Full Disclosure with Roben Farzad

Enjoying record ridership, Amtrak is en route to "breaking even" (**many asterisks**) for the first time in its 48-year history. But brutal service and capital spending decisions await. Devin Leonard unpacks his Bloomberg Businessweek story on Amtrak's future -- followed by our talk with Danny Plaugher of Virginians for High Speed Rail.

The Economist's Tamzin Booth on her cover package "The $650 Billion Binge: Fear and Greed in the Entertainment Industry." We were also joined by sector expert Michael Morris of Guggenheim Partners.

The concert Nada Surf performed for a taping of Full Disclosure at RVA's National. You can hear the band's interview on iTunes at link FullDRadio.com and on NPR.org / NPR One

The band Nada Surf on a quarter-century of grit, luck, euphoric "popularity," heartbreak and hustle to reinvent -- recorded for a live audience at The National in Richmond. This broadcast-length episode includes performances of "Hi-Speed Soul" and "Killian's Red."

Comedians Maz Jobrani (Comedy Central, "Jimmy Vestvood") and Jimmy O. Yang (HBO's "Silicon Valley"; "Crazy Rich Asians") on their peculiar roads to the industry -- and the creative hustle required to make it in comedy.

Markel Corp vice chairman Steve Markel on the insurer and investment shop as it approaches its 90th year in business. Worth $15 million when its shares debuted on Wall Street in 1986, Markel Corp is now a Fortune 500 member in 18 countries that is valued at more than $16 billion.

Michael Paul Williams, veteran Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist, on the battles for the soul of Richmond, "RVA" and Virginia -- 154 years after the Civil War ended. We discussed Monument Avenue, Navy Hill, gentrification, education, strategic corporate philanthropy, voter polarization and much more.

Bloomberg Opinion's Justin Fox takes us around the world of business news headlines. From China to agriculture to Tesla, Trump, Amtrak, GM, markets and the unusually long economic expansion. He previously wrote for TIME and Fortune and authored The Myth of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street.

How Rachel Sobel parlayed career burnout, single motherhood and an urge to overshare into a little empire of authenticity called Whine & Cheez-its.

The journey of Nelson Aguilar....a kid smuggled out of Fidel Castro's Cuba and into Miami, where he became a notorious cocaine dealer who has spent half his life in prison. Nelson's story is a metaphor for the many things that have gone wrong between Havana and the U.S.

Chef Patrick Phelan on the long, winding journey -- dishwashing; rock stardom deferred; a castle in Italy; NY's culinary rat race -- that led to Longoven, which was just named #3 on Bon Appétit's list of America's best new restaurants.

David Lowery of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven on the struggle to make a living in the era of music streaming. Also an angel investor and a PhD who lectures on the business of music at UGA, Lowery performs an acoustic set at Rainmaker Studios in Richmond.

Comedian Chris Gethard on his doubt-filled career ascent: from living with mental illness..to hustling big breaks..to his cable TV exploits and off-Broadway show "Career Suicide." Our co-host is Erin Mahone of the one-woman show "It Runs in the Family." We're on Twitter @FullDRadio

Since taking delivery of his Model 3 sedan, normally skeptical investor Vitaliy Katsenelson has morphed into Vitaliy Tesla-nelson. The zippy electric car has his mind racing in Ludicrous Mode -- about the money-losing company and its controversial CEO, and the numerous disruptions and opportunities in Tesla's wake. He takes us for a ride.

Longtime Cisco CEO John Chambers on the lessons learned from growing a once-sleepy network-equipment maker into a hulking multinational that was once worth $555 billion. Chambers now runs venture capital firm JC2 Ventures.

Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (VA 07) on pressing matters local, regional, national and global -- from gun control to healthcare; China, Iran, Saudi Arabia; trade wars; and holding the Democratic center. In 2018, the former CIA officer became the first Democrat elected to her Congressional seat in 50 years -- and the first woman ever.

How do you go from a call-center in India to cake-pop queen of Virginia to aspiring pop-up-dinner doyenne? All without spending a single dollar on marketing. The story of Keya Desai Wingfield.

Dot-com riches. Collapse. So bankrupt he couldn't afford diapers for his kid. A mental breakdown. Drug binges at the Hotel Chelsea. Hitting rock-bottom. Reinventing (constantly). Helping others.

Trash and junk guru Adam Minter on what we throw away and how we do it says about the new global economic order. He is author of Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale (2019) and Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade (2013).

Matt Winkler, co-founder and editor-in-chief emeritus of Bloomberg News, on 30 years of growing an idea with Mike Bloomberg (who he profiled for the Wall Street Journal) into a 2,700-journalist, 120-nation media empire.

The grit-paved journey of a Honduran immigrant who grew up in Flint, Michigan to the ranks of the country's top financial advisors. Dalal Salomon on her rise, setting out on her own during the Financial Crisis and the perils of the 2010's Bull Run. Her business partner Dan Ludwin joined the conversation.

How a high-school soccer coach leveraged social media and all-around resourcefulness to turn an abandoned used-car dealership into the Sugar Shack Donuts empire.

Investor, author, Michigander and Fortune columnist Ben Carlson on this old, seemingly relentless bull market.

CarLotz CEO and co-founder Michael Bor on the state of the auto industry -- from the boom in electric vehicles and ride-sharing to innovations in self-driving and the supposed demise of the family sedan. This man would totally sell you a gently used Subaru...if he just could keep them on his lots!

CBS Face the Nation's Margaret Brennan on Hong Kong in the shadow of #Tiananmen30, Iran, Israel, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Pres. Trump's worldview and Election 2020. She also discusses her evolution from reporting on Wall Street to covering diplomacy and moderating Sunday-morning television.