The ALL NEW Big Wakeup Call with Ryan Gatenby

Send us Fan Mail

Comedy Bang Bang!'s Scott Aukerman holds the title of the favoritest of our all-time favorite guests!  In his record-breaking 19th appearance on the show, Scott and I discussed the highlights of the 2022 Comedy Bang Bang Oh No! world tour, memories of the Backyard Era, and his plans for 2023.  Plus: CBB-TV DVDs, searching for MC Hammer, and updates on "Comedy Bang! Bang! The Podcast: The Book!"

If you would prefer reading the interview instead of listening, please check out the transcript!

Send us Fan Mail

We're making this a holiday tradition every year as we enjoy Dylan Brody's humorous, poignant, and inspiring reading of his original piece "A Child's Christmas In Brief."  

Send us Fan Mail

Meena Harris is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ambitious Girl, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, and the founder of Phenomenal, a values-driven, 360-degree media company that centers women and historically excluded communities. She currently resides in the Bay Area with her husband and two daughters.  Meena called in to talk about her charming new book (given 1 million stars by my daughter), The Truth About Mrs. Claus.

Send us Fan Mail

It's special episode to help you with your holiday cooking, baking, and shopping!

First, we discuss holiday recipes with Food writer and cookbook author Melissa Clark. Melissa is staff reporter for The New York Times Food section, where she writes the popular column “A Good Appetite” and has appeared in over 100 cooking videos. She is the author of The New York Times bestsellers Dinner in French and Dinner in One, as well as Dinner, Dinner in an Instant, Comfort in an Instant, and Kid in the Kitchen. The winner of multiple James Beard and IACP awards, Melissa earned an MFA in writing from Columbia, and her work has been selected for The Best American Food Writing. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter. 

Then I visit with Andrew Testa, who shares some great goodies and gadgets are popular this season.  Andrew is a technology expert for Verizon.

Send us Fan Mail

Samantha Cole is a senior editor for Motherboard, Vice Media's science and technology outlet, where she covers sexuality, online culture, platforms, and the adult industry. Born on Maryland’s eastern shore, Sam’s decade in journalism spans from hyper-local newspapers to national and international outlets including Popular Science, Fast Company, and Al Jazeera. In 2020, she was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for best digital news coverage. In her spare time, Sam can be found biking around Brooklyn, stress-baking, and spelunking into internet subcultures.  Samantha talked about her new book How Sex Changed the Internet and the Internet Changed Sex: An Unexpected History. Learn more about Sam on her website: https://samleecole.com.

Dossé-Via Trenou is a West African astrologer who has been studying the field since she was 10 years old. In a quest to know herself better, she explored her own birth chart, as well as those of her friends and family, and astrology became her passion. In July 2011, when Dossé-Via was a sophomore at the University of Southern California, she created her Twitter page @ScorpioMystique, where she shared knowledge about her zodiac sign. She has since attracted hundreds of thousands of loyal readers on her social media accounts. Dossé-Via now shares astrological knowledge with all 12 zodiac signs via her platform and app, KnowTheZodiac.  We discussed her book Signs and Skymates: The Ultimate Guide to Astrological Compatability.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode we discuss National Family Caregiver's Month and how the Parkinson's Foundation recognizes this important month and shares valuable information  for those with Parkinson's and also their caregivers.

I'm joined by John Lehr, President and CEO for the Parkinson’s Foundation, along with Veera Rastogi, Parkinson’s care partner and serves on the Parkinson’s Foundation People with Parkinson’s Advisory Council.

Please visit www.parkinson.org for more information.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode:

Shannon Messenger graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she learned—among other things—that she liked watching movies much better than making them. She’s studied art, screenwriting, and film production, but she realized her real passion was writing stories for children. She’s the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the award-winning middle grade series, Keeper of the Lost Cities, as well as the Sky Fall series for young adults. Her books have been featured on multiple state reading lists, published in numerous countries, and translated into many different languages. She lives in Southern California with her family—and an embarrassing number of cats.  We talked about her new book "Keeper of the Lost Cities: Stellarlune."

Rebecca Sheir is the author of the Circle Round books, and the host, writer, and producer of the Circle Round storytelling podcast. Sheir has also brought thousands of stories to life as a news reporter on public-radio shows like Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Here & Now, The Splendid Table, and Marketplace. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and son. The Latest From Storey Publishing The award-winning Circle Round storytelling podcast for modern kids shares some of their most popular folktales in the new Circle Round picture book series. Each interactive book is colorfully illustrated by an artist from where the folktale originates and is accompanied by storytelling prompts and activities. Her new book is "Circle Round: The Great Ball Game."

During more than three decades as an editor, writer, photographer, and speaker, Joe Yogerst has lived and worked in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. His writing has appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, CNN Travel, Islands magazine, International New York Times (Paris), Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and National Geographic Traveler. He has contributed to more than 40 National Geographic books, including the best-selling 50 States, 5,000 Ideas; the 2021 Lowell Thomas Award-winning 100 Drives, 5,000 Ideas; and 100 Parks, 5,000 Ideas. His first U.S. novel, a murder-mystery titled Nemesis, was published in 2018. His first children’s book, National Parks: Where the Wild Things Are! was recently published by Basher/Kingfisher in London.  We discussed his newest book "100 Cities, 5000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to do."

Send us Fan Mail

On this episode:
Michael Mehta Webster is an expert in ecology, conservation, philanthropy, and non-profit management. His research interests focus on how organisms and ecosystems adapt to environmental change, how this information can be translated into effective conservation strategies, and the practical and ethical dilemmas that arise along the way.  We discussed his new book "The Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Earth."

Andrew Fazekas, also known as the "Night Sky Guy" is a science writer, speaker and broadcaster who shares his passion for the wonders of the universe through all media. He writes the popular online stargazing columns for National Geographic and is the author of the bestselling book Backyard Guide to the Night Sky. Fazekas is a syndicated correspondent for television and radio broadcast networks, the communications manager for Astronomers Without Borders and an active sky-watching member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada since 1983. Co-creator of the world’s first open-air, augmented-reality planetarium experience in Canada, Fazekas brings  stars down to Earth in his weekly skywatching livestream shows. He has never met a clear night sky he didn’t like.  Andrew and I had a chat about his new book "National Geographic Stargazer's Atlas: The Ultimate Guide to the Night Sky."

Allyson Johnson is a senior editor for National Geographic books, where she publishes travel, photography, cookbooks, and illustrated reference titles, including the New York Times bestselling Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner; the top-selling 5,000 Ideas series by Joe Yogerst; NATJA award-winning 100 Dives of a Lifetime by Carrie Miller; best-selling What to Eat When by Drs. Michael Roizen and Michael Crupain; and the upcoming National Geographic The 21st Century. Previously she worked as a lifestyle editor at Every Day Rachael Ray magazine where she covered food, travel, and DIY. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband and two children.  Allyson talked about her latest book from National Geographic, "National Geographic Complete National Parks of the United States, 3rd Edition:  400+ Parks, Monuments, Battlefields, Historic Sites, Scenic Trails, Recreation Areas, and Seashores."

Send us Fan Mail

On this episode we once again open The Big Wakeup Call Vault (TM) and listen to some of my Halloween-related interviews!

First, from  9/27/21: Cassandra Peterson AKA Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, made her second visit to the show when she called in to discuss her memoir "Yours Cruelly, Elvira."

From 10/30/2014: Tyler Mane, who donned the mask of Michael Myers in "Halloween" and "H2," talked about his movie "Compound Fracture."

From 1/29/2018: Kane Hodder, who played Jason in the "Friday the 13th" series, chatted about his movie "Victor Crowley."

From 10/20/2021: Deborah Vorhees, actress from the "Friday the 13th" series, talked about her new movie and directorial debut, "13 Fanboy."

From 10/27/2017: "Count" Dominick Dicce discussed his book "You're a Vampire - That Sucks!"

And from 10/20/2015: We revisit Elvira's first appearance on the show, talking about her stint as a guest judge on Food Network's "Halloween Wars."

Happy Halloween!

Send us Fan Mail

National First Responder’s Day is recognized each October 28th to honor brave paramedics, firefighters, emergency technicians, and others who put their lives on the line to keep people safe. During disasters, like the the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, first responders must work fast in the search and recovery phase, even when extreme weather takes out much of an area’s traditional infrastructure.

Maggie Hallbach, President of Verizon Frontline, will discussed how new 5G technology is improving communication during disasters.  She also shared details from an exclusive survey of first responders about the role technology plays in everyday public safety and response to major emergencies.