Mike Safo

Joined today by New York Times Best-selling author, Caitlin Rother. Caitlin talks about growing up in La Jolla, attending Cal Berkley for psychology and then Northwestern for journalism.  We go over her early career, working in Massachusetts, getting fired, being an investigative journalist in San Diego and finally making the move to be a full-time author. She reminisces about how she found out she was a New York Times best-selling author, kinda getting nominated for a Pulitzer and the stress, fatigues and injuries that comes with being such a hard working author. We discuss some of her memorable books, wild cases, and how she needs to disconnect from the true-crime world. Caitlin shares her upcoming crime novel series that is coming out in 2026, the pros of writing fiction and how she is hoping to parlay it into a tv series. She opens up about the nervousness of releasing a book, if she still reads reviews and some issues she has with her publishers. We chat about her band, shows she binge watches and her 2025 true crime book releases. All this and more with one of the best true crime writers in the game.

Follow Caitlin and get all her books on her website: 

https://www.caitlinrother.com/

Joined today by New York Times best selling author, Keith O’Brien. Keith reminisces about growing up in Cincinnati, attending Northwestern and his favorite alumni. Due to my obsession with UK, we chat about his first book “Outside Shot” about Kentucky High School basketball. Then, Keith tells us about finding out he was a New York Times best selling author, how he got notified, and any pressure he feels with the title before his name. We discuss his amazing new book, “Charlie Hustle the Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the last glory days of baseball”. He shares why he wanted to write about Pete Rose, getting interviews from all former players, and what makes Pete so fascinating and unique. We go over the myths of Pete Rose: getting the name, Charlie Hustle, how he was drafted because of nepotism, and his meteor rise to the majors. We chat about his Mount Rushmore type of records, why he’s one of the greatest players ever and how that is all overshadowed by his downfall of gambling. We touch base about the carnage he created, life after baseball and much more. From texting with George Foster to cool memorabilia, Keith O'Brien was an incredible guest

Follow Keith and purchase his books here:

https://www.instagram.com/obrienstory

https://x.com/KeithOB

Joined today by reporter and author of the new book "The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City", Kevin Baker. Kevin shares about writing for the local newspaper at age 13, moving to NYC in the 70's and what the Big Apple was like back then. We chat about his new book, spanning from the Civil War - World War 2. The research that went into it, how he juggled writing about the city, the origins of baseball, and authors that influenced this book. We go over the first baseball superstar James Creighton, who played in the 1850's, the crazy life of John McGraw, and the career and passing of Christy Mathewson. Kevin imparts how NYC molded the game of baseball, the characters who influenced the game, and how the game was almost ruined by Hal Chase and the Black Sox scandal. We chat about Babe Ruth, how he saved baseball, how he's the greatest ever, and some stories about the Big Fella'. We go over racism in and out of the game in NYC, why the Dodgers left Brooklyn and the Giants left Harlem. Red Barber on the radio, Martin Dihigo being the Cuban Babe Ruth, Fred Merkle and more. All this plus talk about cool memorabilia, drunk texting Ken Burns, and the game Kevin wishes he could have witnessed live. All this and more with a true historian of New York City. Follow Kevin here: https://kevinbaker.info/

Joined today by reporter and author of the eye-opening book “Death Row Welcomes You”, Steven Hale. Steve and I chat about growing up in Florida, why he attended Auburn and of course some Tigers football players. We talk about Alabama, Tennessee, and New York food, what’s going on with the police scandals in Tennessee, and what he’ll do if he sees someone reading his new book. We get to “Death Row Welcomes You”, we hear why he decided to make this the topic of his first book, going to death row to meet the inmates, and the feedback he has received in regard to this topic. Steve chillingly recounts seeing the electric chair for the first time, witnessing people be executed and the relationships he has made visiting the prison. We talk about Terry Lynn King, his childhood and his horrific crimes, why Tennessee was on the forefront of executions since 2018 and decompressing from becoming engrossed in this life.  Steve tells us about his other job, being an investigative reporter, how he chooses the topics he writes about and what his plans on for his next venture. From texting with the mayor to photographing phone booths, Steve and I have a great, thought provoking and honest conversation.

Check out his website and socials here:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/iamstevenhale/

https://www.iamstevenhale.com/

Joined today by Rhodes scholar, poet and author Mark Abley. Mark talks about his allegiance to Red Wings hockey, the Rough Riders and makes his case for Montreal bagels over NYC ones. We chat about his flex being a Rhodes Scholar, the decision to leave Oxford to backpack the "Hippie Trail" and his awesome new book "Strange Bewildering Time: Istanbul to Kathmandu in the last year of the Hippie Trail". Mark reminisces about traveling through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and other countries in 1978 during the start of the Afghan War and the Iranian Revolution, why he kept writing in his journals and why after 45 years, it was time to write this book. Mark shares what it was like reading the words from his younger self, the differences in travel from then to now, and the differences with the Hippie Trail and the Silk Road. Mark let’s us know about the difficulties of traveling with a friend, if their friendship lasted and what she thought of his book. From other books Mark finds fascinating to his obsession with languages, and much more.

Check out Mark's books and site here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mark-Abley/author/B0B6WVRYJ8?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Joined today by former Cruiserweight champion, NAVY veteran, and current boxing trainer, Steve "USS" Cunningham. Steve talks about being a father of 4, training his two phenom sons in boxing, and the difficulty of juggling the trainer and father role. We chat about his Philly roots and relocating to Pittsburgh, what he misses most and why it's ok to switch allegiances to the Steelers. We go over his life outside of the ring, hobbies, such as his love for art, developing his comic books, and how he ended up joining the United States NAVY. Steve tells us about his time in the NAVY, how boxing came into the picture and how he was learning the ins and outs of the sweet science as he climbed the ranks. We discuss why he chose to go pro instead of going the Olympic route. He reminisces his intense first 12 fight schedule and how signing with Don King wasn't his favorite decision he made. We hear about winning the Cruiserweight belt after his controversial 1st loss, why many of his fights took place in Europe and why wasn't he promoted much after the 9/11 attacks. We learn about being on the undercard of Mayweather / McGregor, how his phone blew up after Tyson Fury said on Joe Rogan that Steve was the hardest hitter he's ever faced, and when he knew it was time to hang up the gloves. From wanting to fight at Wembley stadium to the mental hurdles boxing entails, it was an enjoyable conversation with USS.

 

Check out his site here where you can follow his son's journey to the title, as well as purchase his comics:

https://www.instagram.com/ussislegend/?hl=en

Joined today by New York Times best-selling author and Edgar Award Winner, Harry MacLean. Harry and I chat about living in Denver, what he misses most about Nebraska, and some Cornhuskers football. Harry is on to talk about his newest book "Starkweather: The Untold Story of the Killing Spree that Changed America". He tells us about how the eleven murders Charlie Starkweather committed in 1958 combined with his fourteen year old girlfriend and television being broadcasted all over the United States made this the perfect storm and the first court tv type of story. He shares his writing style, telling this story from Charlie's and Caril's point of view, and the hurdles he faced writing this book. We hear about his personal connection to Charlie and the victims, why the public was convinced Caril was guilty and what was his purpose writing this book. Harry discusses the emotional toll the book took on him, his initial thoughts of the crimes, and what shocked him the most during his research. We go over the botched police investigation, delve into if Caril was present when he family was murdered and what made Harry believe in her innocence. From Billy Joel to Bruce Springsteen singing about Charlie and Caril to movies and documentaries and how the crimes are still a hot button issue in Nebraska. All this plus Abe Lincoln wrestling, Truman Capote's ghost and more

 

Check out Harry's site here and his other outstanding books  - https://www.harrymaclean.com/

Joined today by four-time New York Times best-selling author, Jonathan Eig. Jonathan reminisces about growing up in New York, submitting articles at an early age, heading to Northwestern and how he ended up at a newspaper in New Orleans.  We talk about when and why he decided to write his first book on Lou Gehrig, the hurdles he went through writing it and how a friend slipping Regis Philbin his book changed everything. We go over the intimidation he felt writing about two icons, Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King Jr, their similarities, differences and how their world intertwined.  We hear how Jonathan traveled the country conducting interviews, dove deep into Ali’s analytical statistics, and how he used his daughter as a pawn to meet Ali. Jonathan tells us about his mission when he writes these books, how he convinces people to trust him, and how he juggles writing about controversial issues. From having some of the coolest Ali memorabilia to chatting about the FBI’s harassment of MLK, Jonathan Eig shows why he’s the best biographical storytellers around. 

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonathaneig

https://www.jonathaneig.com/

https://www.instagram.com/joneig/

Joined today by top Junior Featherweight contender, Elijah Pierce. Elijah shares what is was like growing up in both, Oklahoma and Atlanta, what's different about the two cities, foods and the Spooner rodeos. We talk about how his kickboxing father's career guided him into the world of boxing, why he fell in love with the sport and who he looked up to. Elijah tells us about his basketball skills, guards he modeled his game after and when he decided to pursue a career in the sweet science. We hear about his illustrious amateur career, why he turned pro before trying to make the Olympic team and that insane pro schedule he had from 2016-18. We chat about the loneliness of boxing, how you mentally deal with a loss, and how he overcame his two year absence from the ring while focusing on his mental health. Elijah reminisces about being contacted by his Bulgarian manager, beating Tramaine Williams, and finding out he's headlining his next fight. We discuss fighting Mike Plania, the nervousness of fighting on TV for the first time, and how he celebrated that epic win. We learn about his legendary and viral weigh-in antics, how and why he has the nickname "WXXXLF", and signing with a new promotion. All this plus hanging with Nick Cannon, calling out all fighters in his division and his dream stadium. 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/elijah_pierce

Joined today by former San Diego Padres pitcher and current pitching coach, Brian Tollberg. Brian talks about seeing himself on a baseball card for the first time, the best and worst things about living in Florida, and deciding to run a marathon when he turned 40. We chat about our passion for traveling, working with "Trading Without Borders", and some destinations he plans on visiting. Brian tells us about quitting his school baseball, signing with North Florida, and eventually heading over to the Frontier League after not being drafted. He reminisces about signing with the Brewers, being traded to the Padres, and his time in the minors. We hear about "the call" that he was going to the majors, charting for Randy Johnson in his first game and winning NL player of the week honors after two masterful starts. We discuss facing the legends of the game, such as: A-Rod, Bonds, Vlad, Griffey, Piazza, and others, becoming friends with Trevor Hoffman and not being shy about getting stuff signed. We go over life after the game, being a pitching coach, and the biggest differences he sees with pitchers today from 20 years ago. All this plus we hear stories about his cool memorabilia from his playing days, hanging with Bert Kresicher and more.