Uncorking a Story

Have you ever wondered why there are so many legal dramas on TV? I know I’m dating myself here but off the top of my head I can think of LA Law, Boston Legal, Law and Order, and Night Court. Okay, so maybe that last one isn’t a drama, but it was damn funny. Maybe it’s because so many authors I’ve interviewed recently have fled the legal profession to follow writing as a career. If you think about...

When I was presented with the opportunity to interview J.M. Thompson about his memoir, Running is a Kind of Dreaming, I sprinted to say yes for two reasons; I’m an avid runner and wanted to know what inspired the title and it deals with mental health issues, specifically men’s mental health issues. A few years ago, my twin brother was suffering from anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. I’m not...

Imagine you are a father of two young children going through your morning routine of getting them—and yourself—ready for the day when there’s a knock at the door and the intimidating people right out of central casting on the other side are about to share news that will rock your world. John Vandemoer doesn’t have to imagine that; in fact, I bet he wants to forget it. John is the former Stanford U...

Jay Jay French is an American guitarist, manager, record producer and founding member of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He is a columnist, author and motivational speaker who oversees licensing and intellectual property rights for the Twisted Sister brand. His new book, Twisted Business, is part memoir and part business book follows French’s adventure-filled life, from growing up in New York...

After a brief hiatus between seasons, I’m happy to report that Uncorking a Story is back for its 5th season. Our first episode features a great conversation I had with Heather Frimmer whose second novel, Better to Trust, will be released on Tuesday, September 21st.  As a young woman, Heather was a bookworm who used to write short stories for her own entertainment. However, she did not write her fi...

Dani Klein Modisett is a comedian, actor, and author of the book “Take My Spouse, Please,” about how to create shared laughter to keep your marriage happy and healthy. That book was preceded by 2009’s “Afterbirth...stories you won’t read in Parents magazine.” Additionally, her writing has appeared in AARP, NY Times, LA Times, Parents Magazine and on many websites. In addition to publishing two boo...

Andrea Bartz is a Brooklyn-based journalist and author of the forthcoming WE WERE NEVER HERE. Her second thriller, THE HERD, was named a best book of 2020 by Real Simple, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, CrimeReads, and other outlets. Her LA-Times bestselling debut, THE LOST NIGHT (Crown, 2019), was optioned for TV development by Mila Kunis. It was named a best book of the year by Real Simple, Gla...

Lea Konen is the author of All the Broken People and of several young adult novels, including Love and Other Train Wrecks and The Romantics. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied journalism and English literature. She lives in Brooklyn and Saugerties, New York, with her husband; their daughter, Eleanor; and their dog, Farley. Listen in as we discus...

Shari Lapena is the internationally bestselling author of the thrillers The Couple Next Door, A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know, and The End of Her, which have all been New York Times and The Sunday Times (London) bestsellers. Her books have been sold in thirty-seven territories around the world. She lives in Toronto and Not a Happy Family is her sixth thriller. Listen in...

Jessica Chiarella is the author of And Again. She holds an MA in writing and publishing from DePaul University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of California, Riverside. In this interview, I learned that she wanted to be a writer when she was seven years old so, when she told me that she had a degree in Political Science, I had to ask about that.  It turns out, she didn't think s...

A #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan Train, and A Piece of the World, Christina Baker Kline is published in 40 countries. Her novels have received the New England Prize for Fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award, among other prizes, and have been chosen by hundreds of communities, universities and schools as "One Book,...

Nigerian born and raised debut mystery author Noel Obiora watched the George Floyd video and said to himself, That could have been me. Having come to the United States when he was 17 in 1983, and having attended the University of Texas Law School, Noel, a black man in very white Texas, was pulled over many times for minor infractions and believes it was his accent that kept him safe from police br...

Mary Dixie is the daughter of Designing Women star, Dixie Carter and step-daughter of Hal Holbrook. Her writing has appeared in Time, The Economist, San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and more. She worked at The Observer for five years as the publishing director, and has worked as a professional actor. Mary Dixie has an honors degree in English Literature from...

Anne Basting, Ph. D. is an artist, scholar, and educator committed to the power of the arts and culture to transform our lives as individuals and communities. She is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and founder and President of the award-winning non-profit TimeSlips. Basting's innovative work as both a community-engaged artist and a scholar has been recognized by a Ma...

Marilyn Peterson Haus’ story begins when she was born in 1941 on a farm on the Minnesota Plains. Twins, mental illness, sexism/favoritism, religion, farm life in the 40s and 50s, forgiveness and reconciliation are all topics she meticulously weaves together in this extraordinary memoir. While we touched upon all of that in our interview, what struck me hardest was the struggle she faced with her t...

David Yoon grew up in Orange County, California, and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, novelist Nicola Yoon, and their daughter. He drew the illustrations for Nicola's #1 New York Times bestseller Everything, Everything. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Frankly In Love, which was a William C. Morris Award finalist and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literatur...

This is the one where I talk to author, musician, and comic Aug Stone about his newly released memoir, Nick Cave’s Bar. Don’’t feel bad if you don’t know who Nick Cave is because I wasn’t cool enough to know of him either. The important thing here is that Aug and his friend Andy know who he is and, more importantly, believed he owned a bar in Berlin, based on a rumor overheard in Spain (are you wi...

Alta Ifland was born in Transylvania (Romania), took part in the overthrow of Romania's communist dictatorship, and experienced two years of post-communism before emigrating to the United States in 1991.  After a PhD in French language and literature, and several years in academia, she now works as a full-time writer, book reviewer, and translator (from French, Italian, and Romanian). She is the a...

Laura Hankin is the author of Happy & You Know It and A Special Place for Women. Her musical comedy has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more. She splits her time between NYC, where she has performed off-Broadway, and Washington, D.C., where she once fell off a treadmill twice in one day. Listen in as we talk about her path to success as a performer, why her days worki...

Christina Sweeney-Baird lives in London where she works full-time as a corporate litigation lawyer. Listen in as we discuss her debut novel, The End of Men, which will be available wherever books are sold on April 27. Listen in as we discuss her journey from litigator to author, what inspired her to come up with the idea for The End of Men, and why, at its core, this is a book about hope (and not...

Joshua M Greene is a popular lecturer on Holocaust History and an author whose biographies have sold more than half a million copies worldwide. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his books and films. He sits on the board of Yale University Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies and has served as director of strategic planning for the United Nations Summit of Religious and Spiritual leader...

An interview I did this week got me to thinking about how little things can make a big difference. This one Uncorks a story about U2 and a Bodega owner I met this week whose business is being threatened by the pandemic. Listen in to see the connection between them. Trust me, it will be one to grow on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While interviewing author Christina Sweeney-Baird about her debut novel The End of Men, I started thinking about how most authors, and other creators in the arts including comics and actors, have to work additional jobs long before they can earn a living off of their art. Christina herself is a lawyer (but I don't think she'll have to practice law for long as she's quite a gifted writer). Her full...

Julie Ryan McGue was born in Chicago, Illinois. She and her identical twin sister were adopted together. Her debut memoir, Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging is about the search for birth relatives. Listen in as we discuss what prompted her to find her birth parents, the emotions she experienced along the way, and what this experience has taught her about herself. This...

This past weekend, my sister gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received—a stack of letters I had written to my grandparents back in the 1980s. This inspired me to record and share this episode with you.  Reaching out and touching someone used to mean picking up the phone and calling them. Today, it means Facetiming them or maybe just sending them a text. How about this, instead...