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Kickass News

Airwave Media•www.kickassnews.com
Society & Culture
News
Hosted by Hollywood producer and political media strategist Ben Mathis, KickAss News is a twice weekly podcast that features the most interesting personalities and thought leaders in politics, entertainment, tech, business, science, and more. Enjoy the podcast? Then please support the show and help keep us on the air by making a donation to our GoFundMe campaign at www.gofundme.com/kickassnews. Another way you can support the show is to subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review on iTunes to help keep us ranking strong on the top podcasts charts. For more information visit www.kickassnews.com. Thanks for listening!
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Episodes

The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein w/ CIA Analyst John Nixon

When the brutal Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003, senior CIA leadership analyst John Nixon was called in to confirm his identity and became the first person to conduct a prolonged interrogation of the man known as the “Butcher of Bagdad.” He talks about it in his new book Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein. Today Nixon recalls the surreal experience of debriefing one of the most notorious men of our time. He’ll discuss Saddam’s sadistic sense of humor...

Jan 23, 2017•43 min

Louie Anderson, Martha Kelly & Jonathan Krisel of FX's BASKETS

Today I talk with comedian Louie Anderson, who won an Emmy for his role as "Christine" on BASKETS, and Martha Kelly, who plays the brilliantly deadpan "Martha" on BASKETS. Louie talks about starting out as a joke writer for the king of the one liners - Henny Youngman, coming up as a young comedian in the heyday of the legendary Comedy Store, and getting his big break on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, plus Louie reveals which of his family members inspired his chactacter "Christine" on BASK...

Jan 19, 2017•49 min

The Cast & Creators of History Channel's SIX

History Channel’s new dramatic series SIX authentically captures the inside world of America’s elite Special Operations unit known as SEAL Team Six. Today I talk with the creators William Broyles Jr. and David Broyles and the stars of the show Barry Sloane, Kyle Schmid, and Edwin Hodge. They discuss the dangerous and secretive nature of SEAL Team Six’s missions and how it can put a strain on SEAL’s relationships back home. They talk about the psychological strength required of a SEAL, how the sh...

Jan 16, 2017•47 min

Bradley Birkenfeld, The Swiss Banker Turned Whistleblower Who Exposed UBS Switzerland

Bradley C. Birkenfeld is the Swiss private banker who became the biggest financial whistleblower in history when he blew the lid of off secretive Swiss banks by exposing how UBS, the world’s largest bank, helped ultra-wealthy Americans commit billions in tax fraud. Today he’ll reveal the dirty little secrets of Swiss Banking and UBS’s dealings with the brother of the world’s most notorious terrorist. He’ll discuss how UBS courted wealthy Americans who wanted to hide their money, and then made it...

Jan 02, 2017•45 min

Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Louganis

Greg Louganis is a four-time Olympic champion and widely considered to the greatest diver in history. He's also a champion of LGBT rights and today's Olympic divers. On Monday, January 2, he will serve along-side his fellow Olympic medalists Janet Evans and Allyson Felix as Grand Marshall in the 128th Annual Rose Parade. Today Greg will talk about his remarkable sport career and some of the hurdles he’s overcome along the way, including when the US decided to boycott the 1980 Olympics, his infam...

Dec 30, 2016•44 min

Comedian David Steinberg Talks Carson, Comedy, and Curb (Rerun)

My guest today is legendary comedian David Steinberg. David Steinberg will talk about how being part of the early days of Second City in Chicago, his 130 appearances on The Tonight Show (more than anyone other than Bob Hope) and his friendship with Johnny Carson, and how his appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour singlehandedly got the most popular show on television cancelled. Plus David Steinberg talks about directing Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm, being bestman at a gangster’s ...

Dec 22, 2016•54 min

Are You a Risky Drinker? w/ Dr. George Koob & filmmaker Perri Peltz

Perri Peltz is a filmmaker behind the new documentary Risky Drinking. It's a co-producting between HBO and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Today I talk with Perri and Dr. George Koob who is the director of the NIAAA about some of the signs that you or someone you love might have an alcohol disorder, the toll alcoholism can take on a person's physical and mental health, and some of the new treatments being used that go way beyond the traditional 12-step model. Risky Drinki...

Dec 19, 2016•49 min

Former CIA Analyst Nada Bakos Is NOT "Maya" from Zero Dark Thirty (Or So She Says!)

Nada Bakos was a CIA analyst and the Chief Targeting officer charged with finding the godfather of ISIS and mastermind of al Qaida in Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. She’s also (according to some) the inspiration for the character of “Maya,” the CIA analyst in the Oscar-winning film Zero Dark Thirty. Today, Nada Bakos will talk about how she rose up through the predominantly male world of the CIA to become one of the agencies top analysts and the chief targeter of the most wanted man in the world. ...

Dec 15, 2016•37 min

Middle East Peace w/ Senator George Mitchell & Alon Sachar

Senator George J. Mitchell was the primary architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement for peace in Northern Ireland and the U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace. Today he and his co-author Alon Sachar discuss their new book A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East. They talk about why the peace process has failed time after time, and they outline the specific concessions each side must make to finally achieve lasting peace. Se...

Dec 12, 2016•50 min

The Daily Show: An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests

For almost seventeen years, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart brilliantly re-defined the borders between television comedy, political satire, and opinionated news coverage. Now a new book called The Daily Show: An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests chronicles the show's behind-the-scenes gags, controversies, and camaraderie. Today, the journalist and author Chris Smith talks about how The Daily Show rose from a scrappy jester in the age of 24-hour political n...

Dec 08, 2016•52 min

Michael Medved on The American Miracle

American history, United States, Founding Fathers, George Washington, Lincoln, Conservative, Politics, Republican, Faith, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 05, 2016•44 min

Rebroadcast: Arianna Huffington Is Starting A Sleep Revolution

My guest today is Arianna Huffington, co-founder, president, and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post and author of the new best-seller THE SLEEP REVOLUTION: TRANSFORMING YOUR LIFE ONE NIGHT AT A TIME. She talks about America's dangerous sleep crisis and how our culture of ambition discourages us from getting a proper night's sleep. But she says we've got it all wrong. In fact, sleep is the ultimate performance enhancer. She'll discuss the research that shows how sleep deprivation has a negati...

Nov 25, 2016•34 min

The Boston Marathon Bombings w/ Documentary Filmmakers Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg

Emmy-nominated documentary filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg talk about their new film Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing, which airs 11/21 on HBO. Today, they discuss the 2013 Boston marathon bombings, the long road to recovery for the 264 people who were injured, and the unique bond that has formed between these survivors and our warriors returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. They also talk about some of the remarkable advances in prosthetics that are helping them regain their mobility,...

Nov 21, 2016•32 min

Space Journalist Leonard David on NatGeo's MARS

MARS, a six-part miniseries from Ron Howard, premiered this week on National Geographic Channel, and today my guest is space journalist Leonard David. He authored the companion book to the miniseries titled MARS: Our Future on the Red Planet. He discusses why we want to go to Mars, how we’ll get there, and how long it may take. Leonard David also shares how humans will survive the harsh environment of the red planet including little oxygen, gail force winds, and cancer causing radiation. He talk...

Nov 18, 2016•54 min

Carol Burnett Reminisces About 11 Hilarious Years of "The Carol Burnett Show"

The great Carol Burnett joins me to reminisce about some of the best times on The Carol Burnett Show. She shares stories about Harvey Korman, Tim Conway and Vickie Lawrence, including which one she almost had to fire and which one could always crack her up in front of the cameras. She talks about the boys club that was network television in the 60’s and 70’s and she reveals the comedy sketch that she wished she hadn’t done and some of her favorite questions from the audience. Plus some advice fo...

Nov 14, 2016•40 min

Supermensch Shep Gordon on Film, Food, & Rock 'n Roll

music, entertainment, rock, band, Hollywood, celebrity, chef, fame, Buddhism, Dalai Lama, Hawaii, recording industry, independent, film, Hawaii, friendship, life, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 10, 2016•52 min

An Anti-Endorsement and Final Thoughts on the 2016 Election

It's almost finally over! Today, I share some final thoughts on the 2016 election and make my closing arguments against Donald Trump. With guests Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, Pulitzer-winning New York Times journalist David Cay Johnston, former CIA/NSA director, General Michael Hayden, Stuart Stevens, chief strategist for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, Jonah Goldberg, senior editor at National Review, CNN Global contributor Parag Kanna, Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief of Slate Maga...

Nov 09, 2016•43 min

Author James Patterson on the Shocking True Crimes of Billionaire Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein

Author James Patterson has sold over 350 million books and had more #1 New York Times Bestsellers than any author in history. He is best known for his fictional Alex Cross novels, but today he comes on the show to talk about his newest book - a true crime story about the sensational case of Jeffrey Epstein, the Palm Beach billionaire accused of sexually assaulting or molesting as many as 47 underaged girls as young as 12 and 13. James Patterson reveals how Epstein went about recruiting teenage g...

Oct 25, 2016•46 min

Critical Thinking in the Information Age w/ Dr. Daniel Levitin

Dr. Daniel J. Levitin is the #1 best-selling author of A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age and today he’ll teach you how to sharpen your b.s. detector. He exposes ways supposedly reliable news sources like USA Today and Fox News monkey with charts and graphs to fool you and how to tell whether a website is a reliable news source or has a hidden a agenda. We discuss some terms you should know when looking at health data, we make sense of the proliferation of counter-kn...

Oct 20, 2016•54 min

Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick At Wired, On 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future

Kevin Kelly is co-founder and senior maverick at Wired magazine. He has a new book called The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Techonological Forces That Will Shape Our Future, and he lays out his optimistic view of the next 30 years. He says right now is the best time in history to invent something, and he has a simple formula for the next 10,000 startups. We talk about big trends like the shift from an ownership society to an access society and how consumers are now becoming active participant...

Oct 17, 2016•45 min
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