Kristin Hannah is among the most successful American novelists working today. Her books focus on unsung heroines throughout history. Her new novel, The Women, focuses on Army Nurses during the Vietnam War. The pageturner is at once an intimate portrait of a young woman coming of age in a hellish war zone and an epic tale of an American divided during an unpopular war. Hannah talks about the process of writing the book, what she's learned about storytelling as the author of over 20 novels, and how she deals with the fear of failure.

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Jana Monroe was the first female agent to join the agency's famed Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) to help understand who criminals are, how they think, why they do what they do. She even trained Jodie Foster for her role as Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. Monroe has a new book out called Hearts of Darkness that chronicles her extraordinary career profiling such abhorrent serial killers as Jeffrey Dahmer and Edmund Kemper. On the show, Monroe talks about why she became a serial killer profiler, how she managed to be in such close contact with pure evil, and what she learned about herself and humanity on the job.

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Denise Hutchins and Aaron Quinn are the subject of the current top-rated show on Netflix called 'American Nightmare.' The couple's harrowing kidnapping experience and the police's baffling response calls into question how the authorities, the press, and local government handled what became known as the real-life "Gone Girl" case. On this episode, Jon revisits his conversation with the couple, who also have a book on their story called 'Victim F. '

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What if I told you that we spend most of our day on auto-pilot? Our brains are using half their potential and generally just respond to crisis after crisis. As a result we are not actively protecting and regulating our brain's energy to be happier and more productive. That is the thesis behind the work of guest Deb Smolensky who is a "brain trainer" and author of the book Brain On! Mental Fitness Strategies for Sharpening Focus, Boosting Emerging, and Winning the Workday. Deb combines science and anecdotal evidence from her coaching business to help people upgrade their brain power. We discuss various techniques for getting out of the caveman-ish fight-or-flight mode and allowing your "thinking brain" to rule the day.

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Time is the great equalizer. Everyone of us only has 24 hours each day to get things done. How we use that time constructively separates the productive from the procratinators. Guest Laura Vanderkam is a time management expert and the author of six books on the topic, including her latest, Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. In this episode, she offers smart strategies for getting stuff done more efficiently while also enjoying your life.

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Jennifer McAdam is a Scottish coal miner's daughter who lost her life's savings to a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency scam called OneCoin. She even convinced many of her friends to invest before she realized it was all a big lie. But rather than wither away in shame, McAdam fought back, creating an online Victims' Support Group and taking legal action. Her incredible story is captured in her new book Devil's Coin: My Battle to Take Down the Notorious OneCoin Cryptoqueen. I interviewed Jennifer on my other podcast "Dirty Money" with my fearless co-host Dan Bova. If you like what you hear, please follow the show for more juicy tales of financial true crime.

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Connell Barrett is a modern-day 'Hitch,' a dating coach who helps lovelorn men approach women, be more confident, and attract a great partner. In his new book Dating Sucks, but You Don't, he offers tips and insights that have "helped thousands of single men date amazing women." We talk about navigating dating in the #Metoo, Tinder world, the best ways to flirt and pay someone a compliment, getting over approach anxiety, and so much more.

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Guest Lisa Cron is a story coach and author of Wired for Story, Story Genius, and Story or Die. Cron combines her wisdom of working with writers in the publishing and TV business with her fascination in the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience. She says that all humans are hardwired for story; we think in story. When writers tap into this, it triggers a dopamine rush that tells us to pay attention. The problem is too many writers don't know what makes a good story. They're stuck more in "writing well" than in writing in a way that triggers the brain to want more. In this interview, she untaps the the hidden source of great storytelling, with practical tips on how to apply it to your own work.

Guest Kristal Brent Cook is a journalism professor at Hofstra and author of a new memoir called The Girl in the Yellow Poncho. Growing up in the 80s as a bi-racial child, Zook was raised by Black women after she was abandoned by her white father when she was a baby. The memoir explores Kristal's journey to find her true identity and ultimately track down her alcoholic father, whom she'd never met. It's a moving story, beautifully told, about forgiveness, healing, and finding your authentic identity. There's even a surprise cameo by Slash of Guns and Roses.

The Talking Heads are talking again. Forty years after the release of their classic concert film "Stop Making Sense," the movie and the band are back on the big stage—same as it ever was, or maybe even better. A remastered, 4k version of the movie was released in September, and the band is back on tour burning down the house. On this episode, host Jon Small revisits his interview with the band's co-founder and drummer, Chris Frantz, who wrote a memoir about his once-in-a lifetime experience with the band in 2020. Frantz didn't have the nicest things to say about the band's lead singer David Byrne, but apparently they're back on talking terms — and that's great news because they're one of the best bands of the 1980s.