe with Mindy Kaling, Rob Lowe, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and John Stamos; and heard delightful and captivating personal tales from so many others. This week, we share some favorite moments from each of our last 25 episodes. When the next season rolls around in early 2024, we’ll be sure to save you a chair at The Tower Bar, Via Carota, and any other tables we end up at.

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When Nicole Avant moved to the Caribbean to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Bahamas, she left behind her husband, her friends, and a life and job in which she was comfortable. But it was because of these new challenges that Avant turned to the guiding force that has, in her mind, entirely shaped the person she’s become: her family. Avant writes lovingly of her recently deceased parents in her new memoir,Think You’ll Be Happy—its title echoing the last words Avant's mother ever spoke to her. On this week's episode ofTable for Two, the political activist and producer joins host Bruce Bozzi to further discuss the values imparted by her relatives, and the importance of always living in the present.

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When John Stamos landed a role onGeneral Hospital, his father, a restaurateur, required that the then-teenager keep working around the kitchen in addition to his acting gig. Today, Stamos doesn’t resent this ordinance, and in fact he credits it as being particularly important to his later success. For this reason and others, he considers his father as one of his mentors, among others such as Anthony Geary, Jack Klugman, Don Rickles, and Sammy Davis Jr. Stamos speaks to the importance of each of these role models—as well as the invaluable lessons they imparted to him—in his newly released memoir,If You Would Have Told Me. On this week’s episode ofTable for Two, the Emmy nominated performer sits down with host Bruce Bozzi to discuss the affecting stories in his new book, including the lasting influence of a childhood bully, his relationship with sobriety, and the recent passing of his close friend Bob Saget

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To say that Irving Azoff makes being in the music business look easy would be an understatement. After relocating from his hometown, Danville, Illinois to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, it was only a few years before he was managing the Eagles. He’s since run companies including Ticketmaster and his own Full Stop Management, and has signed artists from Fleetwood Mac and U2 to Harry Styles and Lizzo. Despite the immediate success he achieved in the rock-and-roll era, though, Azoff thinks today—the age of streaming and social media—is the true musical gold rush. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Azoff reflects on exactly why the modern entertainment industry is so compelling, and delves into the lessons he learned in his early career that he still calls upon all these years later.

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Though Bette Midler has performed on the largest theatrical stages, sung to the grandest audiences, and appeared in beloved films fromThe RosetoHocus Pocus, “The Divine Miss M” still gets nervous before her shows. It’s because of this persistent fear that the Grammy, Emmy, and Tony award-winner so dutifully prepares herself for each and every act, no matter the medium and the size of the crowd. She believes this vigilance—an “alertness”—has allowed her to realize the murky vision of success she came to New York City with in the late 1960s. On this week’s episode ofTable for Two, Midler sits down with host Bruce Bozzi to reflect on her five-decade career in show business, including recollections of an early gig as a bathhouse singer, her first forays into Hollywood, and the realities of working in entertainment as a woman before the turn of this century.

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While growing up in Massachusetts, Mindy Kaling felt like an outsider. Yet the Tony-winning producer, actress, and comedian believes that her upbringing as the child of immigrant put an edge on the singular tone and wit that defines her projects, fromThe Sex Lives of College Girls, soon to premiere its third season, to the forthcomingLegally Blonde 3. On this week’s episode ofTable for Two, Kaling meets host Bruce Bozzi to discuss the specific influences that helped shape her career, and to gossip aboutSex and the City,The Office’s Christmas episodes, and raising her two children.

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Though Matthew Broderick enjoyed watching his father, an actor, perform on stage, he had little desire to pursue the profession himself. That is, until he scored a small part in a high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The laughter and applause of the audience relieved some of his pre-performance jitters and simultaneously kickstarted his career. And though the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Producers star has since established himself as one of his generation’s great actors, he can still fondly reminisce about his “early days” spent auditioning for Bubble Yum radio advertisements and headlining in flooding (and empty) theaters. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Broderick joins host Bruce Bozzi to delve further into his personal history, recounting stories of co-starring alongside Marlon Brando, the New York Times article that altered the course of his professional life, and much more.

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Leaping from Algiers, Louisiana to the Broadway stage and, ultimately, the top-tier of Hollywood, is no simple feat. In Patricia Clarkson’s case, it required a daring jump from her native New Orleans to Fordham University, and the fortuitous, essential mentorship of actress Debra Monk. But Clarkson never truly left the South behind, and in fact she relishes her upbringing there, recalling it fondly—especially her mother’s Creole cooking. On this week’s episode ofTable for Two, the Golden Globe Award-winner sits down with host Bruce Bozzi to reflect on her early roles inThe House of Blue LeavesandThe Untouchables, her adoration of actress and singer Jennifer Holliday, and the values she’s gained by growing up the youngest of five sisters. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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After becoming Miss America and studying at Stanford and Oxford, but before spearheading the estimable nonprofit Lift Our Voices, Gretchen Carlson spent more than a decade as one of Fox News’s eminent hosts. The rest of her story is the stuff of legend: after being fired from network in 2016, the small-town Minnesota native helped bring down the network’s slimy chairman, Roger Ailes, on charges of sexual harassment by her and dozens of other women. Through Lift Our Voices, Carlson is still working to enact change for workers everywhere. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Carlson details the intricacies of modern workplace harassment—both her own experiences, and those of others—over lunch with host Bruce Bozzi, and shares the requisite steps towards creating safe, and inclusive, workplace environments. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Sarah Jessica Parker stands alongside the most instantly recognizable actresses in the world. And yet, if you go out for dumplings in New York City’s Chinatown, or loiter in the Whitney Museum—two of Parker’s favorite pastimes—or even just ride the subway, you might well run into her. Parker is a New Yorker through and through, and she won’t let the notoriety she’s garnered through her role in Sex and the City—one she is now reprising in the show’s sequel, And Just Like That…—stop her from taking part in the things she enjoys (and that includes public transportation). On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Parker shares a meal with host Bruce Bozzi to discuss more of the things she loves, Diane Keaton’s acting process, and being a mother. Hear a preview of the episode below, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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