Today's Guest: Regina King, actress, "Southland," "American Crime," "The Leftovers" Regina King plays Lydia Adams, a dedicated daughter and detective in NBC's new drama series "Southland." But like her partner on the show, Tom Everett Scott, she comes to “Southland” best known from an armload of successful film roles including the Oscar-nominated film Ray... Continue Reading →
Judge Cristina Perez runs a tough courtroom! PODCAST INTERVIEW
There are a lot of judges on TV these days, starting with Judge Judy and running all the way through Judge David Young. But only one of them has an Emmy Award. That lucky jurist-slash-TV personality is Judge Cristina Perez, host of the syndicated “Cristina’s Court.” She stands out from the pack because Judge... Continue Reading →
Craig Glazer is The King of Sting! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Craig Glazer, the author of a new book called The King of Sting: The King of Sting: The Amazing True Story of a Modern American Outlaw, might remind you of another good guy/bad guy: Frank Abagnale Jr., the author of Catch Me If You Can. The difference, I think, if that Abagnale was a... Continue Reading →
Will Terrorists Go Nuclear and other political horror! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Brian Michael Jenkins, author, Will Terrorists Go Nuclear? Let me say this as clearly as possible: If you don’t buy Brian Michael Jenkins’ new book, Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?? then the terrorists win. And that may be the last moment of levity in this episode of Mr. Media. Brian Michael Jenkins is... Continue Reading →
Donnie Brasco had Unfinished Business says FBI’s Joe Pistone! PODCAST INTERVIEW
My favorite book in the 1970s was Serpico by Peter Maas, the story of a New York City cop who seemingly single-handedly fought the force of corruption in the city’s police department. I read all the books of that genre in that era, from Supercops to The Valachi Papers and The French Connection. One... Continue Reading →
Legs McNeil on The Ramones, Spin, Hollywood porno and more! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Legs McNeil, author, Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, I Slept with Joey Ramone When Spin magazine started, its staff included two fascinating characters. First was Bob Guccione, Jr., the magazine’s founder and namesake son of the publisher of Penthouse. And then there was Spin’s senior editor, Legs McNeil. Legs McNeil!?!... Continue Reading →
Philip Shenon’s uncensored 9/11 history, The Commission! PODCAST INTERVIEW
I think everyone remembers where they were when they first heard about the planes flying into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. For our generation, it’s that horrifying moment that matches up with when other generations remember the Kennedy assassination or the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But where were you when the... Continue Reading →
Novelist James Sheehan gets The Law of Second Chances! PODCAST INTERVIEW
I met James Sheehan at a St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading event back in 2005. I was there promoting my new biography of Will Eisner and he was riding a wave of excellent reviews for his first novel, The Mayor of Lexington Avenue. As we got talking, however, we realized we had met... Continue Reading →
55 Chuck Shepherd’s News of the Weird: The original weirdness endures! INTERVIEW
TODAY'S GUEST: Chuck Shepherd, syndicated columnist, "News of the Weird" (Originally Published October 21, 1996) If it's the 12th of the month — any month — Chuck Shepherd can be found eating a large pepperoni pizza pie. It's a rare taste treat for the normally diet-conscious newspaper columnist, the world's reigning expert on mankind's most... Continue Reading →
12 Florida writer Tim Dorsey packs a Hurricane Punch of parody! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Novelist Tim Dorsey, author of Hurricane Punch. The first time I tried my hand at fiction in high school, it was a way of dealing with people and issues that I couldn’t handle in real life. My friends thought it was hysterical and that I was a little twisted. In college, I... Continue Reading →