Dying To Ask

Great reads to start the new year

Read anything good lately?

Your answer will be a resounding 'YAAASS' after you listen to our annual guide to holiday reading.

Our favorite bibliophile, Tina Ferguson, is back with her picks for both adults and kids to read or gift over the holidays.

On this "Dying To Ask," witness Tina's big confession regarding "50 Shades of Grey," find out why you can expect to see more romance on your nightstand in 2020 and I commit to reading Tina's pick about the zombie apocalypse -- which is surely a sign of the zombie apocalypse.

Dying to control your money with Farnoosh Torabi

Show me the money. If getting control of your finances is one of your 2020 goals, you're not alone.

My guest is financial expert Farnoosh Torabi. Farnoosh is the host of the top-rated podcast, "So Money" and the author of books including her latest, "When She Makes More." She's a financial contributor for O, The Oprah Magazine and a frequent guest on the Today Show.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How to set and achieve big money goals in 2020 whether it's paying down debt or buying your first house. 
• We go into surprising news about millennial spending habits and what they think of homeownership. 
• And we talk about the major podcasting milestone Farnoosh is reaching with "So Money's" 1,000th episode.

PODCAST: Dying to break up with your phone

It's not me. It's you. Ever felt like saying that to your phone?

Smart phone fatigue is a real deal but we're finding it harder and harder to separate from devices that connect us to everyone and everything.

Tech Expert Jennifer Jolly is back with a renewed warning about how our digital dependence is affecting our mental health and human interactions. 

 Learn tips to disconnect -- after you listen to this podcast of course!

New York Times Journalist Lindsay Crouse | LIVE before the CIM

You may not know Lindsay Crouse by name. But, you've likely seen her work scrolling your social media feeds.

Lindsay is a journalist for The New York Times whose specialty is producing video op-eds and op-docs. Her most recent work has 7 million views and counting. It's headline: "I was the fastest girl in the world, until I joined Nike."

It features Mary Cain, a former child running prodigy who used her video to tell a story of physical and mental abuse by the famed Nike Coach Alberto Salazar. Cain's raw account of her time training with the Nike Oregon Project included public weight shaming and encouragement to diet to the point of losing her period and broken bones due to bone deterioration. 

Salazar is currently facing a four-year ban on doping. Nike has, at the time this episode published, supported him. So have some of his top athletes.  But other Salazar athletes, including Olympians Kara Goucher and Amy Yoder-Begley, have backed Cain's claims of abuse under Salazar's leadership and Nike's oversight. 

On this Dying to Ask, how Crouse created her unusual niche and pioneered a new way of storytelling at the New York Times.  We break down how she puts op-docs and op-eds together. And, we explore the impact those those viral videos are having on the national conversation of what it means to win at all costs.

REPLAY: Darnell Abraham of Hamilton

This episode starts with some big numbers and some big news about Season 4 of the podcast.  And then, enjoy a replay of one of our favorite episodes from Season 3. 

Darnell Abraham grew up in Bakersfield knowing he loved entertaining people.   He found his voice, quite literally, in college.  And, what a voice.  He made a HUGE impression on a guy he met at choir camp. That guy? PRODUCER GEOFF!!!  You couldn't make this one up.

Now Darnell is starring as George Washington in "Hamilton" at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco after appearing with Hamilton's creator, Lin Manuel Miranda, in "Hamilton" in Puerto Rico.On this Dying To Ask:-How Darnell Abraham made it to the biggest stage show of our time, only 5 years after his first audition.

Mike Luery, Reporter and Author

What's your passion?

Reporter Mike Luery has two of them. One is baseball. The other is journalism.

Mike is an award-winning reporter with decades of experience. His investigative work has exposed abuses in California's funeral industry, puppy prisons and the Ku Klux Klan in Florida.

Mike is just as fierce in his baseball knowledge. He's the author of the book, "Baseball Between Us," a memoir of the years he spent visiting every single ballpark in the country with his son. Bottom line, Mike is ALWAYS the guy you want to sit next to at a dinner party because his stories will entertain you for hours.

On this Dying to Ask, we're talking about identifying and following a passion with one of the most passionate people I've ever worked with in a newsroom.

Mike tells some epic tales of chasing down bad guys and some poignant ones about the life lessons he learned over 16 years and 43,000 miles visiting 32 ballparks.

Don't miss Mike's warning for those who turn their back on their true passions, as he did when he left journalism for a job in PR...briefly.  And, find out why no license plate is safe in his presence.

Martellus Bennett, Children's author/Entrepreneur/Super Bowl champ

"You're allowed to have more than one dream." 

That's my takeaway from this conversation with Martellus Bennett. The fact that he played in the NFL and won a Super Bowl is only a fraction of what makes Martellus interesting. 

After this episode, I hope you find football the least interesting thing about him. Martellus Bennett is an entrepreneur, a children's book author and most importantly, a man who never stops creating.

That said, he hasn't exactly left the world of football. He's back as Professor Bennett in the hilarious Dos Equis "College Football Football College" online videos. Pass his class and you might win a chance to go to the College Football National Championship.

On this Dying to Ask: What Martellus does every day to make new dreams a reality. How he pursues new goals despite not having a mentor. And, why I could have used Professor Bennett's "lectures" as a 16-year-old drill team member in Fort Worth, Texas.

Return to Paradise: Vicki Gonzalez and Brian Hickey

What happens when TV cameras go away? What happens when something like a massive wildfire is put out and a community's recovery begins? That's what KCRA reporter Vicki Gonzalez set out to discover when she followed four families for an entire year who'd lost everything in the Camp Fire.

The Camp Fire is the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. It broke out on Nov. 8, 2018, virtually wiping out the town of Paradise. 85 people died. 19,000 homes and businesses were destroyed. Survivors told stories that sounded like they were straight out of an action movie. But, there were also remarkable stories of everyday people who found themselves doing extraordinary things to save themselves and others.

On this Dying to Ask: I sit down with two of my colleagues whose work led our Camp Fire coverage. 

First, Brian Hickey and I relive where we were when the first scanner traffic about the fire started. I will never forget Brian's face as he comprehended the magnitude of what first responders were reporting.

And then, Vicki Gonzalez tells us the backstory of her one-hour documentary "Return to Paradise." Find out how she chose the four families she followed for a solid year and the affect this project has had on her personally. It's an exceptional look at the devastation and inspiration you'll find in Paradise.

Katherine Reynolds Lewis, Parenting Expert

"You don't understand my generation."

Every kid has told their parents that. The thing is it's actually true for today's kids. Katherine Reynolds Lewis is a parenting expert and the author of "The Good News about Bad Behavior."

She graduated from Harvard with a physics degree which may prove that parenting is indeed rocket science!

On this Dying to Ask, Katherine explains why American kids suffer from an inability to self-regulate. She'll sell you (with scientific evidence) on why we all need to understand the unique challenges they face that make them a generation unlike any other. And, she'll lay out a parenting strategy to lessen yelling, nagging and arguing in the family.

'Word of Mouth' creator discusses new show, all things reality TV

Looking for a new TV show to binge? Ask Jessica Mathies.

She likely watches more TV than anyone you know. But as an executive producer, it's her job to figure out what people are watching and, more importantly, WHY they're watching it.

Uncovering what drives us to keep up with Kardashians or revel in not-so-real housewives is as maddening as it is entertaining.

Jessica's work in non-scripted or reality TV is extensive. She held the title of human canvas producer on "Ink Master" and was responsible for convincing people to tattoo their eyelids. She worked on HGTV's "Sleep on It," where homebuyers spent the night in a prospective home before making an offer.

Her latest creation is Hearst Television's "Word of Mouth," a show that asks local people for recommendations on everything from food to culture.

On this Dying to Ask: we find out how reality TV is really made. (Heads up: It's a little like finding out how sausage is made.) Jessica explains why we can't get enough Chip and Joanna Gaines on "Fixer Upper," and tells some epic stories from her time as a human canvas producer.

And, we find out what happened when she took "Word of Mouth" to the streets of Sacramento.