Media Path Podcast

Author Ira Shapiro has captured sixty years of Senate history in his trilogy of books documenting the dangerous decent of what should be our more deliberative, collegial government body. Mr. Shapiro’s most recent installment is The Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America. It serves as a call to action. Yes, The Senate’s intransigent refusal to pass legislation that helps Americans is appalling. But what can we, the people, do about? Ira Shapiro has thoughts and ideas.

Plus, Fritz and Weezy are comparing documentaries to their docudrama counterparts and recommending The Staircase on HBO and Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal on CNN.

Path Points of Interest:

Ira Shapiro

The Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America by Ira Shapiro

The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis

Broken: Can the Senate Save Itself and the Country? 

Watergate: Blueprint For a Scandal-CNN

Gaslit - Starz

The Staircase - HBO

The Staircase - Netflix

Grey Gardens Documentary

Grey Gardens Docudrama

An American Family

Cinema Verite  - HBO

Cinema Verite - Amazon

Gift of Democracy. com

H.R. Pufinstuf. We grew up just accepting that it was a show. But honestly, why was it a show!? A British song and dance boy with a flute shipwrecks on an island full of puppets!? Why not? The minds of Sid and Marty Krofft were fertile with fantastical tales of flying pop stars and dancing hats and talking seaweed. Expect music, color, magic and plenty of puppets in the world of Sid and Marty Krofft!

The iconic Marty Krofft joins us for an inside peek into that world. He’s talking about Pufinstuf, Lidsville, Sigmund the Sea Monster, Land of the Lost, Donny and Marie and, of course, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour! 

Plus, Fritz and Weezy are recommending George Carlin’s American Dream on HBO and The First Lady on Showtime.

Path Points of Interest:

Sid and Marty Krofft Website

Sid and Marty Krofft on Youtube

Mondays With Marty on Youtube

Krofft Link Tree

Krofft Facebook

 Krofft Instagram

Krofft Twitter

Krofft Tiktok

The First Lady on Showtime

George Carlin's American Dream - HBO MAX

Fritz's Upcoming Gigs

Camino Real Playhouse, Orange County, CA

July 9th

Feinstein's at Vitellos, Studio City, CA

July 21st

Catalina Bar and Grill

August 7th

Vicki Lawrence lit up TV screens for eleven years on The Carol Burnett Show and for an additional six years in her own spin-off sit-com, Mama’s Family. Mama has since become a cultural icon so take a seat and roll down your nylons. She’s still got plenty to say in "Vicki and Mama: A Two Woman Show." 

Vicki’s one hit wonder, “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia shot to number one and inspired a movie. But can Vicki explain the plot? The answer lies inside this episode which also features Karen Knotts whose one woman show pays tribute to her fabulous father, Don Knotts.

Plus Fritz and Weezy are recommending the Dead Eyes podcast and The Staircase on Netflix.

Path Points of Interest:

Vicki Lawrence

Vicki Lawrence on IMDB

Vicki Lawrence on Wikipedia

Vicki Lawrence on Instagram

Vicki Lawrence and Mama Event - June 4th

Karen Knotts

Tied Up In Knotts by Karen Knotts

The Staircase - Netflix

The Staircase on HBO

Dead Eyes Podcast with Connor Ratliff

Mark Arthur Miller and Fritz Coleman at the Catalina Bar and Grill

In the mid 1950s, Pat Boone’s early hits, Ain’t That A Shame and Tutti Frutti broke ground for black songwriter/performers Fats Domino and Little Richard while ushering in the dawn of rock n’ roll. From there, Pat segued smoothly into film and television while raising a famous family and recording over 2300 songs, including the iconic hits, Friendly Persuasion, Love Letters In The Sand and April Love. Pat’s commitment to faith and family helped forge his guiding principles. Did you know that he walked away from his TV show when they wouldn't allow him to book Harry Belafonte? Pat has stories for you. 

Plus Fritz and Weezy have absolutely nothing to say about Ol’ Abe while recommending both The Lincoln Highway and The Lincoln Lawyer.

Path Points of Interest:

Pat Boone's Website

Pat Boone's Video Podcast with Michael Lloyd

Pat Boone on Spotify

Pat Boone on Wikipedia

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

The Lincoln Lawyer - Netflix 

You know his face and many of his voices. Jim Meskimen is an actor, impressionist, voice-artist and improv comedian best known for his work on Whose Line Is It Anyway and Impress Me. Jim currently plays Colonel Sanders in the KFC commercials and George Washington crossing the Delaware Turnpike for Geiko. Jim is Hollywood born and raised by his dear Mom, Marion Ross from Happy Days! He joins us along with comedian Cathy Ladman who is addressing her relationship with food in her one woman production, Does This Show Make Me Look Fat.

Plus Fritz and Weezy are recommending Gaslit on Starz, Sheryl on Showtime and Ridley Road on PBS.

Path Points of Interest:

Jim Meskimen

Jim on Youtube

Jim on IMDB

Jim Meskimen Art

Washington Crossing The Delaware Turnpike for Geiko

The Boys by Ron and Clint Howard

Marion Ross: Happy Days and Otherwise by Marion Ross

Tied Up In Knotts by Karen Knotts

Cathy Ladman - Does This Show Make Me Look Fat - Tickets

Ridley Road - PBS Masterpiece

Ridley Road by Jo Bloom 

Sheryl - Showtime

Gaslit

Gaslit Trailer

Slow Burn - Watergate 

History of Redlining Film from NPR

Fritz and Weezy enjoy an elevated coolness quotient whenever their friend Henry Winkler drops in. Henry’s award and heart winning career has taken him from your living room TV, (your bedroom wall, your lunchbox and your sox) to Broadway, to the silver screen and to any streaming device within reach. What has Fonzie meant to the kids who grew up watching him? How intensely challenging is it to inhabit the comically dark world of HBO’s Barry? And how personally gratifying is it to be directed by his son, Max Winkler? Henry has so much goodness to share.

Plus Weezy honors the beautiful life of her Mom this week with Ruthie’s Picks which include: An Affair To Remember, The Mills Brothers, Jack Jones and Hot Bench.

Path Points of Interest:

Henry Winkler

Henry Winkler on Twitter

Henry Winkler on IMDB

Henry Winkler on Wikipedia

Barry - HBO

Happy Days

New York Times Article

Nightshift

The Boys by Ron Howard and Clint Howard

The Couch Pilot

Bosch Legacy-Amazon Prime

Ruthie's Picks - in Honor of Weezy's Mom, Ruth Palanker

An Affair to Remember

Original Sabrina from 1954

Nathan Milstein

https://g.co/kgs/ydMxfz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Milstein

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5X8DsciT6TRp5IlcdG5eT2

The Mills Brothers 

https://www.themillsbrothers.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mills_Brothers

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5v8bwWRbu7AI3YFhzoM6Ha

Jack Jones

http://jackjones.lolipop.jp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Jones_(American_singer)

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6eVCRmRG2HcfL4yx77A9WK

Hot Bench

https://www.hotbench.tv

We are fully stocked on Steves! Legendary, luminary Late Show and Late Night Letterman writers Steve O’Donnell and Steve Young join us for an insider’s look at behind-the-scenes life within the Late Night and Late Show Letterman eras. 

And in the waning weeks of Dave’s CBS years, Steve Young was in full production on the documentary which celebrates his deep dive into corporate and industrial musicals, Bathtubs Over Broadway (Now on Netflix.) How did one Steve launch the other into this particularly specific passion orbit? All is revealed. 

Plus Fritz and Weezy are recommending Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story and Anatomy of a Scandal, both on Netflix.

Path Points of Interest:

Steve O'Donnell

Steve O'Donnell on Wikipedia

Steve O'Donnell on IMDB

Top Ten Books by David Letterman and Steve O'Donnell

David Letterman Top Ten Moments by Steve O'Donnell

Steve Young
                                

Steve Young World

Bathtubs Over Broadway

Bathtubs Over Broadway on Netflix

Everything's Coming Up Profits by Steve Young and Sport Murphy

Steve Young on Instagram and Twitter

@PANTSSteve

Letterman's Youtube Channel

Letterman Fan Site

Letterman Archivist Don Giller

Don Gillar's Letterman Archive on Youtube

Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night by Jason Zinoman

Jimmy Saville: A British Horror Story on Netflix

Anatomy of a Scandal - Netflix 

Rock Journalist and Music Critic Tim Riley is steeped in Beatles lore and history. He’s written the definitive John Lennon bio, Lennon: The Man, The Myth, The Music, plus Beatles books, What Goes On: The Beatles, Their Life and Their Time and Tell Me Why: The Beatles, Album by Album, Song by Song. Tim is an NPR and print journalism Critic, an Emerson College Professor and he is this week’s guest, bringing us intriguing insights into the Beatles, their music and the intersections of their personalities.

Plus Fritz and Weezy are recommending Life After Death with Tyler Henry and Bad Vegan, both on Netflix.

Path Points of Interest:

Tim Riley

WHAT GOES ON: THE BEATLES, THEIR MUSIC AND THEIR TIME 

What Goes On Multimedia Listening Guide

LENNON: MAN, MYTH, MUSIC by Tim Riley

TELL ME WHY: A BEATLES COMMENTARY by Tim Riley

HARD RAIN: A DYLAN COMMENTARY by Tim Riley

MADONNA: ILLUSTRATED by Tim Riley

FEVER: HOW ROCK'N'ROLL TRANSFORMED GENDER IN AMERICA by Tim Riley

Tim Riley on NPR's Here and Now and On Point from WBUR Boston

Tim Riley's book reviews on Los Angeles Review of Books

Subscribe to the Riley Rock Report

Tim Riley on Twitter

Imagine by Julian Lennon

Life After Death with Tyler Henry on Netflix

Tyler Henry's Website

Between Two Worlds by Tyler Henry

Here and Hereafter by Tyler Henry

Bad Vegan - Netflix 

Lucky Me by Sachi Parker 

NPR/PBS’s Steve Mencher took in so much of SXSW he simply must offload some of it to us. Steve’s festival strategy did not include pacing himself. Steve saw films, heard talks and attended concerts by Dolly Parton, Ron Howard, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Gabby Giffords, Magic Johnson, Richard Linklater, and beyond. He returned with photos and interviews and the scoop on all of the wonderful media we are all about to enjoy this year including: Apollo 10 1/2, Run, Rose, Run, Mama Bears, Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story, They Call Me Magic, Sheryl, Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, We Feed People, and Bad Axe. Cozy up to your blue tooth streaming device of choice for a vicarious journey to SXSW.

Path Points of Interest:

Steve Mencher on Twitter

SXSW

SXSW on Twitter

Steve Mencher's Film - The Codex: Leonardo da Vinci Meets Bill Gates

Steve Mencher's PBS Series, Beyond Belief

Steve Mencher's Podcast, Living Downstream

Dolly Parton's Book, Run, Rose Run

Run, Rose, Run Album

Dollyverse and NFTs

Dolly Parton's America Podcast

Mama Bears

Gabby Giffords: Won't Back Down

Frances Haugen

Alexis McGill Johnson - Planned Parenthood

Maria Ressa 

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil

Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story  

Sheryl Crow Documentary

They Call Me Magic 

Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood

We Feed People – Jose Andres 

World Central Kitchen

Bad Axe

Willie Nelson

It's a Long Story by Willie Nelson

“First dance. First love. The time of your life,” read the posters in 1987, as the words “Dirty Dancing” came to mean, that sweet little movie that brings a smile to your heart and a tap to your toe. Back then, the only way to see the film was to keep returning to the theater. And that is exactly what fans did. Over and over and over again. The only piece of that goodness  that you could possess was the soundtrack, filled with dance inducing hits from the fifties and sixties and three new songs performed by Eric Carmen, Patrick Swayze, Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes and written by our guests, Franke Previte, John DeNicola and Stacy Widelitz.

The Dirty Dancing album held Billboard’s number one spot for over four months, won piles of awards including an Oscar, has sold over 11 million copies and will still compel you to move. Hear all about the creation of this wonderful music, straight from the writers.

Plus Fritz and Weezy are opining on the Oscar slap. If you don’t like what we have to say, please don’t hit us.

Path Points of Interest:

Franke Previte

Franke and The Knockouts

Dirty Dancing Demos

Taylor Simon King Musical

We Will Yacht You

iHeart/Sweetheart in Concert

One World - Collaboration featuring Franke Previte

Sweetheart by Franke & The Knockouts 

Franke Previte on Instagram

John DeNicola

John DeNicola's Label - Omad Records

HUNGRY EYES by John DeNicola    

Stacy Widelitz

Stacy Widelitz on Instagram

She's Like The Wind - Patrick Swayze and Wendy Fraser

Hungry Eyes - Eric Carmen

(I've Had) The Time of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

Dirty Dancing

Chris Rock's Good Hair Documentary