A Closer Look with Pam Atherton

International b estselling author  Steve Berry stops by for a chat about his latest Cotton Malone thriller, The Atlas Maneuver. We find out if Steve is a plotter or a pantster, if his characters talk to him, and whether Yamashita's gold from WWII exists or not. We chat about his researching, where his ideas come from, and why remembering history is so very important. Plus - why we SHOULDN'T write...

How happy are you? Do you battle anxiety and depression, and wonder if your life has meaning? Enter Joy Strategist author Grace Harry to help change your life! Grace had an illustrious 30-year career as an exec at Def Jam and Jive Records, she managed Usher , and she's worked with some of the top names in the music and entertainment industry. And now she's turned her mind and heart towards helping...

So how much do you really know about money?  Do you know the best way to pay down your debt? Do you have a budget? It's fair to say that most of us have a complicated relationship with money. Enter Berna Anat! The author of Money Out Loud shares with us all the financial stuff that no one taught us. In our chat today we learn our money habits are directly connected to what we experienced as young...

Are you ready for a masterclass from the premier Hollywood acting and success trainer? Whether you're a performer or not… we've got you covered!   Bernard Hiller shares insights from his latest book, The Revolutionary Guide to Acting: A Transformational Journey to Achieving Success in Show Business and Life. We learn how to become unstoppable, how to create "wow" in an interview or audition, and w...

How much do you understand about the economy? Do you know how it really affects your life? Most of us don't know more than what we're told by people we are told are experts.  But should we trust economists? And what's the biggest misunderstanding people have about the economy? When I ran across a book written by economist, attorney, and NYU professor Howard Yaruss called Understandable Economics –...

Have you ever wondered about cults? How do you get into one? How do you get out? Why don't you leave when things get abusive? Why do people stay? Spencer Schneider is a former member of a Manhattan Cult , who finally got away after 23 years in the cult. His new book " Manhattan Cult Story " covers the journey from how he got in, to how he got out, and all the sordid details in between. In our chat...

Bellen Woodard is 11 years-old and the CEO of More Than Peach, but her story started when she was 8, and everyone in her class kept asking for the Skin Color crayon, meaning the peach crayon. But Bellen isn't peach-colored. And she knew a lot of other kids weren't either. Now, at 11, she is the CEO of the world's first multicultural art brand and Kid/Woman/Black-owned business. She's the world's f...

In this very vulnerable interview, actor Michael O'Neill shares insight into his characters and how it can affect an actor's mental health when a job is finished. In this interview taped right before the filming of BOUND , we find out how he felt about Council of Dads getting cancelled, why he went into therapy after one of his roles, and what it's like to work with Shonda Rhimes . Plus, why he li...

When my friend Richard suggested I read the book The Desecrated , I was a little hesitant because it had a supernatural bent and I'm a pure detective fan. But when he told me it was written by John Gray – I knew I had to open it up!  John Gray – the creator of the hit series The Ghost Whisperer . The director of Martin and Lewis with Sean Hayes and Jeremy Northam . The director of a ton of Grimm a...

You've seen Mike Pniewski in everything from The Sopranos to The Good Wife/Fight , Law and Order (just about every incarnation!) and now Hightown on STARZ . He's a face you don't forget.  He's also a writer and an author. And calls fellow actor Michael O'Neill one of his best friends.  So it was only natural that they would want to do a project together. When nothing right came along, they decided...

Anyone who is a spy history buff will know that American Intelligence caught three high-profile Russian spies in the 90s: Aldrich Ames and Edward Howard from the CIA, and Robert Hanssen from the FBI.  But did you know that there have always been rumblings that there was a fourth man? Bestselling author and intelligence analyst for CNN, (one of the most accomplished officers in CIA history), Robert...

What makes a book so hot that there are 11 publishing houses bidding in an auction for it? Today we find out as publishing professional and debut author Ebony LaDelle shares her experience as the author of a new YA novel - Love Radio . She tells us what actually makes a YA novel, and why music and Toni Morrison figure so prominently in the book. Plus – we talk about high school angst, the missing...

Odds are you probably know someone in your life who deals with anxiety, or bipolar disorder.  Maybe someone who deals with delusions, or hears voices.  And maybe it's even you. For example, I get panic attacks when I drive on the freeway. But we haven't always done a good job in dealing with mental issues. We are only now starting to talk about it in any kind of meaningful way. It used to be that...

Lt. Bill Harris was a WWII hero you probably haven't heard of. Award-winning author and retired fighter pilot Dan Hampton plans to change that. His new book VALOR introduces us to the Saga of One Man's Defiance and Indomitable Spirit in a style that reads like an adventure novel. We chat with Dan about Lt. Harris, the power of resilience, why he thinks Ukrainian President Zelensky is so successful...

He's one of the most respected character actors in Hollywood, taking a one-day stint on The West Wing and turning into a 6-season job. MIchael O'Neill is one of those actors you see on the TV or movie screen and say "Oh, THAT guy!" We have a delightful chat talking about the very unusual way he was "discovered," what his two requirements were before he took on the part of the crazed gunman on Gray...

Do you feel like your life is messy? That things are often in chaos and sometimes life just seems so unfair? Cy Wakeman wrote a book to give us hope. Titled Life's Messy, Live Happy, she tells us that we are often the source of our own suffering, and how we can flip the switch from suffering to self-reflection. The subtitle is even more inspiring: Things Don't Have to Be Perfect for You to Be Cont...

When I was a little girl, all the astronauts were men. We would watch TV shows about Dr. Leakey, the archaeologist. And of course, we loved watching the shows with Jacques Cousteau. These were amazing people.  But where were the women? We never saw role models at the time in science and exploration to inspire us. Could we even BE scientists and explorers? Fortunately, now we are starting to hear m...

When you get on a plane to fly somewhere, do you think much about the pilots in the cockpit?  I mean, sure, you hope this isn't their first flight, and that their eyesight is good. But do you wonder if the pilot is white or black? Back in the 60s, you wouldn't have to wonder because the pilots were all white. That is, until David Harris came along. Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael H. Cottman...

Of the 600+ people charged in the 1/6 insurrection, 12% had some sort of military experience. Both leading up to and in the wake of 1/6, a series of reports called attention to the potential threat posed by extremists in the military. Dr. Megan McBride, a research analyst on both domestic and international terrorism, co-wrote a CNA report about racial extremism in the military, and what needs to b...

Explorer, oceanographer, and field scientist, Dr. Sylvia Earle has been advocating for the health of our ocean for decades. The author of National Geographic's  Ocean – A Global Odyssey , Dr. Earle navigates the deep for us and shares stories about everything from the personality of fish to what it was like to be an Aqua-Naughty! Former Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin...

Many of us are intrigued with history and lost cities. National Geographic editor and archaeologist Ann Williams is one of those people who digs around and writes about discoveries from the past. She's often been on-hand to witness important discoveries – some that she talks about in the new book from Nat Geo called Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs… 100 Discoveries that Changed the World This book is a...

Dr. Kara Cooney returns to discuss her new & provocative book The Good Kings : Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World . The book covers 5 Egyptian pharaohs – or kings, if you will – and discusses the concepts surrounding power: how is it earned, who controls it, and why the many often give up power to the few.  Oh… and does any of that correlate to our modern life? Dr. Cooney tells u...

Can you believe we are already 21 years into the new century? National Geographic is celebrating that with a beautiful new coffee table book - The 21st Century: Photographs from the Image Collection. We chat with NatGeo Editor in Chief Susan Goldberg about this fabulous book that is set up chronologically with 250 photos in 400 pages. We talk about some of the amazing photographs that are products...

A pioneer in the LGBT community, and lead plaintiff in a groundbreaking ACLU Federal lawsuit for gay marriage rights in Florida, Arlene Goldberg shares her story from her book Simple Human Dignity, a personal and touching memoir. We hear firsthand about growing up gay in the late 50s and 60s, having to lie to the people most important in her life, and how she felt she let her parents down.  Arlene...

I can't remember the last time I laughed this much in an interview – especially one that included carbuncles, cannibalism, and Thomas Jefferson's rear end. Bestselling author Michael Farquhar shares More Bad Days in History and reminds us that history is not all black and white – that complexities exist – and that we are all pretty much the same.  Michael tells us how General Patton 's widow put a...