Storybeat with Steve Cuden

Writer-producer Michael Tove is finally seeing his long-term vision of a film career coming to life with the successful completion and multiple festival run of his first film, the Hitchcockian short, “Yard Saleing.”  It’s rare to find a screenwriter whose first project is made in what would otherwise be one’s retirement years, but Michael has always been a big fan of unpredictable stories like tho...

Joe Lex retired in 2016 after 45+ years in emergency medicine. He started as a combat medic in Viet Nam and ended as a professor of Emergency Medicine at Temple University  When he took a tour of Philadelphia’s historic Laurel Hill Cemetery, which was founded in 1836, he realized that the role of a cemetery docent seemed to suit his personality. After a year or so of giving tours, he decided that...

Laurie Berkner has been recognized by People Magazine as “the queen of kids’ music.” Laurie’s a singer, songwriter, performer, author, and founder of Two Tomatoes Records. Laurie’s songs have become beloved classics for children worldwide. Her work has received more than 1.7 billion online streams, averaging more than 22 million streams monthly. She’s also amassed more than 578 million YouTube cha...

Spade Robinson is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, and director, with experience that spans feature films, documentaries, TV, commercials, and theater. Spade is the owner of the full-service production company Spade Ink Media, producing and developing a slate of film, television, and podcast projects. In 2015, Spade founded Atlanta Film Project to support storytellers more democratically,...

This is Thaao Penghlis’s second time on Storybeat. Among Thaao’s many talents, he’s an actor, writer, director, and podcast creator. If you’re a fan of daytime dramas, then you know Thaao from his more than 40 years of playing Tony DiMera and Andre DiMera on Days of Our Lives and Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem. For his work, he’s been nominated for three Emmy Awards.  In 1989, he starred as disgu...

P. K. Edgewater, a military veteran and doctor of 40 years, is the debut author of the novel Passages: A Voyage From War To Peace , which offers a timely and deeply human perspective on recovery after conflict. The book focuses not just on war itself, but on mental health challenges that follow, like trauma, grief, moral injury, and the difficult work of healing. I’ve read Passages and can tell yo...

John Vorhaus is making his third appearance on StoryBeat.  John is best known for his classic comedy-writing book, The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not . At last count, he’s taught and trained writers in 40 countries on six continents, and created TV shows of his own in Nicaragua, Romania and elsewhere. His writing credits include dozens of teleplays and screenplays, plus seven no...

Marsha Scarbrough worked in Hollywood as an Assistant Director on major motion pictures and primetime television for almost 20 years. As a graduate of the prestigious Directors Guild of America’s Assistant Directors Training Program, she supported many directors, including Clint Eastwood, Leonard Nimoy, Blake Edwards, Colin Higgins, and Carl Reiner. And she worked directly with stars like: Pierce...

This episode includes discussions of mental health issues, substance abuse, and sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised. Christa Parravani is the author of the bestselling books, Her: A Memoir, and Loved and Wanted: A Memoir of Choice, Children, and Womanhood . Loved and Wanted is acclaimed for its take on curtailed maternal health care as it pertains to children, and its condemnation of th...

Gabby Gruen is appearing on StoryBeat for the second time.  He has been a writer and producer of ads and commercials for several top tier ad agencies and their high-profile clients.  As a screenwriter, he’s sold work to Fox 2000 Films, and wrote movie scripts on assignment for a number of independent production companies. More recently, Gabby has been publishing novels. We chatted about his excell...

Tricia Gardella, who is known as National Park Gramma, is the award-winning author of scores of children’s books, including a 10-book Mouse Travelers Series, which explores and promotes a love of national parks and monuments. I’ve read Mouse Visits Everglades National Park and can tell you it’s a charming story, wonderfully illustrated, about Tricia’s hero, Mouse, exploring the Everglades during a...

Barbara Mujica is a multi-award-winning, bestselling novelist, and a professor emerita at Georgetown University. She’s also a short-story writer, essayist, and critic. She’s been published in The New York Times, The Miami Herald , and The Washington Post . Barbara's stories have appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals.  She’s a two-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize for Fiction....

Mike Bodayle is a semi-retired insurance company executive. His favorite things in life are proudly displayed in the images on the four luggage tags found on his suitcase: the Yankees logo, a cassette mix tape, a slice of pizza, and the Starbucks logo.  In the mid-1970s Mike wrote about music for his college newspaper. From 1995-2001, Mike published Beyond Belief , an Elvis Costello international...

Crystal Manich has directed over 90 productions of opera, plays, musical theatre, and circus across the USA, Argentina, Australia, and Europe. Her work has been acclaimed by the New York Times , The Wall Street Journal, and other major publications for her “lively” and “imaginative staging.”  She wrote and directed her first opera libretto, Time to Act , written with composer Laura Kaminsky, which...

Barry Greenfield is making his second appearance on StoryBeat. He’s a working musician and songwriter whose career spans from 1968 to the present. His 12 CDs have enjoyed global sales. Barry’s written three number-one songs and had twenty-plus songs covered by other artists. In 2025, his music was selected by HBO, BBC TV, and Australia Films for their original programming. Barry’s also an author....

Doug Thompson started his broadcast career at CHUM Radio Toronto in the mid 1960’s. Since then, he’s worked in New York, Los Angeles and London, England. He’s created programming for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Telemedia Network Radio in Canada as well as ABC Radio, NBC Radio, and the Unistar network in the U.S. Doug has written, produced and directed over 1000 hours of network and s...

My guest today, the actor David Reivers has had a career spanning 40 years in theatre, film, and TV.   He’s best known for various TV roles in shows like Charmed, Felicity, Drake and Josh, The Disney Channel’s Jump In, and recently in season one of The Pitt.  Film roles include Malcolm X, After the Sunset, Circle, Poseidon, and most recently, The Accountant 2. You may have also seen David from his...

Stephen Cole is returning to StoryBeat for the third time. He’s an award-winning musical theatre writer whose musicals have spanned the globe. Stephen’s first production was Dodsworth starring Hal Linden. His Off-Broadway musicals include After the Fair , The Road to Qatar and Inventing Mary Martin . He won the prestigious Kleban Award for The Night of the Hunter . And Saturday Night at Grossinger...

Natalie Lander was inspired to become an actress by watching her dad, David L. Lander, who was best known for playing “Squiggy” on Laverne & Shirley . Natalie has built a résumé that includes a wide range of credits as both a performer and creator. On camera, Natalie has had recurring guest star roles on The Middle , Lopez , and Major Crimes . Other guest-starring credits include Grey’s Anatom...

The prolific screenwriter, David Silverman, is back on StoryBeat for the second time. David has written for stars like Robin Williams, Bob Newhart, Rosanne Barr, Drew Carey, Sarah Silverman, Pee Wee Herman, and others. David has co-created 5 TV series and written and produced on more than 30 different series, including hugely popular shows like Newhart, Roseanne, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons,...

My guest today, Christine Pedi is known as the “Lady of 1000 Voices." She discovered her talent for multiple personalities through her long association with the legendary Off-Broadway revue, Forbidden Broadway, performing in companies all over the world, including New York, London, Japan, Singapore, and more. Among the dozens of personalities Christine is known to impersonate are: Liza Minell...

Ron Roman has written extensive travel, academic, and political articles for regional, national, and international publications. He studied both fiction and creative writing for his third graduate degree in Humanities from Wesleyan University.  Ron has acted in numerous Korean TV dramas and motion pictures like Operation Chromite, portraying Admiral Forrest Sherman opposite Liam Neeson’s General D...

Leslie A. Rasmussen wrote TV comedies for folks like Gerald McRaney, Burt Reynolds, Roseanne Barr, Norm McDonald, and Drew Carey, while working on popular sit-coms such as Major Dad, Roseanne, ALF, The Wild Thornberrys, Sweet Valley High, Evening Shade, Norm, and The Good Life. After leaving the TV industry to raise her boys, Leslie obtained a master's degree in nutrition and ran her own busi...

Paige N. Regan is a dark fantasy author known for her great ability to infuse humor into the macabre. With a focus on Young Adult and Adult novels, her captivating stories transport readers into worlds teeming with magic, myth, and murder. Her most recently published works include: Sin and Bones and Blood and Stone, which are the first two books of the Sin and Bones trilogy. Paige’s upcoming Gothi...

Amy Meislin Pollack was a teacher for over four decades. From her own childhood, to the classroom, to being a parent of three and grandparent to seven, she’s perfectly positioned to write her coming-of-age book series based on a mischievous young girl, Jillian Kramer, who everyone calls Jelly Bean. After 60 years of occasionally working on her Jelly Bean books, Amy took advantage of the Covid pand...