Eyewitness History

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON is film writer-director and producer, whose career began in the visual effects arena. Johnson designed and created the special make-up effects for the cult favorite DROP DEAD FRED and created special make-up effects for Michael Mann's iconic THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. Johnson made his directorial debut with the feature film OUTSIDE OF WINTERS BEND. This was followed by the supernatural thriller SHADES OF DARKNESS and SUMMER OF TOMORROWS which was re-edited for a special international release in 2010. Johnson's latest film, the documentary/feature hybrid JOURNEY TO ROYAL: A WWII RESCUE MISSION, produced through his own Misty Falls Motion Picture Company, was recently released. The story recounts the last rescue mission of his great uncle, WWII rescue pilot and hero, Lt. Royal A. Stratton. Johnson is a former Walt Disney Imagineer and a member of the Visual Effects Society. https://www.chrisjohnsonfilms.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blending the sounds of Country, Gospel, Worship and Classic Rock, Todd Tilghman's raspy, soulful voice, contagious enthusiasm, and tangible authenticity all definitely stand out in a crowd. Todd has been married to his high school sweetheart, Brooke, since 1998. The couple have eight children. Todd is most well known as the winner of the 18th Season of NBC's "The Voice". Todd describes his music as "slice of life". He shares real lyrics about real life and faith, often finding it challenging to squeeze inside a particular genre. "I just want people to hear the music and immediately remember experiences in their own lives. I want it to have meat, you know? I want to do what I can with my music to share with the world those things that are universally important to us all: love, and family, and faith, and the passing of time, and I'll throw in a little soul and some fun too." Find out more about him at https://toddtofficial.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bradley Steyn is a very interesting person who after witnessing the Strijdom massacre during Apartheid (an infamous event in South Africa), joined the South African Navy. He later was recruited by Major Andy Miller to join the apartheid regime's Security Branch Later on, Bradley was selected for N.O.C. (non-official cover) espionage during the last years of apartheid and the build-up to the first democratic elections in South Africa. He worked underground for the liberation movement, and served as a covert asset of the spy unit within the military wing of the African National Congress. This was when Nelson Mandela was president of the ANC, and then became the first president of a free South Africa. The South Africa native is a national and geopolitical security expert, news media contributor, and co-author of the best-selling book Undercover with Mandela’s Spies, The Boy Who Crossed the Square. Passionate about mental health, and an activist against racism, hate crimes and corruption, Steyn is a champion for a stable, stronger South Africa. Find out more about Bradley at: https://www.spyex.com/expert/bradley-steynSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ken Caillat is best known for producing and engineering the Fleetwood Mac albums Rumours, Tusk, Mirage, Live, and The Chain Box Set, along with his daughter, Colbie Caillat's albums: Coco , Breakthrough , All of You , and Christmas in the Sand. Ken's recordings have sold over 50 million copies. His record production and engineering efforts earned him numerous Grammy nominations, including an Album of the Year Grammy and Best Engineered Album. ​ In 2012 Ken founded Sleeping Giant Records, so he could help other talented kids like Colbie to make a career in music. In 2013 Ken founded Sleeping Giant Entertainment to create new music for film, TV and radio, and partnered with Alcon Entertainment and ArtistMax to discover and develop new artists. Find out more about him and what he does by visiting: http://www.artistmax.org/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some remember Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency as a time of peace and prosperity, but in reality, it was an era of constant global crises. In this episode preview from This American President, host Richard Lim explores how Eisenhower skillfully navigated the perils of the Cold War.To continue listening to This American President, check out:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3RNJS4jSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3jTClEjParthenon: https://www.parthenonpodcast.com/this-american-president Hear more episodes of This American President:Theodore Roosevelt and the Pursuit of Greatness: https://apple.co/3IgUAx9 / https://spoti.fi/3E0zoZvZachary Taylor, America's Only Homeless President: https://apple.co/40OuGaW / https://spoti.fi/3DUzzFBThe Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland: https://apple.co/3xdIUER / https://spoti.fi/3ltBmLFSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Homer H. Hickam, Jr. was raised in Coalwood, West Virginia. He graduated from Big Creek High School in 1960 and from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech) in 1964 with a BS degree in Industrial Engineering. A U.S. Army veteran, Mr. Hickam served as a First Lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1967-1968 where he won the Army Commendation and Bronze Star medals. He served six years on active duty, leaving the service with the rank of Captain. Hickam has been a writer since 1969 after his return from Vietnam. At first, he mostly wrote about his scuba diving adventures for a variety of different magazines. Then, after diving on many of the wrecks involved, he branched off into writing about the battle against the U-boats along the American east coast during World War II. This resulted in his first book, Torpedo Junction (1989), a military history best-seller published in 1989 by the Naval Institute Press. In 1998, Delacorte Press published Hickam’s second book, Rocket Boys: A Memoir, the story of his life in the little town of Coalwood, West Virginia. It became an instant classic. Rocket Boys has since been translated into eight languages and also released as an abridged audio book and electronic book. Among it’s many honors, it was selected by the New York Times as one of its “Great Books of 1998” and was an alternate “Book-of-the-Month” selection for both the Literary Guild and Doubleday book clubs. Rocket Boys was also nominated by the National Book Critics Circle as Best Biography of 1998. In February, 1999, Universal Studios released its critically-acclaimed film October Sky, based on Rocket Boys (The title October Sky is an anagram of Rocket Boys). Delacorte subsequently released a mass market paperback of Rocket Boys, re-titled October Sky. October Sky reached the New York Times # 1 position on their best-seller list. While working on his writing career, Mr. Hickam was employed as an engineer for the U.S. Army Missile Command from 1971 to 1981 assigned to Huntsville, Alabama, and Germany. He began employment with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1981 as an aerospace engineer. During his NASA career, Mr. Hickam worked in spacecraft design and crew training. His specialties at NASA included training astronauts on science payloads, and extravehicular activities (EVA). He also trained astronaut crews for many Spacelab and Space Shuttle missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope deployment mission, the first two Hubble repair missions, Spacelab-J (the first Japanese astronauts), and the Solar Max repair mission. Prior to his retirement in 1998, Mr. Hickam was the Payload Training Manager for the International Space Station Program.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of “The Way We Were,” this intriguing and impeccably researched book is the first ever account of the making of the classic film starring Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford, revealing the full story behind its genesis and continued controversies, its many deleted scenes, its much-anticipated but never-filmed sequel, and the real-life romance that inspired this groundbreaking love story of opposites who attract and start breaking up – even before they get married. Find out more about Robert Hofler here: https://roberthofler.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonathan Lynn has directed 10 feature films including the cult classic Clue (he also wrote the screenplay), Nuns on the Run (also written by Mr Lynn), My Cousin Vinny, The Distinguished Gentleman, Sgt. Bilko, Greedy, Trial And Error, The Whole Nine Yards, The Fighting Temptations and Wild Target. His first produced screenplay was The internecine Project (1974) . For television, Jonathan’s writing credits include dozens of episodes of various comedy series but he is best known for the phenomenally successful, multi-award-winning BBC series Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, co- written and created with Antony Jay. His numerous awards include the BAFTA Writers Award, Writers Guild (twice), Broadcasting Press Guild (twice), NAACP Image Award, Environmental Media Award, Ace Award –Best Comedy Series on US cable, and a Special award from the Campaign For Freedom of Information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's episode is a roundup of top moments from the show, after 50+ episodes and more than a year of interviews! For full links to all episodes, see below:Columbine Principal Frank DeAngelis: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2TvqCNcWZb381MpiPqZltq?si=e0f546ca1ea84fd2Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-sprinted-towards-the-gunman-former-principal/id1617821942?i=1000564661263Queen Keyboardist Spike Edney:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0hX0lefELS9facZmVX1f4U?si=bab4b1bb6d4a455cApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/queens-keyboardist-talks-about-freddie-mercury-his/id1617821942?i=10005672504569/11 FDNY Firefighter Michael O’Connell:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fEev70EVWYQgKFfdFGglN?si=2420b6a9110742edApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/former-fdny-michael-oconnell-gives-his-9-11-experience/id1617821942?i=1000569648315SNL Writer Hugh Fink: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6gD4g8ldRkZH9OZ2Ywf1Pk?si=39c73e1cc2b34e43Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legendary-snl-writer-discusses-working-with-chris/id1617821942?i=1000580777748Apple Co-Founder Ronald Wayne: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/04DRSEG0s3JUophgpsOZJL?si=b61e140f8d6f4883Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/steve-jobs-told-me-that-apple-co-founder-gives-his/id1617821942?i=1000578518022Emmy-Winning Sportscaster Barry Tompkins:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4fqS5ZtE0hZYzn815DOoFe?si=231fbe648ff644c8Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/famed-boxing-announcer-gives-eyewitness-account-of/id1617821942?i=1000577782731See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sheri Fink is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated television producer and the author of the New York Times bestselling nonfiction book Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital about choices made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She is a producer of the Five Days at Memorial limited series on Apple TV+. Fink’s work has often explored the impact of crises on health care and is informed by her background as an MD and former relief worker in disaster and conflict zones (she also holds a PhD in neuroscience). Five Days at Memorial, the recipient of eight book awards, was based on an article investigating patient deaths at Memorial Medical Center. Co-published by ProPublica and the New York Times Magazine, the article won both a Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award. Find out more about her at http://www.sherifink.net/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.