Burke Allen's Big Time Talker Podcast — by SpeakerMatch

This week Burke speaks with Charl Brown, a Broadway singer who was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Smokey Robinson in Broadway's Motown: The Musical. Charl has spent years as a young Broadway actor and international touring musician. Charl talks about how he worked to make it on Broadway as a young actor, with no backup plan Charl has devoted his entire life to performing. Charl...

Tonni Lea Larson, a recovering victim of abuse and sexual assault now commits her life to helping people who have been through trauma similar to her own. Being an expert on toxic relationships, Tonni constantly works to help others to find peace in themselves after confronting their emotional bruises. Now having written four books, Tonni continues to speak publically and work to inspire and motiva...

Longtime West Virginia broadcaster, Dave Allen, speaks with Burke about the media and communications issues of their home state.  Dave is the host of WCHS news network's 580 Live radio show, aired weekdays at 9 AM. The program offers political commentary with a dash of sarcasm, proudly sponsored by West Virginia companies like Par Mar Stores and the Thornhill Auto Group. After spending decades wor...

This week Burke speaks with Richard V. Battle, a longtime friend and award-winning author about the future of American patriotism coming off independence day weekend. Life’s Daily Treasure offers 366 readings based on logic, philosophy, or faith that will improve anybody’s day upon reading them. The book is meant to help out when things are at their most difficult. Richard talks about his experien...

This week Burke speaks with Chris MacDonald, a nationally celebrated musician who pays great respects to the history and story of Elvis Presley. Chris MacDonald’s Memories of Elvis concert series has advanced across the nation for years selling out venues at one of the most authentic music tribute performers in the world. He talks about the history of Elvis and the elements of his character that h...

Love showbiz? Love Las Vegas? This week Burke Allen welcomes Vegas legend Mark Prows, one of the top behind-the-scenes entertainment executives in the City Of Entertainment! Mark spent over two decades on the executive team at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, including a long stint as Senior VP of Entertainment Operations. Now Mark is the Chief Operations Officer at www.chargergogo.com, and he has...

This week Burke speaks with Roger Smith, a New York City native who suffered in a long battle with addiction that left him facing homelessness and time behind bars, after decades of struggle Roger turned his life around and climbed the corporate ladder.  Roger Smith found success early in his life, but it only fueled his addiction and bad behaviors, it took a big wake-up call after a suicide attem...

This week Burke speaks with Kevin D. Miller, the nationally awarded author behind historical fiction novels like White Skies Black Mingo, Heart of Steel, and his celebrated newest story; Eyes of Morpheus. Kevin began his writing career after discovering a horrifying chapter in his family's history starring his ancestors in a grizzly murder mystery. After investigating his ancestral background, Kev...

This week Burke speaks with Jennifer McGill, a former Mouseketeer and lifelong performer. With her first time on stage during kindergarten and signing her first contract at 10 years old, Jennifer has experienced the highs and lows of being a child star. Having palpable, unrivaled confidence and drive to perform from such a young age Jennifer is all too familiar with the stress of growing up as a p...

This week Burke speaks with Tony Vincent, a longtime rock artist and Broadway star who now commits his time to helping young actors and musicians become greater performers. During his time at university, Tony founded his own record company, Adobe Flats leading to his first recording contract. Directly out of college he made his way onto Broadway where he played lead roles in smash hits like Americ...

Season 6 America's Got Talent Winner, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. speaks with Burke about his life before and after winning big in front of the world over a decade ago. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Landau sat down and decided to work towards getting his high school diploma, an accolade he's been missing throughout most of his life. With the pandemic finally on its way out the door, Landau will be ce...

This is a special collaboration with Headline Books. “He was born blue; he was barely alive. All the air had been sucked from the room.” Kelly Speck had planned for her newborn son, Bennett, to be placed on her bare chest for his first attempt at breastfeeding. Instead, he was whisked away to the NICU. It was, as Speck writes, “the kickoff of a nightmare journey.” In this episode, Kelly talks with...

This is a special collaboration episode with Headline Books. Coal Country, by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, the creative minds behind the award-winning docudrama The Exonerated, delves into the aftermath of 2010’s Upper Big Branch mine explosion, highlighting the indomitable resilience of a small West Virginia community on a quest for justice. Featuring the musical talents of three-time Grammy Aw...

This is a special collaboration with Headline Books In this week's episode, Peter Golenbock revisits the Big Time Talker to talk about his lifelong experience interviewing and writing about America's greatest baseball legends after a lifetime of conversations with them. Peter talks about his wonderful conversations with Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, and many others! Peter tells these personal, f...

This is a special collaboration with Headline Books This week's episode of the Big Time Talker features Bruce McLaughlin, a Virginia-based attorney,  who under false accusations of sexually abusing his children, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. After 4 years of watching his back and surviving by his wit's end in prison, he was exonerated and let out of prison, fighting to get back into the bus...

This episode of the Big Time Talker is a special collaboration with Headline Books. Daniel Boyd, a retired world-class professor, has spent decades writing and creating movies. As a creator of all things storytelling, Danny has written plays, films, graphic novels, children's books, and more.  Daniel, a proud West Virginian, is joined by the illustrator of his most recent children's book, Hector M...

This week, Lisa Foster talks about her new book that tells the story of how she became the entrepreneur who helped to revolutionize reusable bags in the face of the climate issues drawn by plastic bags. Lisa serves as a business coach after the success of her push for a greener way to shop, founding 1 Bag at a Time, Inc. which would lead to the revolutionization of climate-cautious shopping. She t...

Patrick Lazarra is a Las Angeles-based actor, writer, and director behind the new mafia thriller, Burn, releasing April 1st! Burn serves as a loveletter to old-school Hollywood mafia films, with great committment to making the film period accurate. Patrick also shares how to make the film seem so large despite its low budget. Patrick also talks about his struggles going through chemotherapy and ho...

In this week's special International Women's Month episode of the Big Time Talker Burke speaks with Hanadi Elyan This week Burke speaks with longtime content creator and professor, Hanadi Elyan. Most recently Hanadi has written her first featured film, Salma's Home. Hanadi talks about the inspiration behind her latest work, Salma's Home, and its importance as a story for Arabic Women. Salma's Home...

This week's episode is a special collaboration with Headline Books featuring award-winning author Joel Burcat. This episode comes from the international launch of Joel's newest thriller, Strange Fire. Joel Burcat is no stranger to the Big Time Talker, having been featured on several episodes discussing his award-winning environmental thriller series of books.  To watch the video live stream of thi...

This is a special collaboration episode with Headline Books Beverly Copen is a jack of all trades superstar personality who has spent her life writing, creating, and innovating. Her recent book, It's Your Life, Isn't It? dives into how empowering it can be to take control of your life. Beverly tells the story of her growing into the person she is now in this inspiration-filled episode. To learn mo...

This episode of the Big Time Talker is a special collaboration with Headline Books! The action-packed page-turner follows the life of Mark Northfield, operating as a lone mercenary employed by a shadowy organization. His only comfort is the memory of his dead wife, and he lives by two final promises to her: never let go of life, and never let the world turn him into someone worse than the man she...

This week Burke speaks with Larkin Campbell, a long-time Hollywood Actor who has spent his career rubbing elbows with some of the biggest names in film. With so much experience, how has Larkin stayed so unknown? Throughout the episode, Larkin talks about his experiences and personal stories with Hollywood's biggest names like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck, and many more! He also talks about w...

This week Burke speaks with Vanessa Ferlaino, the jack-of-all-trades author behind the 5-star book, Human.  Vanessa has spent her life in a variety of different fields: music, acting, corporate innovation, and now writing! She pulled from the significant events from her life to write Human, her first book which covers commentary and observations of the human condition. Throughout her life, Vanessa...

In a special collaboration with Headline Books, The Big Time Talker podcast features the writers of The Twenty Year War. The Twenty Year War is a photo journal that features the stories and pictures of dozens of men and women who have served in the United States' war on terror. The three creators of this book discuss the inspirations behind their project and what is truly important about rememberi...