Dedicated with Doug Brunt

Min Jin Lee: Ito En unsweetened green tea 

Min Jin Lee discusses the grey area between accountability and ‘cancel culture’, how she left the law for fiction writing, the power of fiction to educate, her favorite K-dramas streaming on TV, an update on her next novel and what she and Donna Tartt have in common. 

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Brad Thor: Revolver (2 ½ ounces Bulleit bourbon, ½ ounce Kahula, dash of bitters with an orange rind)

Hear how Brad Thor predicted Chinese balloons in his novel ten years ago and the other threats he predicted when working for Homeland Security’s Red Cell Unit that later came to pass, whether he will (again) run for President of the USA in 2024, which A-list Chris of Hollywood could play Scot Harvath on the screen, and who wins the MMA bout between Scot Harvath and Jack Reacher.

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John Stossel: vodka martini (2 1/2 ounces vodka, 1/2 ounce dry vermouth, lemon twist)

19-time Emmy Award winning John Stossel shares how his Jewish parents emigrated from Germany to the USA in the 1920s, recalls his first job working as an office gopher in an Oregon newsroom in 1969, moving to NYC to work for CBS and having fun while renting Hamptons summer homes with John Tesh and Arnold Diaz in the 1980s, considers the talents of Barbara Walters, tells how he conquered his childhood stutter but not before it led to his most embarrassing moment ever on live TV, reflects on the decades of his past writings, and offers some good advice.

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Marlon James: Dark & Stormy

Named to Time Magazine's list of '100 Most Influential People in the World' Marlon tells why he felt he'd leave Jamaica in either a coffin or a plane, remembers the story of the 78 rejections of his first novel and the amazing save of the manuscript that eventually found a home, relates the tale of a harrowing 'Voluntary Exorcism', discusses the universe of the Dark Star trilogy, how he feels about Postcolonial as a literary movement, and his literary influences that range from Shakespeare and Toni Morrison to Wolverine and Hellboy. 

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Melissa Francis: French Tart (2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce elderflower liquor, 1 ounce grapefruit juice, 1/4 ounce lemon juice, 1/4 ounce rosemary simple syrup, served up and garnished with rosemary sprig)

Melissa talks about a poolside, cigarette-filled run-in with Giselle, discusses beginning her acting career at the age of six months, praises the way Michael Landon paved the way for other actors to bring their own ideas to the screen, reveals her admiration for the work of former co-star Jason Bateman, determines whether Elizabeth Banks really played her in an episode of 30 Rock, shares her process for writing her memior, and what she's learned about how to structure TV writing from several classes she's taken and recommends to anyone wanting to write for TV.

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Steve Forbes: pilsner

Steve Forbes names his picks for the two best business leaders in American history, discusses the future of crypto currency, identifies the foreign economies poised to grow and the American real estate markets that are currently undervalued, analyzes the parallels of Grover Cleveland (1892) and Donald Trump (2024), sheds light on how to fix the nation's inflation problem, and reveals the story of how the Forbes 400 came about.

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Chris Bohjalian: Negroni (1 1/2 ounces Barr Hill gin, 1 1/12 ounces Campari, 1 1/12 ounces sweet vermouth, orange twist)

Chris tells us his thoughts on Kaley Cuoco playing the lead role in the HBO adaptation of his novel THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, lists the three things he does to get ready to begin each of his novels, discusses how he's evolved as a writer in the 35 years since the best selling novelist of all time blurbed his debut novel, reveals how he made the leap from working in advertising at J. Walter Thompson to being a novelist as well as his thoughts on retirement, and he promises to try a day of writing after combining Red Bull with one other secret ingredient.  

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Leigh Bardugo: French 75 (1 ounce gin, 1/2 ounce lemon juice, 1/4 ounce simple syrup mixed in shaker then poured in champagne flute, topped with champagne and lemon twist)

Leigh discusses Skull & Bones, Wolf's Head and the secret societies of Yale that are the backdrop of her books, whether people in the secret societies have embraced her books or gotten angry, having to put legal disclaimers on her books as real people are mentioned, her writing process for creating the universe that her books explore, the line between 'young adult' and 'adult' fiction, camping out for a George R.R. Martin book signing, and the value of creating in secret.

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Craig Mazin: Old Fashioned (1 teaspoon sugar, 3 dashes bitters, 1 teaspoon water, 2 1/2 ounces bourbon, orange twist, Luxardo cherry optional)

2-time Emmy Award winner Craig Mazin discusses his new HBO show THE LAST OF US based in the very popular video game, The Sopranos and the Golden Age of TV, the brilliance of the 'Limited Series' format for scripted and unscripted content, the HBO limited series CHERNOBYL and the very fraught sliding scale of journalistic responsibility shown by the creators of documentaries and docu-dramas, and his crazy casting story with Sir Anthony Hopkins.

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Dennis Lehane: Chopin vodka over crushed ice

Can't say I loved this drink, but it grew on me (a little) over the course of our conversation. Dennis discusses his book to film experiences with his novels MYSTIC RIVER, SHUTTER ISLAND, GONE BABY GONE, LIVE BY NIGHT and working with Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Ben Affleck, Sean Penn, Leonardo DiCaprio; how his life changed dramatically with the smash success of MYSTIC RIVER in 2001, making his bones writing in the 1990s while competing with and congratulating his contemporaries and friends Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Harlan Coben; how he approaches teaching fiction-writing to Harvard students and what students can expect to learn from him, how a show gets made beginning with the option of the book rights all the way to the show appearing on the small screen - using the example of Black Bird for which he was showrunner, and the number one thing a person must have to be a good writer. 

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