Alex Aster: espresso martini (2 ounces vodka, 1/2 ounce Kahlua, 1 ounce espresso, garnish with 3 coffee beans, serve up) Alex discusses the oral tradition of storytelling in her family and her Colombian heritage, her dogged efforts to land a literary agent when she was 12-years old, how she skipped her college graduation day to land an agent and a book deal, how she leverages TikTok and other platform to reach millions of readers, and gives an update on her work with Universal and the movie...

Adam Plantinga: Coffee, black Award-winning author and San Francisco cop Adam Plantinga talks about the differences between vacation problems (getting sunscreen on his daughters) and work problems (getting charged by a criminal wielding a butcher knife), the favorite and most influential books he’s read, how humor can be an important tool on the job (both jobs), his debut novel The Ascent, and one thing he wants the public to know about law enforcement.

Lightening Round: Some of the most thought provoking and entertaining responses to the Lightening Round questions from our Season 1 guests. Then Doug plays - free to listeners - the complete Prologue of THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF RUDOLF DIESEL, narrated by Scott Brick, courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio.

Gad Saad: Bailey's on the rocks Professor Saad discusses the nuanced differences between fellow Canadian Jordan Peterson and himself, how he manages to remain a Happy Warrior in the face of toxicity and a workplace that has been compared to Gaza, how he teaches the art of storytelling even in the presentation of scientific material, the mental conditions that contribute to whether a person is open minded and persuadable or stuck, and names the 122 sq miles on earth (an island country) that is...

Gareth Russell: gin & Dubonnet (1 ounce gin, 2 ounces Dubinet, lemon wheel, topped with one over-sized ice cube) Gareth discusses the questionable claims in Omid Scobie's work regarding Harry, Meghan and the Royal Family, discusses a defense of the existence of the monarchy as posed by C.S. Lewis and others, reveals aspects of the monumental research effort involved in writing his phenomenal book covering 500 years of history at Hampton Court that is full of captivating anecdotes, shares...

Doug's Holiday Book Picks: Egg Nog (fill a rocks glass with ice, add 2 ounces bourbon, fill with egg nog (the full-fat kind), stir then top with nutmeg) Doug picks 4 excellent books for December, then plays - free to listeners - the complete Prologue of THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF RUDOLF DIESEL, narrated by Scott Brick, courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio.

Patricia Cornwell: anejo tequila Patricia reveals that one of the most famous characters in all of fiction, Kay Scarpetta, will soon be portrayed by Nicole Kidman, shares never-before-told stories of her childhood and the difficult times during her mother’s mental illness, paying her dues in the office of the Chief Medical Examiner in VA which brought so much of forensic science to literature and film, why outlining books doesn’t work for her, the ups and downs of her life with Billy and...

John O'Hurley: red wine In town for the National Dog Show, John stops by and reveals whether he thinks a Seinfeld reboot would work, revisits the controversy of his Dancing With the Stars Season 1 championship, reveals that each step in his career has begun in his imagination, his most terrifying and most wonderful moment as a parent, and reads an original work of poetry.

Mitch Albom: Ouzo (3 ounces ouzo, neat) Mitch describes the musical prowess of his rock band that includes Scott Turow and Stephen King, retells the whirlwind that led to his 7-month stint as a piano bar act in Greece, discusses how he handled the holocaust in his new fiction THE LITTLE LIAR and how elements from that period resonate today - especially the tactic ‘to change the language’, and why he - and his books - remain hopeful.

Martini (2 1/2 ounces gin, 1 ounce dry vermouth, 4 olives) Award winning author and recipient of the Bronze Star, Silver Star and Purple Heart, Elliot reveals a secret handshake to counter program the famous Trump handshake-yank, shares his thoughts on the Great Man Theory of history and what he’d do about a young Hitler, how he and Adm. James Stavridis have worked together on novel writing, and gives his opinion of the best war movie ever made (you won’t see this one coming).

Andrew Klavan; Macallan 12-year scotch Award-winning author and host Andrew Klavan discusses how conversation and real connection brought him from insanity to sanity, how he's always known he wanted to be a novelist and he gives us the plot lines of the novel he wrote when he was 14-years old, how scripture has informed his storytelling, describes his strangely brilliant and creative family relations, talks about the acceleration of cultural shifts, and shares a valuable piece of advice for...

Alex & Nelson DeMille: scotch, gin & tonic with lime The father & son team take a break from the fast-paced book tour to join DEDICATED for a 9:30am cocktail. They discuss Alex's childhood realization that his father was a major literary success, and later when Alex's 10th grade teacher assigned Nelson's novel, THE CHARM SCHOOL. They consider how much of a writer's talent is learned and how much is in the BLOODLINE (pun intended), how collaborative writing is fraught (Nelson and...

Fiona Davis: Side Car (2 ounces cognac, 1 ounce Cointreau, lemon juice, garnish with orange rind) Fiona talks about her earlier careers in theater and journalism, the rigorous research she does for her historical novels and some of the joyous moments that have happened during her research, bringing Radio City and the history of the Rockettes to life on the page in the latest novel THE SPECTACULAR, her revelation of Parkinson's disease and her work with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and her...

Lawrence Wright: vesper martini (2 1/2 ounces gin, 1 ounce vodka, 1/2 ounce Lillet blonde The Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist discusses the pivotal role Texas will play in the future of America, suggests Tom Cruise has a moral obligation to speak out against Scientology, reveals his notable hypnosis skills, shares his organization strategies for the hundreds of interviews and secondary sources he uses in research, the appalling treatment he received at a book event, whether...

Omar Epps & Clarence A. Haynes: coffee Omar and Clarence discuss their late nights collaborating on ideas for their epic fantasy book series NUBIA, reveal how Omar remains child-like (not childish) and taps into the innate creativity gifted to all young minds which propels both his acting and his writing, explore themes of African mythology mixed with futuristic technology like antigravity and artificial intelligence, name their favorite books and the strangest moment ever at a book event.

Club soda with lemon Scott talks about the choices he made in leaving a Stanford Fellowship in creative writing to enroll at Harvard Law School where Alan Dershowitz was a young professor, the 1977 publication of his nonfiction book about law school, ONE L, his casework as an Assistant US Attorney in Chicago, the earth-shaking success of his 1987 fiction debut, PRESUMED INNOCENT, and thereafter the variety of strange reactions he got from judges, juries and opposing counsels when he entered...

Douglas Brunt: Manhattan with Luxardo cherry Chris Bohjalian (Guest Host): Negroni Chris and Doug discuss THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF RUDOLF DIESEL, the charm of the Gilded Age period of the story, the thrilling investigation put forward in the book leading the the jaw-dropping conclusion, and the incredible characters that play a role in the book including Churchill, Kaiser Wilhelm II, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Adolphus Busch, Chester Nimitz, Tsar Nicholas II. Doug reveals the most...

Meryl Gordon: gin & tonic with lime Award winning journalist and author Meryl Gordon discusses her process for writing profiles and biographies, the 230 interviews she conducted in preparation for writing MRS. ASTOR REGRETS and her stunned disappointment with Anderson Cooper's new Astor book which cited her prior work 39 times over 31 pages, discusses her love of teaching a masters course in journalism and magazine writing, the thrill of seeing her students publish, the challenging...

Jay Winik calls the book, "Equal parts Walter Isaacson and Sherlock Holmes...riveting history. Lee Child: "Outstanding - Brunt mixes a historians respect for research with a novelist's eye for character..." Dan Abrams: "A page turning crime thriller and an important addition to 20th century history." You can discover more about Rudolf Diesel and preorder at this link: https://tinyurl.com/282eafxv Doug recaps the 32 guests of Season 1 and reveals which is the most downloaded episode of the...

Special Episode also available on video - download the SiriusXM App here: (https://www.siriusxm.com/streaming) Former Navy SEAL and #1 bestselling author Jack Carr reveals who would win in the Octagon between Conor McGregor and Jocko Willink, how it's been working with Chris Pratt and Amazon on the hit show TERMINAL LIST which is based on his first novel, his thoughts on the great pioneers of the thriller genre that he read as a kid and also while deployed as a SEAL, the key step he takes...

Jo Nesbo: whiskey sour (2 1/2 ounces Bulleit bourbon, 1/2 ounce simple syrup, 1/2 ounce lemon juice, orange wheel, cherry) #1 bestselling author Jo Nesbo talks about the unpublished Harry Hole novel, the difference between political views and political agendas in literature, how he designs his intricate twists and plot reveals, the point at which anyone can consider oneself a writer, the best songwriter and best lead singer of all time, the reasons you should visit Oslo, Norway.

Douglas Murray: rye Manhattan (2 1/2 ounces Bulleit rye, 1 1/2 ounces sweet vermouth, 2 dashes bitters, Luxardo cherry) Douglas lists the several people he'd most like to debate in a contest of ideas, reveals the one novel that transformed him into an adult reader, discusses the concept of the Genius Exception as it applies to Pablo Picasso, Woody Allen and others, describes the value of studying history and stoicism, assesses the position of the world's cultural pendulum, confesses the...

Emily St. John Mandel: Earl Grey tea with milk Emily talks about the unstructured education of her childhood homeschooling and how that upbringing opened doors to literature, her growing confidence as an author, how she plunges into a new novel without an outline, the life-changing attention after STATION ELEVEN, the differences between writing for TV and writing a novel, and she reveals her beliefs about whether we're all living in a simulation.

Jay Fielden: Rob Roy (2 1/2 ounces Dewar's 12 year scotch, 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth, bitters, Luxardo cherry) The former editor-in-chief of Men's Vogue, Town & Country, Esquire Magazine tells what it was like working alongside Anna Wintour at Vogue and whether Devil Wears Prada was close to the truth, his view of Tom Brady's fashion sense, his thoughts on the changing media landscape and how print can compete with the dynamism of social media, observations of the disappearance of...

Scott Brick: Old Fashioned (2 1/2 ounces bourbon, sugar, bitters, water, Luxardo cherry) The world's top audiobook narrator, nicknamed "The Golden Voice", joins us fresh from a late night at the Audie Awards to tell us his Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall story, his analysis of the strange voice of Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos, the best voices in Hollywood of all time, his process to find the voice and get into character for his book narration projects, the importance of identifying the...