Dedicated with Doug Brunt

John Searles: Cosmopolitan ( 2 1/2 ounces citrus vodka, 1 ounce Cointreau, 1 ounce cranberry juice, 3/4 ounce lime juice, lime garnish)

John talks about developing his love of reading in the back of the cab of his father’s truck, his journey from truck driving and waiting tables to becoming the Executive Editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine, the process of writing the screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel STRANGE BUT TRUE, his favorite Cosmopolitan covers of all time, the moment in his NYU creative writing class that gave him fuel for a writing career, how he got better at doing book segments for NBC’s Today Show, the definition of feminism, which actress would play Helen Gurley Brown in the screen adaptation of SINGLE GIRLS.

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Chuck Lorrie: coffee

Chuck discusses whether he has any regrets about his memoir after the initial reactions from Tom Arnold, Roseanne, Charlie Sheen, Brett Butler, Amy Palladino and others, describes his experience inside and then leaving the Church of Scientology, the environment in his writers room, the game of thrones that Cybill Shepherd would play when making demands of his scripts, his opportunity to come full circle with Randy Newman, his Top 5 comedies and Top 5 dramas of the last forty years  
 

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Simon Sebag Montefiore: Negroni (1 ounce gin, 1 ounce sweet vermouth, 1 ounce Campari with large ice cube and orange rind)

Simon talks about his work in a South African gold mine, his long friendship with King Charles who brought Simon together with his wife, the cauldron of the Middle East and its history, the mutual dislike of the Shah and JFK despite their similar behaviors with women, the enormity of the 1979 revolution in Iran that has forever changed geopolitics, his favorite Romanov, and gives his frank opinion of the leadership of Trump and Netanyahu. 

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Harry Connick Jr: green tea

Harry plays a game of battle of the bands, ranks his preference for genres of music, tells the story of composing and recording a musical tribute for a victim of the Newtown school shooting that is too painful ever to perform, describes his creative state when writing the music of his mother’s (Babe’s) life, tells the story of setting foot inside Carnegie Hall in 2026  for the first time ever to perform the tribute for Babe, tells the story of calling Carnegie Hall as a ten year old boy when first learning of his mother’s cancer diagnosis, shares stories from his career in film, TV and Broadway. 

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Dolph Lundgren: Hard Cut Vodka (3 ounces shaken over ice, sip neat)

Dolph discusses the physical abuse he suffered from his father and how that drove many of his decisions in his adult life, how he broke the cycle of abuse with his own children, strange moments inside Studio 54 with Grace Jones, his terrible experience with the Swedish healthcare system, whether he might have more children, who wins the fight between Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Lorenzo Lamas, Wesley Snipes and Jason Statham.

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CJ Box: Blanton’s bourbon whiskey  

CJ tells the best first-agent-first-book-deal story I’ve ever heard (by far), shares his daily writing routine in Wyoming, describes the way working in print journalism has helped his fiction career, reveals that people have frequently thought they are a character in one of his novels, gives a raw appraisal of Taylor Sheridan.

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Douglas Brunt: Negroni (1 ounce gin, 1 ounce sweet vermouth, 1 ounce Campari, garnish with orange rind and Luxardo cherry)

Elliot Ackerman (best selling author, former special forces and intelligence officer) guest-hosts Dedicated, including bartending, to interview Doug about THE LOST EMPIRE OF EMANUEL NOBEL. They discuss the world's century-long quest to capture oil, Russia and Ukraine from the time of Nobel and Stalin that mirrors the present day, Rasputin and the Romanovs, the differences between fiction and nonfiction writing (Elliot and Doug have each published both), and how to make a good cocktail. 

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Gregg Hurwitz: gin and tonic

Gregg takes us inside the famous NYC Thrillerfest event, offers advice to aspiring writers on how to develop sales momentum for their books and pitfalls to avoid, names one thing that Artificial Intelligence will *never* be able to do, offers thoughts on how to approach a career path in the face of AI, describes the secret squirrel work he’s currently doing to detect foreign state-sponsored efforts to foment discord in the United States.  

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Jack Carr: whiskey  

Jack talks about what Chris Pratt does to set the tone on the set of TERMINAL LIST, the experience filming the show in Morocco, why he decided to develop a new character and very different feel for his new novel THE FOURTH OPTION, how he draws on his own experiences downrange to inform his fiction, his thoughts on whether the world is a safer place today compared to when he was last on DEDICATED in June 2023. 

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Tim Blake Nelson: green tea

Tim names the best actor of his generation (and the certain things that this actor requires of everyone on set), shares thoughts on AI and the future of film, describes the difference between films that lead with art or with entertainment, reveals how the generosity of Robin Williams touched his family, explains why there can never be another Picasso, and lists the best superhero movies ever made. 

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