Frank Buckley Interviews

Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret) was the 16th NATO Supreme Allied Commander. The 4-star admiral oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and the Balkans during his tenure. Following his military career, he served as dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and now works with The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm and McLarty Associates, an international consulting firm. Admiral Stavridis is a columnist for TIME magazine and is the chief international security analyst for NBC News. Admiral Stavridis is the author of 10 books including the new "2034: A Novel of the Next World War."During this podcast, Admiral Stavridis discusses threats to the U.S. posed by China's expansionism and military build-up, and by Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin. He provides his perspective on Afghanistan and the continuing U.S. presence in that nation nearly 20 years after the beginning of the war that followed the 9/11 attacks. Admiral Stavridis also discusses the scenari

Kimberley Chambers is a marathon open water swimmer from New Zealand. After a freak accident left Kim Chambers with a mere one-percent chance of walking unassisted again. Determined to prove the doctors wrong, Kim spent two years rehabilitating her leg and has now regained almost full functionality. She began swimming again as part of her rehabilitation, and has since become the sixth person in the world to complete the Ocean's Seven swimming challenge. In 2015, she became the first woman to swim from the Farallon Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge – a distance of about 30 miles. Many consider it to be the hardest marathon swim in the world.

JIm Gray is a longtime sportscaster and the author of the new book, "Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard". In the book, Gray shares stories about some of the greatest athletes of all time, including Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Lebron James, Tiger Woods, and more. In this episode of the podcast, Jim Gray opens up about his professional and personal relationships with the athletes he covers. He shares his reaction to the news about his friend TIger Woods, involvement in a terrible accident, and reflects on the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and seven others. Gray also shares stories from his long career, and some of his most memorable experiences.

Janice P. Nimura is a writer and recipient of a Public Scholar Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is the author of the new book "The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine." Her previous book, "Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back," was a New York Times Notable book in 2015. Dr. Nicole Sandhu is a board-certified internist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Sandhu has coauthored 40 peer-reviewed publications and five medical textbook chapters and has served in many positions at the Mayo Clinic including course co-director for the Internal Medicine Board Review Course and associate editor of the Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Board Review textbook. She is the president of the American Medical Women's Association.During this podcast, Janice P. Nimura discusses her new book "The Doctors Blackwell" and explains why Elizabeth Blackwell was determined to become the first woman

Melissa Gould is the author of the Amazon best selling "Widowish: A Memoir," a book chronicling the death of her husband Joel seven years ago and the way Melissa dealt with the loss and moving forward with her life, including raising their 13-year-old daughter. David Kessler is a grief expert and the author of several books including the best selling "Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief." During this podcast, Melissa recounts the intimate details of her husband's final days and what it was like to suddenly find herself moving forward without the love of her life as a widow and mother to a teenage daughter. David take us inside the process of grieving--something many people are doing today amidst the pandemic to give us tools with which to cope with loss.

On July 30th, 2020, the Perseverance Rover embarked on NASA's Mars 2020 mission. The main purpose of the mission is to seek signs of ancient life on Mars, and collect samples of rock and regolith for possible return to Earth. The Perseverance Rover is set to touch down on the surface of Mars on February 18th, 2021. On this episode of Frank Buckley Interviews, we are joined by two crucial members of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab team. Katie Stack Morgan is a research scientist and Deputy Project Scientist of the Mars 2020 rover mission. She shares details about Perseverance Rover's mission to search for signs of ancient life on Mars. Also joining us is Allen Chen, who is in charge of Perseverance's entry, descent and landing. He describes the 7-minute long autonomous sequence that will take place during Perseverance Rover's harrowing landing.

Bryan Fogel is the Academy Award winning director of the 2017 film Icarus, the documentary thriller that tracked exposed Russia's Olympic doping scheme. His new documentary is The Dissident about the murder of Saudi Arabian dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. During this podcast, Bryan discusses the making of The Dissident including his views on whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was involved in directing the murder. We also discuss Bryan's access to Turkish investigators and their evidence, Khashoggi's fiancée and how he gained her trust, and the dangers Bryan faced in being in close contact with a Saudi activist intent on bringing reform to Saudi Arabia.

Dean and Ayesha Sherzai are doctors and co-directors of the Brain Health and Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Medical Center. They are the authors of "The Alzheimer's Solution: A Breakthrough Program to Prevent and Reverse the Symptoms of Cognitive Decline at Every Age." In March, they are releasing a new book, "The 30-Day Alzheimer’s Solution." The neurologists say that it's possible to reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease by 90% and to slow the progression of symptoms in people who've already been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. During this podcast, you’ll hear the doctors explain how even slight changes in the way we eat, sleep, exercise and socialize can result in significant impacts in brain health. You’ll hear their passion to help patients and to educate the public, and you’ll learn immediate steps you can take today to improve your brain’s health.

Frank Figliuzzi is a former FBI assistant director in charge of counterintelligence who currently works as a national security contributor for NBC News and MSNBC. He is the author of a new book "The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau's Code of Excellence."During this podcast, Figliuzzi discusses the January 6th insurrection, security threats against the U.S. from within the nation from white supremacists and extremists who believe the 2020 election of President Joe Biden was not legitimate. He also explains how the Russia investigation during the Trump Administration was justified.

Los Angeles is the epicenter of the Covid 19 pandemic. By the end of this week, the total case count is expected to exceed one million people. The rate of infection is alarming--an average of 10 people are infected every minute in Los Angeles County. The virus has claimed the lives of more than 2,300 people in the county since New Year's Day. During this podcast, we discuss the Covid 19 crisis and what it's like inside an ICU unit with ICU Nurse Manager Wesley Willard of Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital. Dr. David Smith, head of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego's School of Medicine, tells us about the large-scale ACTIV-2 study aimed at helping Covid patients to avoid hospitalization. Finally, Dr. Tanya Altmann, pediatrician and best-selling author, has information on how those infected with Covid 19 can best care for themselves at home if they don't require hospitalization.

While it my now be 2021, many of the issues we were experiencing in 2020 such as the pandemic, divisive politics, unemployment, business and school closures, and restrictions on going out or getting together, have carried over into the new year. If you find yourself feeling stressed, maybe better sleep and meditation may help. On this episode of the podcast, we revisit conversations with Andy Puddicombe, the voice behind the mindful meditation app Headspace, and Dr. Michael Breus, "The Sleep Doctor."

As 2020 draws to a close, we're counting down our most downloaded episodes of the year. First, Dateline's Josh Mankiewicz talks about crime reporting and storytelling. Legendary broadcaster Larry King opens up about how he thought of ending his life after suffering a severe stroke. We also hear from the multi-talented comedian Cristela Alonzo, the first Latina to create, write, produce and star in her own network comedy in the U.S. Rap icon Ice Cube talks about his life and success. Finally, it's an emotionally revealing conversation with comedian Jo Koy.

Dr. Anne Rimoin is Professor of Epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and Infectious Disease Division of the Geffen School of Medicine. She is also the director of the Center for Global and Immigrant Health and the director of the UCLA-DRC Health Research and Training program. She is a regular guest on the KTLA 5 Morning News and is frequently quoted in national publications and appears on national news broadcasts as an expert on the Covid-19 pandemic.During this podcast, Dr. Rimoin discusses the very latest on the pandemic and answers questions about travel, holiday gatherings, and the explosion of coronavirus cases and how people can reduce their chances of becoming infected.

Dr. David Fajgenbaum is a medical doctor and University of Pennsylvania researcher who experimented on himself to save his own life. Dr. Fajgenbaum discovered he had Castleman disease, a rare disease that ravaged his body and nearly killed him. After experiencing several bouts of the disease, he set about researching his condition to determine what if anything could be done to “cure” it. He chronicles the story in his book “Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope into Action.” His research into the cytokine storms he experienced as a Castleman disease patient is now helping in the fight against Covid-19. He co-authored a paper with Dr. Carl June on December 3, 2020 in the New England Journal of Medicine (link below) to help physicians to better understand cytokine storms and thus treat patients who are experiencing them. During this podcast, Dr. Fajgenbaum details the near-death experiences he had while hospitalized, and recounts the process by which he researched his disease and ultimately discove

Suzi Weiss-Fischmann is a co-founder and brand ambassador of OPI Products, a global nail care products company. Suzi founded the company with George Schaeffer as a dental supply business in 1981 before adapting their products to the acrylic nail market. It came to redefine the nail industry and Suzi became known as the First Lady of Nails. In this episode, we look back at a conversation with Suzi from April 2019. She discusses her immigrant story of success and her book “I’m Not Really a Waitress: How One Woman Took Over the Beauty Industry One Color at a Time.” Suzi recounts the highlights and setbacks of creating and scaling OPI, and she reveals how she develops colors and names them.

Tristan Harris is a former Goggle Design Ethicist who was featured in the Netflix Original Documentary "The Social Dilemma." Tristan is the co-founder and president of the Center for Humane Technology "whose mission is to reverse ‘human downgrading’ and re-align technology with humanity," according to its website. The Atlantic Magazine once described Tristan as "the closest thing Silicon Valley has to a conscience." During this podcast, Tristan discusses "The Social Dilemma," the dangers of persuasive technology, and what all of us can do to better protect ourselves and our families from the  negative and sometimes harmful effects of social media use.

Jay Leno hosted "The Tonight Show" for 22 seasons until 2014. An avid car collector, he now hosts "Jay Leno’s Garage." The show has become a destination for automobile aficionados. Jay opens up about his passion for cars, and shares some of his favorite car stories. He also shares what he thinks may be future of car collecting.This episode also includes a Thanksgiving-themed interview with a professor and expert on Native American history. It's a conversation with about America's first Thanksgiving with Professor Camilla Townsend. She shares what happened at that first Thanksgiving.

John King was the man at CNN’s "Magic Wall" during the 2020 election night. He kept America and the world informed state by state, and county by county on election night, the day after, and the night after that. It would go like that until the evening of Saturday, November 7th, when CNN became first major news organization to call the race, projecting Joe Biden as the next President of the United States. But the story isn’t over, and John King joins Frank Buckley Interviews to talk about all of it.

Melissa Stockwell became the first female to lose a limb in active combat in Iraq in April of 2004. The U.S. Army Second Lieutenant would return to the U.S. and turn to sports after her military service, becoming a world champion paratriathlete and a paralympic bronze medalist. During this podcast she discusses the bombing that left her wounded and her life after the military. Melissa also discusses her new book: "The Power of Choice: My Journey from Wounded Warrior to World Champion."Jake Wood is a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. After the Marine sniper returned to civilian life, he found purpose in using his military skills to help disaster victims. He co-founded the non-profit Team Rubicon in 2010 which has since engaged more than 135,000 volunteers in disasters around the U.S. and the world, raised more than $250 million, and has given other military veterans a way to continue their service. He writes about it in a new book: "Once A Warrior: How One Veteran Found A New Mission Closer to

Maria Hinojosa is the anchor and executive producer of NPR's Latino USA. The program won a Peabody Award for its 2014 episode "Gangs, Murder and Migration in Honduras." Maria has also won multiple Emmy awards for her reporting and anchoring on TV programs including "Maria Hinojosa One on One" on WGHB/La Plaza. She is also the founder of Futuro Media Group, a non-profit that produces multimedia journalism. During this podcast, Maria discusses her work as a journalist covering issues like children who have been separated from their parents at the border and DACA dreamers, reveals how she approaches storytelling, and Maria also talks about her new book: "Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America."