“We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.”

My resting pulse as a writer is writing idealistically and romantically; aspirationally. My taste lies in quixotic heroes.

Decisions are made by those who show up. Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world.

Decisions are made by those who show up. Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world.

With a television series, there’s a hard deadline, and so you have to write even when you’re not writing well.

I’ll get cast occasionally as sort of the jerk version of myself, and I have fun doing that. But it’s really better for everyone if I stay behind the camera.

I’ve never met anyone who has said, “My goal is to make America mediocre.” That’s a kind of hard-right conservative fallacy.

A news organization has a much different responsibility. I might not be telling you the whole story. I might not be telling you a story in a manner that is properly sophisticated.

My preference would have been to not go back on the air after 911, at all until the time felt right but that wasn’t an option.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an actor. I was acting in all the school plays. I went to school for acting. I was really sure that that’s what I wanted to do.

She’s a person; the doctor pronounces her dead, not the news.

I’ve never met anyone who has said, “My goal is to make America mediocre.” That’s a kind of hard-right conservative fallacy.

I’m a playwright. All I care about is the play being good.

I think that if I couldn’t write, I would be unemployable.

My resting pulse as a writer is writing idealistically and romantically; aspirationally. My taste lies in quixotic heroes.

It’s populated by people who, by and large, have terrific communication skills. Every day is an extraordinary day. For me, it was just a great area for storytelling.

To use a basketball metaphor, West Wing cast was a group that liked to pass as much as they liked to shoot.