Archives: Episodes

Ms. Esther Zuckerman – Author – Journalist – Film Lover

bacon-bits

I LOVE a good rom-com.  In fact, most of the time I will pick a movie I've seen countless times before because I can 'watch' it while doing other things.  However, now that this book has hit the shelves, I may have to start from the very beginning, set myself down with a bowl of popcorn (and a box of kleenex since I'm such an easy crier) and watch some NEW movies.

ABOUT the book, "FALLING IN LOVE AT THE MOVIES"

Prepare to swoon, ugly cry, laugh, and fall in love with this officially licensed exploration of the impact and legacy of one of film's most beloved genres from Turner Classic Movies: the rom-com.

Romantic comedies have had an incredible influence on popular culture, shaping everything from how we think of relationships to fashion. Often swept aside in film history, these movies are thought of as pure comfort viewing. Although they certainly provide those fuzzy feelings, they have also had a significant artistic influence and cultural impact. Spanning decades of romantic comedies-from movies of the 1930s such as It Happened One Night and the rom com craze of the 80s and 90s including When Harry Met Sally.all the way to contemporary hits like Crazy Rich Asians, and everything in between-Falling in Love at the Movies will make you fall in love (all over again) with romantic comedies.

Esther Zuckerman accomplished entertainment journalist and member of the New York Film Critic's Circle-takes readers on a journey through the rom-com. She examines the psychological aspects that make us so drawn to these types of films, diving deep into the key auteurs-from Preston Sturges to James L. Brooks to Nora Ephron and beyond-who both created and subverted the canon. These directors, actors, and writers shaped the genre, establishing and also busting traditional pillars and tenets of these movies such as the "Perfect Pair" or "The Man in Crisis" and "The High Maintenance Woman." Featuring full-color images from the films throughout, along the way Zuckerman takes detours, explores iconic lines of dialogue (Who could forget Julia Roberts' "I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her" iconic moment from Notting Hill) to memorable scenes (the magical moments at the Empire State Building in An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle) and weaves in interviews of artists and romantic comedy fanatics in the industry.

Looking beyond the traditional rom-com, Zuckerman digs into the nooks and crannies, the films that buck the trend of "happily ever after," the ones that think beyond heteronormative narratives, and the indies that kept the rom-com alive outside of the studio system, to offer a more comprehensive story of the rom-com than has ever been seen before-and one that you're bound to love. How's that for a happy ending?

ESTHER ZUCKERMAN BIO

Esther Zuckerman is an entertainment journalist whose work has appeared in publications like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, GQ, Hollywood Reporter and many more. She is the author of Beyond the Best Dressed and A Field Guide to Internet Boyfriends. Esther lives and writes in New York City.

 

 

Ms. Annie Zaleski – Author – Love Song Lover

bacon-bits

Love songs have always been a thing for me.  I love them...but half the time they made me cry because I had no 'use' for them.  Now that I have been squarely shot between the eyes with cupids bow...I LOVE the love songs...and they STILL make me cry...but for different reasons all together.  Talking to Annie was fun...and I think you'll be able to hear that in this interviews.  Let's love love!

ABOUT her book, "WE FOUND LOVE SONG BY SONG"

Love songs are for everybody and so is this book. In We Found Love Song by Song, award-winning author and music journalist Annie Zaleski delivers a beautifully illustrated keepsake that tells the fascinating history and behind-the-scenes stories of the 100 most popular and cherished love songs of all time.

Pop the champagne, get the roses ready, and settle down in your favorite armchair. Love is universal to the human experience and love songs bring us joy and remind us of happy moments from our life. We all want it and we all crave it but it's not always easy to find. In this beautifully illustrated volume, We Found Love Song by Song tells the fascinating history and behind-the-scenes stories of the 100 most popular and cherished love songs of all time and their everlasting impact. From artists such as Fred Astaire and Nat King Cole all the way up to Whitney Houston and Harry Styles, this all-encompassing collection of love songs is sure to ignite the flame and inspire a new favorite playlist.

What moving song did Paul McCartney pen as a love letter to his wife and record in one day? What iconic tune about cheating and piña coladas ends with a relationship being saved? What popular ballad was written from the perspective of Juliet and led to hundreds of in-concert proposals? Spanning musical genres and decades of classics and modern hits, featured songs include:

Etta James, "At Last"

Elvis Presley, "Can't Help Falling in Love"

Sonny and Cher, "I Got You Babe"

Queen, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"

Foreigner, "I Want to Know What Love Is"

Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

Tina Turner, "The Best"

Elton John, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"

Shania Twain, "You're Still the One"

Rihanna, "We Found Love"

John Legend, "All of Me"

Taylor Swift, "Love Story"

And many more!

ABOUT ANNIE ZALESKI

Annie Zaleski is an award-winning writer and editor who's contributed to NPR Music, Salon, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. She's also the author of multiple books, including an extensive look at Duran Duran's Rio for Bloomsbury's prestigious 33 1/3 series, and biographies of pop stars Lady Gaga and P!nk. She interviewed Cher ahead of her 2016 Las Vegas residency and praised the icon in a career-spanning 2021 Salon piece.

 

Ms. Shanti Lowry – Pussycat Doll – Actress – Dancer

bacon-bits

I've been a fan of Shanti for some time.  Besides singing at the top of my lungs to the Pussycat Dolls, I also love her work in TV.  Specifically, "The Closer", which is one of my all time favorite shows ever!  Charming, sweet and down to earth...talking to Shanti absolutly made my morning!

Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, Emmy nominated actress, producer, dancer, and singer Shanti Lowry seemed destined for the spotlight. Despite escaping a childhood of poverty and abuse, she chose to visualize a greater life for herself and found solace in pretending to be other people.

Her first shot at performing came around at the age of 10, when she auditioned and booked a role in a play after seeing a casting call in the local paper. Six years later Shanti took part in a dance competition in Boulder that saw her win the grand prize of a dance agent in Los Angeles. Seeing it as fate, she packed her bags and moved west to pursue her dream. It didn't take long for her to find success, booking the Earth, Wind and Fire international tour at the age of 17 and Chaka Khan's regional tour (choreographed by Debbie Allen) just a year later.

After booking various music videos with hit artists (N*SYNC, Diddy, and Puff Daddy), and even being one of the original members of The Pussycat Dolls, Shanti decided to take her talents to the screen and begin her journey as an actress. She found success with roles in shows such as NYPD Blue, Girlfriends, The Closer, Don't Trust the B-in Apartment 23, The Game, School of Rock, Murder in the First, Uncle Buck, Kingdom, Code Black, Bronx SIU (Emmy nominated for the role of Yolanda), and several others.

Shanti's latest work is a leading role in the upcoming feature film PERSONA, a thriller about two women trapped in a house who must work together in order to escape. The project is particularly unique as it was comprised of 75% BIPOC, and 50% women for its cast and crew. Apart from starring in the film, Shanti also served as an executive producer, spearheaded casting, assisted with costume design, and worked closely with the writer find emotional layers to create complex female characters. Shanti also did the final cut of the script and served as prep and post director.

When not starring on the screen, Shanti enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband, staying in shape with CrossFit, participating in contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, or heels dance classes, and practicing self-care. She's also an avid supporter of The Dove Project, Women for Women International, and Amnesty International.

ABOUT PERSONA

A woman wakes up locked in a house, injured with no memory. She's terrified and a little relieved to find a woman bound in another room. These 2 strangers must work together to figure out what's really going on before the door is unlocked.

 

Here's the trailer: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnC4zZOUlpI

 

Mr. T.J. English – Author – Truest of Crime

bacon-bits

Getting to chat with T.J. is always a treat.  This book, "The Last Kilo" is a first hand account, from one Willy Falcon himself, that T.J. has masterfully put together in book form.

ABOUT THE LAST KILO

Despite what Scarface might lead one to believe, violence was not the dominant characteristic of the cocaine business. It was corruption: the dirty cops, agents, lawyers, judges, and politicians who made the drug world go round. And no one managed that carousel of dangerous players better than Willy Falcon.

A Cuban exile whose family escaped Fidel Castro's Cuba when he was eleven years old, Falcon, as a teenager, became active in the anti-Castro movement. He began smuggling cocaine into the U.S. as a way to raise money to buy arms for the Contras in Central America. This counter-revolutionary activity led directly to Willy's genesis as a narco. He and his partners built an extraordinary international organization from the ground up. Los Muchachos, the syndicate founded by Falcon, thrived as a major cocaine distribution network in the U.S. from the late 1970's into the early 1990's. At their height, Los Muchachos made more than a hundred million dollars a year. At the same time, Willy, his brother Tavy Falcon, and partner Sal Magluta became famous as championship powerboat racers.

Cocaine, used by everyone from A-list celebrities to lawyers and people in law enforcement, came to define an era, and for a time, Willy Falcon and those like him-major suppliers, of whom there were only a few-became stars in their own right. They were the deliverers of good times, at least until the downside of persistent cocaine use became apparent: delusions of grandeur, psychological addiction, financial ruin. Thus, the War on Drugs was born, and federal authorities came after Falcon and his crew with a vengeance. Willy found himself on the run, his marriage and family life in shambles, the halcyon days of boat races and lavish trips to Vegas and parties at the Mutiny night club seemingly a distant memory.

T.J. English has been granted unprecedented access to the inner workings of Los Muchachos, sitting down with Willy Falcon and his associates for many lengthy interviews, and revealing never-before-understood details about drug trafficking. A classic of true-crime writing from a master of the genre, The Last Kilotraces the rise and fall of a true cocaine empire-and the lives left in its wake.

 

ABOUT T.J. ENGLISH

T.J. English is a noted journalist and author of the New York Timesbestsellers Havana Nocturne, Paddy Whacked, The Savage Cityand Where the Bodies Were Buried. He also authored The Westies, a national bestseller; Born to Kill, which was nominated for an Edgar Award; and The Corporation. His journalism has appeared in Esquire, Vanity Fair, Playboy and New York magazine, among other publications. He lives in New York City.