Mr. Media Interviews By Bob Andelman

From 2009: Solomon King is on a mission… a mission from the Motor City to you. He’s out to capture your hearts and minds with his own unique spin on the blues. His new CD, Under the Sun, is now available at CDBaby.com and includes the two cuts that were featured in the first season of HBO’s hit vampire series, “True Blood.”

From 2009: Joey and Larry Gallo were some bad hombres. So bad, even most of the mafia wanted nothing to do with them in the 1960s and ‘70s. Murder, extortion, armed robbery—all in a day’s work for these guys. But if they were so bad, why do so many literary types come to admire them, especially Joey? I’ve now read Tom Folsom’s rich, colorful history of the Gallo Brothers, The Mad Ones, but I still don’t get their appeal. Hopefully, the author can clear up the mystery.

From 2009: Kamran Pasha is a brave man. He knows that Sherry Jones’ book, "The Jewel of Medina"—about the birth of Islam—lost its publisher in 2008 because of the ruckus it stirred up. He knows all about the decade-long fatwa against Salman Rushdie. And yet I hold in my hands his just published novel, "Mother of the Believers." It is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told in the voice of his young wife, Aisha. Pasha is also a writer and producer on the NBC-TV drama series “Kings” starring Ian McSh

From 2009: The cast of "Weeds" includes Mary Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, the insane Kevin Nealon and the show’s gooey center, my guest today, Justin Kirk, who plays Andy Botwin. If you’re easily offended, don't click the "play" button below. This show is intended for adults.

From 2009: Michael Jackson​ has died at age 50.​ ​In commemoration of the man, BlogTalkRadio presented ​Michael Jackson Remembered​. ​ ​The live, two-hour special was anchored by ​Mr. Media​ host ​Bob Andelman​, and featured contributions from fellow BTR hosts ​Kevin Ross​, ​Mutha Knows​, ​Shaun Daily​, ​MarQ with a Q​ as well as many listeners. ​ ​Guests included ​Eric Deggans​, TV and media critic for the ​St. Petersburg Times​, who is from Michael’s hom

From 2010: A year ago today, on June 25, 2009, millions of people were stunned to discover that singer, songwriter and pop culture legend Michael Jackson had died suddenly and mysteriously at home in Los Angeles. His passing was met with general sadness and, yes, a little contempt from people who felt that Jackson’s questionable private life took away from the wonders of his professional accomplishments.

From 2010: When last we spoke, Thomas Calabro was preparing to host ACME Comedy’s “ACME Saturday Night” live show and being described as a former star of the late lamented TV series “Melrose Place." Today, he’s once again a star of “Melrose Place,” which has been revived by The CW

From 2009: Not to put too much pressure on her, but Michele Balan is a standup comedian from New York, where every city block is bursting with comic setups and teardowns. So she’s gotta be funny, right? Balan first came to national attention on the comedy reality series “Last Comic Standing.”

From 2009: I’ve got a real expert on band names joining me today. Bart Bull is the author of Battle of the Band Names: The Best and Worst Band Names Ever (and All the Brilliant, Colorful, Stupid Ones in Between). Bull has worn a number of hats in his career. He was on staff at the birth of Bob Guccione Jr.’s SPIN magazine. And he was an editor of Vogue. He sees the world a little differently than most people, which often makes his reporting more compelling and a little confounding on first or second rea

From 2009: Brooke Newton is at an early point in her acting career but she’s certainly getting plenty of opportunities to shine. This week, for example, she’ll be in Thursday’s episode of the CBS crime procedural series, “CSI.” And she’s also shot roles in the CBS sitcom “Gary Unmarried,” which stars Jay Mohr, and the upcoming Fox sitcom, “Glee.”

From 2009: It’s 8:40 a.m. on a Wednesday morning and my guests are two of the producers of NBC’s “Today Show.” Who will be whispering in Matt’s ear when it’s time to throw it to Al Roker? How will Meredith Viera know to cut short the cooking demonstration and go to commercial? Ann Curry? I suspect she can manage on her own, right? Mary Ann Zoellner and Alicia Ybarbo are Emmy Award-winning producers. But they’re also co-authors of a new book, Today’s Moms: Essentials for Surviving Baby’s Fi

From 2009: Josh Dorfman is one smart guy. And he is pretty lucky, too. His first book, "The Lazy Environmentalist," was published in 2007. It told regular people how they could save the environment, go green and soothe their conscience with a modicum of effort. It was a success, so he embarked on a second, The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget.

From 2009: Imagine if, as a stranger, you could see a small town through the eyes of young boys. You might be privy to images and incidents that you wouldn’t otherwise know about. But because the boys aren’t a threat, they capture it all on a camera. And then imagine that this small town is not the peaceful, pristine image that the city fathers think it is. Now you’ve got the essence of the plot in the new film Dog Days of Summer starring Will Patton and directed and produced by Marc Freiburger.

From 2009: There are a lot of judges on TV these days, starting with Judge Judy and running all the way through Judge David Young. But only one of them has an Emmy Award. That lucky jurist-slash-TV personality is Judge Cristina Perez, host of the syndicated “Cristina’s Court.” She stands out from the pack because Judge Perez leaves the sensational behind. She’s a calm, empathetic presence on the bench, firm but considerate, experienced but not disinterested.

From 2009: There’s the joy of seeing your children grow and mature and then there’s the simultaneous frustration of witnessing your parents get older at the same time. Kelly Corrigan has dealt with this time, which she calls “The Middle Place.” It’s overwhelming if you’ve been in the dark, complicated place that Corrigan found herself in: malignant breast cancer for herself and late-stage cancer for her dad. She writes about all this and more—with humility, humor and grace—in the book The Mi

From 2009: Shawn Hatosy stars as gang detective Sammy Bryant in NBC's new drama series "Southland." You may have already recognized Shawn from his starring role as John McCain in the adaptation of the senator’s autobiography, “Faith of My Fathers.” This summer, he will appear in Michael Mann's Public Enemies with Christian Bale and Johnny Depp. He also filmed an upcoming remake of the 1992 cult classic Bad Lieutenant, playing Nicolas Cage's partner.

From 2009: We're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Acme Comedy Theatre. Joining us first will be Dan Kane, the owner of the theatre. He’ll then be joined by the theatre’s founder and director, Travis Oates, who will be followed in succession by performers Julie Wittner, Kevin Small, Jen Parker, Rich Keith and Claudia Dolph.

From 2009: Here’s math that even Bart Simpson won’t need a chalkboard to figure out: “The Simpsons” is “Gunsmoke.” That’s right: thanks to a new two-year renewal, “The Simpsons” is about to blow past the ancient western as the longest-running primetime series in American television history. And my guest today, “Simpsons” executive producer Al Jean, has been there for every episode—plus a feature-length movie.

From 2009: Something’s wrong with this picture. I’m Mr. Media. I do the interviewing, right? Somehow I’ve booked an interview with LPGA Golf Hall of Famer Amy Alcott to talk about her new book, The Leaderboard—but it turns out the book is a collection of interviews she conducted. Has the whole world gone crazy? On the other hand, this could be my lucky break. I don’t know a damn thing about golf, so maybe it’s a good thing—we can talk about something I do know about.

From 2009: Jim Tusty is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Estonia whose father came here in 1924. Maureen Castle Tusty was raised in upstate New York. She and Jim met in 1986 and created a business partnership that eventually led them to teach budding Estonian filmmakers in 1999 and 2001. The Singing Revolution—the Tusty’s first documentary—tells the astounding and hardly-known story of the Estonian people who stood up for themselves armed only with unity, song and determination.