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In 2018 I said goodbye to my dear colleagues at Face the Nation and moved to New York, the city of my early career. I started as a co-host of CBS This Morning with Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King. Recently, Bianna Golodryga has joined the team. For the first seven months, I ate many scattershot meals from Gourmet Garage while living in corporate housing. The family has now joined me in New York. The show has been a whole lot of fun– a two hours focused on the news, with a wide range of stories and really fabulous colleagues. It has also been exhausting. My sleep app has just stopped with the small counting of hours. Here’s a recap of the year:
Television
Here you can find all my TV pieces this year. Some of my favorites include a conversation with the creators of Hamilton which took place at the Library of Congress. The librarians had brought out all these original Hamilton letters and notes. They even had a rough draft of the Reynolds Pamphlet! We talked about creative collaboration and what it sounds like when it goes silent in the room where it happens. They collaborate in conversation just as they did putting together the show. (CTM piece here, extended interview here.). Jon Batiste told me about his musical ancestors, and the necessity for musical space– the notes he doesn’t play. I also spent time with him at the piano going through each song and talking about why he did what he did and what he was going for. Jon is so great because he can speak from the street musical level and also the Julliard-graduate level. Christian Bale explained how he transformed into Dick Cheney (and whether he was able to transform back), and how he saved director Adam McKay’s heart.
I talked with Senator Bob Corker in three different locations, including a whiskey bar. He was candid about the president, but also candid about the frustrations of a Senate where Senators are not allowed to vote. Speaker Paul Ryan reflected on his time in office as he prepared to leave. I sat down with Jimmy Carter who had just finished swinging a hammer, and Cindy McCain after her husband’s death. British Prime Minister Theresa May also welcomed me for a chat which marked my first visit to 10 Downing Street. Oh, and here are some kids I talked to who will give you faith in the future.
I started writing Reporter’s Notebooks too about fatherhood, turning 50 and how to argue. Oh, and I wrote something about pencils too.
Writing
In the spring, the Atlantic published a cover story I wrote about the presidency and whether it has gotten too big for any one person to handle.
Podcasts
I also continued as a co-host on the Slate political gabfest, and I’m still doing the Whistlestop podcast on the presidency. In Whistlestop we went to China with Nixon, examined the Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan relationship, and returned to the days of Judge Robert Bork and Oliver North. I also recorded interviews for the CBS This Morning podcast with John Lithgow, Tara Westover, author of Educated, Michael Beschloss and Doris Kearns Goodwin and the stars of Harry Potter. Oh, and I talked to David Letterman, a hero from my youth.
Books
I signed a deal with Random House for a book on the presidency which will come out in 2020 and in early December 2018, the audio book of On Her Trail was published.