Why? The Podcast

What does that Beatles song say? Your mother should know? Well, she does. And so does your step-mother. We sat down with Angie McCartney, Paul's step-mother. Angie was a Beatles fan before she ever met Jim McCartney, seeing them play at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. After she met and fell in love with Jim, she was whisked up in Beatlemania.  What was Paul like with his family? How crazed did...

Much like explorers or scientists, who venture into areas that mere mortals are intimidated by, so goes Jessica Keesling. Jessica is the owner of Heavenly Day spa in Auburn Hills, Michigan. She spends her time helping her clients look and feel their best, both upstairs and down, if you catch our drift. Jessica answered all our many questions with humor and honesty- how gnarly was business after th...

Is there anything better than a perfectly written pop song? And, when you're talking about great music, you're most definitely talking about Jules Shear. With his 14th solo album coming out on Friday, what better time to talk with Jules about his writing, his outlook on music and his new dog? (The album is titled "Slower," and, honestly, do we need to tell you if it's good...

What a country! As votes are being counted, we thought we could all use a little distraction and a little optimism as the US undergoes this most American of processes- the presidential election. Comedian Yakov Smirnoff grew up in Ukraine and found success on the comedy stages of America, performing for Johnny Carson, US Presidents and he had his own sitcom. His unique insight into the differences...

Chad Belding grew up in a duck blind. Well, not literally, but close enough. As a championship duck caller, Chad has expanded his lifestyle into a business. We talked with Chad about the making of a duck call, what goes into a duck call, and how a duck answers. For more information on Chad, you can check out his website, or follow him on Twitter or Instagram .

Susan Lanier-Bramlett broke into film with the 1977 classic horror film, The Hills Have Eyes. But Suze has had quite the life, both before and after she worked with Wes Craven. We talked with Suze about her career and her life with her late husband, musician Delaney Bramlett. For more information on Suze, you can follow her on Twitter.

Leonard Pickel has spent his life scaring people. As a designer of haunted houses, he's worked around the world, creating spaces that will scare the pants off of mere mortals. (He's also a Trivial Pursuit question.) If you've been to Six Flags Great America or Universal Studios in Orlando or Madison Scare Garden in NY, you've survived Leonard's work. For more information,...

The last time Tom Nabbe paid to get into a Disney theme park, it was the opening day of Disneyland. The next day, he was personally hired by Walt to play Tom Sawyer at the park. And over 60 years later, Tom still worked for the Disney parks and had been named a Disney Legend. We talked to Tom about what Walt was really like and if the parks are truly the happiest places on earth. For more informat...

This week we talked with Dyan deNapoli, better known to all as The Penguin Lady. Dyan has devoted her life to helping save thousands of penguins. From oil spills, to potential extension, Dyan is speaking for these animals, so they can live on in their natural habitats for generations. Do they ever write her a thank you note? Dyan doesn't care, as long as the penguins are safe. For more inform...

Yes, she dances, yes she doesn't wear clothes and, no, she doesn't dance to  Oakie From Muskogee . This week we got to talk with Gurl Haggard about her career on the stage. How did she get there? What's her favorite part of the job? What about the least favorite? For more information on Gurl, you can check out her Twitter page , or you can subscribe to her Only Fans page .

BrownMark spent years as one of the members of the amazingly talented, popular and influential band Prince and the Revolution. He's now written a memoir about his time in the band. My Life in the Purple Revolution is a honest and open book, honestly telling Mark's story and friendship with Prince. You can follow BrownMark and keep up on his new music on his Facebook page and you can buy...

Where do broken hearts go? Where did your luggage go? If you ever returned from vacation down one banana hammock and a beaten up John Grisham book, it's probably with this week's guest. We talked with Matt Owens from the Unclaimed Baggage Center. They buy up lost baggage from airlines and other travel companies and resell the contents. What's the weirdest thing they've ever fou...

Collette V Smith is one of a kind. First as a professional football player for the New York Sharks where she made the team in 2011 at age 42 and then coaching for the Jets. Collette great up with a love for the game, but it was her knowledge and skills at motivating players that made her the first African American woman coach in the NFL. Collette is now a motivational speaker and, after listening...

Hey! Ho! Let's Go! This week we talk with another rock great- Richie Ramone. Richie made a mark in the band by bringing in great songs (and being the first person to sing on a Ramones record besides Joey). We talked about Richie's time with the band, what other musical adventures he's been on, where he's headed next and what Joey & Johnny really were like. For more informat...

Mini golf- it's a sport one can learn in minutes, but not master until decades later. Maybe watching the PGA is fun, but can you play on the same course as those clowns? No, you can't. But you can play the Mossy Creek course in Jefferson City, TN. We talked with Kyle Cutshaw, the owner and general manager of Mossy Creek, who will be hosting the Tennesee Open, August 29th. And if that was...

Competitive dog grooming. It's a thing. And it's a really popular thing. We talked with Rebecca Stern, director of the new documentary Well Groomed , which gives an inside look to this fascinating world. You can watch Well Groomed right now, streaming on HBO Max .

Dr Donna Drucker is a historian and her most recent book is a fascinating look at the history of contraception across the ages. We talk about her book and why Americans are so uptight in this interview. You can find out more about Donna at Women Know History Too and order her book here.

Everyone has fun memories of the local amusement park that they went to every summer growing up. Action Park, in Vernon, NJ is memory for many people. And what is that memory of? Dangerous rides, frequent injuries and even a couple of deaths. Action Park, "Where you control the action," was known by many nicknames, Class Action Park, Traction Park, Accident Park, but whatever you call it...

Cornhole is sweeping the nation. And don't just believe us. Believe ESPN, who are devoting almost 30 hours of time to the sport this week. We sat down with American Cornhole League Commissioner Stacey Moore to talk about how this sport went pro, how good you have to be to go pro and why Roger Goodell isn't taking his calls... just yet.

Paul Zwaska knows how to take care of a baseball field. He was the head groundskeeper for the Baltimore Orioles for 15 years. Now, he works with groundskeepers across the world in keeping their fields ready for play. We learned about some of the stresses of the job, and one of the nicest things Cal Ripken Jr ever said to him. For more information on Paul, you can follow him on Twitter and you can...

Chris Frantz is music royalty. As a founding member of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, he's created some of the drum beats that you've hear many times over.    Now Chris has a new book out about his life. It's called "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina" is available from St. Martin's Press. You can also follow Chris on Twitter.

John Ellison is one of the great songwriters of all time. His "Some Kind of Wonderful," is known the world over as a classic and it's been covered by a wide array of musicians. John has just released a new song, "Wake-Up Call (Black Like Me)" and it's a powerful statement and indictment of the times we are living in. But it wasn't all serious with John. He also l...

It's hard to succinctly describe Tammy Jo Echkart. She's a writer. A chocolate priestess. A poly dom. A woman who shares her house with both her husband and her submissive. We talked about all of this with Tammy Jo in a fascinating conversation. For more information on Tammy Jo and to find her writings, check out her website .

We've had Bob Trate on the show before, to talk about one of the great genre film festivals in the country- Blobfest. The Colonial Theater in Phoneixville, PA (where they filmed the 1958 class film  The Blob ) has been home to the festival for the past 20 years. This year, unfortunately, they were forced to cancel the in-person celebration. But now anyone, anywhere gets to join in the fun. Fr...

What better way to say 'Happy Birthday America,' than to talk about Showgirls . The Paul Verhoeven (classic?) film made a mark on film goers from it's opening weekend. (We know because Heidi was there.) We sat down with Jeffrey McHale, director of the great new documentary You Don't Nomi , where he examines the obsession people have with Nomi Malone and why we all aren't d...