Competitive dog grooming. It's a thing. And it's a really popular thing. We talked with Rebecca Stern, director of the new documentary Well Groomed , which gives an inside look to this fascinating world. You can watch Well Groomed right now, streaming on HBO Max .
Dr Donna Drucker is a historian and her most recent book is a fascinating look at the history of contraception across the ages. We talk about her book and why Americans are so uptight in this interview. You can find out more about Donna at Women Know History Too and order her book here.
Everyone has fun memories of the local amusement park that they went to every summer growing up. Action Park, in Vernon, NJ is memory for many people. And what is that memory of? Dangerous rides, frequent injuries and even a couple of deaths. Action Park, "Where you control the action," was known by many nicknames, Class Action Park, Traction Park, Accident Park, but whatever you call it, you never forget it. Andy Mulvihill, son of Action Park's creator, Gene Mulvihill has written a new book abo...
Cornhole is sweeping the nation. And don't just believe us. Believe ESPN, who are devoting almost 30 hours of time to the sport this week. We sat down with American Cornhole League Commissioner Stacey Moore to talk about how this sport went pro, how good you have to be to go pro and why Roger Goodell isn't taking his calls... just yet.
Paul Zwaska knows how to take care of a baseball field. He was the head groundskeeper for the Baltimore Orioles for 15 years. Now, he works with groundskeepers across the world in keeping their fields ready for play. We learned about some of the stresses of the job, and one of the nicest things Cal Ripken Jr ever said to him. For more information on Paul, you can follow him on Twitter and you can check out Beacon Athletics , the company Paul works with, for all of your grounds keeping goods &...
Chris Frantz is music royalty. As a founding member of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, he's created some of the drum beats that you've hear many times over. Now Chris has a new book out about his life. It's called "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" is available from St. Martin's Press. You can also follow Chris on Twitter....
John Ellison is one of the great songwriters of all time. His "Some Kind of Wonderful," is known the world over as a classic and it's been covered by a wide array of musicians. John has just released a new song, "Wake-Up Call (Black Like Me)" and it's a powerful statement and indictment of the times we are living in. But it wasn't all serious with John. He also let us sing backup with him. He's likely regretting that decision. For more information on John, check out his website . "Wake-Up Call (...
It's hard to succinctly describe Tammy Jo Echkart. She's a writer. A chocolate priestess. A poly dom. A woman who shares her house with both her husband and her submissive. We talked about all of this with Tammy Jo in a fascinating conversation. For more information on Tammy Jo and to find her writings, check out her website .
We've had Bob Trate on the show before, to talk about one of the great genre film festivals in the country- Blobfest. The Colonial Theater in Phoneixville, PA (where they filmed the 1958 class film The Blob ) has been home to the festival for the past 20 years. This year, unfortunately, they were forced to cancel the in-person celebration. But now anyone, anywhere gets to join in the fun. Friday and Saturday of this week, take part in the celebration and get some great Blob swag while you're at ...
What better way to say 'Happy Birthday America,' than to talk about Showgirls . The Paul Verhoeven (classic?) film made a mark on film goers from it's opening weekend. (We know because Heidi was there.) We sat down with Jeffrey McHale, director of the great new documentary You Don't Nomi , where he examines the obsession people have with Nomi Malone and why we all aren't done talking about Showgirls . You Don't Nomi , is now available for rent from the film's website . We recommend it....
Suzi Quatro was one of the first female bass player to make it big in rock. She also was a television star, playing Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days . There's a new documentary, called Suzi Q , where Suzi leads you through her amazing life. We got to talk with Suzi prior to the film's release and learn about her friendship with Debbie Harry, where she celebrated her 50th birthday and so much more. For more information on the film, check out their website . (There's a virtual premiere July 1st wit...
Scott Wiener knows a thing or two or three or four about pizza. He offers guided tours of different pizzerias in New York City, but that's not all. He also is a writer & columnist for Pizza Today magazine and holds the world record for owning the most pizza boxes. We talked with Scott about the tour, what makes a good pizza and the history of the most wonderful food group ever. For more information on Scott's tours & classes, check out his website , and for more information about his cha...
Not only is Sarah Jett Rayburn a Jeopardy! champion- she's a four time Jeopardy! champion. We sat down to talk with Sarah about nerves, the backstage area at the show and her new book which just came out. For more information on Sarah, follow her on Twitter , and your can order her books on Amazon .
If you're Jeff Dawson, jumping out of a plane isn't enough. He'd rather do it naked. And he's done so 814 times. (And counting.) Believe it or not, it's harder to do a naked jump than a clothed one. And, the Guinness people don't keep records, so it's up to Jeff and his friends at SANS (The Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving) to keep the records. For more information, or to join, check out their website.
Synchronized swimming is hard work. Don't believe us? Listen to our conversation with US Olympic Synchronized Swimmer Anita Alvarez. We talk about the specifics about the sport, what drew her to the water and if the team might consider changing their performance music. For more information on the team, check out the Team USA website . And you can follow Anita on Twitter .
There's only one way a show with the title Naked & Afraid is going to be making it to TV- that's with extensive graphic work. Erin Gavin was part of what they called, "The Blur Man Group," the group of visual effect engineers who spent painstaking hours covering all the contestants bits and bobs. Needless to say, there are some stories. For more information on Erin's work, or to learn more about visual effects, check out his website.
You may know Patrick McEnroe from his time on the tennis court, but now he's also hosting a new podcast called Holding Court. His show features conversations with celebrities who are also tennis fans. We are thrilled to announce that we're now sharing a network with Patrick. Why and Holding Court are both part of the Mudd House podcast network. You can find out more about Patrick's show and the network at their website .
To say Michael Miller likes the Indiana Jones movies is a bit of a understatement. He has what much be the greatest collection of material related to the films in his Wisconsin home. We talked with Mike about how he started his collection, where he got some of his prized pieces from and whether or not he opened the Indy LEGO set. (For a full look around his collection, check out our website.)
You may not know Aaron Reynolds, but you know his work. His Effin Birds twitter account has been a sensation, and just what many people need during these trying times. The concept is simple but brilliant- show pictures of birds with incredibly inappropriate captions. We talked with Aaron about his creation, how it got started and which bird is the easiest to write for. You can check out Effin Birds on Twitter or at their on-line store....
It's too difficult to explain all that Cherry Vanilla has done in a couple of sentences. She has led an amazing life and gotten to know many rock legends before becoming one herself. We got to talk with Cherry about her time working with David Bowie, her many friendships and whether music still retains that thrill for her that got her interested in the first place.
Stuntwoman Rachel Harrison has done things we certainly wouldn't want to try. From skydiving, to being set on fire to being buried alive in cement... she's survived it and even gotten paid for it. We talked with Rachel about her career, how she got into the industry and what all of this feels like.
As the pandemic continues, small business owners are looking for new and inventive ways to stay open and take care of their customers as well as their staff. Shon Boulden at the Lucky Devil Lounge in Portland, Oregon has hit upon an idea that is downright brilliant- and he calls it Boober. If you can't go to the strip club, why not have the strip club come to you? We talked with Shon about his bright idea and how quickly it has caught on. For more information on the Luck Devil Lounge, check out ...
John Reznikoff is one of the foremost autograph and ephemera dealers in the world. So when he decided he wanted to start collecting something, he wanted to pursue something that wouldn't be a conflict of interest. So he ended up collecting hair. John owns the locks of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth and Edgar Allan Poe, among others. We talked with John about his collection and how he authenticates something as personal as follicles. For more information on John's collection or to see what co...
Quidditch isn't just for wizards anymore. The sport has evolved from the pages of J.K. Rowling and is now being played world wide by people (some of whom haven't even read the books). We talked with Mary Kimball from US Quidditch about the origin of the sport, how they've adapted the rules for muggles and where the sport can go from here. For more information and to find a team near you, check out the US Quidditch website.
With so much time on our collective hands, people everywhere are now looking for more movies to watch. We re-connected with Bob Trate from the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville, PA to talk about what he's been watching and one way you can stay involved with the local independent movie theater near you during this rough time. For more information on the Colonial check out their website . And to join an on-line viewing party, check out the Colonial's Facebook page ....
We get all of our football questions answered when we talked with Jake Sutherland. Jake is a tight end for the XFL's New York Guardians. How many people are hitting him up for tickets? Who names the plays? Do signs in the stadium really encourage them? Check Jake out on Twitter , or visit the Guardians' website for more info.
When you think of the perfect detective pair, maybe you think Crockett and Tubbs. Or Holmes and Watson. But you likely don't think of the 44th President and his Vice President. Andrew Shaffer is here to change all that. He's the author of the Obama-Biden mysteries books that, while are a lot of fun for the politically informed, they're also actually really good mysteries. We talked with Andrew about how he crafts his mysteries, why he settled on Biden and why the former Vice President is the per...
Heidi and Luke were recently guests on The Love Pod, a podcast dedicated to discussing everything going on in the world of reality TV dating. They got together to talk about Love is Blind, the hit Netflix show. (In case you haven't binged it yet, you might want to give it a shot.) For more info on the Love Pod, check out their site.
If you're looking to get away, why not go to a galaxy far, far away? We talked with Bryndee Barton from Loma Homes, the woman who oversaw the building of the home and talked over the details that they put into every room. For more information, or to book your time to stay at the Twelve Parsecs house, check out their website. You can also check out a gallery of the room inside the house at our website.
Love is Blind is a reality TV show on Netflix. And it's popular. And if you didn't know this, we're thrilled to know they finally got you out from under that rock. We talked with two contestants about their brief stay in the pods, what they learned about themselves and why Andy might be a bad traveling companion.
