Downtown: The Podcast

Guests: Luke Epplin, Don Most. Author Luke Epplin discusses his new book on the 1948 Cleveland Indians, “Our Team”. Actor Don Most talks about his work in the film, “Lost Hearts”, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor award at the recent International Christian Film Festival.                  

Guests: Dennis Kucinich & Dexton Deboree. Former Cleveland mayor, Ohio congressman, and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich discusses his book, THE DIVISION OF LIGHT & POWER. Filmmaker Dexton Deboree talks about his latest project, PROMISELAND, a documentary series on NBA star Ja Morant, streaming now on Crackle.

Guests:  Stephen Tobolowsky & Colin Fleming Actor and author Stephen Tobolowsky talks about the L.A. Theatre Works audio production of his play, A GOOD DAY AT AUSCHWITZ. Writer Colin Fleming discusses his recent Jazz Times pieces on Charlie Christian and Eric Dolphy, and looks back at Sam Cooke’s NIGHT BEAT album.  

Guests:  Freda Payne & Arthur Kanegis Singer and actress Freda Payne talks with us about her career and her new EP, LET THERE BE LOVE. Filmmaker Arthur Kanegis discusses the story of World Citizen #1, Garry Davis, chronicled in the documentary, THE WORLD IS MY COUNTRY.    

Guests:  Tiffany & Josh Karp Singer and actress Tiffany joined us to discuss her career and her new album, SHADOWS.  Journalist and author Josh Karp talks about Orson Welles, THE BAD NEWS BEARS, and those 1970s ABC After School Specials.  

Guests:  William Sanderson & Ricky Cobb Actor William Sanderson talked with us about the recent virtual NEWHART reunion and shared some stories from his memoir, YES, I'M THAT GUY. Ricky Cobb, the guy behind Super 70s Sports, explained the inspiration for the site and discussed why that decade maintains its hold on people.      

Guests:  John Carroll Lynch & Michael Moss Actor-Director John Carroll Lynch talks about his work in THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, BIG SKY, ZODIAC, FARGO, and his directorial debut, LUCKY, with Harry Dean Stanton. Journalist and author Michael Moss discusses his new book, HOOKED: FOOD, FREE WILL, AND HOW THE FOOD GIANTS EXPLOIT OUR ADDICTIONS.  

Guest:  Laraine Newman Laraine Newman shares stories from her new Audible-only memoir, MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES, including her five years at Saturday Night Live, the road to sobriety, and her work as a voice actor.

Guests:  Bill Kurtis, Dan Epstein & Ron Blomberg Journalist Bill Kurtis discusses his five decade-plus career, including his work on WAIT, WAIT, DON’T TELL ME and ANCHORMAN. Former Yankee Ron Blomberg and writer Dan Epstein talk about their great new book, THE CAPTAIN & ME: On and Off the Field with Thurman Munson.                  

Guests:  Yeardley Smith, P.J. Byrne Yeardley Smith talks about her work as the voice of Lisa on THE SIMPSONS, making Stephen King's MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE, and her podcast, SMALL TOWN DICKS. Actor P.J. Byrne discusses his role in the new Amazon Prime series, THEM, some exciting upcoming projects, and an addition to his family.                      

Guests:  DeDee Pfeiffer, Bill Schnee. Actress Dedee Pfeiffer returns to discuss her work on the hit series, BIG SKY. Legendary recording engineer Bill Schnee talks about his remarkable career, chronicled in his new book, CHAIRMAN AT THE BOARD.            

Guests:  Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr, Eddie Muller   Hitmakers Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. discuss their career and new album, BLACKBIRD. Eddie Muller, the host of TCM’s NOIR ALLEY talks about some classics of the film noir genre with us.        

Guest: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, Sidney Blumenthal Filmmakers Ken Burns & Lynn Novick discuss new documentary, “Hemingway” Journalist and former Clinton Senior Adviser Sidney Blumenthal, author of a series of books on Abraham Lincoln, including “All The Powers of Earth”, talks about Lincoln’s rise to power.      

Guest: Mark Harris. Journalist and author Mark Harris shares stories from his wonderful new book, MIKE NICHOLS: A LIFE.    

Guests: George Chakiris, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. Actor-dancer and Academy Award winner George Chakiris discusses his memoir, “My West Side Story”, and Jennifer Keishin Armstrong looks back at female broadcast pioneers in her latest, “When Women Invented Television”.    

Guests: Stephen Tobolowsky, Mameve Medwed. Actor and author Stephen Tobolowsky returns to share stories of the actor’s life, squirrel visitations, and more. Author and Maine native Mameve Medwed discusses her latest book, “Minus Me”.  

Guests: Steve Lukather. Tom Papa. Legendary musician Steve Lukather talks about his career and the making of his new album, “I Found The Sun Again”, and we get together with comedian Tom Papa, whose new special “You’re Doing Great”, is available now on Netflix.

Guests: Phoef Sutton, Gino Vannelli. Screenwriter and novelist Phoef Sutton talks about his work on “Cheers”, “Newhart”, and “Boston Legal”, and his transition into writing novels like “Fifteen Minutes to Live” and “From Away”. Singer-songwriter Gino Vannelli, who took “I Just Wanna Stop” and “Living Inside Myself” to the Top 10, discusses his more than four decades of making music

Guests:  Rich Sommer, Paula Poundstone. Actor Rich Sommer talks about his role as Harry Crane in Mad Men, as well as his work in the series GLOW, and films like The Devil Wears Prada. Comedian Paula Poundstone returns to discuss her podcast, Nobody Listens To Paula Poundstone, and how she’s been keeping busy during the pandemic.        

Guests: Van Dyke Parks, Joe Henry. A pair of great music conversations as we talk with the multi-talented Joe Henry and Van Dyke Parks.      

Guests: Annie Jacobsen, Ron Lieber. Annie Jacobsen, author of “Area 51”, “Phenomena”, and “Surprise, Kill, Vanish”, talks about her new book, “First Platoon”. Ron Lieber, the New York Times’ Your Money columnist, discusses his book, “The Price You Pay for College”.    

Guests: Peter Ames Carlin, Sheila Kelley. Author Peter Ames Carlin talks with us about the history of Warner Bros. Records, chronicled in his new book, “Sonic Boom” and actress Sheila Kelley discusses “Strip Down, Rise Up”, a new Netflix documentary on her work using pole dancing to help women deal with trauma and body image issues.      

Guests: Colin Mochrie. Bellamy Young. Colin Mochrie discusses his virtual shows with Brad Sherwood and his work on Whose Line Is It, Anyway? Actress Bellamy Young talks about Season 2 of Prodigal Son on Fox and her role as the President on Scandal.  

Guest: Paul Williams. Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe winner Paul Williams talks about his youth, his career in music, acting, his work as a recovery advocate, and his role as President of ASCAP. An in-depth and revealing conversation and great perspective on life.                  

David Roth, Josh Karp. David Roth of Defector joins us to discuss the new Mets ownership, the NBA, the last days of Trump, and more. Writer Josh Karp helps us look back and some memorable cultural touchstones of the 1970s, including “Battle of the Network Stars”.