Mr. Media Interviews by Bob Andelman

2019: If you’re a man or woman who likes to get away from civilization to fish in remote and exotic places, fly fisherman tired author Marshall Craig is the kind of guy you’ll want to do it with. I reached that conclusion based on the humorous essays found in his new memoir, "You’ll Need A Guide: Fishing Stories That Aren’t Much About the Fish." It is available in paperback or ebook on Amazon or wherever you buy books about fishing.

2019: On any given day, “For Better or For Worse” could be funny, sweet, bittersweet or hauntingly dramatic – just like life in my own family or yours. Perhaps nothing about the strip was more shocking than the day in 2008 that cartoonist Lynn Johnston announced she would no longer be producing new strips but would be re-releasing the original from day one, with occasional fixes to continuity and timeliness. Would that even work? It has and it does--the strip appears in 2,000 newspapers in 23 countrie

2019: Graphic novelist Barbara Slate, a frequent guest to this show, has adopted Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller's two-years-in-the-making investigation into a comic book. "Mueller Report Graphic Novel" reduces the horrifying hacking of American democracy to its essence, packed with documented political cheating and anti-American conspiracies. Enjoy!

2019:

2019: Once again, novelist Renee Rosen delivers up a slice of actual history by taking us through it in the persona of a young woman, named Alice Weiss. This time, Rosen takes her readers back in time to the moment in 1965 when Cosmopolitan magazine is on the verge of shutting down, only to be saved against all logic by an inexperienced new editor named Helen Gurley Brown, best known as the controversial and provocative author of "Sex and the Single Girl."

2019: "Weirdo. In The Book of Weirdo: A Retrospective of R. Crumb's Legendary Humor Comics Anthology" is a massive work by Jon B. Cooke that even Crumb himself questions the logic of, although he admits he learned quite a bit about himself and his magazine by reading it. As for Cooke, who is a graphic designer by day and editor of "Comic Book Creator" magazine by night, he also worked with his brother Andrew on "Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist." WARNING: Audio problems make this a tough listen.

2010: Reports of the death of the TV hospital drama—foretold by the end of "ER" last season after 27 years on the air—were apparently premature. Showtime has "Nurse Jackie"; TNT has "HawthoRNe" and NBC is back with a new one that adds an "M," a "C" and a "Y" to "E" and "R" and that gives us "Mercy." (Oh, stop groaning—you saw that one coming a mile away.) It stars Taylor Schilling, Michelle Tractenberg and my guest today, Jamie Lee Kirchner.

2019: To me, the arrival of a new Ravi P.I. novel by Adi Tantimedh is like being handed a fresh-baked soft pretzel and a Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. I’m going to try and consume it slowly, savoring every biteand every sip. But in the end, I always give in to the impulse of zooming through because it’s just so damned good! Of course, when it’s gone, I’m left wanting another. And another.

2009: This should be an interesting show. We have a guest who is allergic to beer and a host who never touches the stuff. Naturally, the subject is… beer! Anat Baron is the director of a new documentary called Beer Wars. Now available for sale on DVD, it’s not a movie about rival frat houses—on second thought, maybe it is. Baron presents a sometimes tongue-in-cheek study have how the big three brewing companies—Anheuser-Busch, Coors and Miller—will stop at nothing to take space in your neighborhoo

2010: David Mathison’s book, "Be The Media," is a perfect companion bookend for Guy Kawasaki’s most recent book, "Reality Check." Together, these are 3 pounds, 13 ounces of paper you really should own and study.

2009: Drew Waters possesses the kind of body that other men can only wish to emulate and women dream of well, you know. He grew up in Texas and gave up a track & field scholarship at Rice University to join the Navy. While still serving his country, he won a modeling contest over 3,500 other contestants and—after completing his military tenure—began a career as an international print model. He appeared in an episode of “Breaking Bad,” and scored a recurring role during season 3 of “Friday Night Li

2009: The really funny thing about Judy Tenuta? Pretty much everything. And she’s actually quite a lovely woman, as you can see from the photos on her website—JudyTenuta.com. I wanted to get that out of the way now, before she reminds me of what a pig I and all the rest of you men are.

2009: For those who remember Dominique Swain from her first starring role—as “Lolita” opposite Jeremy Irons—this is quite a departure. For one thing, she’s all grown up. And for another she’s really freaked out. Joining us today, in addition to Dominique, is the director of Fall Down Dead, Jon Keeyes. He is a veteran of indie horror films including American Nightmare and Suburban Nightmare.

2010: As a middle school girls soccer coach, I enjoy working with kids and their parents, But not, I suspect, enough to want to be Jo Frost, the star of the ABC TV series “Supernanny.” And while it would be tempting to be called “Super-Manny,” the title that falls to her associate Mike Ruggles, I don’t think I’d want to be him, either.

2011: This was so cool, I had to share it again: in 2011, I took a flyer on a paid commercial for the Mr. Media podcast on Kevin Smith's new Smodcast daily, online radio show, Plus One Per Diem. The show features Smith, the director of Clerks, Chasing Amy and Red State, and his wife, actress Jen Schwalbach, discussing life, culture and family. I wrote some suggested points for the live read of the commercial, but Smith improvised the best and rest of it. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

2019: From the time I started reading John Barbour’s career-spanning memoir, "Your Mother’s Not A Virgin: The Bumpy Life and Times of the Canadian Dropout Who Changed the Face of American TV!" I kept searching for the right word to describe my over-arching impression of the man. It wasn’t easy because in the course of 700 pages, Barbour is a comedian, a talk show host, a culture critic, a writer for singer Frank Sinatra, a husband and father, and creator of NBC’s “Real People.” I settled on "una

2010: I’m interested to talk with "Saved By the Star" Dennis Haskins about his recent multi-episode arc on the first season of the new TNT dramedy, “Men of a Certain Age.” His certain were with Scott Bakula.

2010: Most of us probably remember Ming-Na best from her run as a young doctor on the long-running NBC medical drama, ER. Or, if you’ve got a daughter, like I do, you’ve probably sat through the Disney animated films Mulan and Mulan 2 a couple hundred times. That’s right, Ming-Na was the voice of the heroic Mulan. More recently, she did an eye-popping arc as one of Charlie Sheen’s love interests on Two and a Half Men, which somehow led to her joining the star-filled ensemble of Stargate Universe.

2010: When the producers of the CBS reality TV hit “Undercover Boss” brag that their show is about corporate presidents getting their hands dirty, they couldn’t be more accurate than this week’s episode. Because on Sunday, April 4, 2010, the boss going undercover is Rick Arquilla, president of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Roto-Rooter Services Company. That’s right, the top guy at America’s largest drain cleaning service will be shown as one of the guys, one of the grunts, repairing and snaking America

2010: Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial transactions that most people will ever make. First-time homebuyers in particular have no idea where to start. What they need is a road map and an experienced guide that can advise when to shop and when to not, what’s a gem and what’s a scam. Peter Richmond is probably that guy. He’s the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buying a Home. If anyone can offer good, simple advice on how to do it, it’s got to be him.

2019: Exploitation Nation, Mike Watt’s bi-annual journal in which he gives lowbrow entertainment a highbrow survey, is all about underground comix in its sixth issue. I’m always looking for an excuse to feature comics-related subjects on Mr. Media, so seeing previous Mr. Media guests Howard Cruse and Trina Robbins on the cover, plus art by Will Eisner – whose authorized biography I wrote 15 years ago – it was a pretty easy reach for me.

2010: It’s been like “Beauty Visits the Beast” around here lately at Mr. Media Radio, with recent drop-bys from “Supergirl” Laura Vandervoort, “10 Things I Hate About You” star Lindsay Shaw and Mulan’s Ming-Na. Today brings another lovely treat as WWE diva Brie Bella—who works with her twin sister Nikki Bella on “Raw”—joins me to discuss her appearance as a special guest with Nikki on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” hosted by Ty Pennington.

2010: David Russo, author of "17 Rules Successful Companies Use to Attract and Keep Top Talent: Why Engaged Employees Are Your Greatest Sustainable Advantage," spent 19 years as VP of human resources for SAS Institute, which won numerous quality-of-work and quality-of-life awards during his tenure. More recently, he founded Eno River Associates to consult on best practices and workforce strategies with companies of all sizes.

2010: You have a brilliant idea: Write a book about a year in the sporting life of the world’s greatest golfers. A publisher snaps it up and you seemingly have it made. Except you pick the wrong year to focus on the wunderkind, who self-destructs as your year on his tail comes to an end. Even worse, you miss catching him at his real sport, mistressball. But you move forward and the result, Unplayable: An Inside Account of Tiger's Most Tumultuous Season, still captures a true year on the links with Tiger.

2008: Today's podcast is a lost-and-found item; recorded on September 27, 2008, live at Blog Orlando, an "Unconference" held at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, it has been missing in action for more than a decade. Appearing on this episode, in order, are:• J.C. Hutchins, science fiction novelist;• Dana Willhoit, freelance writer and internet marketer;• Michael Hinman, podcaster, "Syfy Radio";• and Tommy Duncan, blogger, "Sticks of Fire."

2010: My guest today is Robert L. Dilenschneider, founder and chairman of the New York City-based Dilenschneider Group and former president and CEO of one of the world’s best known and most successful public relations agencies, Hill and Knowlton. He is also the author of a new book, "The AMA Handbook of Public Relations." AMA, in this case, stands for the American Management Association, by the way.

2009: Christopher Ventura, a 2009 graduate of the film program at Syracuse University, is the man behind Ventura Creative, which produces “It’s OK! I’m an Actor.” Also joining us is Ventura’s co-producer, Peter LaSala. He’s created several film and video shorts in both narrative and documentary genres. If you're a fan of such shows as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you may feel right at home watching “It’s OK!”

2019: How much do you need to a know about a band beyond the fact that you like their sound? I heard a few tracks from the Canadian group Across the Board and that was enough for me. They just released a new album, "Wild Ones," so I invited them on the show today and figured we could just dive in and learn about them together.

2011: Mary Ewing-Mulligan is the co-author (with her husband, Ed McCarthy) of six wine books in the Wine For Dummies series — including French Wine For Dummies and Italian Wine For Dummies — as well as her latest , Wine Style. She has taught hundreds of wine classes  and visited nearly every wine region in the world.

2011: Two interviews in one show: first up is comedian Debi Gutierrez, followed by Patrick Muldoon, actor in "Starship Troopers" and singer in The Sleeping Masses.

2010: I do recognize a good story, and that’s what Phish biographer—and former Rolling Stone magazine staff writer—Parke Puterbaugh has in his new book "Phish: The Biography." Even though I’m not a Phish-head, I thought by reading the book and talking to Parke, maybe I’ll see the light. Let’s see what happens.

2010: My guest today is Cynthia Tucker, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She is a woman who wears her beliefs on her sleeve, in her newspaper—via syndication, in a lot of newspapers—and in an online blog.

2010: I lost track of my old friend Ziggy over the years. I was honestly surprised to learn that the strip is produced by Tom Wilson, Jr., son of Ziggy’s creator. And I was saddened to learn of the heartbreaking trip Wilson has been on for the last two decades. Wilson tells his story in a new book, "Zig-Zagging: Loving Madly, Losing Badly… How Ziggy Saved My Life."

2010: I invited comics writer Brendan McGinley to be my guest today because I like his style. I also like the way he has embraced new graphics technology and applied it to one of my favorite 20th century mediums. If you’re not familiar with McGinley’s work, check it out while we talk about it here on Mr. Media.

2010: Can it be only six months ago that Richard Doetsch was a guest on Mr. Media? I remember it well because I was so breathless in my praise and admiration for his then-new novel, The 13th Hour. That story completely blew my mind. I still don’t know how Hollywood is going to squeeze so much storytelling goodness into less than three hours, but I can’t wait to see them try.

2009: "Comics in Wisconsin" is historian Paul Buhle’s new book. Buhle, who has written more than 40 books on pop culture so far, has documented the origins of comics in his home state. This project details the development of homegrown talents such as Denis Kitchen and connects the cheesehead dots to Robert Crumb, Lynda Barry, Bill Griffith and many more. Comics in Wisconsin was at least Buhle’s second book published in 2009: he also collaborated with his old friend Kitchen on "The Art of Harvey Kurtzman

2010: For Ray McKinnon, a guy whose previous best-known role was probably that of Reverend H.W. Smith on the HBO series “Deadwood,” the success of "The Blind Side" can’t be anything but good. He’s already been nominated for a 2010 Spirit Award for his role as “Lonzo” in the indie "That Evening Sun," opposite legendary actor Hal Holbrook. McKinnon, by the way, won an Oscar of his own back in 2002 for his work behind the camera on a short, "The Accountant."

2010: I look forward to engaging today’s guest, Bulgarian-born pianist and film composer Mario Grigorov, in conversation. He is the composer behind the music heard in the topical—and award-winning—film "Precious, Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire."

2010: Luis Guzman is the secret weapon behind HBO’s new comedy series, “How To Make It in America.” He is its Alec Baldwin—you know, Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”—or, in an even more apt comparison, he is its Jeremy Piven, who plays Ari Gold in “Entourage.” Cousin Rene, the somewhat reformed, Dominican gangsta Guzman plays, isn’t in every scene of this show from “Entourage” creator Mark Wahlberg. But, like Piven, whenever he’s in a scene, he commands your attention. No color is as brig

2010: Ted Raimi is directing Playing Dead but writer Suzanne Keilly is actually playing dead in the new web-only series, Playing Dead. The Groundlings comedy alumnus is a struggling young actress—well, maybe not as young as she’d have you think—when her desperate plea for a job attracts the attention of The Grim Reaper.

2010: Since leaving the print world, Jim Gaines has been in a couple of interesting online media situations. His most recent was as editor of FLYP—yup, with a 'Y' where you’re expecting an 'I'—which he calls a “proof-of-concept experiment in digital storytelling.” You can see it for yourself a www.FlypMedia.com. Shortly, I’ll force him to explain what that means under threat of a lifetime editorial consulting and personal services contract with the New York Post.

2010: I have to share this story; it made me laugh. I don’t know too much about the boy bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s except that they were extremely popular and that, because my son was born in 1996, I missed that entire era of pop. So I went online to school myself on 98 Degrees, in anticipation of today’s guest, singer Jeff Timmons, joining me on the show to talk about his latest work.

2010: There are two sure things we can do to make ends meet today: 1) Take any job that provides at least some income to pay the bills; and 2) Cut back on expenses. This is where “Good Morning America” consumer reporter Elisabeth Leamy can help. In addition to her regular reports on the ABC morning show, Elisabeth just published a new book called Save Big! It’s packed with an array of clever ideas to save a lot of money in this time of need.

2010: Howard J. Morris and Jenny Lee didn’t just co-author the new book Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid, they actually live together as a couple. My experience, many years removed, is that working on a book with my spouse, a gifted editor, wa s that to continue doing so would generate the title, “Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid… Couple is Divorced.” But I digress.

2010: Joining me to talk about the film "Bring It On: Fight to the Finish" is one of its stars, Christina Milian. If you have kids, they probably will remember her as Tina from Disney Channel's "Movie Surfers."

2009: One of the most daring challenges in writing novels for young adults is transferring the four-color escapades of superheroes to narrative form and still retaining the boldness ad glory of the comic book medium—while adding meat to the bones of the structure. I think Thomas E. Sniegoski (website) accomplished that—and more—with his new novel "Legacy," detailing the generational handover of the “Raptor” crown. "Legacy" is a rip-snorting good roll in the costumed character hay.

2008: My first book, "Stadium For Rent," features dozens of editorial cartoons drawn by future Pulitzer Prize winning artist Clay Bennett. Back then, Bennett was poking fun at local issues and political figures for the St. Petersburg Times. His style is sneaky—clean lines and bold images let him club you over the head with his message while you’re still chuckling. Bennett left the Times for Christian Science Monitor, where he ultimately won his Pulitzer. Today, he’s with the Chattanooga Times Free Pre

2011: I have made it a policy to almost never comment on a woman’s shape, figure or apparent weight loss or – God forbid – weight gain. It’s a no-win situation. But for two reasons, I’m going to make an exception to that policy today in my interview with Amy Parham. First it’s because she’s written a new book called 10 Lessons from a Former Fat Girl: Living with Less of You and More of Life. I figure she opened the door there.

2010: Can I be honest with you? The whole “Real Housewives” phenomenon slipped right past me. Oh, I don’t think they missed me; a middle-aged, bald-headed stooge is probably not their key demographic. I can think of plenty of Real Housewives of St. Petersburg! But I digress. Kelly Bensimon is a beautiful woman, one who can give the usual girls of Playboy a run for their money in my book, any day.

2010: Valentine Roncalli is 35 and feeling every bit of her years. While her friends and siblings all have families of their own, she lives in her 80-year-old grandmother’s home, amongst all of her grandmother’s trinkets and memories, Valentine wants a man. Gianluca is that man. The suave Italian lights her up like a Roman candle. That’s the issue novelist Adriana Trigiani confronts in her second Valentine story, "Brava, Valentine."

2010: I don't know much about this man whose name reminds me of a 1986 David Cronenberg movie starring Jeff Goldblum. His bio is just a couple of unrevealing sentences. Fly is the lead singer of a band called Underground, which has a new CD out called Chasing the Future, which you can find on CDBaby.com.