From 2008: Guys, here’s an offer you can’t refuse: a lesbian woman is going to give you tips on picking up a hottie. I know, I know – the whole idea made me laugh, too. But then I read Robbie Lee’s book, The Straight Man’s Pocket Guide to Picking Up a Hottie: Written By a Woman Who Loves Woman, and I thought, “Why not?” I’m not in the market for love, but I know an awful lot of guys who are and just don’t understand why some guys succeed and others fail.

From 2008: I love great photographs. I suspect I’m the audience that photographer Rick Smolan and his wife and partner Jennifer Erwitt envision when they create new coffee table photography books, such as their latest: "America At Home: A Close-Up Look at How We Live." This is the latest high quality project from the team that also produced A Day in the Life of America and America 24/7.

From 2008: Who screwed up radio? Will today’s generation of young people even care in a few years, what with the glut of alternatives before them, from satellite and Internet radio to iPods and cell phone broadcasting? I suspect these are just of the few issues I’ll be discussing today with my guest, Alec Foege, author of Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and The Fall of Commercial Radio.

From 2008: Lots of people talk about the impending End of Days, but how many actually tell you how to prepare for what may come after the end? Oh, really? That many? Hmmm. Okay, how many make you laugh in the telling? Gotcha there, didn’t I? In his new book, Apocalypse How, Rob Kutner dishes out handy tips on everything from foraging for food to fooling around with mutants in a post-now world.

From 2008: In his new book, Apocalypse How, Rob Kutner dishes out handy tips on everything from foraging for food to fooling around with mutants in a post-now world. I’m not yet sure how Kutner comes by his encyclopedic, post-apocalyptic knowledge but the humor, he comes by honestly: he’s a four-time Emmy-award winning staff writer for Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and a contributor to Stewart’s book, America (The Book).

From 2008: Hamburgers – okay, and French fries – are so much a part of American culture that it is no surprise that somebody like George Motz would attempt something as crazy as Hamburger America: One Man’s Cross- Country Odyssey to Find the Best Burgers in the Nation. And it’s not just a book – Motz created includes a DVD that captures all the sizzle, steam and personality of some of the best burger joints in America. What makes Motz an expert? Who knows – who cares?

From 1983: I had the great honor of interviewing Sir George for the St. Petersburg Times on Oct. 14, 1983. I knew he was a great pianist because I listened to his albums; I learned he was a great gentleman when he treated me with kid gloves as I awkwardly and ignorantly asked him questions for more than 30 minutes. I was barely 18 months out of college and knew very little about jazz. But George was great. He was, for all intents and purposes, the pale, British version of Ray Charles.

From 2009: Comedian Yul Spencer—Spencer, for short—has not had an easy or simple life. In his new one-man-show, “Ya Gotta Go Higher,” which ran June 11-28 at the Hollywood Complex East Theatre, he brought the funny, of course, but he also shared stories of addiction and recovery. This is not new ground for Spencer, but it is the first time he’s organized his humor and life in this type of performance.

Danny Fingeroth spends a whole lot of time thinking about superheroes. For several years, he did it as the editor of the Spider-Man group of titles at Marvel Comics. Today, he’s the author of two books that go behind the four-color glory of men in tights. Fingeroth’s latest examination of comics, "Disguised as Clark Kent," explores why so many of the enduring characters of the golden and silver ages of comics can trace their heritage back to young American Jewish artists and writers .

From 2008: I think everyone remembers where they were when they first heard about the planes flying into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. For our generation, it’s that horrifying moment that matches up with when other generations remember the Kennedy assassination or the bombing of Pearl Harbor. You should read Philip Shenon's 9/11 history, "The Commission," and then you should get very, very mad.