From 2013: Nate Fakes. With a name like that, he's pretty much got to be funny, right? Fakes is the creator of "Break of Day," a syndicated, single-panel daily comic strip in the mode of "The Far Side" or "Bizarro." As are most successful newspaper comics, it is drawn in a style that is instantly recognizable and has a voice that is all Fake -- I mean Fakes.

From 2013: The first book I read by William Kent Krueger, Vermilion Drift, sat awhile on my shelf before I started it. And once I began, I must admit that I put the Cork O'Connor mystery down several times. The story -- or maybe it was just that title -- just didn't immediately compel me. But it came strongly recommended and I stubbornly kept coming back to it. About 75, maybe a hundred pages in, Vermilion Drift grabbed me by both shoulders and wouldn't let go until I reached the last page.

From 2013: My guests today are "The Playback Singer" actress Navi Rawat, who plays the daughter, and who my wife instantly recognized as "Charlie's girlfriend from Numb3rs," and who I knew from "Burn Notice." Also with us is the director of "The Playback Singer," Suju Vijayan. The film also stars Ross Partridge as the American husband and Piyush Mishra as the playback singer.

From 2013: I can heartily recommend "The Power Trip" by Jackie Collins. I also recommend you stick around for this interview because Ms. Collins' first two visits to Mr. Media were nothing but delightful fun. And this time, we're also going to impose upon her to read a selection from her new book.

From 2013: Like a lot of bands from that era, The Cowsills disappeared from view and I didn't give them much thought until I was invited to watch a new documentary film by Louise Palanker, Family Band: The Cowsills Story, about the real family behind the singing family. Joining me today to talk about his family, the band and the documentary is Paul Cowsill. Paul 's day job is equally interesting: he is an "extreme" landscaper on the NBC fantasy series "Grimm."

From 2013: Aubrey Dollar, star of "One Small Hitch," will remind you of Isla Fisher in "Wedding Crashers." She plays up the funny and ironic in this John Burgess film with perfect exuberance and arrives at moments of angst with just enough sadness to make us root for her without finding her character, Molly Mahoney, pathetic and whiny. "One Small Hitch" just debuted at the 2013 Cinequest Film Festival

From 2007: I was eight years old when the Eagle landed on the Moon in July 1969. I haven’t been the same since. I anticipated a lifetime ahead of flying around the neighborhood with jet packs, manned missions to Mars. Now I’m approaching my 47th birthday, and none of my expectations of a space age came to pass. None. Zero. Zip. Watching In the Shadow of the Moon, I remembered that lost feeling. It’s a wonderful experience, which is why I looked forward to talking with director David Sington.

From 2013: I thought it would be fun to invite Hunter College (CUNY) film professor Mick Hurbis-Cherrier to the show today. The masterful textbook that he and Michael Rabiger authored, "Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics," has been freshly updated for its fifth edition. And as the father of a filmmaker-in-the makings, I need to keep up on this stuff.

From 2013: Pete Williams’ latest ebook is called "Obstacle Fit: Your Complete Training Program to Run Fast, Conquer Challenges, and Discover Your Inner Spartan, Mudder, or Warrior." In it, he explores a world completely foreign to me, where people get fit by creating ridiculous challenges to their well being and sanity. At least that’s the way I see it.

From 2014: Scott Tracy Griffin’s new illustrated book, Tarzan: The Centennial Celebration, brings together a century’s worth of the art, films and stories that make Burroughs one of the Western world’s most remarkable creative minds. In one place you can now find the book covers and interiors by Frank Frazetta and Roy Krenkel, the comic book work of Joe Kubert, the comic strips of Hal Foster, and movie stills from all the great – and not so great – Tarzan jungle action films.