Meryl Gordon: gin & tonic with lime

Award winning journalist and author Meryl Gordon discusses her process for writing profiles and biographies, the 230 interviews she conducted in preparation for writing MRS. ASTOR REGRETS and her stunned disappointment with Anderson Cooper's new Astor book which cited her prior work 39 times over 31 pages, discusses her love of teaching a masters course in journalism and magazine writing, the thrill of seeing her students publish, the challenging economics of book writing and how to stretch the book advances to pay the bills, and her upcoming book which is close to deadline. 

Jay Winik calls the book, "Equal parts Walter Isaacson and Sherlock Holmes...riveting history.

Lee Child: "Outstanding - Brunt mixes a historians respect for research with a novelist's eye for character..."

Dan Abrams: "A page turning crime thriller and an important addition to 20th century history."

You can discover more about Rudolf Diesel and preorder at this link: https://tinyurl.com/282eafxv

Doug recaps the 32 guests of Season 1 and reveals which is the most downloaded episode of the season! Season 2 begins in September with more of the world's greatest writers.

Special Episode also available on video - download the SiriusXM App here: (https://www.siriusxm.com/streaming)

Former Navy SEAL and #1 bestselling author Jack Carr reveals who would win in the Octagon between Conor McGregor and Jocko Willink, how it's been working with Chris Pratt and Amazon on the hit show TERMINAL LIST which is based on his first novel, his thoughts on the great pioneers of the thriller genre that he read as a kid and also while deployed as a SEAL, the key step he takes when beginning each novel to make sure he has a story worth telling, how the Department of Defense has forced redactions of his manuscripts and how that backfired on the DoD, the food from back home he craved most while deployed, how he followed his childhood ambitions to serve in the military and to become an author.

Jo Nesbo: whiskey sour (2 1/2 ounces Bulleit bourbon, 1/2 ounce simple syrup, 1/2 ounce lemon juice, orange wheel, cherry)

#1 bestselling author Jo Nesbo talks about the unpublished Harry Hole novel, the difference between political views and political agendas in literature, how he designs his intricate twists and plot reveals, the point at which anyone can consider oneself a writer, the best songwriter and best lead singer of all time, the reasons you should visit Oslo, Norway.

Douglas Murray: rye Manhattan (2 1/2 ounces Bulleit rye, 1 1/2 ounces sweet vermouth, 2 dashes bitters, Luxardo cherry)

Douglas lists the several people he'd most like to debate in a contest of ideas, reveals the one novel that transformed him into an adult reader, discusses the concept of the Genius Exception as it applies to Pablo Picasso, Woody Allen and others, describes the value of studying history and stoicism, assesses the position of the world's cultural pendulum, confesses the horrific spelling of the word 'maths', identifies the best and worst things of America and Britain, and tells what kind of conversation makes for a good dinner party.

Emily St. John Mandel: Earl Grey tea with milk

Emily talks about the unstructured education of her childhood homeschooling and how that upbringing opened doors to literature, her growing confidence as an author, how she plunges into a new novel without an outline, the life-changing attention after STATION ELEVEN, the differences between writing for TV and writing a novel, and she reveals her beliefs about whether we're all living in a simulation.

Jay Fielden: Rob Roy (2 1/2 ounces Dewar's 12 year scotch, 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth, bitters, Luxardo cherry)

The former editor-in-chief of Men's Vogue, Town & Country, Esquire Magazine tells what it was like working alongside Anna Wintour at Vogue and whether Devil Wears Prada was close to the truth, his view of Tom Brady's fashion sense, his thoughts on the changing media landscape and how print can compete with the dynamism of social media, observations of the disappearance of newsstands and shoeshine stalls in Grand Central Station and elsewhere, and gives an editor's view of the Kardashians, the one book that most made him want to be a writer and editor, and tells of an impromptu Shakespearian riff with David Harbour.

Scott Brick: Old Fashioned (2 1/2 ounces bourbon, sugar, bitters, water, Luxardo cherry)

The world's top audiobook narrator, nicknamed "The Golden Voice", joins us fresh from a late night at the Audie Awards to tell us his Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall story, his analysis of the strange voice of Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos, the best voices in Hollywood of all time, his process to find the voice and get into character for his book narration projects, the importance of identifying the protagonist for narration, his thoughts on AI in voice work, what you can expect to learn in a Scott Brick workshop for audiobook narration.

Diana Gabaldon: Bailey's Irish Cream over ice

The author of the OUTLANDER series discusses how she and George R.R. Martin feel about having a successful TV series running in parallel to their book series, the difference between her character Claire Randall in the book versus the show, how she has always known that she was meant to be a novelist, the ways she supports her fandom, and how to write strong female characters, and discusses the Chinese MudSkipper Fish.

Jenny Jackson: tequila soda (2 1/2 ounces Casamigos blanco, club soda, lime)

The highly regarded executive editor and now debut author of the stunning novel PINEAPPLE STREET discusses her thoughts on the changing generational views of wealth and inheritance, her technique in switching POVs in her novel, what it was like returning to the office at Penguin Random after maternity leave, her top literary influences, how she won the bid for CRAZY RICH ASIANS, what it's like editing top authors like Emily St. John Mandel, Chris Bohjalian and Kevin Kwan, and hangover strategies.