BILL DUKE is a retired sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department. He spent 32 years "on the job" protecting and serving the citizens of LA -- a job that both fed his soul and satisfied the adrenaline junkie in him. Climb into the back seat of Bill's car as he drives Brent around Hollywood, DTLA and Chinatown and talks about his life on the be…

JOHN T. LANG, Ph.D. is the chair of the Department of Sociology at Occidental College. Professor Lang devotes much of his academic research to the exploration of social relations surrounding the production and consumption of food. (EXTENDED EPISODE: 1hr 14min) EPISODE NOTES: Thanksgiving week is here and food takes center stage in America. So, too,…

ANDY GINER kept his passion for rapping under wraps for several years before finding the courage to step forward as his hip-hop alter ego, ORION THE ARTIST. Andy is serious about finding a place for himself in the competitive rap world -- not for fame and fortune, but for a higher purpose. (44:13) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: ANDY GINER is one of the be…

DAN ARDEN is a veteran non-fiction television producer with a reputation of being a very nice guy to work for – some say too nice. But for Dan, creating a positive and enriching experience for his production team is equally rewarding, sometimes even more so, than producing the show itself. (43:37) EPISODE NOTES: I’ve known and worked with a lot of …

FAITH PRINCE won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as Miss Adelaide in the 1992 Broadway revival of “Guys and Dolls.” And while Faith was honored to be recognized for her performance, she says the baggage that came with the win messed her up for five years. (48:04) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: And the Tony Award for Best Le…

BLAKE BELTRAM is co-founder of MINDBODY, the largest provider of cloud-based business management software to the boutique, beauty, health and wellness industry. The publicly traded company serves clients in over 130 countries worldwide. (52:42) EPISODE NOTES: It’s been 20 years since BLAKE BELTRAM sat in my living room tinkering with a software pro…

JEFF COPELAND is an author, screenwriter and non-fiction television producer whose close friendship with Andy Warhol superstar HOLLY WOODLAWN (immortalized in Lou Reed's biggest hit song "Walk On the Wild Side") dramatically impacted his professional and personal life in ways he never expected. (46:40) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: Andy Warhol made her f…

ELIZABETH COOPER SMOKLER has spent 40 years working as a Hollywood makeup artist, primarily on TV sitcoms such as Roseanne, The Ellen Show, Reba, Blossom, The Larry Sanders Show and Who’s the Boss? It’s been a wonderful career – except, that is, for all the sexual harassment she’s had to deal with in the process. (50:53) EPISODE NOTES: Not long bef…

MACEO HERNANDEZ is a professional Taiko drummer whose passion for the ancient Japanese form of percussion began in the 7th grade. Despite having no rhythm or musical experience, young Maceo was determined to play Taiko, leading him on a life-changing journey to Japan and inspiring a documentary film. (51:11) EPISODE NOTES: MACEO HERNANDEZ was in th…

LLOYD GORDON is one of the top estate liquidators in Los Angeles. Nearly 30 years in the business, Lloyd stages and presides over estate sales in some of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods. He says just because an item is valuable doesn’t mean it will sell. (50:26) EPISODE NOTES: Next year LLOYD GORDON will celebrate his 30th anniversary workin…

KAY BESS is a veteran voice-over actor with hundreds of commercial, film/TV narration and video game credits to her name. Kay says technology has dramatically changed the way VO artists work. And while there are more voice-over jobs than ever before, they’re a whole lot harder to get than when she first began. (45:27) EPISODE NOTES: I’d like you to…

BOB NIEMACK is the zealous executive producer of Discovery’s long-running docudrama medical series “Untold Stories of the ER.” Bob began his action-packed production career as an editor and won a national Emmy for editing the groundbreaking documentary “Scared Straight!” – a film he says came dangerously close to never being seen. (49:13) EXPLICIT …

CARRIE MORITA spent 36 years teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Although she had several opportunities to work closer to home, Mrs. Morita endured a daily 75-mile, bumper-to-bumper roundtrip commute to teach at Eagle Rock Elementary School because of the cultural and socioeconomic diversity of its large student body. (45:58) EPISO…

JOHN GRANT is an award-winning location manager who knows the Greater Los Angeles Area like the back of his hand. From feature films to reality TV shows, John has a genuine love for finding real-world settings for producers and directors to use in creating make-believe worlds. (43:28) EPISODE NOTES: I’ve lived in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles …

RICHARD KONIGSBERG was one of the youngest agent trainees to ever be promoted at ICM. But Richard ditched the powerhouse talent agency to become an actor himself. Five years later, he returned and was made an agent for a second time -- but not before having to serve another tour of duty as assistant to one of the most demanding agents in the biz. E…

IFUNANYA “NODDY” NWEKE is the founder and executive director of Jazz Hands for Autism (JHFA). The non-profit organization provides platforms for musically inclined individuals on the autism spectrum to explore and express their talent, and helps many of its gifted musicians find steady paying gigs. (35:27) EPISODE NOTES: There’s no choosing the tal…

DON COLLIVER was working as a non-fiction TV producer when he decided to make a highly unconventional career change and became a professional clown. This episode was recorded three days before Don flew to New York to join the award-winning performance art company Blue Man Group. (44:36) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: Several of my TV producer friends and …

JONATHAN DOWDELL is a senior producer at TV home shopping giant QVC. Jonathan identifies with the legions of loyal viewers who tune into the network 24/7 searching for good deals because at the age of 50 he is – as he’s always been – compulsively conscious of every dollar he spends. (34:26) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: Some of my very best friends in li…

HOLLISTER RAND was a young child when she first realized she could see and talk with dead people. Frightened and feeling freakish, Hollister kept her unusual talent a secret until she was nearly killed at the age of 18. Today, she fully embraces her life as a medium and finds great purpose in helping people connect with their loved ones in spirit. …

BRIAN PAYNE is the president and CEO of the $750 million Central Indiana Community Foundation and the founder of the internationally-recognized Indianapolis Cultural Trail. Brian was recently named an Indiana Living Legend -- not something the California native with two degrees in theater arts from UCLA ever imagined being. (42:28) EPISODE NOTES: W…

ERIC WELCH has been delighting the birthday boys and girls of celebrity clients such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry King and Ben Affleck for the last 15 years. When it comes to throwing awesome children's birthday parties for LA's junior well-to-do, Eric's AMAZING KID COMPANY is in a class all by itself. (39:41) EPISODE NOTES: There are all kinds …

ASHER HARTMAN is a transgender playwright, director and respected practitioner in LA's experimental theater scene. His provocative play The Silver, the Black, the Wicked Dance was commissioned by LACMA and explores alienation, violence and the pervasive feelings of shame, anxiety and fear in American culture. (47:38) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: A frien…

STEVE WILCOX is a Venezuelan born actor who had early success in American Me. It was rap icon Tupac Shakur's favorite movie and he sampled one of Steve's lines in Death Around the Corner. Working on the film was a watershed experience that still keeps Steve pursuing his dream 25 years later. (36:35) EPISODE NOTES: The 1992 film “American Me” was Ed…

CYNTHIA JAMIN is a former sitcom actress who had recurring roles on Friends and Veronica's Closet as well as other NBC "Must See TV" shows. Cynthia now designs whimsical clothes for girls and the joy they bring to those who wear them helps ease the pain of her own abusive childhood. (43:09) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: Remember the "Must See TV" sitcoms…

MATT LABOV is a veteran Hollywood publicist who specializes in representing A-list comedians. Matt's clients have included Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Jack Black, Sasha Baron-Cohen, Jon Stewart and many others -- including Dave Chappelle, who he represented at the time of his very public disappearance. (40:08) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: When I decided…

NICK STEIN was flying high as the executive producer of Border Wars for the National Geographic Channel. It was the most exciting television series he’d ever been in charge of. But then Fox Cable Networks took over Nat Geo, leading Nick to the greatest existential crisis of his life. (36:36) EPISODE NOTES: FROM BORDER TO BUDDHA with NICK STEIN is t…

JAMES RAINEY is a senior film reporter at Variety and covered the Oscar-winning movie Spotlight. The “Best Picture” resonated with Jim who spent 29 years as a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times. But no amount of news experience could have prepared him for the media attention he got after experiencing a personal tragedy. (41:32) Many thanks to…

TANYA GREEN is a former non-fiction television producer who turned her love of wine into a show biz exit strategy. Tanya now owns Wine 661, a once struggling wine bar and bottle shop where she enjoys holding court and helping her loyal customers develop their own wine palates. (41:34) Many thanks to the composer of the music featured in this episod…

JULES SYLVESTER is Hollywood’s go-to guy for camera-ready reptiles, spiders and creepy crawlies of all kinds. Raised in Africa, Jules moved to America while in his twenties and joined a traveling circus before landing an animal training job that led to his working on hundreds of movies, including Snakes on a Plane. (40:29) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: I…

BRENT GREEN has been called the Johnny Appleseed of Los Angeles. He has personally planted, at his own expense, hundreds of trees on once barren city streets. Brent is on a mission to not only beautify the part of LA he lives in, but to change the way other Angelenos view his neighborhood. (31:06) Many thanks to the composers of the music featured …

DARWYN METZGER is the founder of Phantom, a social-media-driven disruption agency that specializes in engineering and seeding digital propaganda on behalf of celebrities, films and TV shows. Ten years ago, Darwyn had absolutely zero interest in the tech world, but both he and his interests have evolved. (37:10) EXPLICIT EPISODE NOTES: Shortly after…

CYNTHIA GRAHAM owns and operates RPM Fitness Studio, one of the largest and longest-running spinning studios in Los Angeles. Cynthia believes indoor cycling is the highest form of cardiovascular exercise. And while it has low or no impact on a rider’s joints, she admits the bike’s seat can still leave her saddle sore. (36:06) Many thanks to the com…