The Cultural Scavenger

Ben Williams is a gifted writer, storyteller, and pinball wizard.  He captured my voice as the co-author of my book, For Alison, and now provides a voice for the curators at Virginia Museum of Natural History.  Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

Fair warning.  After you hear Professor Elliot Engel on this episode, you'll be downloading his lectures.   Forget what you had to suffer through in school--You'll be laugh-out-loud entertained and will never have the same opinion of the likes of Dickens, Shakespeare, Poe, or his 100+ subjects ever again. Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other...

JOSHUA M. GREENE is a popular lecturer on Holocaust history and the spiritual quest, and a brilliant, entertaining communicator. A former instructor at Hofstra and Fordham Universities, Greene is the recipient of numerous awards for his historical biographies and documentary films.  And he's even got a great story about jamming with George Harrison. Support the show This is a public episode....

Michael Levine has represented 58 Academy Award winners, 34 Grammy Award winners, and 43 New York Times best-sellers, ] including Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, and George Carlin.   His work has included non paid media counsel to former presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.   It's been an interesting journey.    Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd...

Acclaimed actor and playwright Mike Wiley has spent the last decade fulfilling his mission to bring educational theatre to young audiences and communities across the country. In the early days of his career, Wiley found few theatrical resources to shine a light on key events and figures in African-American history. To bring these stories to life, he started his own production company, and singleha...

I continue with Brad & Jenny as they talk about their journey from Broadway to Charleston.   Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

I catch up with my old pal Brad Moranz and his wife Jenny on what the road was like from being a  Broadway triple threat to creating Charleston's greatest show.  There are some great tales along the way! Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

Hamlet Vineyards—A Virginia vineyard by Virginia natives with an old Virginia farmhouse and a farmhand named “Virginia”.  In this episode, we’ll talk to that "farmhand" about her brainchild. Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

Alfredo Huerta is an American success story.  He was brought to this country as a child and faced one calamity after another.  Now he is the embodiment of the American dream. Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

He's the Mandalorian of the whitewater universe.  Travis Overstreet II is a badass that knows running a river or creek can be exhilarating and therapeutic.  And he can show you--The Way. Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

No, it's not deadly like Covid, but it is degrading the English language.  I'm joined by Professor Ryan Parkhurst in an attempt to understand the consequences of always sounding like you're asking a question. Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

How do you sustain a career as an actor?  You’ve got to be good, resourceful, and sometimes have bit of the luck of the Irish.  My friend Joe Hart talks about his serendipitous journey as an actor. Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

You’ve seen her as national correspondent reporting from the White House, the Pentagon, and Capital Hill for ABC and NBC, and more recently with WUSA9 in Washington DC.  Andrea McCarren was an award winning journalist for over 20 years.  And now she’s gone to the dogs—in a good way.   Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to b...

I didn't believe they existed before Alison's death.  Then I believed.  This is a tale of those "uncoincidental coincidences" that many of us have experienced.  You can't make this stuff up. Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

Before the Eagles became household names, there was a band called Poco.  I talk to its founder Rusty Young who inspired a whole new genre of music—country rock.   Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

How do those great stories get to CBS Sunday Morning every week?  Award winning producer, Jay Kernis gives you the backstory on what it takes to air a segment.   Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

The only thing he’s got in common with the Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman character is that he’s a very clever attorney.  A former member of the Virginia House of Delegates for almost 20 years, Ward Armstrong is more like one of the witty country lawyers straight out of a John Grisham novel.  Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access t...

Yes, at first glance, I'd have thought the same thing.  My guest, Brenna McDonough, has appeared in movies, television, commercials, and print ads.  She also has some of the hardest working hands in show business. Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

Being a Covid case investigator was like the proverbial box of chocolates--you never knew what you were going to get on any given day.   It could be heartbreaking, and believe it or not-- hilarious, and everything in between.   Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

He may not be a household name, but his song sure it.  It's a blast having a conversation with my old friend Randy Brooks as we talk about our shared history and how Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer came to be. Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe

As you find your greater purpose in life, sometimes you've got to be a son-of-a-bitch.  As they say, it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!  Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andyparker.substack.com/subscribe