Frank Buckley Interviews

George Floyd's death at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer has propelled people onto the streets of the U.S. and the world to protest against police brutality, racial injustice, and systemic discrimination. Black Americans have said for decades that they are treated differently than White people and others by police officers and deputies, and that when they are the victims of violence at the hands of law enforcement, there is little hope of justice. Among the studies and statistics that advocates point to--a New York Times analysis of Minneapolis data that shows police use force against Black people at seven times the rate of White people, and a Washington Post story that reported that black men are 3.5 times more likely to die at the hands of police officers than White men. The Black Lives Matter movement has been attempting to force Americans to confront numbers like these and these issues since 2013. During this podcast, we listen to those voices--the voices of Black people expressing the p

40 years ago this week, CNN, the first all news television channel, launched, and it's still going strong today. The story of how CNN started is chronicled in Lisa Napoli's new book, Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24 Hour News. Frank recently interviewed Lisa for a virtual Live Talks LA event, where they discussed the life of CNN founder Ted Turner, how the network came to be, and how the network has evolved over the years. Lisa also answers questions from readers about the book and her research.

May is military appreciation month. Off the heels of Memorial Day, we are honoring our men and women in uniform and their families, and remembering our war dead by replaying a 2018 conversation with retired Marine Corps Major Scott Huesing. Scott had multiple combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He authored the book Echo in Ramadi: The Firsthand story of Marines in Iraq's Deadliest City. It's the story of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines as they fought, and died in Ramadi.

This week, we're looking back at conversations with music icons from the 1980s. First, Curt Smith from the band Tears for Fears gets candid about his tumultuous relationship with longtime friend and bandmate Roland Orzabal. He shared details on their falling out, the break up of the band, and how a reunion a decade later eventually led them to making music together again. Mark Mothersbaugh is a co-founder of DEVO and is now a big-time composer for film & television. Mark shares how the DEVO hit "Whip It" came to be, and what the seemingly non-sensical lyrics are actually about. Finally, pop sensation Taylor Dayne reveals how her hit Tell it to My Heart launched her career and became the anthem of the late 1980s.

President Trump has been saying that former President Barack Obama should be investigated, suggesting that Obama acted illegally when FBI agents began investigating President Trump's first National Security Adviser Michael Flynn in late 2016. Flynn would eventually resign and admit to lying to FBI agents about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. What exactly was the FBI's thinking when agents started looking into Michael Flynn? Why did the FBI launch an investigation into the Trump campaign's ties with Russia? Former FBI supervisory agent Josh Campbell was in the inner circle when those decisions were being made. He was a special assistant to then FBI director James Comey. We revisit a conversation with Josh Campbell, who takes us inside the early days of the Russia investigation, and his book Crossfire Hurricane: Inside Donald Trump's War on the FBI.

Brad Meltzer is the author of the new book, The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President and Why It Failed. He has also written 12 thrillers–all of them best-sellers on the New York Times Best Seller list including his book The Escape Artist. Brad also writes non-fiction and children’s books and he has the rare distinction of having had his books on the best seller lists for the multiple categories of fiction, non-fiction, advice, children’s books and comic books. Brad is also a TV host who hosts the History Channel TV shows “Decoded” and “Lost History.” In this episode of the podcast, we revisit a conversation from 2018 about his then newest book The Escape Artist. We have also included his recent appearance on the KTLA Morning News to discuss his latest book The Lincoln Conspiracy.

On this week's episode, we revisit a conversation with neurosurgeon, scientist, and author Dr. Rahul Jandial, As a surgeon, Dr. Jandial helps patients with cancer. During this podcast, Dr. Jandial takes listeners inside the human brain and inside real-life patient cases. He also discusses his book “Neurofitness: A Brain Surgeon’s Secrets to Boost Performance and Unleash Creativity.” Dr. Jandial also talks about the surge in telemedicine amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week marks the 4 year anniversary of the death of music icon, Prince. In this episode of the podcast, we're revisiting a conversation with one of Prince's closest friends and collaborators, music hitmaker James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III. Jimmy grew up in Minneapolis alongside Prince and he tells us what it was like to work with Prince later as a member of the Prince-directed band The Time. He also tells us how the “Minneapolis Sound” came to be. Jimmy has worked with his songwriting and producing partner Terry Lewis to create dozens of hit records with artists as varied as Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Gwen Stefani, Pia Zadora, George Michael, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Beyonce and Rihanna just to name a few.

On this episode, Frank re-visits his conversation with "Weird Al" Yankovic. The interview took place in 2018, shortly before Yankovic was set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During this podcast, Al discusses his childhood, his career, and his biggest hits. He explains his approach to writing and performing parodies, reveals the reason why he continued a concert tour despite the sudden death of his parents, and his appreciation for his multi-generation fanbase.

Do you find yourself missing watching live sports amid the COVID-19 pandemic? We know we do! In this episode of the podcast, we're looking back at stories from a couple of sports legends from early in the podcast's history. First, Lakers legend and Hall of Fame James Worthy recalls playing ball with a young Michael Jordan. He reveals his favorite player he's played with, and what it was like playing during one of the team's most exciting periods - the "Showtime" era. Then, treasured sportscaster Vin Scully shares his voice with us once again. He reflects on some of his many memories from his 67 years with the Dodgers.

Doris Kearns Goodwin is a presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author. Her new book “Leadership in Turbulent Times” profiles Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. During this podcast, Doris discusses the human qualities that all of these presidents possessed, she reveals personal experiences she had working with President Johnson, and she explains how the title of her new book and the histories of the presidents she profiles are relevant to our times today.

As people around the world are self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic, many are turning to technology to de-stress or practice mindfulness? Maybe you've heard of mindfulness and wondered what it means. This week, we are revisiting a conversation with Andy Puddicombe, who says meditation is the way to achieve mindfulness. He's co-founder of Headspace, a meditation app that London's Telegraph newspaper described as having "brought mindfulness to the masses." The company is thriving with offices in London and Santa Monica that claims more than 38 million downloads and users around the world. Headspace is currently the 7th most downloaded app in the Apple App Store's health & wellness category. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Headspace has curated premium content to help users reduce their stress and anxiety. They are also offering free subscriptions to healthcare professionals.

This week, we're featuring two guests on this special Covid-19 coronavirus edition of the podcast. Our first guest is Carl Goldman, a Santa Clarita resident and owner of radio station KHTS, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 after being quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama, Japan. He spent more than 40 days in quarantine aboard the cruise ship and then in Omaha, Nebraska. Our second guest is UCLA's Professor of Epidemiology Anne W. Rimoin, Ph.D, M.P.H., director of the Center for Global and Immigrant Health at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She is one of the world's leading experts on emerging infectious diseases. During this podcast, Carl Goldman discusses his Covid-19 diagnosis, his quarantine, and his recovery from the disease. Professor Anne Rimoin answers our questions about why this novel virus has emerged now, what we can expect in the weeks and months ahead, how social distancing and other measures work to reduce and slow the spread of the virus, and why

Jo Koy is a comedian who is setting records as he sells out venues across the U.S. He has appeared in stand-up comedy specials on Comedy Central and Netflix. Two of his concert specials are streaming now on Netflix. Jo's comedy album "Live From Seattle" reached #1 on the Billboard charts in April of 2019. Jo appeared as a season regular roundtable guest on 140 episodes of Chelsea Lately.He has a weekly podcast "The Koy Pond with Jo Koy" from Starburns Audio. During this podcast, Jo discusses his life and career and reveals how he self-financed his first Netflix special because the streaming service didn't want to fund it. He also talks about his family and his process of creating comedy and a recently announced film based on Jo's life to be produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners and Dan Lin's Rideback.

On this episode of the podcast, it's a look back at some of the many hilarious comedians who have joined us on the program. Gabriel Iglesia's, perhaps best known as "Fluffy," opens up about growing up in Section 8 housing, and how doing celebrity impressions for a school talent show was his introduction to performing. Paula Poundstone also talks on her introduction to comedy, and how comedy is a way to bridge people together. Finally, George Lopez reflects on his successful career despite his tough upbringing and hardships.

Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson) is one of the founding fathers of "gangsta" rap who came to fame as a member of the hip-hop group N.W.A. before launching a successful career as a solo artist and actor. He is also a founder of the Big3 basketball league which launches its fourth season on June 20, 2020. On February 28th, he will be honored by the UCLA Anderson School of Management with its Game Changer Award which recognizes the most influential business leaders in media, entertainment, and sports. During this podcast, Ice Cube discusses his life and career including his music and acting success, he reveals how the Big3 basketball league is expanding and adding new features, and he details his friendship with the late Kobe Bryant.

Herbie Hancock is an icon of music and the recipient of 14 Grammy Awards. He was described in an NPR Jazz Profile as "arguably the most influential practitioner of modern jazz piano since Thelonious Monk." His jazz hits include Watermelon Man and Chameleon. His 1983 hit Rockit won a Grammy for Best R & B Instrumental and remains a hip hop classic. Herbie currently serves as the creative chair for Jazz at the LA Phil. During this podcast, Herbie discusses his life and career in music and reveals his spiritual side as well. He also takes us inside his professional relationship with the LA Phil's Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, and tells us about the LA Phil's Power to the People Festival March 5-April 11 in Los Angeles.

Tommy Davidson is a comedian and actor who came to fame in the 1990s as one of the stars of the groundbreaking sketch comedy TV show "In Living Color," the first network TV sketch comedy show created by an African American writer-producer-star (Keenan Ivory Wayans) that featured a multicultural cast. Tommy has also appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies including "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls," and he tours the nation as a comedy headliner. During this podcast, Tommy discusses his life and career and his new book "Living in Color: What Makes Me Funny," including what it was like to be a black child who was raised in a white family.

Josh Mankiewicz is a correspondent on NBC's Dateline, the network's signature newsmagazine. Dateline is NBC's longest-running prime-time program airing since 1992. Josh is celebrating 25 years with the program this year. Prior to NBC and Dateline, Josh was a correspondent on Fox Broadcasting's newsmagazine show Front Page, and was a political reporter for KCAL-TV in Los Angeles and WCBS-TV in New York. He has also worked as a correspondent and producer for ABC News in the U.S. and overseas with assignments in Beirut, Israel, El Salvador and Nicaragua.During this podcast, Josh discusses Dateline's popular true crime reporting and reveals the process by which a Dateline program comes together. He also talks about his life and career and answers fan questions submitted to Frank on Twitter at @frankbuckleyTV and on Frank's Facebook page.

On January 26th, 2020, a horrific helicopter crash claimed the lives of 9 people, including Lakers basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianni “Gigi” Bryant. They were en-route to a basketball game at the Mamba Sports Academy in the Thousand Oaks/Newbury Park area of Southern California when the helicopter went down. Almost a year ago to the day, Frank Buckley sat down with Kobe Bryant for a conversation at the Mamba Sports Academy. This week, we share that conversation with Kobe once again, along with poignant comments from some people who knew Kobe well, including Hall of Fame basketball photographer Andrew Bernstein and retired trainer for the Los Angeles Lakers, Gary Vitti.