Olympic & Bundy with Christine Devine

Elex Michaelson has always been a go-getter.

Growing up in Agoura Hills, he was the student body president of his high school, captain of the basketball team and later the president of his fraternity at USC -- among many other things.

In college, Elex interned at FOX 11 but not without first showing up unannounced and waiting to meet with the executive producer in person to secure the gig. He's since returned to FOX 11 as a Los Angeles news anchor and political reporter in what can only be described as a full circle moment.

He’s always been interested in political journalism from the time he was a little kid. A self-described "political junkie," he's done one-on-one interviews with Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and many more.

"I’m interested in the policy. The idea that it is still one of the great ways to help people and to affect people’s lives… I’m also interested in the politics and sort of the gamesmanship of it, and the characters. You have some of the most interesting, smart, driven, ambitious, sometimes selfish, sometimes egotistical, sometimes vain, sometimes brilliant people competing against each other and strategizing."

To him, politics can be similar to sports -- but with a "real world consequence."

You can see and hear more of Elex on his new political talk show "The Issue Is," which airs Fridays at 10:30 p.m. on FOX 11, as well as his podcast of the same title.

Elex joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about growing up in Southern California, reporting in Washington D.C., the importance of mentorship, the various steps he's taken in his career and interviewing some of the biggest names in Washington.

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Thank you to Elex!

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Craig Cooper is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, author of "Your New Prime: 30 Days to Better Sex, Eternal Strength, and a Kick Ass Life After 40" and an advocate for health and wellness in men over 40.

His life has led him down many different career paths, including skateboarder, lawyer, TV host, co-founder of Boost Mobile USA, head of venture capital firms and more.

As a kid, he fell into a coma, nearly had his leg amputated and suffered from a serious heart condition -- all by the age of 18.

Now in this 50s, Craig maintains an active and healthy lifestyle and aims to educate other men on how to live a life of wellness as they age too.

Craig joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about growing up in New Zealand and Australia, his passion for outdoor sports, his health scares as a kid and what's led him to become an advocate for healthy living in men, investing, entrepreneurship and more.

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Actor, director, producer, musician and more -- Tim Robbins is best known for his roles in "Shawshank Redemption," "The Player," "Mystic River," and the recent HBO series "Here and Now."

But 37 years ago, he started a theater company in Los Angeles called The Actor's Gang, and throughout the success of his career, he's continued to act, write and direct plays there. 

He joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about the play he's currently directing, called "The New Colossus," which features 12 actors sharing their ancestors' stories of immigration and fleeing from oppression to freedom. It’s performed in 12 different languages.  

The play features live music, poetry and asks the question -- who are we as a nation right now? 

"The New Colossus" is showing Saturdays through May 12, 2018 at The Actor's Gang in Culver City. 

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Thank you to Tim Robbins!      

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Araksya Karapetyan is an anchor on FOX 11 in Los Angeles beginning at 4:30 a.m. and is a mother, wife and proud Armenian -- among many other things.

Her family left everything behind in Armenia and immigrated to the United States when she was 7-years-old. A devastating earthquake, a brewing conflict with Azerbaijan and the demise of the Soviet Union all contributed to her family's decision to leave their homeland.   

They settled in the South Bay of Los Angeles, and only able to speak Armenian and Russian at the time, she began learning English and adjusting to life in America. 

She eventually went to college at Syracuse University and obtained a degree in International Relations and Broadcast Journalism. But it wasn't until she went back to visit Armenia that she found her true passion for journalism. Instead of doing the typical "touristy" things, she brought her camcorder and started interviewing people on the street to hear their stories.  

Upon returning to America, she was hooked on storytelling. She started interning at KABC in Los Angeles and KFI 640 AM radio in Burbank before landing her first reporting job at KIDK in Idaho Falls. She then moved to KOIN in Portland before returning home to Los Angeles to work at FOX 11. 

When reflecting back on her family's story, she said: "Even when I'm on TV, there are moments when I look around the studio and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, how did I end up here?'" 

Araksya joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about her background and what led her to broadcast journalism, her close-knit family and what it was like moving to America at a child, getting married, becoming a mother and much more! 

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Thank you to Araksya!     

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Katie Willcox has been working as a professional model for more than 15 years and went on to start her own agency, called Natural Model Management.

She is the author of "Healthy Is the New Skinny: Your Guide to Self-Love in a 'Picture Perfect' World" and is responsible for the website and online movement of the same name. 

Katie also holds body-positive workshops for girls and adult women -- aiming to educate others about media manipulation and to challenge the beauty ideal implemented by the media. 

She joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about the modeling industry itself, as she began working as a plus-size model in high school, the false advertising we face as consumers, social media in 2018, raising a daughter of her own and much more! 

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Thank you to Katie H. Willcox!    

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Television as we know it today is multi-platform, but obviously it wasn't always that way.

The early days of TV were very experimental, groundbreaking and sometimes kind of dangerous. Much of television's history was made here in Los Angeles -- as well as some big careers. 

Joel Tator, who has produced and directed thousands of broadcasts, wrote a book about the history of LA television. Mitch Waldow is the archive manager at KTTV/KCOP and also is a veteran of the Los Angeles broadcast market. 

Both Joel and Mitch joined me on Olympic & Bundy to share their memories and knowledge about the history of television in LA -- including the first television helicopter, the first big breaking news stories covered on television, the first live coverage of an atomic bomb, the careers of people like Betty White, Lawrence Welk, and more. 

One of the many takeaways that I had from this conversation is that learning the history about television, including the struggles and difficulties to develop it, really makes you appreciate technology in its current form.  

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Thank you to Joel and Mitch!   

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Shelby Rideout is the creator and founder of Bright Signs Learning, a program that introduces young kids to sign language and basic reading concepts in a fun and interactive way.

She and her husband have four children and are currently in the process of adopting a fifth child.  

When they first got married, however, they started trying right away to have children but were unable to get pregnant. They tried several rounds of IVF and had multiple miscarriages during the experience.  

Shelby spoke very openly about her struggle with infertility and what it was like interacting with other expecting parents during that time in her life. 

Simultaneously, they went through the adoption process. Shelby eventually went to Ethiopia to meet her baby daughter Tensae, which she describes as a "life-defining moment" when she finally became a mother.  

And as the universe would have it, she also found out around the same time that she was pregnant with her son Jack.  

She joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about her background as a tutor and actress, the adoption process and simultaneous struggle with infertility, eventually becoming a mother to multiple, beautiful children and developing an idea into a successful business. 

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Thank you to Shelby!   

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Actress Danielle Savre plays a firefighter in the new "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff called "Station 19."

She didn't have to look far to draw inspiration for the role as Maya Bishop.  Her real-life sister Stephanie is a firefighter in Los Angeles and is someone she really looks up to. 

To quote Danielle, "she's a badass."  

When filming for the show -- Danielle says she prefers to wear the full, heavy firefighter gear (to fully commit) and gets little nuggets of information for the role from her sister and the firefighters advising on set.

"I love racking their brains, and even stories that they didn't think would be important, for me as an actor, I'm like, 'No tell me these things!'"

Danielle joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about the new “Station 19” series premiering March 22, her upcoming movie "Deep Blue Sea 2" that was shot in South Africa, growing up in Simi Valley, her audition process and more.

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Thank you to Danielle Savre!  

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Ben Indeglia is a senior at New Roads School in Santa Monica and the captain of the school's robotics team. Three years ago, he and math teacher Danny Figueroa combined forces to bring robotics to young students in Compton, called the Compton Robotics Club.

The program started with about 20 kids in eight different schools and has grown to more than 200 students at 24 different schools.  

Essentially, they've helped start a robot revolution in Compton public schools. 

Ben and Danny joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about robotics, the kids they've gotten to work with, why robotics programs are important for schools and more. 

If you'd like to help the Compton Robotics Club by volunteering or making a donation, visit comptonroboticsclub.com or connect with them on Facebook.  

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Thank you to Ben and Danny! 

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Dr. Nikki Goldstein is a sexologist, podcaster and author. She’s on a mission to educate others about all things love, sex, relationships, dating -- as well as some of the taboo subjects that can come along with those topics.

She joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about everything from what is means to be “Single but Dating” in 2018, to her recent visit to an Orange County company making sex robots with artificial intelligence, to the porn industry and more. 

And what does it even mean to be a sexologist?  

She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, a Postgraduate Diploma in Counseling and a Doctorate of Human Sexuality from San Francisco's esteemed Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. 

After speaking with her, I feel like Dr. Nikki was born to be a sexologist! 

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Thank you to Dr. Nikki Goldstein!  

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