“Nobody Knows Anything”: Confessions of a TV Exec – David Kissinger

About this episode

David Kissinger grew up swimming in Nixon's pool, getting bad-mouthed by classmates over his dad's Nobel Prize, and hanging out with people history books call monsters — and he calls uncles. Jay sits down with David Kissinger — son of Henry Kissinger, TV exec behind The Office, Battlestar Galactica, and Netflix's The Beast in Me — for a conversation that swings from Watergate to Ted Danson's phone number to the time Paul McCartney pulled out a harmonica just for him. David tells the story of the president calling his childhood neighbors "sons of bitches" (in front of a 10-year-old), explains how he squandered millions of dollars developing shows before finally getting one right, and gets brutally honest about the show he still thinks was robbed of its shot. Plus: why AI can't write a joke to save its life, what Barry Diller taught him about being a good editor, and how a 6:20am hiking group became his weekly dose of joy. It's part Hollywood war stories, part front-row seat to American political history, and part two old friends just riffing. Also: listener mail about firing a friend without losing her, and a hard stance on marzipan. Bio: David Kissinger has spent decades helping