The ALL NEW Big Wakeup Call with Ryan Gatenby

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We go deep into the archives to 2012 for a chat with comedian, actor, and "Bob's Burger's" star Eugene Mirman.

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Jenny Boyd, model, actress, sister-in-law to George Harrison & Eric Clapton and wife of Mick Fleetwood (twice), discusses her memoir Jennifer Juniper.

(From 4-2-20)

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Baseball legend Dave Winfield discusses his Hall-of-Fame career as one of the few people to be drafted in three major sports.  (From 5-23-17)

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Chicago's very own Josh Johnson returned to the show for a chat about his first one-hour Comedy Central special, Trevor Noah Presents Josh Johnson.
(From 6-15-21)

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We're back from our Summer break and happy to once again have consumer expert Alanna Shipley for DoorDash to share some fun and helpful travel tips.

About Alanna: Alanna Shipley is the Head of Audience Insights and Consumer Insights Expert at DoorDash, where she is responsible for establishing, defining, and growing the Marketing Insights function. Alanna discovered her appreciation for insights (or as she calls it, “the psychology of business”) early on in her career and has been building on her research expertise since 2005 through work across a variety of categories and industries, including P&G and Levi Strauss & Co. Alanna is also passionate about using her skillset to inform brands’ social responsibility and workplace diversity efforts, and was the co-founder of LS&Co’s Black ERG (Project Onyx); a group that influenced many changes by using research to challenge the norms and shed light on opportunities for the organization and its leaders.  She is a midwest born (Cincinnati, OH), California hearted (because she strongly dislikes winter), nomad traveler (because she loves experiencing different cultures), who is also an extreme extrovert (ENFP Myers Briggs) that would love to be a talk show host if insights didn’t work out (which is why she self identifies herself as “Corporate Oprah”).

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Bestselling author Dan Gutman joins the show to discuss the 20th anniversary of the "My Weird School" series and the 100th "My Weird School" book Miss Nichol Is in a Pickle! 

Dan Gutman is the New York Times bestselling author of 185 books for young readers, including the "My Weird School" series, the "Baseball Card Adventure" series, and the "Genius Files." Dan’s books have received nineteen state book awards and ninety-two state book award nominations. Called “an expert at merging humor with history” by School Library Journal, Dan’s books now span many subjects, including history, sports, science, and humor.

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Scott Aukerman first appeared on The Big Wakeup Call back in 2014 to discuss the season one DVD of the Comedy Bang! Bang! TV show. Here on his 20th appearance, we discuss the origin of the TV show and what could have been a spinoff, the 15th anniversary of the podcast, the CBB action figures, CBB book, and the Bang! Bang! Into Your Mouth Tour that will visit the Chicago Theater on August 3rd.

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Jennifer Donnelly discusses her newest book Beastly Beauty.

Jennifer Donnelly is the author of A Northern Light, which was awarded a Printz Honor and a Carnegie Medal; Revolution, named a Best Book by Amazon, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and the Chicago Public Library; and many other books for young readers, including Lost in a Book, which spent over 20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. She lives in New York's Hudson Valley. 

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Singer-songwriter and "The Voice" alum (Team Blake) Gina Zo called in to talk about her time on the show, what she experienced in the music industry following her appearance, and a story of self-empowerment that led to her embracing her personal truth.

Gina's band Velvet Rouge has a new single coming out soon - check them out on Bandcamp and Spotify!

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From May 17, 2018: Kate Walsh called in to chat about season 2 of her critically-acclaimed series "13 Reasons Why," which returns to Netflix on Friday. Kate revealed all spoilers for the newseason (which unfortunately could not be included on the podcast version for legal reasons -- sorry!), gave us an update on her health (following surgery to remove a thankfully benign brain tumor) and talked about the joys and challenges of turning 50.