Author. Podcaster. Columnist. TV news regular. Molly Jong-Fast on the state of politics and public discourse during Trump 2.0 -- and the candor and pain she channeled into her bestselling book How to Lose Your Mother.

Lisa Sun, McKinsey consultant turned fashionista, speaker and mentor, on her ascent from manning the cash register at her immigrant parents' all-you-can-eat restaurant -- as a second grader. Her book is Gravitas: The 8 Strengths That Redefine Confidence.

Michael Franzese, former captain in the Colombo family, on his more than five-decade journey into and out of organized crime -- a career choice that most often ends in life in prison and/or an early funeral. Franzese, 74, is now a wine mogul, author and speaker.

Legacy news exile. Digital media insurgent. All-around enfant terrible and friend of the show. Mosheh Oinounou of Mo News on the battle for Warner Bros; the midterm reckoning for Trump II; incoming NYC Mayor Mamdani; and the enormous challenge of rebuilding Gaza.

Jesse Crosson on finding hope, purpose and himself after 19 years of incarceration. His book is The Best Part of Prison: The Power of Second Chances and Reclaiming Life Out of Darkness

Texas grandpa Kent Burris -- you know him as @ dinewithkent on TikTok and Instagram -- on hitting it big globally with his earnest restaurant visits. A highway construction exec by day, Burris moonlights as a champion of small biz ...blasting his smartphone posts on Ethiopian, Persian, Cameroonian, (every) cuisine from his travel trailer.

Chef Patrick O'Connell of the renowned Inn at Little Washington on turning a run-down stretch of rural Virginia into a three-star Michelin destination. Recorded for an audience at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

DJ Eric Rhodes discusses hitting it big on social media -- from Idaho. The mashup artist (Tone Loc + New Order?!) now travels the globe to spin, and gets pitched by brands and ad agencies.

Bestselling author Bill Janovitz on his book, The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told. Behind the MTV-heyday personas and chart-toppers: so much hurt and dysfunction -- from family disintegration to alcohol abuse and grown men too reluctant to open up to one another.

Author and satirist Gary Shteyngart joined NPR's Mary Childs and Chioke I'Anson at Richmond's Institute for Contemporary Art. The New Yorker recently featured Shteyngart in mini-doc “The Guy Who Got Cut Wrong.”