Frank Buckley Interviews

J. David McSwane is an investigative reporter with the non-profit news organization ProPublica. He is the author of the new book "Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick." During this podcast, McSwane reveals who profited from the pandemic and how taxpayers funded untested and incompetent contractors. He details the U.S. government's rush to protect...

Justin Brooks is the director of the California Innocence Project (CIP) based at the California Western School of Law in San Diego. He is also the author of the new book "You Might Go to Prison, Even THough You're Innocent." 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 more than 30...

Michelle Dowd is a journalism professor at Chaffey College, a contributor to national newspapers including the New York Times, and she's the author of the new book "Forager: Field Notes on Surviving a Family Cult." The book is based on her childhood growing up in an apocalyptic cult founded by her grandfather whose members lived in the San Gabriel Valley and in a remote mountain camp in the Angele...

Sara Dosa is the director, writer, and producer of the Oscar-nominated documentary "Fire of Love." Katia and Maurice Krafft loved two things — each other and volcanoes. For two decades, the daring French volcanologist couple roamed the planet, chasing eruptions and documenting their discoveries. Ultimately, they lost their lives in a 1991 volcanic explosion, leaving a legacy that forever enriched...

This month marks the one year anniversary since Russia's Vladimir Putin ordered the country's military forces to invade Ukraine. Among the photojournalists who were in the country when the bombs started to fall and Russian troops began to roll in was foreign correspondent and photographer Marcus Yam of the Los Angeles Times. Yam first arrived in Ukraine as an experienced war correspondent, who had...

Joe Torre is the National Baseball Hall of Fame former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and other teams who managed for 29 seasons during his career in Major League Baseball. He is one of the few managers who have won four or more World Series Titles. Torre was also a nine-time All-Star as a player and the National League MVP in 1971. KTLA viewers may also remember that he was...

Heather Radke is an essayist, journalist, contributing editor and reporter for the Peabody-award winning podcast, Radiolab from WNYC. She is the author of the book "Butts: A Backstory." Whether we love them or hate them, think they’re sexy, think they’re strange, consider them too big, too small, or anywhere in between, humans have a complicated relationship with butts. It is a body part unique to...

Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh are the creative minds behind the Disney Channel's long-running animation series "Phineas and Ferb." New episodes appeared on the network from 2007-2015. It was announced this month that Povenmire will revive the series as part of a new deal with Disney branded television. 40 new episodes will air over 2 seasons once they're completed, according to Variety. In...

Brad Meltzer is the author of 13 New York Times Best Selling thrillers including his most recent The Lightning Rod. He is also the rare author who has had books in multiple categories of best sellers including Non-Fiction, Advice, and Children's Books. He is the recipient of an Eisner Award for comic books. His newest book is The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Chur...

Peter Goodman is the global economics correspondent for The New York Times. He is the author of the new book "Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World." Before joining the Times, Goodman was with The Washington Post in Shanghai as the newspaper's bureau chief and Asian economic correspondent. During this podcast, Goodman takes us behind the scenes at the Davos World Economic Forum to rev...

Alan Zweibel is one of the original writers of Saturday Night Live, the co-creator and producer of It's Garry Shandling's Show, and a consulting producer on Curb Your Enthusiasm among many other credits. Alan is also a playwright whose theatrical works include his collaboration with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award-winning 700 Sundays and Bunny, Bunny: Gilda Radner, A Sort of Love Story. He is the...

Michael Breus is a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist known as "America's Sleep Doctor." Breus is also co-author of the new book "Energize!: Go from Dragging Ass to Kicking It in 30 Days." In the book, Dr. Breus and Soul Cycle instructor Stacey Griffith use the scientifically proven core principles of chronobiology and biological body type to offer an easy-to-understand, personalized progr...

Giller Prize, and Station Eleven, a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award. It won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award and was adapted as a limited series for HBO Max. Her new book is Sea of Tranquility. During this podcast, Emily St. John Mandel discusses her approach to writing, her friendship and collaboration with TV showrunner Patrick Somerville on Station 11 (including how...

Janice P. Nimura is a writer and recipient of a Public Scholar Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is the author of the new book "The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine ."  Her previous book, "Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back," was a  New York Times  Notable book in 20...

Patrick Somerville is a writer and author who is the showrunner for the HBO Max TV series "Station Eleven." The series is based on the novel by Emily St. Jean Mandel about a group of survivors of a devastating pandemic. The show was nominated for three 2023 Spirit Awards, including one for Best New Scripted Series. During this podcast, Somerville discusses the challenges of making a TV series abou...

Reza Aslan is a religious scholar and the author of several books including the #1 New York Times Best Seller "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth," "No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam," and now a new book "An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville." Aslan is also a TV and film producer whose projects have included execu...

Kenny G is the biggest-selling instrumental musician of the modern era and one of the best-selling artists of all time with global sales of more than 75 million albums. During this podcast, Kenny G talks about how he got his start, how he creates music and practices, and he also answers his critics who claim that his commercially successful, popular sound isn't true jazz. Full show notes available...

Ken Bensinger is an award-winning reporter with the BuzzFeed News investigations team. He is the author of “Red Card: How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World’s Biggest Sports Scandal.” The book takes readers inside the investigations into the FIFA corruption scandal. It revealed how hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes drove much of the decision-making surrounding the world’s most popular...

Jon Marshall is an associate professor in the journalism program at Northwestern University's Medill School. He is the author of "Watergate's Legacy and the Press: The Investigative Impulse," and the new book "Clash: Presidents and the Press in Times of Crisis." His has written for the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Tampa Tribune, and many other publications.  During this...

Music hitmaker James "Jimmy Jam" Harris III has worked with his songwriting and producing partner Terry Lewis to create dozens of hit records. He was also a friend and collaborator of the late artist Prince. In November, Jimmy Jam was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In this interview from 2017, Jimmy Jam talks about growing up in Minneapolis alongside Prince and he tells us what it w...

Jennifer Stone is best known for her role as Harper Finkle in the Disney Channel hit series Wizards of Waverly Place. Not long after that series ended, Stone was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It inspired her to change the focus of her life from acting to medicine and caring for others. Stone went to nursing school and now works as an emergency room nurse at a Southern California hospital. In rec...

On this episode, Frank re-visits his conversation with "Weird Al" Yankovic. The interview took place in 2018, shortly before Yankovic was set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During this podcast, Al discusses his childhood, his career, and his biggest hits. He explains his approach to writing and performing parodies, reveals the reason why he continued a concert tour despite the su...

Tembi Locke is an actress and author of “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home.” The literary debut details her love affair with her late husband, Saro, a chef from Sicily whose family initially rejected Tembi and refused to attend their wedding because he was marrying a black actress from America. Saro’s mother and family eventually did embrace them and their daughter, Zoela. B...

The Human Trial is a documentary from filmmakers Lisa Hepner and Guy Mossman that follows a human clinical trial using embryonic stem cells over the course of seven years as researchers and patient volunteers work on a cure for type 1 diabetes. The filmmakers gained unprecedented access to the San Diego biotech start-up ViaCyte which has developed an implantable pouch that holds stem cells program...

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...