Julia Gets Wise with Jean Smart

On Wiser Than Me, Julia seeks out the wisdom of women who have lived longer than she has. Today, we’re bringing you something a little different: Julia’s appearance on the podcast Friends Keep Secrets, where the roles are reversed. Its hosts, Benny Blanco, Dave Burd (Lil Dicky) and Kristin Batalucco, grew up on her work. Recorded at Dave and Kristin’s Los Angeles home, the show skips the formal interview. Instead, the hosts and their guests cook, play games, or simply spend time together. Julia’s visit was especially meaningful to all three hosts, who credit Seinfeld as one of the inspirations for their show. Julia talks with them about her approach to cooking, raising her children, and her favorite memories from Seinfeld. She also recalls the NBC crossover idea that Larry David turned down immediately.

We are saddened by the news of Gloria Steinem’s passing at the age of 92. Gloria was a force and the defining leader of the women’s movement. Steinem’s commitment knew no bounds, as she spent her life fighting for women's equality, autonomy and a seat at every table. She shifted the world as we know it and taught every one of us the value of our voice. We’re sharing her conversation with Julia from 2024 as we mourn her loss and honor a lifetime spent lighting torches for the rest of us to carry.

This week on Wiser Than Me, Julia sits down with 73-year-old style and music legend Cyndi Lauper. The pair talk premonitions, pop hits, and why she thinks she owes Steven Spielberg a decades-overdue apology note. From singing in the shower as a kid to writing the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, Cyndi talks about her creative chaos, and standing up to anyone who tells her to “just sing.” She opens up about marriage, activism, and why flowers apparently wave back when you’re famous. Plus, Julia and her 92-year-old mom Judy discuss Julia’s childhood psychic powers.

Julia is joined by 85-year-old folk legend and lifelong activist Joan Baez, who is still dancing, still showing up, and still refusing to be quiet. They talk about singing before a quarter million people at the March on Washington in 1963, what made Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. laugh, and what real courage feels like from the inside. Joan opens up about her decades-long struggle with anxiety, forgiveness, and dissociative identity disorder. Oh, and she sings. Three times. Afterwards, Julia calls her 92-year-old mom Judy — who, it turns out, was playing folk music on a portable Victrola in Sri Lanka when Julia was young.

This week, Julia sits down with 78-year-old Janet Mills, Maine's first female governor, first female DA, and first female AG in the state's history. Governor Mills, who recently suspended her Senate campaign, takes Julia behind the scenes of that legendary White House moment when she looked Trump in the eye, said "see you in court," and won. Julia also learns how Janet navigated the ups and downs of becoming a stepmom to five young girls, and what her Republican family said when she became a Democrat. Plus Julia and her 92-year-old mom Judy talk about the broad appeal of Mary Oliver and Judy's own journey to becoming a Democrat.