The ALL NEW Big Wakeup Call with Ryan Gatenby

The ALL NEW Big Wakeup Call with Ryan Gatenby

Ryan Gatenby chats with actors, authors, athletes, comedians, musicians, and experts in their field in each episode featuring selected interviews from the popular "The Big Wakeup Call" radio program. New episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays

Episodes

April 1, 2025 9 mins

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Vanessa Bayer, who was currently in her 5th season on Saturday Night Live, talks about the "Trainwreck Comedy Tour" coming to the Harris Theater in Chicago, an all-star evening featuring Vanessa, Amy Schumer, Colin Quinn, Judd Apatow, Mike Birbiglia and Dave Attell.  (From 6-10-15)

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 Monica Mohindra is the Director of the Veterans History Project (VHP) of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. In over 15 years with the Project, she has coordinated major initiatives with Members of Congress, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Endowment for the Humanities, PBS, Ken Burns/ Florentine Films, the HISTORY Channel, and many more. Before joining the Library, she wo...

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March 25, 2025 6 mins

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The legendary Henry Rollins joined the show to talk about his role in a new four-part docuseries "Punk." We also discussed how music and fashion were attached to the English punk rock scene, why he embraced the punk rock community as a teenager, and the reason he turns down most punk rock documentaries (and why he chose to appear in this one). [From 3-7-19)

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March 20, 2025 9 mins

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Songwriting icon Diane Warren discusses her legendary career.

(From 2016)

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March 18, 2025 7 mins

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William DeWitt is the Director of Global Security at Verkada, where he is building a best-in-class corporate security program. Prior to Verkada, Will spent nearly 12 years at Palantir, where he served as Global Safety and Security Lead, building the company’s corporate global security and government security programs. Under his leadership, Palantir’s government security program obtained accreditation at the highest le...

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March 13, 2025 10 mins

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Author Jacqueline Friedland’s books have been called ferociously insightful, wholly engrossing and unputdownable! Her newest is Counting Backward, which is being called "An Erin Brockovich for our times."

Next month, she delivers her most thought-provoking book yet with: COUNTING BACKWARD. This “ripped-from-the-headlines story is an Erin Brockovich for our times.”

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March 11, 2025 13 mins

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I had a fun chat with author Tanisia Moore about her new book for children (and parents, too) "Wash Day Love."

Tanisia Moore views writing as her avenue for giving hope, sharing life's lessons, and sparking imaginations. Her companion picture books I Am My Ancestors' Wildest Dreams and When Black Girls Dream Big empower young readers to dream and live big, and remind them of their strength and poten...

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March 6, 2025 10 mins

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Tom Carroll is the writer director of “The Stress is Killing Me,” which is now available to rent/own on all North American digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms.  He is also the director or “Big Bad Budget,” which aired on PBS stations nationwide, and the writer director of “Who Stole the Tasmanian Devils?” Tom is also the author of several novels, including “The Dogs Who Play Baseball,” “Young and Dumb”...

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March 4, 2025 7 mins

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Annasophia Robb of The CW's Carrie Diaries discusses her new film DOWN A DARK HALL.  (From 8-17-18)


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February 27, 2025 7 mins

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MLB Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt called into talk about his serious battle with skin cancer (Stage 3 Melanoma) and a new initiative from CancerCare, "Your Cancer Game Plan."  It was also a thrill to talk to Mike about baseball memories of him always destroying my Cubs and his thoughts on whether the Cubs can repeat.

(From 9-20-17)

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February 25, 2025 8 mins

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Lauded by David Baldacci, Karin Slaughter, and Stephen King, among others "The Oligarch's Daughter" by Joseph Finder is already on the bestseller list. The hero, Paul Brightman, is a regular finance guy who by accident falls in love with an Oligarch’s daughter. The U.S. intelligence community traps him into spying on his father-in-law and his activities. 

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February 20, 2025 10 mins

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Celebrated New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry returns to the show to discuss the latest installment in his wildly popular Cotton Malone series—now in development as a streaming series. The Medici Return takes Cotton to Italy to solve a five hundred year-old mystery. 


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February 18, 2025 11 mins

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Jim Jefferies is coming to the Vic Theater in Chicago for two stand-up shows being taped for a new special.  We discuss the state of the world, the state of comedy, and the state of our minds.



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February 13, 2025 10 mins

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Renowned rock and roll photographer Mick Rock, who has taken iconic photographs of David Bowie, Queen, Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, Ramones, and especially Lou Reed, called in to discuss a limited-edition book of pictures and stories, Transformer, out now to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the LP that, with the magic help of David Bowie and Mick Ronson, launched Lou Reed into the hero status we know today. We only had 1...

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February 11, 2025 7 mins

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Marg Helgenberger called in to talk about her movie, "Almost Friends" as well as her play "What We're Up Against." Plus: Chicago geography and filming in Alabama in the summer -- on purpose. (From 11-14-17)

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February 6, 2025 8 mins

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Lindsay Arnold discusses partnering with Cubs legend Davis Ross on " Dancing With the Stars." (From 4-13-17).


Lindsay Arnold is an all-American girl who was born and raised on the stage in Provo, Utah. She began dancing at the age of four and has not stopped dancing since. She trained extensively in Utah with some of the country's best teachers, including Shirley Ballas and Mark Ballas, a Dancing wi...

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February 4, 2025 8 mins

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James Feinstein discusses his book "THE FIRST MAJOR: The Inside Story of the 2016 Ryders Cup Tournament." (From 11-3-17)

John Feinstein is one of America’s favorite sportswriters, and his new book invites readers to join him on the trail of the storied Ryders Cup – an intense tournament that pits America’s best golfers against their European counterparts in one of the most emotional matches of the year. 

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January 30, 2025 9 mins

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The Amazing Kreskin made 88 appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and has also been on with David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon and more. He continues to be the world's leading mentalist. His off-broadway show debuts on April 12th at Theatre Row-Lion Theatre in New York City. We discussed how he first landed an appearance on the Tonight Show, his relationship with Johnny and Dave, and his experiences in C...

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January 28, 2025 6 mins

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Actor James Faulkner discusses his role as Paul in the film "Paul, Apostle of Christ." (From March 2018.)

Born in Hampstead, London, James Faulkner has enjoyed a prolific and varied career spanning more than 40 years. In 2017, he was widely acknowledged for his portrayal of Randyll Tarly in HBO’s Game of Thrones as well as playing the head of MI6 in ATOMIC BLONDE alongside Charlize Theron. His numerous Britis...

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January 23, 2025 9 mins

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We open the vault and go all the way back to 2014 for my chat with LeeAnn Rimes, who was promoting her Christmas tour and her album “ONE Christmas - Chapter 1."

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