Finding Favorites with Leah Jones

Andy Slavitt likes Downton Abbey (and healthcare policy)

In this episode, I flipped the script and interviewed one of my favorites - Andy Slavitt. You can find him on Twitter at @aslavitt or on almost any given news channel on a daily basis. He is a tireless advocate for improving healthcare access in the United States and is currently focused on stopping the public mismanagement of COVID-19.
The episode ends with a pep talk for people planning High Holy Day services at synagogues.
Links
In the Bubble - the podcast he and his son started during the lockdown
Laurie Kilmartin's tweets about her mother's death and a Washington Post article about the same subject
Paul Smith is the co-founder and CTO of Ad Hoc
Northwestern's Health Communication MS program
Get health insurance on the exchange
 

William Pacholski loves the Great Comet

William Pacholski, the owner and founder of the Portland Psychic School, talks with me about Dave Malloy's musical Natasha and Pierre and the Great Comet of 1912. The Great Comet ran on Broadway for nearly a year, closing on September 3, 2017, but as you'll hear - it was performed in a variety of venues for a few years as Dave Malloy developed the show.
 
Additional Links
The One That Got Away videos are all on Vimeo. Here's Eric Himan performing Both Hands as a taste of the show.
The cast recording of The Great Comet is available on Spotify and lots of other places.
The Assassins
Dave Malloy - the artistic genius
Millikin University

Esther Kustanowitz loves Star Wars

Esther Kustanowitz is an LA based writer and journalist who loves most things Star Wars. Join us as we talk about how she found Star Wars, what she loves about it and her special appreciation for Carrie Fisher. She explains what the Machete Order is and recommends some novels that fill in Princess Leia's life story.
 
You can subscribe to Esther's podcast The Bagel Report, follow her on Twitter where she is @EstherK, or follow her TV Gone Jewy Facebook page for the latest in Jewish representation on TV.
 
Related Links
Bloodline by Claudia Gray
Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray
Newcomers podcast with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus
Bibi's Bakery in LA
Esther's essay on Star Wars and grieving
 
Transcript follows

Jill Alexander Essbaum loves the Golden Age of Radio

Jill Alexander Essbaum is a poet, author and professor based in Austin, Texas. Her favorite thing is old time radio - specifically thriller radio programs. We talk about Suspense (CBS Radio from 1940 to 1962), how Jill found the first set of CDs that turned her on to Old Time Radio, and just how many hours of recordings she keeps on her iPod.
Her new book of poetry, Would-Land, is available from Cooper Dillon and her first novel, Hausfrau, has been translated into over 20 languages. Chances are good there is a copy available in your preferred language.
Other helpful links from our conversation
RUSC.com
USA Today article which covers Old Time Radio and many online archives
Libri Vox - the home of free public domain audiobooks
 

Brad Manilla loves to DJ and make mixtapes

Brad Manilla, AKA DJ Sparklebomb, is a user experience designer and recovering entrepreneur who joined me to talk about how he became a DJ. In this episode, Brad describes his chill summer mix tape Infinity Pool, which I suggest you listen to before diving into our full conversation. Fakin' the Funk is his new mixtape that brings you a lot of underground hip hop that we talk about.
Learn more about Scribble Jam - a hip hop music festival in Cincinnati, Ohio that ran from 1996 to 2009. This video shows the graffiti walls that we talk about.
Follow Brad on Twitter and sign up for his emails for occasional mix tape drops.
 
 

Brandy Agerbeck loves Harold and Maude

Brandy Agerbeck, who writes on and teaches visual thinking, loves Harold and Maude. In this episode she describes being drawn to the movie because of the distinct graphic design and how it led her to Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Find her classes, books and swag at Loosetooth.com
Recommendations
Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonders
Straight Up
All of Nicole Byer's podcasts
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
Zardoz
Danny Peary on Cult Movies

Scott Smith loves The West Wing and public service

Scott Smith, known to the internet as Our Man In Chicago, is living his best Josh Lyman life as Chief Communications Officer for the Cook County Assessor’s Office. He is a writer and former journalist who produces The Frunchroom - a reading series that features five stories about the South Side of Chicago, often from South Siders, but also from those throughout Chicago who’ve experienced all that this part of the city has to offer.
You can find the Cook County Assessor's Office on Twitter - keep an eye out for quotes from The West Wing.
You can find the podcast that got me into podcasts at The West Wing Weekly.

Saul Colt loves Late Night with David Letterman

Saul Colt is an experiential and word-of-mouth marketer based on Toronto (available for you to hire at The Idea Integration Co) who loved David Letterman. In this conversation, not only does Saul sing praises for the premise of Finding Favorites, he walks us through the bands, movies and comics that he found through David Letterman.
Late Night with David Letterman started on NBC in 1982 and lasted 10 years. He moved from NBC to CBS in 1992 when Leno took over The Tonight Show. He stayed at CBS until his retirement in 2015. You can now find David Letterman on Netflix with a long-form interview show called My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.
We talk a bit about Larry Bud Melman, so here's a classic clip of Larry Bud Melman at Port Authority.
And for good measure, here are The Lemonheads singing It's a Shame about Ray instead of Mrs. Robinson.
Follow Saul on social media and subscribe to his podcast: We Now Join The Program Already in Progress
Twitter: @saulcolt
Instagram @saulcolt

Jason Mathes loves syndicated game shows

Jason Mathes and I went to college together at Millikin University and probably haven't talked (other than social media) since the day we graduated in 1999, but he's the reason this podcast exists. We have a meandering conversation that stays mostly focused on his love of game shows, his lifelong goal to compete on Jeopardy, and ideas on how to improve any game show concept.
Do you want to calculate inflation when you watch classic game shows? Use the West Egg Inflation Calculator
To watch
Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much
Quiz Show
Pluto TV BUZZR channel

Jasmine Davila and the works of Laurie Colwin with a side of Tom Hiddleston

Jasmine Davila joined me to talk about columnist Laurie Colwin, but mostly we talked about her true pop culture love Tom Hiddleston. Jasmine is a writer, performer and producer in Chicago and the current curator of Miss Spoken.
You can find her online as JasmineD everywhere that fine social media is shared.
Twitter
Instagram
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