Mandy Patinkin is the guest on the latest episode of The Economist's The Economist Asks podcast. He talks with host Anne McElvoy about his performing career, being an activist, and his recent claim to fame as a social media sensation at home with his family during lockdown. You can hear their conversation below.

In the interview, Patinkin recounts working with the late composer Stephen Sondheim. "The difference between working with a gifted person and working with a genius. A genius opens the doors to everyone else's thoughts and opinions, asks questions. These kinds of gestures changed the ballgame forever," he says.

"What he did, similar to Shakespeare in my opinion, is he turned darkness into light," Patinkin goes on to say. When asked what makes a work of art a classic, he says: "There's something about it that's innate, that's instinctual, that you want to visit again and again and again. Because I think what that something is, it's something that teaches you about being alive. Literally, one of my favorite songs Steve ever wrote, 'Being Alive.'"