Frank Buckley Interviews

Akbar Gbajabiamila is a host of NBC's "American Ninja Warrior" which begins its 11th season on May 29th. Akbar is also the author of a new book "Everyone Can Be A Ninja: Find Your Inner Warrior and Achieve Your Dreams." He is a former NFL player and sports broadcaster. During this podcast, Akbar discusses growing up as one of seven children of Nigerian immigrants in the Crenshaw community of...

Valerie Jarrett served as senior advisor to President Barack Obama overseeing the White House Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. She was also chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls. Jarrett is the author of the new book “Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward.”During this podcast, she discusses her life and career including her long...

Bob Bergen is an actor and voice over artist best known as the voice of Porky Pig. This year, he's celebrating 29 years of acting in the voice of that character. Bob is also the voice of Tweety, Luke Skywalker in Star Wars video games, Winter Soldier in Avengers Assemble and countless voices in animated features including A Bug's Life, Cars, Finding Nemo and many more. Bob has voiced hundreds...

Norman Mineta served as the Secretary of Transportation from 2001-2006 during the George W. Bush presidency (including on 9-11). He had previously served as Secretary of Commerce under President Bill Clinton as the first Asian American to hold a cabinet post. He began his career in public service in 1967 as a member of San Jose's city council. In 1971, he became the first Asian American...

Father Gregory Boyle is a Jesuit priest and the founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries, a world famous gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in Los Angeles. The program provides training and employment to former gang members along with services like tattoo removal, substance abuse support, and mental health therapy. Homeboy Industries products include...

Suzi Weiss-Fischmann is a co-founder and brand ambassador of OPI Products, a global nail care products company. Suzi founded the company with George Schaeffer as a dental supply business in 1981 before adapting their products to the acrylic nail market. It came to redefine the nail industry and Suzi became known as the First Lady of Nails. During this podcast, Su...

Katelyn Ohashi is a gymnast who competes for UCLA. She finished the 2018 season ranked No. 1 in the nation in floor exercise and is the NCAA floor exercise co-champion. A video capturing Katelyn performing a perfect 10 in a floor exercise routine in January 2019 went viral, and her unabashed joy during that routine captured the imagination of people around the world. During thi...

Kunal Nayyar is an actor who plays Rajesh Koothrappali on the popular CBS-TV show "The Big Bang Theory." The show will airs its network series finale on May 16, 2019 after 12 years on the air. Kunal has appeared in every episode of the series run. During the 2017-2018 TV season, it was the most-watched network TV show in America. During this podcast, Kunal discusses his feelings abo...

Taylor Dayne is a singer-songwriter and pop music icon best known for her 1987 hit "Tell It To My Heart." Taylor's new book incorporates the song into its title: "Tell it To My Heart: How I Lost My S#*T, Conquered My Fear, and Found My Voice." During this podcast, Taylor discusses her life and career including her father's reaction to revelations in the book that she and other family mem...

Yeardley Smith is an actress and voice artist best known for being the voice of Lisa Simpson on the long-running animated series "The Simpsons." She is also a podcaster whose true-crime podcast "Small Town Dicks" with co-host and fellow producer Zibby Allen just premiered its fourth season of episodes on March 15, 2019. On March 30, 2019, Yeardley will receive the National...

Diane Shader Smith is the mother of the late Mallory Smith who authored the posthumously published memoir "Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life." Mallory was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at the age of three and began writing a journal at 15. She continued writing in that journal until she died at the age of 25. Diane worked to get those pages published in book form and the result i...

Professor Leonard Kleinrock is a distinguished professor of computer science at UCLA. His mathematical theory of packet networks is one of the underlying technologies of the internet. Professor Kleinrock directed the first-ever transmission of a message on the internet from his lab at UCLA to the Stanford Research Institute on October 26, 1969. In 2007, the professor received t...

Richard Lewis is a comedian and actor who currently stars in HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." His comedy act focusing on his personal struggles and angst led to his nickname: The Prince of Pain. Richard is also the author of two books "The Other Great Depression" and "Reflections from Hell: Richard Lewis' Guide on How Not to Live." During this podcast, Richard discusses his close friendship with "Cur...

Kobe Bryant is a former NBA basketball player who played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe is a five-time NBA champion, four-time All-Star MVP, two-time Finals MVP, and he was the 2007-2008 regular season MVP. He is third among all-time NBA points leaders. He retired from basketball after scoring an astonishing 60 points in the final game of his career on April 13, 2...

Fiona Crombie is a production designer who is nominated for a 2019 Academy Award for Best Production Design along with set decorator Alice Felton for the film The Favourite starring Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman. It's a quirky film set in 18th century England and the ailing Queen Anne and her intimate friend Lady Sarah who effectively runs the country. That is until a conniving...

Terence Blanchard is a jazz musician and film composer who has scored all of Spike Lee's films since composing the score for Jungle Fever in 1991. He is nominated for a 2019 Academy Award for Music (Original Score) for composing the score for Spike Lee's film BlacKkKlansman. Terence has won several Grammy Awards as a jazz trumpeter and as a composer including most recently winning a 2019 Gram...

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) is chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Intelligence Committee oversees America's intelligence agencies and is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election and whether Trump campaign officials colluded with Russia to interfere. During this podcast, Chairman Schiff describes how the i...

Jaime Camil is an actor who currently stars in the popular CW show "Jane the Virgin" which airs on KTLA 5. The fifth and final season of the program premieres on Wednesday, March 27th. Jaime has been nominated twice for Critics Choice Awards for his role as Jane's father Rogelio De La Vega. He has also won a Teen Choice Award and received an Imagen Award which encourages positive portray...

Justin Brooks is the director of the California Innocence Project (CIP) based at the California Western School of Law in San Diego. Justin and his team of pro bono lawyers and law students work to free prisoners who have been wrongfully convicted. To date, their work has resulted in 30 people being freed including high profile cases like Brian Banks, the USC-bound high school football&nb...

Sam Rubin is the award-winning entertainment anchor for the KTLA 5 Morning News. He's been reporting on the entertainment industry since he joined KTLA in 1991. Sam also appears regularly on Australian TV's 9 Network Australia and the UK's ITV. During this podcast, Sam takes us behind the scenes of the awards campaign process including how A-list actors and studios wine and dine awards voters...

Michael Breus is a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist known as "America's Sleep Doctor." He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine who appears regularly on TV programs like "The Dr. Oz Show" and the KTLA 5 Morning News. He is the author of books including "The Power of When" and "The Sleep Doctor's Diet P...

Ralph Lawler is the play by play announcer for the Los Angeles Clippers.  The broadcasting legend has spent 40 years of his 60 year career with the Clippers. Whether on radio or television, he has broadcast virtually every Clippers game since the team moved from Buffalo, New York to California in 1978. His enthusiastic commentary has made him a fan favorite, coining catchphrases like, “Oh me, oh m...

The Frank Buckley Interviews team is off for the holidays so we've put together a special New Year, New YOU mixtape to keep you company and to inspire you as we head in to a new year. But it's not the cliche "lose 10 pounds" kind of new you that we're hoping to inspire. We've gathered three guests who can inspire you to re-charge your soul and to become more productive with your time. During this...

Jake Olson is a USC football player who first came to prominence in 2009 as a 12-year-old USC football fan when he was featured on ESPN's "College Game Day." The story on ESPN detailed how then coach Pete Carroll invited Jake to be a guest of the team at a practice the day before a surgery that would leave Jake blind. Jake is now a senior at USC who has played in three USC football games as a long...

Jason Coffman is the father of the late Cody Coffman, 22, who was shot and killed during the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California on November 7, 2018. He was one of 12 innocent people who were killed by a gunman who entered the venue on "College Country Night" and began shooting. His motive remains unknown. During this podcast, Jason tells us how special his s...