The Big Wakeup Call

Best-selling author Kerri Maher visited the show to discuss her new book "The Girl in White Gloves," a historical fiction novel about Grace Kelly.

Always fun catching up with Mark Greaney, who returned to the show for a third consecutive February to talk about his latest novel in the Gray Man series, "One Minute Out."

The great Huey Lewis called in to discuss his current battle with hearing loss and promote the brand new Huey Lewis and the News album "Weather."  After getting my geeky fan boy moment out of the way, we had a good discussion about songwriting, his adjustments to hearing loss, and the possibility of future live performances.

In this week's visit from the World News Center, Bill McCormick and Ryan Gatenby discuss the history and historical myths surrounding Valentine's Day.  Topics:  How martyrdom led to a celebration of romantic love, how a Hershey's in Japan puts you firmly in the friend zone, and a lighthearted look at celebrations of Valentine's Day around the world.  Plus: a Chaucer diversion, Ryan is arrested for playing Cupid, and Japanese lingerie shops.

Andrew Zimmern visited the show for a third time, and on this visit we discussed his new MSNBC series "What's Eating America," a travel show that connects the links between food and politics.

Mark Altman returned to the show for a chat about his new book "Nobody Does It Better: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of James Bond."  We discussed our favorite and least favorite Bond films and theme songs, and speculated on future portrayals of 007.

Edward J. Larson called in to chat about his new book "Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership.

On this week's episode, Bill McCormick and Ryan Gatenby begin with the latest coronavirus developments.  People are pretty nervous about it, so maybe playing coronavirus pranks in the name of social media fame might not be an awesome idea. Next is a discussion of a story on how yarn made from human skin could soon be stitching up wounds.  Plus: How to smoke 340 cigarettes a day, trying to cure the flu with sock potatoes, and Ryan becomes a J. Crew model.

Jake Brennan, host of the popular "Disgraceland" podcast, returned to the show to talk about his new podcast series "27 Club," featuring members of rock community who died at age 27. Series 1 will focus on Jimi Hendrix.  We discussed the other members of the club (including why Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones is usually overlooked), music rights for podcasts, and cool potential 27 Club merch.  Plus: a special shoutout to Chelsea Ursin of the "Dear Young Rocker" podcast, of which Jake is an executive producer.

Stand-up comedian Dan Crohn called in to talk about his appearance on a new compilation comedy album, "Valentine's Day is for Suckers."  Dan also has a solo comedy album called "It's Enough Already." We discussed whether or not a comedy show is good for a first date, dealing with second show Friday, the Boston and Chicago comedy scenes, and how teaching 4th graders has provided him with almost endless material.