Conspiracy Theory Debunker Brad Meltzer

Bill Thompson

Do you have a favorite conspiracy theory?

History is replete with them. To start a debate all you have to do is say “John Wilkes Booth” or “DB Cooper” or “JFK.”

And sometimes it takes someone with the analytical mind of a great fiction writer to unravel them.

Get your copy of Brad Meltzer’s book

And so it was in 2013 that bestselling author Brad Meltzer published a book called History Decoded, In which he set out to find the truth behind the ten greatest conspiracy theories of all time.

So Are you ready for some debunking? Here now, from 2013, Brad Meltzer .

Brad Meltzer is 54. He and his family live in Florida. His most recent novel was 2022’s The Lightning Rod.

Wendy Wasserstein’s Guide to Slothful Living

Bill Thompson

About 20 years ago, the New York public library assembled a list of books on the seven deadly sins.

One of which, of course, is sloth.

But if you’ve always been a little fuzzy about exactly what sloth is playwright essayist and satirist Wendy wasserstein to the rescue.

You may remember wasserstein best for her 1989 play The Heidi Chronicles, which won a Tony award and a Pulitzer prize.

Her 2005 book Sloth is a parody of self-help books, with detailed instructions on how you too can acquire sloth.

I interviewed Wendy several times, but this was the most fun one. So here now from 2005. Wendy Wasserstein.

Wendy Wasserstein died in 2006, She was 55.

Dick Williams: Crafting World Series Champions

Bill Thompson

Only a few Major League baseball managers get their teams to the World Series. Even fewer get their teams to more than one World Series. And only a handful have gotten three teams to the Series.

Meet Dick Williams, who guided the Boston Red Sox to the pennant in 1967, the Oakland A’s to three championships in the ’70s and the San Diego Padres to the National League title in 1984.

Along the way, Williams earned a reputation as a hard driving manager who expected nothing but the highest performances from his teams.

Get your copy of Dick Williams’s book

It was perhaps natural then that his 1990 memoir would be called No More Mr. Nice Guy. That’s when I had the chance to meet him. So here now from 1990. Dick Williams

Dick Williams was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2008. He died in 2011, at the age of 82.

Tom Hayden: From Freedom Rider to Chicago Seven

Bill Thompson

The political turbulence of the 1960s has been well documented. and one name that appears prominently in that story is Tom Hayden.

One of the founders of the Students For a Democratic Society, Hayden was also a Freedom Rider in the south, fighting for civil rights, but also became one of the leading young voices against the Vietnam War.

Chicago Seven in 1970. Photo by Don Casper

In the historically tumultuous 1968, Hayden was among several high profile demonstrators at the notorious Democratic National Convention in Chicago. They were eventually brought to trial and became known as The Chicago Seven. Abby Hoffman and Jerry Rubin were also among them

Hayden was also married for many years to another high-profile anti-war activist, actress Jane Fonda.

In subsequent years, Hayden entered politics. He was elected to the California State Assembly and the California State Senate.

And in 1988, some 20 years after the Chicago Seven experience, Hayden wrote a memoir called Reunion. That’s when I met him.

So here now, from 1988, Tom Hayden.

Tom Hayden died in 2016. He was 76.

Empowering the Visually Impaired: Rose Resnick’s Legacy

Bill Thompson

Rose Resnick was a talented and successful concert pianist. She also played at clubs, and performed on the radio in the 1930s. She was also a music teacher.

And she was blind. Resnick, who was born in 1906, lost her sight from glaucoma as a child.

Over the rest of her life Resnick became a powerful advocate for the blind. She established the California League of the Handicapped, as well as other organizations for the visually imp[aired.

I met her in 1988.when we talked about her book Dare to Dream. So here now, from 1988, Rose Resnick.

Rose Resnick died in 2006, at the age of 99.

Celebrity Zookeeper: The Exotic Adventures of Jack Hanna

Bill Thompson
Photo by Phil Konstantin

Who doesn’t love going to the zoo? The chance to see wild and exotic animals up close is an experience that all ages enjoy.

But the modern zoo bears little resemblance to those you, or your parents, may remember. The cramped dirty cages that characterized the zoos of a prior era have now been replaced by more open settings that may mimic an animal’s natural habitat.

One of the principal architects of that transformation was longtime Columbus Zoo director Jack Hanna. He took over an aging and decrepit facility and turned it into a showplace, attracting thousands of visitors.

And Hanna himself became a celebrity. During the 1980s and ’90s he was on television all over the place. And he always brought an exotic animal with him.

I met him in 1989 when he wrote his memoir, called Monkeys On The Interstate.

And what animal did he bring with him the day I interviewed him? You’ll hear a Madagascar hissing cockroach.

So here now, from 1989, Jack Hanna.

Jack Hanna is 77 now, and lives with his wife in Montana. A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Hanan Ashrawi: Bridging the Gap Between Perception and Reality

Bill Thompson
Photo by Carsten Sohn

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the most prominent face of the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO, was its leader, Yasser Arafat. His was an image that many associated with terrorism and violence

In the early 1990s, the PLO put forth a new spokesperson, a well dressed and articulate woman in her 40s named Hanan Ashrawi. She became well known to American television viewers as a sharp contrast to the Arafat image.

Get your copy of Hanan Ashrawi’s book

I met her in 1995, when she wrote an autobiography called This Side of Peace. And given the context of today’s events, her remarks from nearly 30 years ago still resonate.

so here now, from 1995, Hanan Ashrawi.

Hanan Ashrawi is 77 now and continues her work as a civil society activist.

High-Flying Adventure: How Two Balloonists Conquered the World

Bill Thompson
Bertrand Piccard – Photo by COP PARIS
Brian Jones – Photo by John Mathew Smith

Hot air balloons, or lighter-than-air craft, have been around for centuries. But it wasn’t until March 1999 that humans were able to circumnavigate the entire world in a single hot air balloon flight.

The two guys who did it were British balloonist Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard, a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist.

They co-piloted a massive balloon called Breitling Orbiter 3, which launched March 1st,1999 from Switzerland and landed in Egypt 19 days and 27,900 miles laer.

Get your copy of Bertrand Piccard & Brian Jones’s book

I met them just eight months later, after they wrote a book about their adventure.

So here now, from November 1999, Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard.

Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones remain active in ballooning.

And in 2016, Piccard was part of the first round-the-world solar flight in history, piloting the Solar Impulse 2 on one leg of its historic flight.

Laughing Through Layoffs: Annabelle Gurwitch’s Hilarious Take on Getting Fired

Bill Thompson

No matter where you work, no matter what you do, no matter how long you’ve done it, there’s a good chance you’ll be fired someday. Especially in today’s economy as employers don’t seem to have any loyalty to employees anymore.

Sometimes, though, the situation is so comical, the only way you can get through it is to laugh at it.

Get your copy of Annabelle Gurwitch ‘s book

Actress and writer Annabelle Gurwitch has been fired. And she knows lots and lots of other people who have been fired. So she gathered their stories in a book called Fired!

And if you’ve ever been fired, or you are about to be fired, you’ve got to listen to this interview.

So here now from 2006, Annabelle Gurwitch.

Annabelle Gurwitch is 62 now. She lives in Los Angeles.

Dean Koontz: Suspense, Horror, and 500 Million Book Sales

Bill Thompson

Most authors would be very, very happy if their books sold half a million copies.
Most would be thrilled if their books sold one or two million or five million or ten.

But Dean Koontz has sold 500 million books since his first one was published in 1968.

A master of suspense thrillers, with some horror thrown in, Koontz never fails to satisfy readers. His books routinely appear on major bestseller lists.

I’ve interviewed him several times, including our 2004 conversation about his thriller Life Get your copy of Dean Koontz’s bookExpectancy. What’s terrifying about the storyline is how ordinary his protagonist is, except for the deadly things that could happen to him

So here now from 2004 http://Get your copy of Dean Koontz’s bookDean Koontz.

Dean Koontz will be 79 years old in July.Get your copy of Dean Koontz’s book