Burke Allen's Big Time Talker Podcast — by SpeakerMatch

After serving as a journalist for years in West Virginia, Dave grew passionate about West Virginia's opioid crisis and wanted to help draw attention to the issue in a positive way. Healing Appalachia is the ultimate support event with music and film showcases along with contributions to those who are struggling with drug addiction. This year's Healing Appalachia saw stars like Tyler Childers. Lear...

This week Burke speaks with author Beth Davis, whose explosive creativity resulted in several award winning children's books she's been touring around the East Coast. Beth and Burke have something in common, being proudly raised in the Appalachian region. Beth explains her love for storytelling comes from her roots as a Southern storyteller. You can purchase Beth's stories by visiting her Amazon p...

It promises to be a fun evening for music fans of all ages featuring American Idol Contestant Sydney Mack and up-and-coming Nashville singer and friend of the show, Kate Boyek. The historical Henderson Hall Plantation along the Ohio River will serve as the perfect backdrop for an unforgettable evening. Get tickets while you can at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/river-road-music-festival-tickets-663...

"Deceased people have such a great sense of humor," - Barbara Bandel This week Burke is joined by psychic Barbara Bandel. As a practicing psychic for most of her life, Barbara recounts her personal and true-to-life experiences connecting with the other side.  Barbara discovered her abilities when she was seven years old, her exploits since then have earned her features in publications like Reader'...

This episode was recorded live at the American Library Association's annual conference in Chicago. Filmmaker, author, graphic novelist, playwright, pro wrestler, teacher, parent, and more - there aren't many things Danny Boyd hasn't done. This week Daniel Boyd returns to the Big Time Talker Podcast to talk about his newest release while looking back on his time in entertainment. Daniel's most rece...

In this special episode of the show, Burke speaks with John Gore, a musician and old friend who, while he's not on the road with his band, takes his motorbike around the country. This summer, John traveled across the country on his motorbike, often camping on the side of the road and getting a true taste of the United States and its people. Having just returned from this year's trip, John talks ab...

This is a special collaboration episode with Headline Books' Zoom Into Books podcast. This week Burke speaks with Kim Greenberg about the realities of being a performer at all levels of the industry. Whether you are an aspiring musician or actor, Kim's book, Business & Marketing Strategy For The Proactive Performer has advice for you. Kim made headlines by making waves in the New York theatre...

This week Burke speaks with Linn Aspen, the genre-defining author whose award-winning work has been celebrated for weaving philosophy, mystery, and mental health into one book. Amazon reviewers call it a "Thought-provoking memoir" Linn Aspen's award-winning book, The Dreamtidings of a Disgruntled Starbeing: Life with a psychopathic brother, touches on family, nature, spirit, and more. You can lear...

What happens when you take Sherlock Holmes, The Last of Us, Star Wars, and anime and cram it into one award-winning book? That's when you get My Mind is Not Yours by Eliot Esparza.  Eliot credits a variety of pop culture icons as influences for his hit, My Mind Is Not Yours. The urban-fantasy detective book is the first part of a series of young-adult novels available at bookstores everywhere. To...

This week relationship expert Heather Dugan returns to the show. After going through emotional struggles like death, divorce, parenthood, and the COVID pandemic, Heather understood more than anybody what it was like to put yourself first. After the pandemic, Heather found herself in a rut, "I'd like to put my best foot forawrd, but my feet aren't even on the ground right now." With adults dealing...

This week Burke speaks with Matt Dragovits, who wrote the Christmas story, Zach's Quest: A Tale for Christmas. Growing up in a family of nine kids, Matt knows more than most the significance of celebrating the Christmas season. Matt created two versions of the book, one for younger children and another for teenagers. The difficulty for the book was finding its niche in a market full of Christmas b...

This week Burke speaks with Dr. Pl Bandy who wrote the award-winning self-help book, Rehabit Your Life. Coming out last year, Bandy wrote and illustrated the book, which is also extensively researched to help you navigate the best way to improve your health. She uses illustrations to break down difficult-to-understand concepts and medical jargon, making it the self-help book for the layman. You ca...

"I don't want to be known, I would rather be knowable," Kraig Kann Kraig Kann is one of the most recognizable voices in the sports industry. After a long and storied career on the golf channel, he changed gears and started writing.  Another special episode of the American Library Association's annual conference in Chicago. He spends his time as a keynote speaker for Fortune 500 companies. Learn mo...

This week Burke speaks with the organizers of the first River Road Festival at the Henderson Hall Plantation in the historical Williamstown, West Virginia. The fest is a huge outdoor concert with successful singers from around the mountain state. It promises to be a fun evening for music fans of all ages featuring American Idol Contestant Sydney Mack and up-and-coming Nashville singer and friend o...

This week the Big Time Talker celebrates Independence Day with an American hero, fire captain, and award-winning author Tracy Moore. Tracy is the author of "The Fire She Fights," a collection of true events from her and other women's experiences as firefighters put into a fictional narrative. She interviewed over 30 women to flesh out the story and  You can order her book on Amazon or by visiting...

This week the show comes live from the American Library Association's annual conference in Chicago. Burke hosted several podcasts on the convention floor, talking with award-winning authors. To kick this series off, Burke speaks with Norris Comer, who wrote the award-winning "Salmon in the Seine." The book chronicles his time on an Alaskan fishing boat right out of high school.  At 18 years old, N...

This week Burke speaks with Dominic Nolfi, a lifelong performer and Broadway vet from Jersey Boys and Motown the Musical. Dom has traveled the country as a singer and actor, who currently travels as part of the Doo Wop Project. "You take things less personally when you've been in the game for a long time." He also talks about having a family in the business, with his mother being a professional da...

This week Burke speaks with famous astronaut Eileen Collins. Eileen gained fame after becoming the first American woman to pilot a spacecraft. Today, she's promoting her book, Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars. Eileen talks about her time at NASA and how she was able to navigate her and her team through difficult times after the Columbia Tragedy. Having a difficult home life as a child, Eilee...

This week Burke speaks with classic television actor Darby Hinton with some classic TV trivia and a trip down nostalgia lane. Darby starred in Daniel Boone, Malibu Express, and has recently made his way to the Hallmark movie scene. This episode features tons of laughs while Darby talks about his life as a child actor.  Darby talks about growing up in Hollywood and the struggles that many child act...

This week Burke speaks with Kathy Garver, a celebrated actress who has been in dozens of roles both behind and in front of the camera. Over the last 60 years, Kathy has performed in cartoons, movies, and shows.  Recently, Kathy kicked off her career as an author with her stories receiving rave reviews on Amazon. After her time on the screen, Kathy pursued a career in voice acting and teaching othe...

This week Burke speaks with Ty DeMartino, longtime writer, director, and playwright, about the current state of the film industry and how events like artificial reality and the writer's strike may affect the future. Ty has written celebrated films like Tulsa and The Pledge and has been involved in the writing process in Hollywood for years. With being so involved in the film industry he gives his...

This week Burke speaks with Colonel Eric Buer, author of Ghosts of Baghdad. Ghosts of Baghdad releases on Independence Day and immerses you in a Cobra Helicopter during the Iraq War.  After years of experience and life-risking operations manning the stick of a Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter, Eric decided to write to tell the stories of the brave men and women who have flown with him and who wer...

In this week's Big Time Talker Podcast, we tune in to an episode from 2008 with famous author, Homer Hickam. Homer recently returned to his home state of West Virginia where he teased the development of a tie-in film to the critically-praised October Sky. October Sky (1999) starred Jake Gyllenhaal and Laura Dern and was based on Homer's best-selling novel, Rocket Boys. This throwback episode takes...

This week Ashley Belote returns to the Big Time Talker podcast. Ashley specializes in writing and illustrating children's books with successful launches for her stories Listen Up, Louella, The Me Tree, and Frankenslime. As somebody who continues to learn about the art industry, Ashley discusses how artificial intelligence will affect the way art is created? What's the use of you could paint the Mo...

This week Burke speaks with former NASA astronaut, Charlie Camarda. Charlie has a wealth of knowledge about the space travel industry and talks about his time in NASA experiencing tragedies and making sure his voice was heard. Charlie first flew into space on Space Shuttle mission STS-114, since then he has worked to solve problems and educate engineers for future travel. He currently runs a nonpr...