Amanda knows about living inside other people’s preconceptions. When she was 22 years old, she was sentenced to 26 years in prison for a murder she didn’t commit. In 2007, on a study-abroad program in Perugia, Italy, Amanda’s roommate Meredith Kurcher was raped and murdered. The police and the tabloids pinned it on “Foxy Knoxy,” calling Amanda a sex-crazed murderer. After spending almost a decade in the labyrinth of the Italian criminal justice system, Amanda was fully exonerated. Today, she lives in her hometown of Seattle and, with her husband, has a podcast called Labyrinths about the mazes we find ourselves in.

Originally aired March 16, 2021

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jay McInerney is a New York Times best selling author known for his breakout novel Bright Lights Big City. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film adaption of Bright Lights Big City and co-wrote the screenplay for the 1998 film Gia, starring Angelina Jolie. In addition to his fiction work, McInerney was the wine columnist for House & Garden magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and currently writes the wine column for Town & Country magazine. His essays on wine have been collected in Bacchus & Me (2000) and A Hedonist in the Cellar (2006) and his book of short stories, titled How It Ended, was named one of the 10 best books of the year by The New York Times in 2009. McInernay has also been honored by the New York Public Library as a “Literary Lion” and won the James Beard MFK Fisher Award for Distinguished Writing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Huma Abedin has spent her entire career in public service, from her beginnings as an intern in First Lady Hillary Clinton’s office, to her time as senior advisor to then-Senator Clinton, as deputy chief of staff to the Secretary of State, vice chair of Clinton's presidential campaign, and now, as Clinton’s chief of staff. Abedin’s recent memoir, “Both/And,” details this time in government, as well as her personal struggles behind the scenes. Huma Abedin sits down with Alec to discuss the personal impact of the 2016 election, the lessons she learned from her late father, and the sliding doors that have offered her different paths in life.

Originally aired December 12, 2022

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.