A Closer Look with Pam Atherton

International bestselling author Steve Berry stops by for a chat about his latest Cotton Malone thriller, The Atlas Maneuver. We find out if Steve is a plotter or a pantster, if his characters talk to him, and whether Yamashita’s gold from WWII exists or not. We chat about his researching, where his ideas come from, and why remembering history is so very important. Plus - why we SHOULDN’T write about what we know!

How happy are you? Do you battle anxiety and depression, and wonder if your life has meaning? Enter Joy Strategist author Grace Harry to help change your life! Grace had an illustrious 30-year career as an exec at Def Jam and Jive Records, she managed Usher, and she’s worked with some of the top names in the music and entertainment industry. And now she’s turned her mind and heart towards helping people find joy. We’ll find out what we can do to start the process of finding joy, and how doing the thing that scares us the most might just be the thing to change our life.

So how much do you really know about money?  Do you know the best way to pay down your debt? Do you have a budget? It’s fair to say that most of us have a complicated relationship with money.

Enter Berna Anat! The author of Money Out Loud shares with us all the financial stuff that no one taught us. In our chat today we learn our money habits are directly connected to what we experienced as young people, (starting at age 7!), why paying just the minimum on our credit cards is just putting us in debt hell, and how we can make budgets work for US!

Listen in to our lively and informative conversation about how to become the CEO of our own lives and create a YES Plan to give us financial stability.

Are you ready for a masterclass from the premier Hollywood acting and success trainer? Whether you’re a performer or not… we’ve got you covered!  Bernard Hiller shares insights from his latest book, The Revolutionary Guide to Acting: A Transformational Journey to Achieving Success in Show Business and Life. We learn how to become unstoppable, how to create “wow” in an interview or audition, and why Al Pacino has gone to an acting coach weekly for 35 years.

Plus, he shares the three stages of success, the secret of life, and tells us that we may be wearing the wrong coat!

Get a pen and paper because there is so many gems packed into this interview. AND he gives us homework!

How much do you understand about the economy? Do you know how it really affects your life? Most of us don’t know more than what we’re told by people we are told are experts.  But should we trust economists? And what’s the biggest misunderstanding people have about the economy?

When I ran across a book written by economist, attorney, and NYU professor Howard Yaruss called Understandable Economics – Because understanding our economy is easier than you think – and more important than you know, I thought - this I have to hear! I’ll agree it’s more important than we know… but easier than we think?!?

So in our chat, we find out why the economy is more like psychology than civics, what inflation is, and why we are supposed to stop spending when businesses need us to spend to survive. Why do we give corporations bailouts to help them survive, but not the little guy? And who decides how much money is worth anyway? And oh yeah… Bitcoin?!?!  I promise, you will have a much better understanding of the economy after you hear this interview!

Have you ever wondered about cults? How do you get into one? How do you get out? Why don’t you leave when things get abusive? Why do people stay? Spencer Schneider is a former member of a Manhattan Cult, who finally got away after 23 years in the cult.

His new book “Manhattan Cult Story” covers the journey from how he got in, to how he got out, and all the sordid details in between. In our chat we learn how people were targeted, some of their internal vocabulary they use, and how he came to doubt himself. We talk about gaslighting, mind games, and how relationships were regulated. Plus, how Spencer finally was able to leave.

It's a rare insider view to the world of cults and how they work, with a strong dose of hope at the end.

Bellen Woodard is 11 years-old and the CEO of More Than Peach, but her story started when she was 8, and everyone in her class kept asking for the Skin Color crayon, meaning the peach crayon. But Bellen isn’t peach-colored. And she knew a lot of other kids weren’t either.

Now, at 11, she is the CEO of the world's first multicultural art brand and Kid/Woman/Black-owned business. She’s the world’s first Crayon Activist, and has transformed an entire industry with her global movement. And she’s also the author of the children’s book "More Than Peach."

In our chat we get her advice on how to handle things when you get discouraged, and what some of the challenges are that she faces as an entrepreneur. Plus - how a major brand changed their product in the wake of Bellen’s activism, why she wrote the book, and what she’s working on for the future.

In this very vulnerable interview, actor Michael O’Neill shares insight into his characters and how it can affect an actor’s mental health when a job is finished.

In this interview taped right before the filming of BOUND, we find out how he felt about Council of Dads getting cancelled, why he went into therapy after one of his roles, and what it’s like to work with Shonda Rhimes. Plus, why he liked the character of Butterfield on West Wing so much and how HE says I bring out the worst in him!

When my friend Richard suggested I read the book The Desecrated, I was a little hesitant because it had a supernatural bent and I’m a pure detective fan. But when he told me it was written by John Gray – I knew I had to open it up!  John Gray – the creator of the hit series The Ghost Whisperer. The director of Martin and Lewis with Sean Hayes and Jeremy Northam. The director of a ton of Grimm and Reckless episodes... Yeah, THAT John Gray.

And I’m glad I did! I raced through the book that was set in a morgue and got caught up in all the twists and turns and quirky characters. I recoiled at some of the descriptions and laughed at some of the situations. All in all – I got caught up in the book that made me start thinking “this sounds like a great movie!”

In our chat with John we find out why he delves into the supernatural, how he scared himself on a morgue set, and where he came up with some of his characters. Plus - we learn about the ghosts in his OWN home, how he turned the negative of the pandemic into a creative idea for a film, and what to expect from him next. Bonus pearl of wisdom – why it’s so important to ask yourself: “Am I leading my career, or is my career leading me?”

You’ve seen Mike Pniewski in everything from The Sopranos to The Good Wife/Fight, Law and Order (just about every incarnation!) and now Hightown on STARZ. He’s a face you don’t forget. 

He’s also a writer and an author. And calls fellow actor Michael O’Neill one of his best friends.  So it was only natural that they would want to do a project together. When nothing right came along, they decided to create their own! Pniewski wrote the script for a 10-12 minute short film that featured just the two actors.

In our first interview with Pniewski, we found out how dissecting human cadavers changed his career trajectory, how he found out he got a part on The Sopranos, and how people sometimes respond to him in public!

Plus, insight into his character Ed on the show Hightown, a rapid-fire round of shows he’s been in, and a question from listener Rebecca Griffith. Oh – and what it’s like to act next to a Spit Bucket!