Mike Safo

Joined today by traveler and author of the tremendous book “Mad Travelers: A Tale of Wanderlust, Greed and the Quest to Reach the Ends of the Earth”, Dave Seminara. Dave talks about growing up in Buffalo, the tragedy he feels being a Buffalo Bills fan, and if he’s losing hope that he’ll ever witness his team win a Super Bowl. Dave then talks about why he joined the foreign service, daily activities while serving in Macedonia, and why he decided to leave that gig. We hear about why he decided to start writing and how a 642 tennis rally got him his first real press in the New York times. Dave and I talk about the wild world of traveling and how his idea of starting a television show about travelers led him to the fascinating William Bakeland. We discuss how William, who’s an alleged con artist somehow scammed some of the world’s most experienced and well respected travelers. We hear how much money William stole from people, if he’s still wanted, and how he reached out to Dave after the book was released. We chat about the wanderlust gene, traveling the world, and what’s next on our “country counting” lists. Dave tells two great stories about only having one hour to prepare before interviewing Roger Federer and how he showed up at the home of Ron DeSantis’s parents in an attempt to get an interview. All this plus much more.

https://daveseminara.com/

https://twitter.com/daveseminara

https://www.instagram.com/madtravelerdave/

Joined today by TWO New York Times best-selling authors, Erik Larson and Abbott Kahler. Abbott and Erik share their story on how they met 20 years ago, what shocked them to learn about each other, and why they have stayed friends for such a long period of time. Abbott talks about why she changed her name at 40, if she is worried that her name change will affect her book sales, and why changing her first name to Abbott might actually help her non-fiction writing. We chat about Abboot working as a beat reporter in Philly, doing ride alongs, and the cattiness that are Philly sport fans. Abbott chats about her new upcoming podcast, the process with doing it and when it's dropping. We talk about her hit book "The Ghosts of Eden Park", why and when she became fascinated with George Remus, what he meant to prohibition, if he's the greatest bootlegger of all time, and the murder and the trial of the century. Erik and Abbott share about putting their boots to the ground and doing old fashion detective work when they research their books, why court transcripts are the greatest treasure to writing a non-fiction book, & why they travel to the locations they write about. We discuss the pressure of following up your New York Times best-selling books and how that relates to your next book, if they read reviews and how they interact with their fans. Abbott let’s us know about her newest project "Then Came The Devil" about sex, murder, and utopia on the Galapagos Islands. Erik talks about what's going on with Hulu, Keanu Reeves, and if the "Devil in the White City" is coming to TV any time soon.  A few hot toddy's, a couple of Manhattans and we hear about weird first jobs, people getting fired, and the cleaning up of some disgusting things. From interviewing a young Kobe Bryant to having James Carville call your hotel room, all this plus much more

https://abbottkahler.com/  https://eriklarsonbooks.com/

Joined today by New York Times best-selling author Jeff Guinn. Jeff and I talk about last night’s Super Bowl; where he watched it and what he thought of the horrendous “holding” call. Jeff looks back on the first time he saw someone reading his book and what happened that caused him to never approach someone holding his book ever again. He goes on to talk about his incredible new book “ Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage”. Jeff shares his initial thoughts of the davidians, why researching this book was so difficult and how he juggled putting it all together.  We discuss David Koresh and how a shy, stuttering boy transformed himself into a biblical scholar/leader with a loyal following that were willing to die for what they believed. We talk about the ineptitude of the ATF, all their mistakes and question why they didn’t arrest David without any news cameras and fan fare. Jeff opens up about how investing years of his life into such a tragic event gave him nightmares and how he’s dealing with that. From Jeff having the Manson girls’ phone numbers, his opinion on Barry Bonds in the hall to Wednesday on Netflix and much more!! 

Follow him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/jeffguinnauthor/

Joined today all the way from Uganda, viral baseball sensation Kasumba Dennis and his coach Paul Wafula.  We talk about visiting Uganda, gorilla trekking, what’s there to do there and food you must try when you visit the Pearl of Africa. We discuss how the United States military came to Uganda and how the citizens saw them playing and fell in love with the game. We chat about how Coach Paul’s talent was noticed by a Japanese scout and how that led to him trying out in Japan. We hear about Kasumba’s unique training, using cardboard as a glove and how his practice videos have gone viral. Coach Paul tell us how we can help, what equipment they need, and how we can get baseball growing in Uganda. All this and much much more with two baseball lovers from the other side of the world.

> Follow Kasumba and check out his videos here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KASUMBADENNIS4

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kasumbadennis648

Joined today by Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for Baseball United, John Miedrich. John talks about growing up in Long Island, why he joined the NYPD, and what lifelong lessons he learned early on in his life patrolling the streets of East New York. We chat about his illustrious career climbing the ranks and serving as the commanding officer of the NYPD International Liaison Unit. John tells an incredible story of his team of international detectives who received information of the murder of an 8-month-old baby and located and arrested the perpetrator in Thailand in under 48 hours.  John talks about visiting the Dominican Republic and noticing the poverty amongst the young athletes there. He donated equipment and time which helped lead to his starting his own baseball academy down there. We then talk about BASEBALL UNITED, the first ever profession baseball league serving the Middle East and South Asia, attempting to bring America's pastime to over 2 billion new fans. We discuss how the dream got started, the significance that Mariano Rivera and Barry Larkin gave to the league when they signed on and what type of characters they are hoping to attract to help this league. We chat about the long term plans of Baseball United, the much-anticipated 2023 Baseball Showcase in Dubai, the excitement of the team name being released and much much more

Follow Bsaeball United here:

https://baseballunited.com/

https://www.tiktok.com/@baseballutd

https://twitter.com/BaseballUnited

Joined today by award winning author of "Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain", Charles Leerhsen. Charles and I talk about growing up in New York, becoming an editor for Sports Illustrated, and when he knew the time had come to move on from SI. We discuss his time writing for Newsday, venturing out on his own projects and how he convinced Simon and Schuster to allow him to write about about a horse from the 1890’s, Dan Patch. Charles shares when and why he decided to write a book about Anthony Bourdain, the hurdles he faced in getting people to talk about Tony and how he called an audible and reached out to Bourdain’s high school friends and characters from Kitchen Confidential to create this book. We chat about the “Bourdain Brand”, becoming famous at an older age and why Tony’s brother didn’t want this book published. Charles talks about the controversial Asia Argento, what she meant to Tony, his obsession and how she made him lose his dignity. All this and a bunch more with the award winning author!

Follow Charles here:

Website: https://leerhsen.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlesLeerhsen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leerhsenc

Charles has written books about: Butch Cassidy, Ty Cobb, Anthony Bourdain, Dan Patch and the Indy 500

Joined today by award winning author of "Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain", Charles Leerhsen. Charles and I talk about growing up in New York, becoming an editor for Sports Illustrated, and when he knew the time had come to move on from SI. We discuss his time writing for Newsday, venturing out on his own projects and how he convinced Simon and Schuster to allow him to write about about a horse from the 1890’s, Dan Patch. Charles shares when and why he decided to write a book about Anthony Bourdain, the hurdles he faced in getting people to talk about Tony and how he called an audible and reached out to Bourdain’s high school friends and characters from Kitchen Confidential to create this book. We chat about the “Bourdain Brand”, becoming famous at an older age and why Tony’s brother didn’t want this book published. Charles talks about the controversial Asia Argento, what she meant to Tony, his obsession and how she made him lose his dignity. All this and a bunch more with the award winning author!

Follow Charles here:

Website: https://leerhsen.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlesLeerhsen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leerhsenc

Charles has written books about: Butch Cassidy, Ty Cobb, Anthony Bourdain, Dan Patch and the Indy 500

Joined today by crime reporter, author of “Monster: The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders”, and star of the Netflix show “Conversations with a killer”, Anne E. Schwartz.  Annie talks about growing up in Queens, moving to the “Cream City” and volunteering to be the nighttime beat reporter with the Milwaukee PD.  We chat about cop humor, ride alongs and how she gained the trust of the police department.  Annie tells about the phone call that changed her night, responding to Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment, looking around and hearing that there was a human head in the refrigerator. Annie and I talk about if she knew the significance of this crime scene, how she rushed back to the newsroom and how she didn’t get bullied into giving her story away.  We hear why she decided to write the book “Monster” thirty years after the crimes, what has changed with the main players in the last three decades and how being the “Dahmer reporter” gives her street cred all over the world.  Annie shares how Dahmer picked his victims, why he lived in that apartment and how he was a master manipulator. She opens up and explains the facts in the often misled story about the two police officers who encountered Jeffrey Dahmer on the street and brought him home. We hear about their lives after that incident and why Anne continues to defend their actions. L From starting the social media for the Milwaukee PD to getting a phone call from Dahmer himself, Annie brings her incredible storytelling along with a background as a tremendous reporter to the show.  

Follow Anne E. Here: https://twitter.com/anneschwartz911

https://www.instagram.com/anneeschwartz911/

Book: Monster: The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders

Joined today by former UFC fighter and current PFL top contender, Chris “The Long Island Killer” Wade. Chris and I talk about World Cup Fever, why he’s ok with the Mets buying every free agent and if he thinks Danny Dimes is the Giants QB for the future. Chris tells us about being part owner of Long Island Strong (Lislandstrong.com), how he got involved and why he always wanted to be his own boss. We chat about why there are so many highly ranked fighters from Long Island, his amateur wrestling career, and when he decided that fighting was going to be his profession. Chris shares the mental aspect of fighting, how dealing with a loss can hang with you for months and what he does to overcome that depression. Chris talks about being extremely outspoken, why he’ll never stop talking about what he believes in and why fighters should be unionized. Chris tells why he joined the PFL, what they are doing differently from the UFC that makes it such an up and coming force and when we should expect to see him in the ring next. I ask why he thinks he never got “the push” from the UFC, what he wish he would have done differently and why he loves teaching all ages the art of mixed martial arts. All this and more with a veteran of the octagon.

Follow Chris here: https://twitter.com/cwademma

And check out his awesome merchandise here: https://www.lislandstrong.com/

Joined today by professor, author and retired commanding officer of the NYPD Cold Case Squad, Joseph Giacalone, as well as retired NYPD Lieutenant Sean Williams.  Joe talks about why he joined the NYPD, getting assigned to the 47th precinct and a crazy gun battle that earned him the medal of valor. We talk about his rise through the department to sergeant and then to internal affairs and how restructuring the NYPD training courses earned him a spot in the elite NYPD Cold Case Unit.  Sgt. Giacalone talks about the process of opening a cold case, why cases get stagnant or cold and why the boots on the ground method still reigns supreme.  We chat about some noteworthy cases, hear about legendary detectives and when he knew it was time to retire. We discuss the quadruple murder in Idaho, why the police did the right thing by not releasing info to the media and how and when Joe knew they had a suspect in sight. All this and much more with retired Sgt. Giacalone and Lt. Williams.    Follow Joe Giacalone on the following platforms and check out his website here:

https://twitter.com/JoeGiacalone

https://www.josephgiacalone.com/

https://www.instagram.com/josephgiacalone/