--- title: TIME’s Best Video Interviews of 2021 description: As 2021 wraps, TIME looks back at some of this year's most fascinating video interviews canonical: https://time.com/6129438/best-interviews-of-2021/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-12-28T17:00:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T10:39:11.303Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The Great Video Interviews of 2021 og:description: As 2021 wraps, TIME looks back at some of this year's most fascinating video interviews og:url: https://time.com/6129438/best-interviews-of-2021/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfaaa4aee01a82f0a/698a16e8b21a9c276950483c/AMANDA_GORMAN_AWOL_ERIZKU_001-crop.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: AMANDA_GORMAN_AWOL_ERIZKU_001-crop og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Great Video Interviews of 2021 twitter:description: As 2021 wraps, TIME looks back at some of this year's most fascinating video interviews twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfaaa4aee01a82f0a/698a16e8b21a9c276950483c/AMANDA_GORMAN_AWOL_ERIZKU_001-crop.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 7 Video Interviews With the People Who Defined 2021 ## Video: Watch: What Officer Mike Fanone Saw on January 6 [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: What Officer Mike Fanone Saw on January 6](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aLGY1fP5.m3u8) (5:53)  _Published 2021-08-04. Officer Mike Fanone, who was seriously injured in the Capitol riot, on what body camera footage tells us about January 6._ by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Dec 28, 2021 5:00 PM CUT  Awol Erizku's portrait of Gorman is an “indirect nod” to Maya Angelou. “It needed a layer of depth that only poetry can explain,” he says. “I was interested in allowing her to own the space that she’s in right now.” Awol Erizku's portrait of Gorman is an “indirect nod” to Maya Angelou. “It needed a layer of depth that only poetry can explain,” he says. “I was interested in allowing her to own the space that she’s in right now.”Awol Erizku for TIME by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Dec 28, 2021 5:00 PM CUT As 2021 wraps, TIME looks back at some of this year’s most fascinating video interviews. From actor Steve Buscemi to climate activist Vanessa Nakate, these individuals are defining the present moment. Here are seven of the most thought-provoking conversations of the year. ## _Steve Buscemi: Everyone Said ‘Never Forget’ 9/11\. Some Have No Choice_ Actor and former firefighter Steve Buscemi discusses the enduring physical and mental toll of 9/11 on first responders 20 years later. Read his essay on the meaning of that burden [here](https://time.com/6095709/steve-buscemi-9-11-firefighter/ "undefined"). --- ## _Vanessa Nakate: ‘You Cannot Leave This Responsibility to Young People’_ Youth climate activist Vanessa Nakate speaks about how older generations have failed to meet funding pledges to help poor nations adapt to a warming planet. [In an excerpt from her recent book, published in TIME, she calls for climate justice for Africa.](https://time.com/6109452/vanessa-nakate-climate-justice/ "undefined") --- ## _Amanda Gorman on Poetry, Beauty and Sudden Fame_ Amanda Gorman’s eloquent poetry at President Joe Biden’s inauguration soothed millions of Americans still reeling just two weeks after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Shortly after, she [spoke to former First Lady Michelle Obama](https://time.com/5933596/amanda-gorman-michelle-obama-interview/ "undefined") about art, activism and more. --- ## _Justine Bateman’s Aging Face and Why She Doesn’t Think It Needs ‘Fixing’_ For her new book, _Face: One Square Foot of Skin,_ actor and director Justine Bateman [spoke](https://time.com/5953951/justine-batemans-aging-face-and-why-she-doesnt-think-it-needs-fixing/#:~:text=She%20spoke%20to%2047%20women,that%20older%20faces%20need%20fixing. "undefined") to 47 women about their aging faces. In this interview with Susanna Schrobsdorff, Bateman talks about ageism and the angst many women face about being seen as older. --- ## _Billie Eilish on growing up in the spotlight_ In this interview, Eilish—who was named [one of TIME’s 100 most influential people](https://time.com/collection-post/6095808/billie-eilish-pioneer/ "undefined") of 2021—talks about the ups and downs of an adolescence in the public eye. --- ## _Cathy Park Hong on trying to “change this country’s consciousness”_ The Korean-American poet—another one of TIME’s [most influential people of 2021](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2021/6096088/cathy-park-hong/ "undefined")—discusses her book, [_Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning_](https://time.com/collection/must-read-books-2020/5904237/minor-feelings/ "undefined"), and the exploration of race and minority identity in America. --- ## _What Officer Mike Fanone Saw on January 6_ Officer Mike Fanone of the D.C. metropolitan police department was seriously injured in the Capitol riot—[and is still grappling with what happened on that day, and in its aftermath](https://time.com/6087577/michael-fanone-january-6-interview/?utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=editorial&utm%5Fterm=politics%5Fpolice&linkId=126615404 "undefined"). Interviewed by Molly Ball, Fanone walks viewers through his camera footage from Jan. 6. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6129438/best-interviews-of-2021/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6129438/best-interviews-of-2021/"},"headline":"7 Video Interviews With the People Who Defined 2021","datePublished":"2021-12-28T17:00:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T10:39:11.303Z","description":"As 2021 wraps, TIME looks back at some of this year's most fascinating video interviews","url":"https://time.com/6129438/best-interviews-of-2021/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfaaa4aee01a82f0a/698a16e8b21a9c276950483c/AMANDA_GORMAN_AWOL_ERIZKU_001-crop.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME 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