The ALL NEW Big Wakeup Call with Ryan Gatenby

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From September 23, 2020: Comedian, actor, SNL alum, Spinal Tap bassist and Simpsons legend Harry Shearer discusses his career and his new album, The Many Moods of Donald Trump.

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Award-winning author Ann E. Burg discusses her latest book Force of Nature: A Novel of Rachel Carson.

ANN E. BURG’s debut novel, All the Broken Pieces, was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Jefferson Cup award winner and an IRA Notable Book for a Global Society, among its many honors. All of her subsequent novels in verse have garnered multiple awards and starred reviews. Serafina's Promise was named an ALA Notable, a Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner, and an NAACP Image Award finalist. Unbound was the winner of the New-York Historical Society Children's History Book Prize, the Christopher Award, and an Arnold Adoff Poetry Honor. Flooded was a Bank Street College Claudia Lewis Award winner, a Bank Street College Best Children's Book (with outstanding merit), and a Junior Library Guild selection. Burg worked as an English teacher for ten years before becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Rhinebeck, New York, with her family. Visit her online at annburg.com.

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Best-selling author Steve Berry discusses his latest Cotton Malone novel, THE ATLAS MANEUVER.


 Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of eighteen Cotton Malone novels, five stand-alone thrillers, two Luke Daniels adventures, and several works of short fiction. He has over twenty-six million books in print, translated into forty-one languages. With his wife, Elizabeth, he is the founder of History Matters, an organization dedicated to historical preservation. He serves as an emeritus member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board and was a founding member of International Thriller Writers, formerly serving as its president. https://www.facebook.com/SteveBerryWriter/ or https://steveberry.org/

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Worldwide #1 best-selling author and friend of the show Mark Greaney talks about his latest Gray Man novel, THE CHAOS AGENT.

In THE CHAOS AGENT, someone is killing the world’s leading experts on robotics and artificial intelligence. Is it a tech company trying to eliminate the competition or is it something even more sinister? It’s an irresistible lure for most, but not for the Gray Man. His quest for a quiet life has led him to Central America where he and his lover, Zoya Zakharova, have assumed new identities. With a list of enemies that includes billionaires, terrorists, and governments, they need to keep a low profile, but the world’s deadliest assassin can’t expect to hide out forever. When flight’s no longer possible, fight is the only option left, and no one fights dirtier than the Gray Man.

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Ryan talks with #1 bestselling author Tiffany Jewell about her latest book, EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT RACISM I LEARNED IN SCHOOL.

TIFFANY JEWELL is the Black biracial #1 New York Times bestselling and #1 Indie bestselling author of This Book Is Anti-Racist and The Antiracist Kid. She is a twin sister, first-generation American, cisgender mama, and anti-bias antiracist (ABAR) educator who has been working with children and families for two decades. She lives on the homeland of the Pocumtuc and the Nipmuck with her two young storytellers, husband, a turtle she’s had since she was nine years old, and a small dog with a big personality.

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From May 9, 2018: Rock journalist Steven Hyden called in to discuss his new book Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock. We discussed the Classic Rock upbringing of Gen X'ers, why Lennon-McCartney will be discussed like Mozart, and 90s bands becoming the new classic rock. Plus: we share our love of Styx: Behind the Music.

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March is National Ladder Safety Month, and in this special public service episode, Ryan Moss, President of American Ladder Institute discusses important safety tips for DIYers and home renovators.

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From May 9, 2018: Music legend Michael Bolton called in to talk about a special documentary film, Michael Bolton Presents American Dream: Detroit.  We discussed his love of the Motown sound, why other great music coming from Detroit should not be overlooked, and the cultural importance of a city on the rebound.

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From March 17, 2017: Comedian Todd Barry chats about his book Thank You For Coming to Hattiesburg.

From the veteran comedian and actor from The Wrestler and Louie comes a hilarious book of travel essays from his time on tour through secondary markets in the US, Canada, and Israel.

Hello. It’s Todd Barry. Yes, the massively famous comedian. I have billions of fans all over the world, so I do my fair share of touring. While I love doing shows in the big cities (New York, Philadelphia), I also enjoy a good secondary market (Ithaca, Bethlehem). Performing in these smaller places can be great because not all entertainers stop there on tour; they don’t expect to see you. They’re appreciative. They say things like “Thank you for coming to Hattiesburg” as much as they say “Nice show.” And almost every town has their version of a hipster coffee shop, so I can get in my comfort zone.

My original plan was to book one secondary market show in all fifty states, in about a year, but that idea was funnier than anything in my act. So, instead of all fifty states in a year, my agent booked multiple shows in a lot of states, plus Israel and Canada.

Thank You For Coming to Hattiesburg is part tour diary, part travel guide, and part memoir (Yes, memoir. Just like the thing presidents and former child stars get to write). Follow me on my journey of small clubs, and the occasional big amphitheater. Watch me make a promoter clean the dressing room toilet in Connecticut, see me stare at beached turtles in Maui, and see how I react when Lars from Metallica shows up to see me at a rec center in Northern California.

I’d love to tell you more, but I need to go book a flight to Evansville, Indiana

ABOUT TODD BARRY

Todd Barry is a stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He’s had three Comedy Central specials, and his fourth, The Crowd Work Tour, (produced by Louis CK) is currently on Netflix. Acting credits include Louie, The Larry Sanders Show, Flight of the Conchords, and as Mickey Rourke’s mean boss in The Wrestler. He has released four comedy albums including Medium Energy, named one of the best comedy albums of the decade by The Onion’s AV Club. Find more from Todd on his Facebook page: Facebook.com/ToddBarryFanPage, follow him on Twitter @ToddBarry, and check out ToddBarry.com.

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From June 28, 2018: TV legend Marc Summers called in to talk about the reboot of Double Dare! We discussed the legacy of the original show, why aging Gen-Xers like me continue to have such a fondness for show (and how many of us now have kids old enough to be contestants), and how he became a part of the 2018 edition.