The ALL NEW Big Wakeup Call with Ryan Gatenby

Dean Sheremet, chef & certified nutritionist, is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City and has worked in Michelin starred restaurants. After a decade spent in the NYC restaurant scene, Dean moved back to California to star in FOX's hit show, My Kitchen Rules, and The CW's Terry Crew Saves Christmas. Chef Sheremet appears regularly on Access Hollywood, CBS The Talk, Fox’s Good Day LA, and Hallmark&...

In this episode, we chat with two best-selling children's book authors!

Lily LaMotte, brilliant author of the graphic novel Measuring Up, an ALA Top Ten, has written her debut picture book about a special Lunar New Year feast, perfect for fans of Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin and I Am Golden by Eva Chen.  CHLOE’S LUNAR NEW YEAR is a tender, warm, and uplifting holiday story about tradition and the importance of being wit...

We open The Big Wakeup Call Vault(tm) and turn back the clock to 2019  to feature interviews from three legendary British singer/songwriters from the 80s new wave!

From August 8, 2019: Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze joined the show on August 8, 2019 to talk about "The Squeeze Songbook 2019" tour.

From October 21, 2019: Mick Hucknall called in for a chat about Simply Red's then-new album "Blue Eyed Soul."

From June 11, 2...

Comedy Bang Bang!'s Scott Aukerman holds the title of the favoritest of our all-time favorite guests!  In his record-breaking 19th appearance on the show, Scott and I discussed the highlights of the 2022 Comedy Bang Bang Oh No! world tour, memories of the Backyard Era, and his plans for 2023.  Plus: CBB-TV DVDs, searching for MC Hammer, and updates on "Comedy Bang! Bang! The Podcast: The Book!"

If you would prefer readin...

It's special episode to help you with your holiday cooking, baking, and shopping!

First, we discuss holiday recipes with Food writer and cookbook author Melissa Clark. Melissa is staff reporter for The New York Times Food section, where she writes the popular column “A Good Appetite” and has appeared in over 100 cooking videos. She is the author of The New York Times bestsellers Dinner in French and Dinner in One, as well as Din...

Samantha Cole is a senior editor for Motherboard, Vice Media's science and technology outlet, where she covers sexuality, online culture, platforms, and the adult industry. Born on Maryland’s eastern shore, Sam’s decade in journalism spans from hyper-local newspapers to national and international outlets including Popular Science, Fast Company, and Al Jazeera. In 2020, she was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for best digita...

In this episode we discuss National Family Caregiver's Month and how the Parkinson's Foundation recognizes this important month and shares valuable information  for those with Parkinson's and also their caregivers.

I'm joined by John Lehr, President and CEO for the Parkinson’s Foundation, along with Veera Rastogi, Parkinson’s care partner and serves on the Parkinson’s Foundation People with Parkinson’s Advisory Counc...

In this episode:

Shannon Messenger graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she learned—among other things—that she liked watching movies much better than making them. She’s studied art, screenwriting, and film production, but she realized her real passion was writing stories for children. She’s the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the award-winning middle grade series, Keeper of the Lost Cities, as w...

On this episode:
Michael Mehta Webster is an expert in ecology, conservation, philanthropy, and non-profit management. His research interests focus on how organisms and ecosystems adapt to environmental change, how this information can be translated into effective conservation strategies, and the practical and ethical dilemmas that arise along the way.  We discussed his new book "The Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Eart...

On this episode we once again open The Big Wakeup Call Vault (TM) and listen to some of my Halloween-related interviews!

First, from  9/27/21: Cassandra Peterson AKA Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, made her second visit to the show when she called in to discuss her memoir "Yours Cruelly, Elvira."

From 10/30/2014: Tyler Mane, who donned the mask of Michael Myers in "Halloween" and "H2," talked about his movie ...

National First Responder’s Day is recognized each October 28th to honor brave paramedics, firefighters, emergency technicians, and others who put their lives on the line to keep people safe. During disasters, like the the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, first responders must work fast in the search and recovery phase, even when extreme weather takes out much of an area’s traditional infrastructure.

Maggie Hallbach, President of Verizon ...

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today. In fact, the far-reaching impact of climate change affects the future of everything – even what we plant in our gardens and yards. A new tool created by the Arbor Day Foundation in partnership with the Davey Tree Institute reveals how future hardiness zones are shifting dramatically. This means that in some parts of the country, trees planted today, won’t be th...

During the 12-year history of The Big Wakeup Call, I've been fortunate enough to chat with nearly the entire cast of Bob's Burgers! These are all from the earlier years of the show (2012-2014) and you can hear I was a little hyper back then!

Sometimes they were on to promote the show, sometimes with other projects, but here are my chats with Bob, Louise, Tina, and Gene!

From December 5, 2014: H. Jon Benjamin

From May 1, 2013: ...

On this episode, we feature three New York Times bestselling authors!

David Rubenstein joined our 4-Timers club when he called in to discuss his new book "How to Invest: Masters on the Craft."

Kwame Alexander discusses his latest Young Adult fiction book "The Door of No Return."

J.C. Cervantes chats about her new Young Adult novel "The Lords of the Night."

This episode is brought to you by Costco's $1.50 hot...

From November 7, 2018: Former David Letterman writer Bill Scheft called in to talk about his experiences working with Dave and a new book, "The Last Days of Letterman: The Final 6 Weeks," for which he wrote the foreword. Making Bill genuinely laugh right off the bat certainly gave me some confidence I might be slightly humorous.

From April 12, 2021:

Dave Parker won two batting titles, an MVP award, three silver sluggers, and played in 7 all-star games.  Of his 339 career homers, I bet at least 100 of those were hit against the Cubs. Dave called in to talk about his memoir, “Cobra: A Life of Baseball and Brotherhood.”  

From June 4, 2019: I was very excited to chat with one of my all-time favorite actors, Vincent D'Onofrio, about his new movie (which he directed) "The Kid."  After a brief bit of fan gushing regarding "Criminal Intent," we discussed the film, and then Vincent gave me an impromptu acting challenge, which I more or less failed miserably.