The Mischke Roadshow

Drowning is the theme of the entire hour, whether it's the random inadvertent tumble of the elderly, or a young man's purposeful dive into a killer wave. Mischke's guest is former presidential speech writer David Litt, author of the book, It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Make this show your poison pill. It's easy to swallow. Take in Dear Abby, and learn how she bought a life of prestige but lost a sister. Then plunge into the delightfully random world of listener-land.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke cartwheels into the world of the imagination in an interview with Adam Zeman, author of The Shape of Things Unseen. This is followed by a somersault into the trusty Listener Directory and a back flip over a fence into the Dolphin, Bear, Turkey and Panda cage.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke escapes the States and finds an oasis in rural Scotland, on a farm. That's where Alistair Moffat is sitting with a cup of tea. He has written "The Secret History of Here." After Mischke's interview, it's obit time. They're dropping like flies out there. Finally, a dip into the listener phone directory and an interview involving a couple of real cool cats.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke spends the hour with Tom Barnard, one of the most listened to voices in the history of Minnesota radio.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke interviews James Barrat, author of "The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything." Then Tommy radically shifts gears and does a deep dive into the world of ex wives, before wrapping up the show with a lesson on phone usage and the sad pathetic maudlin end of news anchor Walter Cronkite.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke wades into the tattoo world and leaves his mark, then goes animalistic in his assessment of couples relationships. Finally he embraces the phone, so listeners might keep him company in his lonely studio. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke spends the hour with a fascinating doctor of neurology. Pria Anand has written a brilliant book called "The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of our Brains" The discussion is wide-ranging and wonderfully enlightening.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke kicks up a storm over hurricane names and the failure to take the same approach with tornados. He also revives an old standby bit from his KSTP days, "Dear Abby." Finally, he uncovers a most unusual anti-depressant that's available to all of us and is without a single side effect, as long as one keeps the windows shut.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke delves deep into the 1960s and 70's world of professional bowling, comparing it to that same world today. And he grieves. He takes listeners on a ride to his childhood and a sleazy bowling alley where he learned the finer points of being a man. Finally, he concludes the podcast with an interview with Dave Hage & Josephine Marcotty, the authors of Sea of Grass, an extraordinary new book on the wondrous American Prairie.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke celebrates summer, Jaws, the 4th of July, and the American Revolution. His guest is Kostya Kennedy, author of The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke screws up, badly, but seeks solidarity with others who've done the same. He finds solace in the many stories that seem worse than his own. A conversation with John Miller follows. He's authored a critically acclaimed book on Earl Weaver, titled "The Last Manager."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke contemplates imaginary friends, angry honkers, singers who share a mic, and people who refuse to close the drapes. Then he finds an FDA agent running a smoking fun sting operation before closing out the show with a violent hickey removal proposal.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Love for a dog sends a family on an extraordinary journey of the heart.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oh baby baby it's a wild world. And Mischke knows this well. So does the man sitting behind the thermopane glass, with a love for beer and late night hobbies. So does the man waiting for decades to see a single album returned to his library. Fortunately, there are always old ladies to keep us happy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke realizes the end game of Artificial Intelligence and it's not what you think. Not even close. Then he goes back in time, to June of 1967, and delivers a shocking real life story. The show ends with a flying toddler, who happens to be a pretty decent poet. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke's circuitous route through this program takes him from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to the far reaches of Outer Space, chasing obscure band names and high speed alien crafts. Hear his interview with Hubbard Radio's most listened to podcaster, Stephen Diener, host of the Unidentified Alien Podcast (UAP). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Mischke visits the last Catholic Parish on earth. Then he has a long conversation with Canadian author, Alex Hutchinson, about his new book, "The Explorer's Gene." The show ends with a quirky phone call to an easy going listener in Indiana.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke determines, for the first time in his life, that we're all good drivers. Yes, that even includes you! Then he descends into the dark world of lustful appetites, with author Rachel Hope Cleves and her latest book Lustful Appetites: An Intimate History of Good Food and Wicked Sex. He makes a few calls to listeners, and honors Mother's Day, before leaving everyone with a profoundly disturbing image. So prepare yourself for another new episode of Mischke!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tommy Mischke is back for another fun episode and this time he goes all in on Nostradamus, and then takes a stab at predicting the next pope, followed by a deep dive into an impossibly bizarre supernatural realm. That's right, things are getting a little spooky. He wraps up with two phone calls just as disturbingly otherworldly. Clearly, the man is on a roll!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke makes a rather bold move. He attempts to become "The Great One."While he falls miserably short, he does have an interesting conversation with a national science writer named Nell Greenfieldboyce. Her new book is titled Transient and Strange. Plus he also accidentally interrupts a very private therapy session, kicking off station alarms. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke is back after catching a co-worker micro-cheating, and things get weird. But it gets stranger still when explorer Peter Rowe comes on to discuss his book, "Out There: The Batshit Antics of the World's Great Explorers." Lastly, Mischke offers a sad meditation on the lonely eccentricities of a hockey goalie.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke asks a simple question that takes the show down a myriad of disparate paths. From Finnish hackers to French winos. From idyllic lake cabins to Ed Gene's farm. It's a ride down the Happiness Highway, without seatbelts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke interviews the author of “American Afterlives,” Shannon Lee Dawdy. This sends him down the road of mortality, including learning that Friday surgeries get you closer to the grim reaper than Monday surgeries, and a light-hearted conversation with a listener who gets reminded five times a day that HE'S GOING TO DIE!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tommy takes a long look at the sad life of a postal worker who thought he'd found his holy grail. The man's story of envy, crime, and conviction leads to a memorable conversation between Mischke and a stripper at a gentleman's club. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the help of an old Hollywood actor, Mischke celebrates an anti-multitasking philosophy, and drifts effortlessly through the worlds of spiders, bank robbers, Big Macs, and coffins. He also relishes opportunities posed by busy signals and overloaded voicemail boxes. His guest is Ximena Nelson, author of "The Lives of Spiders."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mischke wrestles with a "critical" issue in hospital jargon. Then we meet  “Custodians of Wonder,” people around the planet maintaining extraordinary and eccentric practices, along with the man who wrote about them, Elliot Stein. Plus a visit from an old musical friend, and a shot at love for a lonely soul.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are you keeping secrets? The world's leading expert on the subject says we all are, and they could be damaging. Mischke talks to the author of "The Secret Life of Secrets." He also ponders the fate of Joe Dimaggio and turns to a random six-year-old philosopher for deep insight.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Final Roadshow. Mischke is Interviewed.

Mischke returns for week two, and checks in with some listeners to find out how things are working out so far. Following this week's gigantic SNL 50th's anniversary special, Tommy calls up Susan Morrison, who's written the new bestseller “Lorne” an insightful look at the creative genius still shaping our comedic tastes at the age of 80. Plus a look at the life of a man who won't join us in the 21st century and how it relates to the Westminster Kennel Dog Show.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The original radio renegade returns to the bleak barren tarmac of University Avenue with his first episode of the new podcast, "Mischke.” Tommy starts out talking about his vision for what this new show will be, and confesses to a couple of bad ideas he had to reject along the way. Then we meet Marc Masters, author of “High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape” as both he and Tommy reflect on a simple audio invention that completely revolutionized the experience of music, and changed the industry forever. Mischke closes out the show trying desperately to give back to those who work hard serving us each and everyday.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

My Roadshow Farewell Pocast

You look at him from the back seat. You thank him for the ride. But who is he?

A Flight of the Imagination

The long journey to find a place in this world where one is finally welcome.

An American institution, and a cure for what ails us.

A stroll through a world within a world, within a world, within a world.

A poor boy in the 40s finds his salvation in baseball and radio.

Thoughts from the world of anonymity.

A man who's been a commercial fisherman for over 80 years presents a meditation on the concept of work.

Following hundreds of thousands of Americans on their great pilgrimage to the total solar eclipse.

Taking a trip in time, to a golden age of radio.

Midnight: No time of day comes with more meaning, mystery, lore, or emotion.

When life hands you what you're never looking for.

It's awfully silly stuff, ...until it's awfully real.

It's a weird wild wacky wondrous world. 

Pondering the universal human experience of feeling lost, or losing something.

The life affirming high of romantic intimacy in one's 80s and 90s

A depressed old man seeks renewal and transformation at the State Fair

A look back at those grand old radio days.

For a decade, it's been a part of every single road trip, but I've not spoken of it until now.