Country music star Larry Gatlin joins Tim to talk about a life in country music, as a songwriter, as a performer and as a member of one of the most famous vocal groups in the history of country music. Larry is the oldest of the three Gatlin Brothers who hale from West Texas. He is an award-winner, a chart-topper and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. This Encore episode was first released May 25, 2020.
Laila Mickelwait joins Tim to talk about her work and a movement she founded to fight child sex trafficking. She’s the founder of the Justice Defense Fund and the founder of a global movement called #Traffickinghub. That movement is supported by millions around the world. Laila talks about the role “Big Porn” websites play, and her work to hold sex traffickers and their enablers around the world to account.
Storyteller Margot Leitman joins Tim to talk about the art of storytelling, and how you can be a better storyteller. Margot is an award-winning storyteller, best-selling author, speaker and teacher and a Moth Storytelling “GrandSlam” winner.
Author Mark Seal joins Tim to talk with Mark about the subject of his popular new book about the making of The Godfather movie. The book is called, “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli.” Mark has is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair where he’s covered scandals, history makers and pop culture icons.
Carl Neuss joins Tim to talk about the growing movement among alumni groups across the country to defend free speech on the college campus and why he decided to help lead the charge at his alma mater for freedom of speech.
Alexis McCrossen, a professor at SMU and an expert on how cultures have marked time in history, Joins Tim to talk about our New Year’s Eve traditions with a special focus on the story behind that Times Square Ball Drop. This episode was first released on December 24, 2018.
Plan on watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation this holiday season? Listen to the film’s director Jeremiah Chechik talk about the impact that movie has had on him and on our holiday entertainment traditions. He’ll talk about the making of the film and why the Griswold Family have become a staple in holiday viewing. This episode was originally released on December 2, 2019.
Television host and producer Marc Summers joins Tim to talk about the classic Nickelodeon show that put him and the Nickelodeon cable network on the map, Double Dare. Before Double Dare, kids didn’t have their own game show and the Nickelodeon network was not as widely known as it would become after this crazy, messy, green slimy “party” that millions of millennials would rush home after school to watch. This episode was originally released on March 16, 2020.
Seth Shostak joins Tim to talk about the serious scientific search for intelligent life beyond Earth. Seth is the senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, which was created by NASA and is located in Silicon Valley. It is dedicated to the search for life beyond Earth. In this episode, Seth talks about what we’re learning about the potential for finding intelligent life, not only within our solar system, but well beyond it.
The voice of the Detroit Lions Dan Miller joins Tim to talk about America’s Thanksgiving football tradition and life as a pro football play-by-play announcer. Dan is the Sports Director at Fox 2 TV in Detroit, and he’s been the play-by-play radio voice of the National Football League’s Detroit Lions since 2005. In this episode, Dan talks about a Thanksgiving tradition that dates back to 1934. The annual Thanksgiving Detroit Lions football game.
The founder of the band Wild Cherry and the creator of the iconic song “Play that Funky Music,” Rob Parissi, joins Tim to do an anatomy of a funky song. That funky song, which has been named one of the top 100-performing songs of all time. Rob tells stories and gives a hint why new generations are embracing it even today.
Milton Riess joins Tim to talk about the recent Alec Baldwin shooting and what it means to safety on the Hollywood set going forward, along with standard safety protocols for filmmakers. Milton is a writer, filmmaker and a college professor who has worked on nearly 300 film and television productions over 35-plus years. Milton talks about working conditions and safety on the set of Hollywood film productions.
Justin from the popular true crime podcast called Generation Why joins Tim to talk about America’s obsession with true crime and his podcast’s role in shaping the growing genre. Justin and his best friend and co-host Aaron launched their podcast in 2012, helping to pioneer the true crime podcasting.
The COO and General Manager of Nashville’s famous Bluebird Café Erika Wollam Nichols joins Tim to talk about the Bluebird, its storied history and how this little place in a strip mall has impacted country music, songwriting and our culture. This encore episode was first released as Episode 81 on August 19, 2019.
Ed Root joins Tim to talk about the people and the groups who have dedicated their lives to remembering the people and the lessons of 9/11. Ed is a cousin of flight attendant Lorraine Bay, who was aboard United Flight 93 when it crashed into a field on September 11, 2001. Since then, Ed has been an active member of a group called, “Families of Flight 93.” Ed has dedicated much of his life to since that day. From September 12th until today, that story and the work involved can be summed up in two words, “Never forget.” This episode is part of our special series, “9/11: A Generation Removed.”
