Mr. Media Interviews By Bob Andelman

From 2008: Never let a good brand die. That seems to be the marching order given to Brent Poer, general manager of TheWB.com, the web video site launching on Wednesday, August 27. The WB, as you will recall, began in January 1995, and was the short-lived network home of many pop culture TV icons including Seventh Heaven, Steve Harvey, Jamie Foxx, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson’s Creek, Felicity, Charmed, Gilmour Girls and Smallville.

From 3008: The good news: His TV dad is Benjamin Bratt. The bad news: His TV dad is an avenging angel for God. Brett DelBuono (pronounced Del-BUno) currently stars as “Ben Banks” alongside Bratt on the A&E original drama, The Cleaner. Judging from the number of teen girls who called and raved about him during this interview, I think he's going to be very, very popular. That, and he's a funny, clever kid; listen for his imitation of his Balls of Fury co-star Christopher Walken!

From 2008: Joining me today is one of the earliest supporters of Mr. Media, and subsequently one my podcasting heroes, Alan Levy, founder of BlogTalkRadio.com.

From 2008: If you’re a cartoonist—writer or artist—an editor, a fan or someone in the business, there are three sites you must check daily: Alan Gardner’s DailyCartoonist.com; David Astor at EditorandPublisher.com and Tom Spurgeon’s ComicsReporter.com. Joining me today is Alan Gardner, founder of DailyCartoonist.com.

From 2008: On Monday, September 8, OJ Simpson will stand trial is Las Vegas on kidnapping and armed robbery charges. That evening, at 9 p.m. EST, Norman Pardo will launch “OJ’s Court,” a special series of programs heard exclusively on BlogTalkRadio.com, that will allow armchair jurors to weigh in on each day’s proceedings. At the end of the trial, online jurors will be asked to render a final verdict in the case.

From 2008: Jonathan Riggs is my guest for this hour of Mr. Media. Riggs -- the editor of both the 2008 Prism Comics: Your Guide to LGBT Comics and Instinct magazine -- made for a great guest. Prism Comics, incidentally, is a nonprofit organization that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) comics, creators, and readers.

From 2008: Miles wrote, produced, and starred in Little Chicago. But if you haven’t seen Little Chicago, maybe you know him from some of his other film roles, including Remember the Titans, The Patriot, or October Sky. On television, he was in episodes of “NCIS” and “Star Trek Voyager.” I think you'll find what he has to say about producing indie films quite interesting.

From 2008: Bill Prady is having a pretty good year, writer’s strike and all, thanks to the success of “The Big Bang Theory,” the hit CBS sitcom he co-created with Chuck Lorre. If you haven’t seen “The Big Bang Theory,” it stars Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons as a couple of supernerds named Leonard and Sheldon – an in-joke for those of us who remember the late Sheldon Leonard. Leonard produced everything from “Make Room for Daddy” to “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Andy Griffith Sh

From 2008: My parents never sent me away to summer camp. I don’t blame them; as a kid, I was afraid of my own shadow, easily got car sick, and was not well adjusted, socially. And after reading Roger Bennett’s new love letter to summer camps, Camp Camp, I’m pretty sure I would have hated sleepaway camp.

From 2008: Charlos Gary is the man behind two daily strips, the single panel “Working It Out” and the multi-panel “Café Con Leche.” And he’s found an unusual twist: "Café Con Leche" is about the lives of young African-American man and his Latina wife. Sometimes it’s political, sometimes it's as everyday as Blondie. But it’s never dull and it’s always good for a laugh.

From 2008: Guys, here’s an offer you can’t refuse: a lesbian woman is going to give you tips on picking up a hottie. I know, I know – the whole idea made me laugh, too. But then I read Robbie Lee’s book, The Straight Man’s Pocket Guide to Picking Up a Hottie: Written By a Woman Who Loves Woman, and I thought, “Why not?” I’m not in the market for love, but I know an awful lot of guys who are and just don’t understand why some guys succeed and others fail.

From 2008: I love great photographs. I suspect I’m the audience that photographer Rick Smolan and his wife and partner Jennifer Erwitt envision when they create new coffee table photography books, such as their latest: "America At Home: A Close-Up Look at How We Live." This is the latest high quality project from the team that also produced A Day in the Life of America and America 24/7.

From 2008: Who screwed up radio? Will today’s generation of young people even care in a few years, what with the glut of alternatives before them, from satellite and Internet radio to iPods and cell phone broadcasting? I suspect these are just of the few issues I’ll be discussing today with my guest, Alec Foege, author of Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and The Fall of Commercial Radio.

From 2008: Lots of people talk about the impending End of Days, but how many actually tell you how to prepare for what may come after the end? Oh, really? That many? Hmmm. Okay, how many make you laugh in the telling? Gotcha there, didn’t I? In his new book, Apocalypse How, Rob Kutner dishes out handy tips on everything from foraging for food to fooling around with mutants in a post-now world.

From 2008: In his new book, Apocalypse How, Rob Kutner dishes out handy tips on everything from foraging for food to fooling around with mutants in a post-now world. I’m not yet sure how Kutner comes by his encyclopedic, post-apocalyptic knowledge but the humor, he comes by honestly: he’s a four-time Emmy-award winning staff writer for Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and a contributor to Stewart’s book, America (The Book).

From 2008: Hamburgers – okay, and French fries – are so much a part of American culture that it is no surprise that somebody like George Motz would attempt something as crazy as Hamburger America: One Man’s Cross- Country Odyssey to Find the Best Burgers in the Nation. And it’s not just a book – Motz created includes a DVD that captures all the sizzle, steam and personality of some of the best burger joints in America. What makes Motz an expert? Who knows – who cares?

From 1983: I had the great honor of interviewing Sir George for the St. Petersburg Times on Oct. 14, 1983. I knew he was a great pianist because I listened to his albums; I learned he was a great gentleman when he treated me with kid gloves as I awkwardly and ignorantly asked him questions for more than 30 minutes. I was barely 18 months out of college and knew very little about jazz. But George was great. He was, for all intents and purposes, the pale, British version of Ray Charles.

From 2009: Comedian Yul Spencer—Spencer, for short—has not had an easy or simple life. In his new one-man-show, “Ya Gotta Go Higher,” which ran June 11-28 at the Hollywood Complex East Theatre, he brought the funny, of course, but he also shared stories of addiction and recovery. This is not new ground for Spencer, but it is the first time he’s organized his humor and life in this type of performance.

Danny Fingeroth spends a whole lot of time thinking about superheroes. For several years, he did it as the editor of the Spider-Man group of titles at Marvel Comics. Today, he’s the author of two books that go behind the four-color glory of men in tights. Fingeroth’s latest examination of comics, "Disguised as Clark Kent," explores why so many of the enduring characters of the golden and silver ages of comics can trace their heritage back to young American Jewish artists and writers .

From 2008: I think everyone remembers where they were when they first heard about the planes flying into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. For our generation, it’s that horrifying moment that matches up with when other generations remember the Kennedy assassination or the bombing of Pearl Harbor. You should read Philip Shenon's 9/11 history, "The Commission," and then you should get very, very mad.