On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by quintessential music maker and founding member of The Four Seasons, Bob Gaudio. Bob’s career in music started at a young age. At the age of 15, he co-wrote his first hit, "Who Wears Short Shorts," for a group he started, The Royal Teens. His song, "Sherry," in the early '60s, launched The Four Seasons’ incredible string of hits. At the time, he also began a productive and creative relationship with Bob Crewe, a teaming that produced an amazing run of hits for The Four Seasons, including "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Rag Doll," "Walk Like a Man," "Bye Bye Baby," "Silence Is Golden," and in 1967, Frankie Valli's classic, "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." Gaudio also produced and co-wrote with his wife, Judy Parker, "Who Loves You," for The Four Seasons and Billboard Magazine's longest-charting single (54 weeks), "December '63 (Oh, What a Night)." Bob has collaborated with Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra, and has produced albums for Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack, Barry Manilow, Peabo Bryson and The Beach Boys, to cite just a few. This is a conversation about Bob's greatest hits- the songs we will be tuning up this summer! 

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On today’s episode of You Are What You Read we are doing a deep dive into the life of Audrey Hepburn with Hollywood historian Tom Santopietro. In his work, Tom has studied the greats. His titles include The Sound of Music Story, The Importance of Being Barbra, Sinatra in Hollywood, The Godfather Effect, Why To Kill A Mockingbird Matters, the New York Times Editor’s Choice Considering Doris Day, The Way We Were: The Making of a Romantic Classic, and now he is bringing us a definitive tribute to the glamor and character of a beloved icon, Audrey Hepburn. In Audrey Hepburn: A Life of Uncertainty, Tom shares rarely published details, photographs and stories about that will amaze you.

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On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by Susan Morrison, author of the all-new biography, LORNE: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live. Susan Morrison is the articles editor of The New Yorker, former editor in chief of the New York Observer, and an original editor of SPY magazine. In her latest work, she studies Lorne Michaels and his fifty-year helm as creator and producer of Saturday Night Live.

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Just in time for Mother’s Day, we are celebrating two, very special mothers this week…educator, mother (of 8), grandmother (of 13) and dear friend, Barbara Forste, and her daughter, award-winning actress, producer and publisher, Sarah Jessica Parker. Barbara Forste is a lifelong supporter of the arts and of literacy and education. She worked in market research for Procter & Gamble, as a second grade teacher, and as a child-wrangler at the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera and the American Ballet Theater. She is a co-founder and director of The Children’s Circle, a national association for the education of young children. Her very busy daughter, Sarah Jessica Parker, has worked in theater since 1976 from the title role in Annie, to most recently with her husband, Matthew Broderick, in the revival of Neil Simon‘s comedy play, Plaza Suite. From theater to television and film, Sarah Jessica is known most widely for her portrayal of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City and its sequel, And Just Like That; as well as the films based on the show, Sex and the City, and Sex and the City 2. Sarah Jessica is the publisher of SJP Lit, her own imprint in partnership with Zando Books. She recently executive produced the documentary, The Librarians, a film highlighting librarians across the country who have been fighting against book bans. It will be available for streaming soon. 

Adelphi University hosted us at their annual Writers & Readers Festival this year where we were delighted to hold this conversation in front of a live audience of students, teachers, readers and writers. The Writers & Readers Festival was founded by Adelphi alumna and bestselling novelist Alice Hoffman. This is a conversation about how mothers can pass down their love of reading to change their children’s lives and ours. 

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You’re in our kitchen! On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by two cookbook authors, television personalities, and beloved chefs, Rachael Ray and Anna Francese Gass. You know and love Rachael Ray from her Emmy-award winning daytime talk show, Rachael Ray, for 17 seasons, from her incredibly popular Food Network series 30 Minute Meals, and also from Rachael Ray’s Italian Dream Home. Rachael joins us today with Anna Francese Gass, host of the all-new Hulu cooking show, Instant Italian. Anna is also the author of bestselling cookbooks, Heirloom Kitchen, and Italian Snacking, which we discuss in this conversation.

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Earlier this week on You Are What You Read, we had a conversation with Liz Moore, author of GOD OF THE WOODS and LONG BRIGHT RIVER, which is now a television series starring Amanda Seyfried. Liz Moore adapted the novel with writer/producer/director Nikki Toscano, who joins us on the podcast today. Nikki has brought us unique and thrilling television in her career: Paramount+’s THE OFFER, Amazon’s conspiracy drama thriller, HUNTERS, and now Peacock's LONG BRIGHT RIVER. Nikki teamed up with Liz Moore to give readers and viewers a gripping suspense thriller that follows Mickey (Amanda Seyfried), a police officer in a Philadelphia neighborhood hit hard by the opioid epidemic. As a string of murders unfolds, Mickey begins to uncover disturbing connections between her past and the case.

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On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by Liz Moore. Liz is the author of the latest thriller sweeping the globe, God of the Woods. God of the Woods was voted Book of the Month Club’s Book of the Year and has received praise from The New York Times, People Magazine, NPR, and TIME Magazine to name a few. Liz is also the author of the bestselling novel, Long Bright River, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, one of Barack Obama’s favorite books, and now the hit Peacock television series starring Amanda Seyfried. Later this week, we will have a conversation with producer of Long Bright River, Nikki Toscano, who co-wrote the series with Liz. 

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On this Holy Saturday edition of You Are What You Read, we are bringing back a conversation fitting for this time of year. Father James Martin is a Jesuit priest, writer, author and editor-at-large of America magazine who joined us recently for a conversation about eternal life. We were so moved, and so were all of you, by Father James’ wisdom and counsel about living with more empathy, curiosity and faith. Please feel free to share this with a friend who needs to hear it. As the Lenten season comes to a close we wanted to reflect on this episode of You Are What You Read once more.

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On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by Elizabeth Hanks, also known as E.A. Hanks, with her memoir, The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. The daughter of Tom Hanks, Elizabeth writes a beautiful, deeply felt memoir about her family and her late mother, Susan Dillingham. Elizabeth recounts her solo, cross-country journey across the American southwest on a mission to discover who she is—where her mother ends and she begins. Formerly a staffer at Vanity Fair, Elizabeth has contributed to Time, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. The 10 is available today wherever books are sold. 

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On this episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by author, playwright and screenwriter Paul Rudnick. Paul is the author of seven books, including Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style and most recently, What is Wrong With You? His plays have been produced on and off Broadway and include Jeffrey, I Hate Hamlet, Regrets Only, and The New Century. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Esquire, and more. You know and love his screenplays, Addams Family Values, Coastal Elites, In & Out, Sister Act, and the film adaptation of Jeffrey.

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